Thread: Pacific Maple

http://www.hardwoodinfo.com/species_...sp?species=PCM

Thanks for the reply KG, but I think that is the American timber.

I am reasonably sure the one I am referring to is this:

http://www.timber.net.au/species/species.cfm?latin=16

Any info or thoughts?

thanks

G'day Alastair,

Dunno about Meranti for musical instruments but ordinary White Meranti is a pretty crappy timber to use for cabinet making on the other hand I've had some Red Meranti that was very, very nice to use & the grain pattern was outstanding. Slightly more fissile than the White version but just spectacular.

It is used as a substitute in guitars made in Asia apparently, as it goes under the name Philippine Mahogany they seem to list it as mahogany...apparently.

Don't use anything but the red or light red stuff, they have a nice tap brighter than African Mahogany but not by much. There is a fair bit of stuff with wide fiddle back too, and has been used an instrument timber before...

I have some small/medium boards that have been in the shed for 10+ years that i have used to make practice necks before i built my first, seems like solid stuff.

Give it a try, can't keep using traditional timbers forever can we?

I think you should give it a miss. If you're going to all the trouble of building a guitar, then don't use that crap. Maybe for end blocks or neck blocks in an acoustic, but that's about all. I believe Philippine Mahogany is also called Luaun, it's a pretty crap timber.

I'm with you Paul.

We're going to use it but for linings only.

The cheaper grades of Meranti are lighter in weight than Mahogany and used as linings would be indistinguishable from Swietinia.

Bob

Yeah Bob, I forgot that. I've used it for linings too, it works but if your using kerfed linings they can be prone to breaking unless you bend them over a hot pipe first - or cut the kerfs really (too) deep so that the web is probably too thin.

Thanks for all the info, guys.

The intention was to use it for a trial build of a Fender Strat copy for my son. He already has a good acoustic, but like all teenagers hankers for an electric.
Several other hidden agendas:
The intention was to do it as a shared project, so as to get him involved beyond the "gimme" level.
For me, as an introduction to some of the techniques, on the way to an ambition to do an acoustic.
Using timber to hand to reduce cost. Intention is to go solid colour, and Imbuia fretboard, so timber grain not important. Structural attributes, and tone contribution more the question.

As such, use for body probably OK, but the question more then whether, given the above, it could be successful as a neck material, or perhaps, as suggested in the other thread, look at Vic Ash as an alternative?

What thinks the group?

I'd suggest you take him over to anagote timbers at Tempe one Saturday morning and pick out some nice timber together. There's all sorts of suitable stuff there and a lot of it's pretty inexpensive. You should easily be able to get some really nice stuff, enough to make a nice electric for $50 - $80 (probably less). One of the blokes that works there (Tim) makes electric basses so he'd be the guy to talk to.

They have racks of QLD maple, blackwood, sapele mahogany, and just about anything else you can think of, foreign and domestic.

I spent $80 there a couple of months ago and ended up with enough New Guinea Rosewood to make 6 acoustic guitar necks.

I would still use it as a practice guitar, but probably not much further as sapele is just a few dollars more at a timber yard.

Vic Ash seems to be a fine timber, apparently similar tone to American Ash.