Luthier's Wood Sets on eBay

UkePA

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Has anyone bought any of the back and sides sets from eBay. I was just wondering how the quality of wood was and your overall impressions. There are a few sellers of "Luthier's Wood Sets" on the site.

Thanks,
Erik
 
When I read the title of this post a red flag came up for me. I read about wood sets being sold by a person in Alaska who was notorious for not shipping product. There was a long thread on the Acoustic Guitar Forum about this individual and many people had purchased and did not receive product. That is the extent of my knowledge on the subject. I took a quick look at ebay and did not see any being shipped from Alaska.
 
I've bought a fair amount of tonewood from thebay and it can be a real crap shoot. The odds get better as you get to know your sellers. Some purchases have been spectacular, and some unusable. Can you be a little more specific as to which particular seller you're interested in?

Short of that, look real close at the pics and description, read the feedbacks and cross your fingers.

The best way to buy tonewood is, and has always been, in person, so you can look, feel, flex, smell it, etc.

Steve
 
There are a number of on-line sources I trust, Allied Lutherie and LMI being two. You can also call them and ask about uke sets that may be fall-down from guitar sets. Both companies do a lot of their own resawing, so small sets are pretty easy for them to supply.
 
Thank you for the responses. Like Rick said, I think I'll stick with LMI for now. At least I know what I'm getting from a trusted source.

This will be a little while down the road, but I'm really starting to study instrument building. As I mentioned in a previous post, I'm going with another kit from StewMac, but this time with modifications. Next will be a full build with side bending and all.

Time to fill the shop with really nice tools. That's one thing that I learned from my father....you have to have the right tools. Spend the money now because it will save you in the long run.

Thanks again,
Erik
 
I've got some really nice wood and very good service from the seller 1boardfoot. They don't list much at a time, just a few sets, and at least you see the exact set you'll be getting. They will combine shipping on multiple items and pack it well. I've bought from them maybe a dozen times and always had great communication and no problems.
 
As a mention was made about certain Alaskan tone wood vendor, I know several people who have been taken for a lot of $$$ by them. To the best of my knowledge the authorities in Alaska have now had enough complaints to close down their business, but that's not to say that they won't start up again.

If you are looking for a top quality, reliable and honest vendor of Sitka Spruce, Western Red Cedar etc. then I would recommend Brent Cole at Alaska Specialty Woods.

There is a list of preferred vendors on the ANZLF of people we have all done a lot of business with and we are confident of recommending. That is not to say in any way that if a vendor is not on the list that they are not reliable. We've asked some if they would like to be included, but have declined as they supply some that are on the list and felt it was not the thing to do. Others like Allied, LMI and StewMac have a reputation that is second to none and don't need our endorsement.
 
I've really got to plug Bruce at Orcas Island Tonewoods. I've bought a bunch of wood from him and he has always been very fair and priced very reasonable. I tell him what I'm looking for and he usually sends me something that surpasses my expectations.
 
I've really got to plug Bruce at Orcas Island Tonewoods. I've bought a bunch of wood from him and he has always been very fair and priced very reasonable. I tell him what I'm looking for and he usually sends me something that surpasses my expectations.

I also have had great service and great wood from Bruce.
 
Good wood

I've recently gotten maple and zebra wood from rivdriftr (blue mountain acoustics). It came lightning fast and is beautiful wood. Note: Zebra wood is kind of brittle and chippy. That's just the way it is from what I understand, and having it in my hands I can confirm that. But it's exotically pretty, which is what I wanted.

I also bought red maple ambrosia from arnold_gtr_man. It came very fast and is beautiful wood, my kid is going to have the wildest-cool hardwood uke anywhere. It couldn't be more perfect, even the tiny wormholes. But his description could have been a tad bit better in that what looked like eight solid dark spots on the wood are actually tiny worm holes that I will have to fill (I should have guessed that from the pics). That said, I'm absolutely thrilled with the wood. But some people might not be if they didn't expect the wormholes. And don't expect a milimeter more than the description says. What I got will make a soprano or maybe concert, in no way a tenor. Last word is he is a unique wood harvester, so get it while you can and pay very close attention to the pics and description.

Also the wood will need a lot of thicknessing. Which I don't know how to do yet... I kinda hadn't thought about that being a newbie. You're not buying kit wood from these guys, it requires a lot more processing than what you'd get from hana lima or stewmac.
 
Welcome to the real world of lutherie. You pay a dear price for that which is just handed to you. I...and others here...sometimes go to the extent of sourcing logs and large billets from local loggers and sawmill operators.
 
I've recently gotten maple and zebra wood from rivdriftr (blue mountain acoustics). It came lightning fast and is beautiful wood. Note: Zebra wood is kind of brittle and chippy. That's just the way it is from what I understand, and having it in my hands I can confirm that. But it's exotically pretty, which is what I wanted.
...

I've also bought some nice uke wood sets from Kevin Murray (Blue Mountain Acoustics) and was very pleased. Since I'm a just a novice hobby builder, I had Kevin join the backs and fronts, thickness sand to my spec, and the sides sanded and bent. As I am using his mold too, I wasn't worried about the bent sides not matching my mold.

All the wood was very nice looking/good quality and his luthier services were very well done. It's a lot easier for me to build this way with just a little extra cost on my materials. Money well spent. Still less costly then building/buying a bender and thickness sander, that would be little used.
 
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I've also bought some nice uke wood sets from Kevin Murray (Blue Mountain Acoustics) and was very pleased. Since I'm a just a novice hobby builder, I had Kevin join the backs and fronts, thickness sand to my spec, and the sides sanded and bent. As I am using his mold too, I wasn't worried about the bent sides not matching my mold.

All the wood was very nice looking/good quality and his luthier services were very well done. It's a lot easier for me to build this way with just a little extra cost on my materials. Money well spent. Still less costly then building/buying a bender and thickness sander, that would be little used.

+2 for Kevin Murray. He is a trusted seller and top notch person. If you are just starting out buying sets, I highly suggest you try him out. He also goes by "rivdriftr" on ebay, or you can reach him through Blue Mountain Acoustics as stated in the 2 posts above.
 
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My apologies for reviving such an old thread, but I was wondering if anyone knew what happened to Kevin Murray (rivdriftr on ebay) of Blue Mountain Acoustics. He no longer has any items listed on ebay and the BMA website is no longer up. Just curious if he has gotten out of selling tonewood.
 
My apologies for reviving such an old thread, but I was wondering if anyone knew what happened to Kevin Murray (rivdriftr on ebay) of Blue Mountain Acoustics. He no longer has any items listed on ebay and the BMA website is no longer up. Just curious if he has gotten out of selling tonewood.

I've searched for him recently, too. I knew about him a little before I started hobby building - he had nice stuff.
 
I haven't bought "sets" before but usually get luthier grade wood in billets to resaw. I have used antlersexpress, carewwood and woodbay and have had great experiences with all of them. I buy almost all my wood except mahogany and unfigured maple from ebay. I have no real options in my area to hand pick that perfect piece in person.
 
I have bought some really nice wood from Brett on Kauai (who post here as Tonewood) on eBay- Koa, Mango, Milo and some nice curly Lychee. He ships really fast. I have no complaints and recommend doing business with him.
 
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