Spalty or Flamey

[Rabs]

So ive got these two really nice tops (just got the spalty on order).. But for the moment will only be doing one more build...

 

Cant decide.. Both are nice in different ways....

 

And would you colour the spalt or leave it natural?

 

 

Spalty one

 

Flamey one

[capmaster]

Hard to decide for me, so I didn't vote. I think with a beautiful finish either will look great.

 

When about colour, I think that the spalted surface may translate best with either a natural or a transparently dyed coat. The flamed maple may translate best stained and clear coated. I just try to imagine the spalted top in natural or amber and the flamed one in amber.

 

Well, but this is just me... :)

[Rabs]

Hard to decide for me, so I didn't vote. I think with a beautiful finish either will look great.

 

When about colour, I think that the spalted surface may translate best with either a natural or a transparently dyed coat. The flamed maple may translate best stained and clear coated. I just try to imagine the spalted top in natural or amber and the flamed one in amber.

 

Well, but this is just me... :)

Yes well you have seen my other post with that custom flame top.. That's real nice..

 

And for the spalt one.. I have been looking at some online.. I can see me doing one similar to this.. hmmmmm (by the way, it will always be a trans colour with wood like that, id never EVER cover that with a solid colour, no point in using it for that)

[capmaster]

Yes well you have seen my other post with that custom flame top.. That's real nice..

 

And for the spalt one.. I have been looking at some online.. I can see me doing one similar to this.. hmmmmm (by the way, it will always be a trans colour with wood like that, id never EVER cover that with a solid colour, no point in using it for that)

That was just a funny coincidence. I hadn't seen your post including the pictured amber LP top in the limited guitar topic before I posted here.

 

Perhaps I may have written a bit unclear about colours because English is my second language. Please let me try to explain.

 

I didn't mean transparent colour as opposite to solid colour but to stain and clear coat. To my understanding a stain means a pigment that can be rubbed directly to a top but otherwise would make a lacquer opaque and thus solid-coloured. Am I wrong? I know this is mistakable since "stain" can be a synonym for "mordant", a sort of stain being not a dye itself but discolouring timbers through denaturation. Most maple tops are "stained" in this sense before application of burst finishes. They appear a bit yellowish or amberish through it instead of white.

 

Ha - I think now I know. This is what makes me love amber tops. It's the appearance of the centre of bursts, hahaha!

[Rabs]

Well you can get either solid colours or translucent colours which will still show the wood grain like my blue top im working on.. Get a solid colour and you wont see any of that... And you can get that with stains or paints so you can get solid coloured nitro and translucent coloured nitro... I think in this case (talking about wood colouring) a stain and dye are the same thing.. Where as if you spill curry down your shirt that's definitely a stain...

 

And a lot of finishes arnt clear.. Like the tru oil I usually use has a slight amber tint to it.. But on some natural wood that usually looks pretty good. You do have to watch that a bit if you are using light colours...

[capmaster]

... Where as if you spill curry down your shirt that's definitely a stain...

...

This is a good one!

 

During work I prepared and sprayed hundreds of coats on millions and millions of tablets. There it is typically about solid colours to achieve light protection. Titanium dioxide is the most common white pigment for that. Most food colours I used apart from white were solid, too. This means that the dye is not soluble and therefore sprayed as component of a suspension. The property making a pigment solid is its high refractivity. A very thin layer of a highly refractive pigment can be sufficient to prevent light completely from penetrating, meaning an opacity level of 1. Lower opacities will produce more or less translucent coats, depending on content and thickness.

 

However, we also used some tranparent dyes. They are soluble and remain molecular dispersed in the dried respectively cured coat. In case of low refractive indices they look clear like tinted glass, their opacity is close to 0. Higher refractive indices may cause blur and thus produce a translucent finish.

[Retired]

1471489487[/url]' post='1792313']

Well you can get either solid colours or translucent colours which will still show the wood grain like my blue top im working on.. Get a solid colour and you wont see any of that... And you can get that with stains or paints so you can get solid coloured nitro and translucent coloured nitro... I think in this case (talking about wood colouring) a stain and dye are the same thing.. Where as if you spill curry down your shirt that's definitely a stain...

 

And a lot of finishes arnt clear.. Like the tru oil I usually use has a slight amber tint to it.. But on some natural wood that usually looks pretty good. You do have to watch that a bit if you are using light colours...

 

I Love that spalt. Gorgeous wood. Almost needs a bigger belly to get all the beautiful grain. Natural I think. Could take a small sample and experiment with different finishes for what you think. Write down what you think from 1-10, sand it off and try another on the sample. Yeah, that grain needs to stand out.

[merciful-evans]

I voted Spalt, which has been my favourite finish ever since I first noticed it.

