The tops for the Gibson build arrived. I got three sets of Lutz spruce for these, though I will only use two. This comes from British Columbia. The supplier I bought from gives a name to all the trees that he cuts from and each tree has different qualities. This one is called “palladium”, some is on the redder side in color. This is fairly fresh, and even thought they are 3/16″ thick, I’ll have to dry them in the oven. Cooking at 200 degrees for about an hour simulates years of aging and is a common technique.
To make the shipping worthwhile I added some very nice choco-cedar tops to my order. Not sure what I’ll make with these but I’ll hold on to them. They are really high grade tops and I got them for a great price.
Under all the tops is spruce billets for bracing. This is lutz spruce as well. Supposedly the sapwood makes the strongest braces, that’s why you see the bark on them.
I’m super excited about this stuff, minus the Martin stuff I stumbled on, this is my first purchase of fine tonewood. Now I need to make more shelving in the shop. I plan on keeping all the tops in there.
Filed under: Gibson OO build, Luthiery, Raw Materials, Woodwork, Workshop
