"...and I am now learning how to grade and store the stuff."
For storing, put all you can in your climate-controlled shop. 2-inch thick wood takes a long time to equilibrate with its surroundings (months at least). Most of the spruce I use for a panel has been sitting in my shop for more than a year - and much of it several years. Put stickers between all planks to allow air circulation - otherwise you can get mold growing on surface of wood (will stain wood).
As far as grading goes I use mostly grain angle to differentiate between spruce for panels and spruce for ribs. My four-tiered panel spruce grading system is very simple and self-explanatory: Good; Better; Best and; Nossaman.
"...reddish colored Spruce..."
Yeah, that's all heartwood. Beautiful looking isn't it? Most of what I get is heartwood.
"I hope nobody is going to accuse me of blatant commercialism cause it would only be partly true."
;-)
Terry Farrell
----- Original Message -----
A while back I posted to some about personally selecting 1000 plus board feet of Canadian Sitka spruce lumber. Well it has been an interesting journey/learning curve, but to day it was Christmas...again.
My Canadian Lumber Jack has enormous experience (40 years) in finding & filling specialty lumber orders. He worked very hard to find the "Dale Grade" of spruce as he calls it. It came in 5 packages and I am now learning how to grade and store the stuff. New storage racks were built and I have been updating the shop equipment/Dust collection/glue fixtures etc. for approx a year or more in preparation for this latest enterprise, making & providing high quality Sitka spruce panels & wood stock for the trade in limited quantity's. Not givin up the day job.
For a wood fanatic, this, for me, is treasure trove of some of the most beautiful Spruce I have ever laid eyes on. The piece pictured come from a cant of reddish colored Spruce that is 11 inches wide & 18 to 20 grains an inch. 8 ft long. Represents 200 plus years of very even growth cycles. I have never seen wood like this...ever. The 500 bd. ft of old growth stuff has been air drying for 7 years all the rest for approx a year or more.
Primarily the wood is made up of primarily paleish colored planks.
Need rib stock? Have lots of rib stock as well as beautiful lumber both in in cant form as seen on the floor in the racks and also soundboard plank material in 4 to 8 inch variety. It's all gorgeous straight grain stuff.
I hope nobody is going to accuse me of blatant commercialism cause it would only be partly true. Guilty!
Mostly my hobby just got more expensive and the rest is just to share the adventure of having fun doing what I love.
If nothing else I hope it's at least interesting. Now...what did we do with our economy?
Happy New year & kindest regards to all
Dale Erwin
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech_ptg.org/attachments/20090102/c6c681a5/attachment.html>
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC