I’m pulling things together for a set of 3 new acoustic builds. Hopefully small, medium, and large (parlor, OM, and Jumbo). So I’ve been trying to pull the wood together without breaking the bank account. I picked up 4 sets of sitka spruce soundboards off Ebay for a very good price. Here they are stickered using the spruce bracing that I got from the same seller. There are two pretty decent tops, with two that look good, but don’t have as consistent color or grain.

But I was struggling to find back and side wood for a decent price. I was close to pulling the pin on a nice pair of Claro walnut billets, but something was making me hold off. On a whim I called a friend who builds some insane furniture to see if he had any off cuts he’d be willing to pass of. He works a bit with Chechen, also known as Caribbean Rosewood or Black Poisonwood. It’s been getting some attention with acoustic builders. After digging through his stacks he remembered that he had already milled up a bunch of it into veneers that did not pass muster for his furniture. They were just collecting a lot of dust in the corner.

Amazingly, they were milled to just over 0.1″! Perfect for backs and sides! There are five bookmatched pieces that I can get either four 4-piece backs out of, or use for sides. And one 70+” piece that could be used for two complete 1 piece sides. There is another board that he will also mill up that is a little wider. It’s 4′ long and is plenty for either 4 side sets or 4 backs. So I’m in hog heaven! Here’s some shots. Lots of figure, but it should bend nicely. And with plenty left over for headstock veneers.

Total cost for 4 backs and sides milled to size – $20. That’s my kind of price.