Padauk J-185 w/Piano Soundboard Top

[Tim Benware]

I've just recently been offered a piano for free if I remove it. I had seriously considered it for the sound boards. This has got me psyched now. Hope I'm not too late in saying "YES!"

[Kevin in California]

Looks good Tom. The top doesn't look any stripeier than some solid tops I've seen.
We'd love to hear it.

Kevin

[Tom OBrien]

Piano soundboards come in many different varieties. I have access to well over 200 in the restoration shop where I work. Most of these are more than 100 years old. As many as 4, but normally 3 or fewer guitar tops can be salvaged from a single piano soundboard.

Specialty tools are required to extract the soundboard assembly in many cases, so be aware of that fact before investing time and money in old pianos.

Piano soundboard ribs (braces on guitars) from this era are attached using hide glue, and on most uprights and some grands, they are also screwed onto the soundboard with large wood screws. A heat source and steam will be required to get the ribs off. In some cases, you have to get creative with saws and other tools to coax them from the boards.

Most piano soundboards are 3/8" thick, and are made by gluing 4" spruce boards together. Almost all of the boards are glued and mounted diagonally in the case, therefore, to get guitar tops with grain lines running vertically, you need to cut diagonal, rectangular-shaped boards.

Many are cracked already, but the extraction process often results in further cracking, denting or gouging. Many are suffering from dry-rot, fungus, or other significant maladies that make them unusable, or only partially usable. Once a soundboard is extracted and the ribs removed, you need to inspect the board carefully. Often, you need to carve out bad spots and rarely do you ever get a perfectly rectangular board in the process.

The left-over ribs make obvious candidates for braces. The old spruce is frequently darker than newer spruce and can make for an aesthetically pleasing presentation inside the guitar body.

Just in case you were wondering, the rest of the wood on a piano is generally useless to luthiers. It is veneered plywood 99% of the time.

[Tom OBrien]

In regards to comments about runout in the spruce, there really is no way to control that if you consider the limitations on the process mentioned above. Those who make piano soundboards (we make them in the shop where I work) pay NO attention to the way the grain pattern on one board matches the one next to it. Therefore, you have to be content with the fact that a top made from a piano soundboard is going to have grain patterns that shift drastically every 4" or so. Luck and necessity drive the process much more than aesthetic considerations. It is fortunate just to get a piece of wood large enough to make a J-185 soundboard, let alone one that might look good in the process.

[Ken Hundley]

I think it is a handsome guitar, runout or no. I love Padauk, though I hate sanding it....I think it is a stunning wood and makes for beautiful sounding instruments. Just got back into the hobby for the first time in a year, and it is a padauk jumbo if my design. If you can post somes ound bytes, we'd love to hear it.

[Tom OBrien]

In regards to recording a sound file of the guitar, I actually don't have access to a good microphone. I certainly could make an iPhone video, but that wouldn't really give you an idea of the sound quality. I'll ask Ed and dig around the shop, but I don't think he has any need for a good mic., so I doubt there's one on hand there.

[ken cierp]

I really don't see anything objectionable with the sound board grain pattern -- but how about a sunburst finish on these "piano Spruce" topped guitars?