Sycamore

[Paul C]

I saw a nice looking set of this species today. Just wondering if any one has tried working with it. Does it have open pores?

[Jay McClellan]

A while back I built a medicine cabinet out of sycamore because I thought it was funny. It came out looking nice but few people got the joke.

I think it should work fine for a guitar, close-pored and similar to soft maple IMO. If it's quartersawn it has a striking checkerboard ray fleck pattern, which I like in small doses but I think it could get unpleasantly busy over a large area.

[Dave Bagwill]

I'm sycamore jokes...

[Bob Matthews]

I've used a lot of English sycamore and love it. It's a creamy white colour and is silky smooth without any pores, it works well with all the usual tools and seems to be very stable. I have a large board of it with some nice ripple figure.

But the stuff I've used is Acer pseudoplatanus and is what we call sycamore here in the UK.
I believe in the States you guys call sycamore what we call London Plane Platanus occidentalis - I have no experience with this species, but have seen some very gorgeous looking sets and there's no reason with it couldn't make a fine guitar.

[Jay McClellan]

The native American sycamore is Platanus occidentalis, and I read that the London plane tree is a hybrid between P. occidentalis and P. orientalis but I have no experience with it. The only one I've worked with is P. occidentalis because it grows here in Michigan. I expect any of these would make a decent guitar and if it's "gorgeous looking" by all means go for it, but it would be worthwhile finding out which of the different "sycamore" species you actually have. Here's what A Guide to Useful Woods of the World says about P. occidentalis:

"Though firm, tough and strong, the wood is not very heavy... Sycamore has a marked tendency to warp unless properly dried... Because of its toughness, sycamore is the favorite wood for butcher blocks. The lumber is used for boxes and crates, trunk slats, brush backs, woodenware, slack cooperage and vehicle manufacture."

So I'd say beware of the tendency to warp, but it should make a really durable guitar!

[Kevin in California]

Dave I've tried to come back with something but ever since you cut down that cherry, uh I mean poplar tree I've been stumped.

[Dave Bagwill]

Kevin I will NOT take that bait, you cannot draw me into a battle of puns, you're barking up the wrong tree, bud.

(did you see that? Bark, tree, bud hahahahaha)