 

I tried to find a Spalt finished Hagstrom Ultra Swede last year, but they are as rare as rocking horse by-products in the uk.

[btoth76]

Hello Rabs.

 

I prefer plain tops...

 

For some reason the spalted maple surface hurts my eyes really bad. So, my choice is the flamey.

 

Bence.

[badbluesplayer]

As a woodworker, I like woods with no defects and high quality grains and finish. Spalted wood definitely has some visual appeal but I can't get over the fact that it's low quality wood. I like dense grained woods filled so they're smooth and with a high gloss finish.

[Retired]

1471521496[/url]' post='1792401']

As a woodworker, I like woods with no defects and high quality grains and finish. Spalted wood definitely has some visual appeal but I can't get over the fact that it's low quality wood. I like dense grained woods filled so they're smooth and with a high gloss finish.

 

Bad Blues. I didn't know that the spalt was a poor quality wood. Actually for myself, I love flame tops, quilts and burst finishes. The only plain finishes are either Gold, metallic silver or black.

[LarryUK]

I like my koa top. Bertie does too.

[dbrian66]

I would go with the Spalty one and go with a grayish finish. Like old barn wood. Black hardware and an ebony fingerboard. That would look cool.

[merciful-evans]

Bad Blues. I didn't know that the spalt was a poor quality wood. Actually for myself, I love flame tops, quilts and burst finishes. The only plain finishes are either Gold, metallic silver or black.

 

I recall reading that spalted wood was the result of fungal infection. So the wood is less than healthy and probably in decay.

[deeman]

I recall reading that spalted wood was the result of fungal infection. So the wood is less than healthy and probably in decay.

 

Well it looks pretty cool to my eyes.

[capmaster]

I recall reading that spalted wood was the result of fungal infection. So the wood is less than healthy and probably in decay.

If it has not been treated, it is in decay indeed. Research I just did was quite alarming to me, in particular when about storage or processing of untreated spalted wood.

 

White rot and pigment rot fungi, in particular dry rot among the latter, will keep on eating up the infected timber. Spores may spread and infect any wood in their environment, i. e. walls, furniture, flooring, and roof framework. And, of course, guitars and timbers in process... Though maple and poplar are most prone to infection as living trees, the fungi can infect virtually any sort of wood. Softwood will be destroyed very fast, as living tree and timber as well.

 

There seem to be biocides available for timber treatment before finishing and for saving infected wood as long as it is not afflicted beyond repair.

[LPguitarman]

I'd go with Spalty and finish it like LarryUK's picture.

[Tman]

I'd go with Spalty and finish it like LarryUK's picture.

 

This

[Rabs]

I Love that spalt. Gorgeous wood. Almost needs a bigger belly to get all the beautiful grain.

Yeah that's not my shape on there.. They do that with tops just to prove its big enough for a top when you are looking at them online.

[Rabs]

If it has not been treated, it is in decay indeed. Research I just did was quite alarming to me, in particular when about storage or processing of untreated spalted wood.

 

White rot and pigment rot fungi, in particular dry rot among the latter, will keep on eating up the infected timber. Spores may spread and infect any wood in their environment, i. e. walls, furniture, flooring, and roof framework. And, of course, guitars and timbers in process... Though maple and poplar are most prone to infection as living trees, the fungi can infect virtually any sort of wood. Softwood will be destroyed very fast, as living tree and timber as well.

 

There seem to be biocides available for timber treatment before finishing and for saving infected wood as long as it is not afflicted beyond repair.

Ohh that's interesting... I will keep it away from my other wood then :) (especially that flamey top_

[jdgm]

I like Flamey more than Spalty.

 

Reminded me of -

 

[Rabs]

As a woodworker, I like woods with no defects and high quality grains and finish. Spalted wood definitely has some visual appeal but I can't get over the fact that it's low quality wood. I like dense grained woods filled so they're smooth and with a high gloss finish.

Actually maybe you can answer this then...

 

Im assuming im going to have to be REALLY careful when I cut the spalted tops shape since there will be weaker parts and if im cutting into one of those areas its going to increase the chance that I will get a break?

[Notes_Norton]

I voted Spalty - my personal taste. But I'm not really fond of Flame tops. The seam down the middle perpendicular to the flame direction distracts my gaze.

 

YMMV

 

Notes

[Pinch]

English is my second language

 

Your English is impeccable! I was a bit taken aback when I saw you posting in German. I thought, he speaks German as well?

 

On topic: spalty.

[Tman]

Your English is impeccable! I was a bit taken aback when I saw you posting in German. I thought, he speaks German as well?

 

On topic: spalty.

 

Caps' english is amazing. Better than mine and it is my first language.