Milled Some Ash Today

[slabmaster]

Well, the cool weather is finally here so i decided to mill some Well seasoned ash i had out back.I made these for guitar backs.They are 1/2" thick.They will be 5/32 when they go on the guitar.They only have to be 22" long for the backs.They're over 4 FT. right now.

 

[slabmaster]

milling ash

Here's another shot in action.

 

[Mike Van]

I find Ash hard, dry, and dusty to mill on the bandmill? Same with the CSM?

 

[slabmaster]

Yea, it's the same on the csm.This ash is well seasoned and hard as a rock.I got 29 boards 4ft. long and used a gallon of mix and a gallon of bar oil on them.I used my 395 husky. and it did well.This wood is so hard and dry,i'll be able to use it soon.Did't have to sticker it either.

 

[woodshop]

Yea, it's the same on the csm.This ash is well seasoned and hard as a rock.I got 29 boards 4ft. long and used a gallon of mix and a gallon of bar oil on them.I used my 395 husky. and it did well.This wood is so hard and dry,i'll be able to use it soon.Did't have to sticker it either.

I too have milled ash that has been dead more than 2 years. It was off the ground, so no rot, but sure was hard stuff. On my moisture meter though, it was still way over 30% MC, and had to be stickered. Did you stick a meter on that stuff? I'd be willing to bet it still has lots of moisture in those middle pieces.

 

[slabmaster]

I'll be plaining it tomorrow and then it will be stickered in a press till i thickness it for tose guitars.I did put weight on it til then though.Some of it is splalted real nice,but is still solid enough for guitar backs.It's all quarter sawn wood and won't move much anyway.I will put a meter on it just before i thickness it. This ash has been dead at least 6 years.

 

[deeker]

Everybody needs a good piece of ash!!
I like milling it, green preferred though.

I bent the hell out of a band-saw blade with a small diameter ash log, did not have it anchored down tight enough and it flipped.

We do like working with ash for furniture, interesting grains.

Great pics!!! Keep posting them.

Kevin

 

[Zodiac45]

Nice looking stuff Slab,

It's gonna make some fine guitars too. I have a matched pair of Basses (Jazz and P-Bass) of natural ash with rosewood boards. Both play really well with great tone. Good Luck.

 

[slabmaster]

Nice looking stuff Slab,

It's gonna make some fine guitars too. I have a matched pair of Basses (Jazz and P-Bass) of natural ash with rosewood boards. Both play really well with great tone. Good Luck.

Yea,Ash is one of the best tone woods. I've been building native american flutes out of it and they have great volume clarity and projection.Some of the most highly prized fender guitars were made out of ash.Very few woods can even compete with it when it comes to tone.I've been building electric guitars since 1985.But have now geared up to build acoustic guitars made with ash backs& sides with spruce tops.I do have some old stock brazilian fret boards from thr 60s i'll be using as well. Mark

 

[lmbeachy]

It must be quite a bit cooler out there than what it is in here. Long slevees and gloves would have been uncomfortable here in Delaware for the last two days.

 

[excess650]

While you were milling ash, I was milling Hemlock. I didn't get any pictures, but the (7)1-1/2" thick boards are 14"-18" wide and 9'4" long. The 272xp did OK, but the 066 with recently installed big bore kit cut at least twice as fast! The main part of the tree is still standing, but I'll need longer rails and a longer B&C to cut that!

 

[slabmaster]

It must be quite a bit cooler out there than what it is in here. Long slevees and gloves would have been uncomfortable here in Delaware for the last two days.

We had a frost last night and it was in the fourtys when i got out to mill.The gloves i had on are rubbercoated for good grip and i wear them when milling.I had two longsleave shirts on when i started.I don't mill when it's above 60 too often .I mill alot more in the winter out in the snow when the bugs are down.

 

[dustytools]

Nice job slabmaster!! Do you have any pics of any of your instruments?

 

[irishcountry]

I milled some ash too and it would make a excellent guitar body one day I will build another solid body electric once I get some more tools built one completly by hand and it was a b@tch!! Turned out ok but I have alot of work to do when it comes to fretwork!!! No easy task! I have been eyeballing what I milled and may copy my les paul or prs one day beautiful wood you can just tell it has tone by cluncking it together!! Back out to the woods to split some firewood have a good one irishcountry

 

[slabmaster]

stickered them today

I plained them today and stickered them as well.The smaller ones are going to be taken into the shop and put in a press as i made them 1/4' thick.the rest are setting at 1/2 or less.

 

[slabmaster]

Nice job slabmaster!! Do you have any pics of any of your instruments?

Here 's some pics i had handy.The flying v is solid maple.THe neck is rosewood i inlayed with abalone shell.

 

[slabmaster]

flutes

Here are some of the flutes i have built.

 

[dustytools]

Very nice work Slabmaster!!!:rockn:

 

[woodshop]

I plained them today and stickered them as well.The smaller ones are going to be taken into the shop and put in a press as i made them 1/4' thick.the rest are setting at 1/2 or less.

VERY nice work on those guitars and fretboard. I hope your thin stuff dries OK on you. I've tried many times different ways, and anything less than 3/4 thick wet off the saw usually twists more than I'd like, it just dries way to fast no matter what you do. If I want 1/2 inch stock or less, I almost always start with 4/4 or 5/4 and dry that first, and then resaw to get 1/2 or 1/4 stock.

Maybe you have a better way to dry that thin stuff so it doesn't dry too fast and twist?

 

[slabmaster]

I have no problem drying thin wood.When its at 5/32 i do keep it in a wood press til i'm ready to use it that stablizes it.It can't go anywhere in a press.Then when i use it it's braced with spruce which keeps it from moving also.Thin wood can warp if allowed to, but i don't allow it to.An acoustic guitar has braces on the inside to keep it from warping as it is exposed to humidity throughout it's life as the inside of the guitar is bare wood and would warp without those braces as the wood picks up moisture or lack of it.I do dry my wood slower than most people do mainly to keep it from cracking.When you mill green wood,that's when most the problems occur in drying.I let the logs i mill sit for years if i can before i mill them which i find helps alot.I keep the milled boards out of the sun and wind which helps also.