Re: My first F-5 build
What’s rcc56 says brings back the fact that Gibson was and, still is, a factory with production schedules and orders to fill. That fact will dictate what material on hand will be used for manufacture. The material was sourced by buyers who knew what the end product was but, may or may not have known specifics of the method of construction, they bought logs, sent them to mills, who in turn sent the to the factory. I have spent hours over the years discussing this very point with several instrument builders around the Kalamazoo area. When the F-5 was designed by Mr. Loar, he gave some general specifications about material but, nothing about grain orientation. Consequently, the seat carvers were fed material from the stock which met specie qualifications. How it was matched, or mismatched, shows the “casual perfection” demands of production. When Mr. Loar returned from his engagements, the instruments were “tested”and labels signed. The guy on the line was responsible for a great amount of the actual work. Fine tuning with regard to testing was what Lloyd did.
Feel free to correct me if I am way off base but, that’s how I have always considered the how and why for the seemingly random woods used as far as grain orientation.
Timothy F. Lewis
"If brains was lard, that boy couldn't grease a very big skillet" J.D. Clampett
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