Any thoughts on Roasted Flamed Maple

[D Rhinehart]

I am starting a build and my Client is requesting Roasted Flamed Maple for the neck. I have done some research on the subject and understand the thought behind the process , just curious if anyone here has done this and if so any thoughts or suggestions. I am using a small kiln and am going to cook @ 350 for 4 to 5 hours.Thanks

 

[evolved_insanity]

Just buy it. If you roast it too fast, it will blow apart. Keep in mind during the roasting process that you will be making the wood extremely dry and brittle and moisture needs to be re-introduced afterwards to stabilize. Don't turn the temp over 180 -190 degrees if you decide to do it yourself but for the price difference between it and normal curly maple (usually about $1.00 per BF), its not really worth your effort.

That being said..it is beautiful and extremely stable when done right. It has a nice patina to it.

 

[Murkar]

Don't burn the house down

 

[D Rhinehart]

Is there really that much advantage to the roasting? I have built quite a few Flamed maple necks with no problems at all. If it is that much more stable wouldnt this have been done for a while by now? I dont know

 

[Murkar]

I can't imagine it really making that much difference.

I could be mistaken (I'm sure I am), but I believe generally if you leave a piece of wood it doesn't take too long to equalize with the surrounding moisture climate. If the idea with roasted maple is to get the wood to become more stable, the reduction in moisture won't make much difference. As soon as it comes out of the oven, the wood will begin to take on moisture until it equalizes with the surrounding environment.

I'm certainly not an expert on this, but if my understanding is correct, there is essentially a limit to just how dry you can make your wood (and the limit corresponds to the humidity level in your shop). From that perspective, if you take a piece of wood that is already well dried and equalized with the moisture level in your shop, and then stick it in the kiln to make it even more dry, it will start to take on moisture once it's out of the oven for a couple days until it returns to a normal moisture level that corresponds to the environment. I think that this change in moisture would increase the risk of warping over that period of equalization - so IMO, if you really dry that wood out well, it would be maybe even a bit less stable rather than more stable (for only a short period immediately after coming out of the kiln of course).

 

[Spotcheck Billy]

I get your point regarding the cells reabsorbing moisture after the drying process and that may very well be true. What I would be curious about is whether there is some cellular change, maybe blocking that very re-absorption, which takes place as a result of this process.

 

[tnt423]

From what I've been told it is not just drying the wood, supposedly there are resins and sugar-like compounds that change chemically and harden. This is supposed to make the wood more resistant o movement as well as making any figure in the wood more dramatic.
All this is hearsay, but I have played a coupe of basses with roasted necks and they did have something going for them. YMMV.

 

[Frogfur]

It would look good on the grill.

 

[Murkar]

That is interesting tnt...I've not heard that one before, but I could see how that might be the case. Would be interesting to know.

Found this abstract: High temperature and chemical effects on wood stability - Springer

Would consider buying it if it wasn't $40...

 

[straightblues]

I have a Gibson SG with one of the baked maple boards. I like the feel and sound. I think is sounds close to ebony.

 

['59_Standard]

I am starting a build and my Client is requesting Roasted Flamed Maple for the neck. I have done some research on the subject and understand the thought behind the process , just curious if anyone here has done this and if so any thoughts or suggestions. I am using a small kiln and am going to cook @ 350 for 4 to 5 hours.Thanks

See the comments posted by Husky - its John Suhr, you may want to email and ask him:

TGP

 

[evolved_insanity]

It does indeed change on a cellular level due to the resins in the wood hardening. The need to re-introduce moisture is to avoid severe changes in moisture level and to avoid cracking/warping. As Murkar suggested, the wood will want to get to the moisture level of the surrounding area. Unfortunately, it does so at its own pace and will usually not be enough to avoid cracking. The kilns they use to do roasting remove oxygen to avoid fire and also re-introduce moisture so it is all done in a controlled environment.

Roasting Maple as well as Oak and Ash have been done for the last 15 years at least. It is not new by any means.

 

[emoney]

Out of curiousity, why not bake a one piece maple neck? Does it move while it's cooking? If it hardens a FB, why not make the whole neck that way? Or is the customer wanting something different for the neck wood?

 

[madebydave]

There was a thread on the tele forum on this .... Anyone plan on baking some maple DIY ? - Telecaster Guitar Forum I did a little investigation too. The problem is how much shrinkage to account for. If you leave enough material to clean up after you bake it, it can be really nice.

 

[tnt423]

There are whole necks is made from baked maple, they are just very, very expensive. There is a tonal difference, I'm not sure I'd that's good' bad or worth the expense. It probably depends on the balance of tone you have in the body you mate it with.

 

[D Rhinehart]

Out of curiousity, why not bake a one piece maple neck? Does it move while it's cooking? If it hardens a FB, why not make the whole neck that way? Or is the customer wanting something different for the neck wood?

The guitar will be a neck through( Flamed Maple ) with Cocobola sides for the body with Ebony board.It is a 24 fret Bass based on a Fender Jazz with Ken Smith 18 volt electronics , Ken Smith bridge and soap bar pups.

 

[Renkenstein]

I know Scatter's TDPRI build challenge used roasted flamed maple for the necks. They look flippin stellar. Which reminds me...I need to check in on those updates.

If you want to see for yourself:
http://www.tdpri.com/forum/2013-tdp...ild-challenge-scatter-lees-double-vision.html

 

[D Rhinehart]

Here are some pics of the prototype , this one has Black Walnut neck with Jatoba fretboard and fillers with Lacewood side & tops ,