Sycamore

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Dale Penrose
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Joined: Wed Jan 09, 2013 5:38 pm
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Sycamore

Post by Dale Penrose »

I recently bought a sycamore board, quartersawn, looks nice. Having never worked with this wood before, does anyone have tips, experience with it?
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Bob Gramann
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Location: Fredericksburg, VA
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Re: Sycamore

Post by Bob Gramann »

It's beautiful and the guitars I have built with it sound a lot better than you would expect from tapping on the wood. I find that getting the surface smooth for finishing is difficult--the beautiful grain pattern is alternately soft and hard and leaves pits that need to be filled during the finishing process. Also, the wood expands and contracts with moisture a bit more than some of the standard woods. That makes less of a difference in a small guitar than a large one where a humid spell can make some strange action changes. Overall, you will enjoy it. And, it can make some striking binding.
Dale Penrose
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Joined: Wed Jan 09, 2013 5:38 pm
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Re: Sycamore

Post by Dale Penrose »

Didn't think of using it for binding. Will be resawing it later this week, so by spring, should be ready to try.
Joel Nowland
Posts: 86
Joined: Sat Jan 07, 2012 6:01 pm

Re: Sycamore

Post by Joel Nowland »

A great wood for many uses. bends super easy. I have used it for back & sides, necks, bridge plates, side bracing, linings, cross-grain patches for side sound holes and where electronics are side mounted.

A great wood when you need light and tough.
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