jimistone
long standing member
I have been looking into buying swamp ash body blanks and doing some strat and Tele bodies and realized something.... Vendors are charging insane prices for swamp ash blanks and people are actually paying these prices.
Swamp ash is plentiful around here and I put a pencil to it. I can yield enough 1 and 2 piece bodies out of an average sized red ash tree to be able to buy the tree...have a sawmill saw it....have it planed...haul it....and sell the one piece body blanks for $40 and the 2 piece body blanks for $25 and net a huge profit.
Does anyone know...
How long of a drying time does ash need?
Should the log be left to dry and then milled or should the log be milled into the correct thickness and the lumber be dried?
I would think there would be a market for body blanks at half the price of what I have seen available.
Any guitar builder input is welcome
Swamp ash is plentiful around here and I put a pencil to it. I can yield enough 1 and 2 piece bodies out of an average sized red ash tree to be able to buy the tree...have a sawmill saw it....have it planed...haul it....and sell the one piece body blanks for $40 and the 2 piece body blanks for $25 and net a huge profit.
Does anyone know...
How long of a drying time does ash need?
Should the log be left to dry and then milled or should the log be milled into the correct thickness and the lumber be dried?
I would think there would be a market for body blanks at half the price of what I have seen available.
Any guitar builder input is welcome