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I too, have heard the rumors that birdseye maple for a neck is prone to twists and warps. Is this a bunch of crap or does it have any validity?

IIRC birdseye maple is almost exclusively eastern maple which is the harder variety of maple along with hard rock maple. so it is perfect for necks. but whatever maple it is still a more stable neck than more porous woods like mahogany.

1.
I use Birdseye a lot,and it is tough.Takes longer to scrape than reg maple or flame.
But like anything that will be exposed to pressure points,you just have to think when you build.
Anything under pressure can warp and distort,just look at steel girders.

Are birdseye maple necks usually quartersawn or flatsawn?



Birdseye is almost always eastern Maple. Maple doesn´t get much stronger.

It depends on the mill.
Some places specialize in quartersawing others will cut as much usable stock as they can.
Quartersawing creates a lot less yield so many places will either avoid it or charge more.


Originally Posted by JohnJohnIt depends on the mill.
Some places specialize in quartersawing others will cut as much usable stock as they can.
Quartersawing creates a lot less yield so many places will either avoid it or charge more.

Which would you recommend (for both birdseye and plain)?

i love birdseye maple. feels great, looks great, holds up very well. .....too bad all the guitars with it are so damn expensive

Honestly whatever is in you budget.
The most important thing is that the wood is dried and stored properly.
When joing maple to maple,just cross grain the join.That will build in strength.


Originally Posted by n00bWhich would you recommend (for both birdseye and plain)?

Assuming you want it for a neck: you´ll want quartersawn, because the vertical grain lines add more stability.

Sorry,but where did you hear that anyway?

Holzkunde (general woodworking and species identification) was an essential part of my training

Oh,sorry Zerb.We must've posted at the same time.I meant the guys who heard these rumours.


Originally Posted by JohnJohnOh,sorry Zerb.We must've posted at the same time.I meant the guys who heard these rumours.

Ah, I was already wondering how you could have not known that already, surprised me a bit


Originally Posted by JohnJohnOh,sorry Zerb.We must've posted at the same time.I meant the guys who heard these rumours.

Tom Anderson states he doesn't use birdseye for that reason. Plus it's a rumor that floats about. I've heard it multiple times.

Hmmm,comes from a good source.But I have to wonder if he had some bad experiences with birdseye.

Tom is definitely one of the better builders out there, and I respect his work highly.

But not unlike PRS I take quite a few of the things he says with a grain of salt..... Especially things like this that training and personal experience show the clear opposite of....

this sounds like something ed roman would say....never trust non guitar playing luthiers....

Gamp;L guitars, says that it is indeed not as stable as straight grain maple. Gamp;L, no longer offers birdseye maple necks for thier basses. You can order a bass with a birdeye fretboard however. They also don't suggest using birdseye for necks on guitars that will get a lot of use.Sprinter

I heard it was FLAMED maple necks that were considered structually weaker, not Birdseye. And I don't know if that's true or not either.