# Wood suppliers in Canada?



## orangegoblin (Aug 8, 2010)

Hey guys, I was just wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction...

I'm going to try my hand at building a telecaster project guitar. 

I was thinking about using Alder for the body... 


Does anyone know a good place online to start me off? 


Also, How much could I expect to pay for a tele-sized slab of Alder??


Thanks


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

You might want to contact *ajcoholic *. 

He is a member of this forum and was recently advertising blanks for guitar bodies.
He is located in northern Ontario and just built a fantastic new (huge) woodworking shop.

Here you go...found it:
http://www.guitarscanada.com/dealer-emporium/41012-body-blanks-sale-now.html

Cheers

Dave


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## ajcoholic (Feb 5, 2006)

Yes i can sell you some alder rough, dressed or a ready to cut blank.

AJC


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## YJMUJRSRV (Jul 17, 2007)

gone fishing


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## Lincoln (Jun 2, 2008)

and to add my $0.02 to this.........AJC says his blanks are sanded on a belt sander to finish thickness. That is a big deal. Big, big, time saver and a better
"finished" product.


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## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

I think AJ has a thickness sander .. even better ...


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## ajcoholic (Feb 5, 2006)

Yes, my blanks are jointed flat,then planed oversize and laminated with Titebond III glue. let dry for 48 hrs, to prevent sunken glue lines, then planed to just over 1.75"' then wide belt sanded to exact thickness. The rough lumber (no matter what specie) is kiln dried to 7% moisture content, as is all my furnitre grade wood.

The blanks are ready to cut out and turn into a body!

Ajc


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## YJMUJRSRV (Jul 17, 2007)

gone fishing


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## ajcoholic (Feb 5, 2006)

Yes III. Why use something inferior? Titebond III is stronger, and so far I think it is the best wood glue I have used (based on several 20litre pails yearly, of nearly every major brand on the market over the past 20 or so years).

I use on guitars what I use in my woodworking shop, on my furniture.

AJC


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## YJMUJRSRV (Jul 17, 2007)

gone fishing


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## ajcoholic (Feb 5, 2006)

Well, "creep" is only an issue with any adhesive, when the joint in question is under a constant load. As far as I know with my" limited " woodworking experience, a body joint on a guitar is certainly not nder any stress or load. Therefore, a moot point.

Secondly, I do not believe anything i read regaring glues. I prefer to use my thousands of hours, and hundreds of litres of glue used to base my own opinions on. I respect your taking complete stock in one person's email to you... But i like ttebond III, use it in applications where there is a MUCH higher loading than any guitar will ever see, and have yet to have issue. And, i do not find the glue at all gummy, it actually doesnt gum up my expensve wide belt sander belts which is but one reason i like it. 

Id like to see a body joint suffer from a "creeping" glue joint. Seriously, that is IMO absolutely impossible.

Again, i write this not as a guitar maker, but as a professional woodworker with just a few glue jointsunder my belt.

AJC


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## YJMUJRSRV (Jul 17, 2007)

gone fishing


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## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

Please clarify creeping..... I have used gallons of yellow glue and have had it rise higher than the surface of the wood.


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## ajcoholic (Feb 5, 2006)

Creep is when a wood joint, glued together, exhibits movement. Think of it like this, if two pieces of. Wood are under a constant stress, the joint can undergo movement if the qualities of the glue allow it. This is very noticeable in some glues such as contact cement for instance, but ANY glue can creep- even epoxies, alliphatics, pva, polyurethanes, etc if improperly used, ie, an ill fitting joint.

Yjmwhatever, you are basically bashing my use of titebond iii in my body blanks i am trying to sell. In my opinion, based on many years of woodworking (and think what you will, but building guitars is just woodworking) i use oroducts that pass my own testing. Not one one factory rep, salesman, or magazine ad says.

If you see a brown line, then your joints are poor. No matter what colour, a tight wood to wood joint is just that. Not a thick goopy glue line.

So, whatever floats your boat... But my experience speaks more to me than what an unknown, nameless person says to me online.

If anyone is worried about my blanks now, thanks to this idiocy, i will always provide a 100% return/replacement just like i do in my furniture business. Allthough i have yet to use it in decades of bei ng in business.


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## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

It does take some skill to set up a jointer properly ..that I know. Thanks for the definition of creep . 

AJ did you ever get that industrial magazine called Wood and Wood Products? If you did do you remember the Jerry Metz columns ( the Dear Abby of Woodworking ) ?


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## NGroeneveld (Jan 23, 2011)

ajcoholic said:


> If you see a brown line, then your joints are poor. No matter what colour, a tight wood to wood joint is just that. Not a thick goopy glue line.


Plus one to that. I use T3 and my glue lines are invisible. And I don't notice my seven piece necks 'creeping' either.


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## YJMUJRSRV (Jul 17, 2007)

gone fishing


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## Jimmy_D (Jul 4, 2009)

Well I haven’t chimed in for a couple of years, but I do lurk here and this thread has made me sign in to add my 2 cents worth.

I’m trained as a cabinetmaker and have over well 30 years experience and I can agree with some of the things both you guys are saying. 

