Which of these cedars would you use?

[Eric Knapp]

Hello,

I recently was given some cedar siding boards. They are very straight grained and quarter-sawn. As you can seen in this photo, one has very tight grain and the other is much wider. They both ring very nicely when tapped. Surfaced they are 6" in width, good enough for a 3-piece guitar or a ukulele. Would you use them? Which would be your first choice?

Thanks,

-Eric

[Carl Dickinson]

Use both. Two instruments at a time. I usually do more than one.

[Eric Knapp]

Use both. Two instruments at a time. I usually do more than one.

Thanks! I got enough of these boards to make 9 instruments. I have so much wood for tops now I don't think I'll ever use it up. After the two I'm working on now, which are Sitka, the next three are redwood or Douglas-Fir.

-Eric

[Alan Carruth]

Long-grain stiffness at a given thickness tracks the density pretty well, on a more or less linear basis. Stiffness goes as the cube of the thickness. Using a low density top wood, and leaving it thick enough to get the right stiffness gives the lightest top and the most sound. OTOH, top weight probably matters less on a small instrument, since the small span allows you to work the top thinner. A uke built like the small Classical guitar it is makes plenty of sound.

[Eric Knapp]

I'm getting the impression that it might not matter which one I use. I have more of the tighter grained cedar and I'll start there when I get to the batch. I have one piece of the wider grain that's only big enough for a ukulele and I might start making those at some point.

-Eric