Michael_Molnar Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 Hi Guys,Thanks for the comment. I agree that the "mountain contour" grain lines are there on slab cut maple, that's why I like it! I'll try and rustle up some pics of the differences I mean, as it's hard to explain without examples. A while ago Bruce Harvey (a.k.a. "tonewood") strongly urged us to center the slab cut maple around "the well", I think that's what he called it. This is the same concept as your mountain contour. Other than aesthetics, he pointed out that off center slabs, and skew cuts, tend to have asymmetric warping issues - at least potentially so. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayofiddler6 Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 Yes, some slab-cut wood has an awful tendency to cupping. I've had pieces that I've chased around for days trying to get to stay flat and had to give up in the end. I got two pics together to show the contrast between kiln-dried and air-dried wood and saved them in my temporary directory to upload. Then of course I cleaned out my temp dir later because it got too much junk in it! So I'll have to do them again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacklinks Posted January 24, 2019 Report Share Posted January 24, 2019 These slab cut maple backs are beautiful. Do they result in any tonal differences in the violin/violin, or do they sound pretty much the same as a “normal” flamed maple back? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael_Molnar Posted January 24, 2019 Report Share Posted January 24, 2019 The tone is different. The slab back needs to be thicker and heavier than quarter cut backs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wood Butcher Posted January 24, 2019 Report Share Posted January 24, 2019 1 hour ago, Michael_Molnar said: The tone is different. The slab back needs to be thicker and heavier than quarter cut backs. Would that apply if you had a soft, low density quartered back? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael_Molnar Posted January 24, 2019 Report Share Posted January 24, 2019 My generalized statement is for the same tree, cut either slab or quarter. For different trees, you would have to run tests to see what you get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SingingTree Tonewood Posted January 24, 2019 Report Share Posted January 24, 2019 In response to the original poster, you can indeed have a strong flame all the way across a slab cut back. Here are two of the wood 1 piece backs that I sell, both slab sawn, both heavy figure. The 'higher' on the log away from the heart, the more swirl of the grain that will be seen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin Prestwich Posted January 25, 2019 Report Share Posted January 25, 2019 Here are a few that I got from Glenn at Singing Tree. However, I’m a bit foggy on the slab vs quarter cut distinction. It seems that the flame here straddles both in certain aspects. The piece on the right appears a bit slab cut on the left side and quarter cut on the right side. I’m referring to appearance of the flame only, of course. Manfio, would these need to be cut thicker as you mentioned above? Whatever the case, it’s pretty badass wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 25, 2019 Report Share Posted January 25, 2019 4 hours ago, SingingTree Tonewood said: In response to the original poster, you can indeed have a strong flame all the way across a slab cut back. Here are two of the wood 1 piece backs that I sell, both slab sawn, both heavy figure. The 'higher' on the log away from the heart, the more swirl of the grain that will be seen. Exactly!...it's what I look for when choosing slabbed backs and best done in person, or from good photos that reveal the entire piece of wood...endgrain included!....but not what most wood sellers choose to do. Not to mention sg densitiy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 25, 2019 Report Share Posted January 25, 2019 9 hours ago, kevin Prestwich said: Here are a few that I got from Glenn at Singing Tree. However, I’m a bit foggy on the slab vs quarter cut distinction. It seems that the flame here straddles both in certain aspects. The piece on the right appears a bit slab cut on the left side and quarter cut on the right side. I’m referring to appearance of the flame only, of course. Manfio, would these need to be cut thicker as you mentioned above? Whatever the case, it’s pretty badass wood. Can you show the flip side and endgrain Kevin?........what is the sg? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SingingTree Tonewood Posted January 25, 2019 Report Share Posted January 25, 2019 Kevins wood is from two ends of the same cut, several feet apart, one piece was closer to the heart. A nice slab of many years age that I found. lpr5184, I still have a couple from that tree. You can have a slab sawn with end grain that goes at a 45 degree angle across it, just off quarter, with little or no grain swirl that looks quarter sawn, or a higher cut slab that the grain curves over and is mirrored on the other side coming down. Those backs tend to have pronounced ring swirl, best when up the middle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin Prestwich Posted January 25, 2019 Report Share Posted January 25, 2019 17 hours ago, lpr5184 said: Can you show the flip side and endgrain Kevin?........what is the sg? I’m in SE Asia right now but Glenn knows the log really well. Glenn, did you test the SG on this log? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 25, 2019 Report Share Posted January 25, 2019 I could use a nice one piece red maple back. Those will make great looking fiddles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SingingTree Tonewood Posted January 26, 2019 Report Share Posted January 26, 2019 I would like to learn how to determine specific gravity. I have always loved one piece backs and I have some great stuff. This coming late spring I will be buying a lot of aged wide stock for 1 piece. Getting good feedback of the slab cuts. I have a lot of well figured quarter sawn wedges too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 27, 2019 Report Share Posted January 27, 2019 On 1/25/2019 at 5:19 PM, SingingTree Tonewood said: I would like to learn how to determine specific gravity. Hi Glenn. Here is one way to find it... http://www.fiolinmaker.no/en/tips_tricks/eigenvekt.php Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Preston Posted January 27, 2019 Report Share Posted January 27, 2019 I've measured specific gravity of many pieces of red maple, and basically I use the method in the link posted by lpr5184. Generally, red maple (Acer rubrum) I have measured is in a range of 0.63 to 0.67 g/cc. However, I have had some at 0.58 and 0.69. You must take into account the moisture content of the piece to get an arrurate measure of density, of course. I wish I could tell you I collected a lot of data from countless measurements - but I have not! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SingingTree Tonewood Posted January 28, 2019 Report Share Posted January 28, 2019 Thank you both for the input. I get a lot of older wood, and when I have it cut to appropriate size blanks, I can tell heavy and light. Moisture content does indeed make a big difference. It can be old, or "aged", and still have a lot of moisture, all depending on where it spent those years, in a dry or wet climate. Knowing peoples preference if any for s g measurements, if any, would help. I'll try the dip method, as math is not one of my greatest strengths. ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finnfinnviolin Posted January 28, 2019 Report Share Posted January 28, 2019 Which way round do you guys position the arch On your slab backs? I was taught to have the top of the arch towards the heart of the tree, but I’m interested to hear what others do in regards to this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christian bayon Posted January 28, 2019 Report Share Posted January 28, 2019 13 hours ago, finnfinnviolin said: Which way round do you guys position the arch On your slab backs? I was taught to have the top of the arch towards the heart of the tree, but I’m interested to hear what others do in regards to this I depend if you want your arching getting higher or lower after few years! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christian bayon Posted January 28, 2019 Report Share Posted January 28, 2019 This is how deformation on slab cut works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Slight Posted January 28, 2019 Report Share Posted January 28, 2019 If you are shopping for slab backs, the ones nearest the outside of the tree may not be wide enough to have a choice in which way to orient the grain. Depending on how you wish to arrange the arch, it could be a problem. On another note, is Christians picture making anyone else want a Swiss roll? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julian Cossmann Cooke Posted January 28, 2019 Report Share Posted January 28, 2019 Slab cut silver maple 20190128_093614.mp4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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