In my own experience regular old white glue is best, with one proviso – it has to be a recognized industrial brand – Helmitin, Dural etc. – they all work fine and over 30 + years I’ve never had an issue.

I don’t like any Tire bond, for one reason only – my experience is it will “wash out” of the joint if too much clamping pressure is applied, leaving a poor and weak glue line – this doesn’t happen with regular white glue. 

This is very odd for a white glue but I did have a problem with Titebond years ago and spoke with the factory, I was told this was the issue – aside from that it’s perfectly fine if used properly. I recently saw an oak entrance door I made in 1998 (using titebond) – zero movement, all good, and it’s exposed to the elements.

“Cold creep” happens to every white glue – agreed, but it can happen to a solid body guitar – it is “under load”, its own load – if one piece of a two piece body is seasoned differently and decides to move, it will try. Over the years I’ve seen dozens of solid body guitars showing their seams through their finish – this is glue creep and it does happen.

If your glue line is thick and therefore rubbery (which happens with any PVA glue if edges are poorly jointed or you use insufficient clamping force) there will be movement – if you’ve jointed your edges and glued- up properly, the glue will probably prevent any movement – pretty simple in my experience.

“Luthiery and general woodworking are very different things” – well they are different, but building a guitar should be a no brainer to any properly trained cabinetmaker.

To the OP – buy the blank, the prices are more than fair, in fact next time I might let AJC do the work because for that price I can’t pay myself enough to glue up a blank.


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## ajcoholic (Feb 5, 2006)

YJMUJRSRV said:


> AJ you need anger management. You're like a crazy old lady going off the hook and taking things out of context while being an insulting ass. Meanwhile you cannot take any critism whtsoever back at you. I'm out - the rants are all yours.


Rants? Well, I am certainly going to defend myself, and my work - when someone who refuses to give even his name on the internet, and has a track record here of trying to be some high end luthier, but no one really knows anything about you. Me? I can give hundreds of references, of people I have done tens of thousands of work for from staircases and railings, to high end cabinetry and tons of various furniture, veneer work etc. Just ask me - I am happy to share.

When I get attacked for what I do for a living, and what I think I know extremely well (note I never called myself an expert, but I do base my opinions on empirical data I have gathered from close to 40,000 hours in the custom woodworking business - and about 40+ custom guitars to boot) I will most definitely defend myself with FACT.

I get the sales pitch constantly from many suppliers that have the "best" of this and that. I use what I think is best from my experience. I dont like Helmitin glue, I have used several pails. I dont like many other brands for various reasons as well. But, I certainly like TIII a lot, and it has yet to fail me.

That being said, here is a body blank that is "just about ready to fail". Cant you see the ugly brown thick, gobby glue lines that were hard to sand, and nearly impossible to clamp up?? Yes, that is sarcasm.










AJC

PS I'd like to know what exactly I took out of context?


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Um, I'm NOT a cabinet-maker and only very seldom a maker of guitars, but shouldn't the "ideal" glue depend on the grain properties of the wood being used, or am I wrong? I think about the highly porous qualities of mahogany, and some ash, compared to say maple, and I'm thinking that what the glue has to hold onto is different in each case.

Off base? Please educate me since I may be biting off more than I can chew when I get my garage set up for building this year.


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## ajcoholic (Feb 5, 2006)

Jimmy_D said:


> Well I haven’t chimed in for a couple of years, but I do lurk here and this thread has made me sign in to add my 2 cents worth.
> 
> I’m trained as a cabinetmaker and have over well 30 years experience and I can agree with some of the things both you guys are saying.
> 
> ...


Jimmy,
As you know and stated, wood sometimes moves - and when you have a blank with two or more pieces that want to move differently, NO glue in the world will hold them together and stop that movement... NONE. Wood movement is something you have to deal with, and hopefully with experience and some luck pick your pieces so the grain is similar and the moisture content even. 

And I agree 100% - the majority of joint issues are due to improper prep. and if you can see the glue, you have a poor joint. If you want to use a gap filling adhesive, to make up for poor joints then thats fine, but dont blame the glue if you can't work the wood properly.

And finally I would like to add one more point about TIII. In acoustic guitars, where over the years you might need to remove the neck or other parts for repairs, resets, etc TIII will make that very difficult due to the fact it is waterproof and steam wont let it go. But, in electric solid body construction, why would you need to separate the body segments?? I am not sure. It is also excellent for glueing oily or acidic woods which normal PVA or aliphatics cant do.

It is also capable of withstanding several freeze/thaw cycles without degredation, something very important if you live in the North and need to buy glue in the winter. And, can be used at a lower temperature without chalking up, which is also good if you must use it in a less than perfectly heated workshop in the colder months.

AJC


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## ajcoholic (Feb 5, 2006)

Grain properties have nothing really do do with a glue joint. Wood glue will work on any wood, except some with a lot of oil, acid or other chemical properties which might not let the glue adhere properly. Generally only a concern with exotics, however I find I like to let western red cedar sit in the clamps longer than I do any other wood I use in my business.


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