UK Wood sourcing

[GarethFlatlands]

Feel free to move this thread, I wasn't 100% sure where to put it.

I'm getting the itch to build a short-ish scale bass, preliminary idea is the 60's Gibson EB0 type shape but didn't know where to start looking for decent wood. One of the issues was that I'd like to do something with UK grown wood, but beyond ash and maple wasn't sure which woods we grow are suitable for guitar building. I remember Scojack doing a very nice looking build with Scottish woods like sycamore but that's about the extent of my knowledge.

Also, I've seen some warnings on social media about people being ripped off by wood suppliers and it's made me wary of ordering expensive woods online.

So really 2 questions I guess.

1) What UK woods are good for building basses?; and

2) Which suppliers do you builders use and would recommend? For any wood rather than UK build in case I change my fickle mind and want a wenge neck or something.

Thanks!

[Jabba_the_gut]

Sycamore is lovely to work with and finish. This is sycamore and wenge

and another from a few years ago that I still haven't finished...

[Andyjr1515]

Yes, there are some excellent UK woods. 

Sycamore is related to maple and has very similar workability and look. 

English walnut can be spectacular and is good to work. 

Poplar is sometimes more plain, but burl poplar can be stunning.

Yew has to be used with care - it is quite poisonous - but is a stunning looking wood.

Elm - spalted or plain

Oak tends to be very heavy and is very hard so probably best avoided.

London Plane tree can be spectacular.

 

I'm sure there are loads of others.

Supply-wise, one of the main things is buying from someone who can be trusted to verify that the timber has been fully seasoned.  Proper timber merchants or specialist instrument suppliers (although the latters can be very expensive, the wood tends to be in a more immediately usable form in terms sizes and finish) are usually the most reliable but will be more expensive.

  Or, as @Jabba_the_gut does, reclaimed wood takes for more careful searching but has got great merit...

[Christine]

Andy has that covered.

Just to add Chestnut can be good too as can be ash but they are or can be a little heavy. The thing about wood is that it does vary greatly for a single species in it's density/weight, for example Oak from the side of a wet Welsh mountain will be a lot heavier than a Oak grown in a open park in the south of England in the sun.

So for home grown hardwoods it's worth finding a good supplier who will let you look though his stock and choose yourself

[GarethFlatlands]

Thanks, if I'm making a short scale, small body bass then weight might be less of an issue but it's something to bear in mind for sure. I have a local wood recycling place but they just group it by hard and soft wood so it's sometimes tough to tell what the specific woods are, but I'll check for other places. 

And Jabba, please finish that lovely looking bass!

[mybass]

David Dkye Luthier Supplies in East Sussex. David has been in the business for decades. Their website isn't totally all filled in but his stores are legend amongst many, wood everywhere! His postcode is TN21 0HR. http://www.luthierssupplies.co.uk

 

All wood is damn expensive these days but I feel David's is still a pretty good price. Buying from some German suppliers should be good but I feel you'll end up paying the same in the end as for UK supplies. 

I like using European Ash for a slightly better 'attack' although I have a swamp ash bass on the bench at the moment for a fretted venture. Walnut is good too.

Edited July 2, 2019 by mybass

[honza992]

Sorry for the derail, but @Jabba_the_gut was there are build thread for the sycamore/wenge/LED bass?  That is outstanding!!

[Rexel Matador]

I've bought Body and neck blanks from www.reidtimber.co.uk. Prices and quality are great in my experience.

[scojack]

Great source for Korina & mahogany

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/iana1174/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from=