Got some Ash from a tree that blew over, how do I turn it into a guitar?

[Jack McGoldrick]

So an ash tree blew over in the wind last night and I got some pieces of it and decided to make a guitar out of it. I’ve never made a guitar, have limited access to tools And a budget of maybe £500. How should I go about doing this?

 

[Demiurge]

I believe that the first, however unsexy, step is to cut it up and let it dry for sufficient time. "Seasoning" I think it's called. Over that time, you probably have the opportunity to save more funds and work on some cool ideas, though.

 

[ferret]

Needs cut and stored for at least a year to dry and season, IIRC. Otherwise the moisture is going to ruin anything you try to do with it.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

As other's have said, the recently cut wood isn't proper for guitar (and really most applications) building. You can either store it properly yourself and wait for the moisture content to fall naturally (usually years unless you have specific equipment/capabilities) or look into kilning it.

If you're itching to build something you might want to see if you can trade the green wood for some dried stock from a smaller/specialty wood supplier. Some are willing to work out a deal if you have something they'll be able to easily sell later.

 

[Jack McGoldrick]

Okay brilliant thanks!

 

[Jack McGoldrick]

Assuming I can get it kiln dried any advice?

 

[MaxOfMetal]

Assuming I can get it kiln dried any advice?

Go mull through the Project Guitar (http://www.projectguitar.com/) forums and tutorials. Get a feel for what needs to be done and how it's usually accomplished and go from there.

 

[Defyantly]

If you have a large supplier or a very studious local supplier you can ask around if they can kiln dry for you. Not sure what kind of pricing you would be looking at but based on what I have seen from some of the bigger builders you are still looking at weeks if not months for a very recently felled tree. Natural drying process is normally a year per inch thickness for the safe side.

 

[Jack McGoldrick]

I live around 5 minutes from the lowden workshop so I’ll ask them where I could go because they have so many local timers.