Roasting maple for stabilizing

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iticam92

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Jun 12, 2014
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I have some really nice curly maple that I am planning on using for a handle. I've had issues with wood swelling in the past, so I am looking to stabilize it the cheapest way possible. I know roasting wood stabilizes it so that it doesn't warp/ swell. Has anyone tried doing this at home? It usually happens in a vacuum, but I thought wrapping it in a couple layers of foil might keep the oxygen away from it enough.

Any suggestions for cheap stabilization are welcome
 
Not sure what you are talking about. Roasting it will dry it out and it will want to absorb moisture.
 
He's talking about the process of torrefication and I don't think you can do that at home. It is done at high enough temperatures to possibly catch wood on fire which is why it's done in absence of oxygen. It needs to get that hot to work properly and I also believe they bring it back from that hot temp in a controlled way.
 
Just get it stabilized. It's not that expensive. I got a 3" x 4" x 8" chunk of mesquite stabilized at K&G for like 40$ shipping included.
You'll get the best results possible, and it'll actually cost you less than stabilizing things at home.
 
iticam92 said:
I've had issues with wood swelling in the past,
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And don't forget that we're dealing with an organic material here that will both absorb and lose moisture as the ambient humidity changes. And while stabilization will help minimize this action, it can still occur.
 
imill3567 said:
He's talking about the process of torrefication and I don't think you can do that at home. It is done at high enough temperatures to possibly catch wood on fire which is why it's done in absence of oxygen. It needs to get that hot to work properly and I also believe they bring it back from that hot temp in a controlled way.
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Indeed. Can't be done at home. If you want it done right.
 
It definitely makes guitars more stable. Two with caramel necks are hanging in my home and haven't needed tuning in a month. That's exceptional.
 
Stabilized > Unstabalized
Curly maple is so cheap it will cost more to stabilize than the purchase price, if that’s the only piece you send in.

Have you had issues with maple warping in the past or wood in general?
What is the intended use for this knife, what environment will it spend its life in?

Im betting by oiling maple scales once a year in a decent environment it’ll outlast the user.
 
There are other benefits to stabilizing than just warp control. It makes the wood polish much better and usually greatly increases the pattern and contrast. I stabilize about 50 to 100 pounds of curly maple a year and some that looks so-so comes back stunning.
Since the wood is rather inexpensive and is light, the actual cost per handle is very small. I figure I have between $3 and $8 per handle depending on the wood and size. I can easily get $30 for very nice scales/blocks, $20 for the average nice sets, and up to $50 for exhibition sets.
Even the ones I don't sell are pretty nice. I give them away to new makers to make their knives with.
 
I also love maple in all figured forms and will buy it in decent sized batches and send out to be stabilized definitely comes in under $10 a handle. Torrefied curly is one of my favorite varieties that golden honey color is beautiful.
 
fitzo said:
It definitely makes guitars more stable. Two with caramel necks are hanging in my home and haven't needed tuning in a month. That's exceptional.
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How does that affect tuning? I’ve never heard this. I’m considering ordering a custom bass with a roasted neck from Fender. If that’s another benefit I’m in.
 
marchone said:
How does that affect tuning? I’ve never heard this. I’m considering ordering a custom bass with a roasted neck from Fender. If that’s another benefit I’m in.
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The necks don't respond to temperature and moisture changes the way the "normal" necks do. I don't mean the large changes that mandate a neck adjustment (I haven't touched the neck except to adjust to my desires on day 1), but the day-to-day little stuff when you pick up the piece from yesterday and it is just out enough everywhere to make the TurboTuner spin slowly. Tiny neck changes. I am not seeing them as much. Two Strat style bodies and one Tele-style.

I have several other guitars from the same manufacturer and they do not have the tuning stability that the caramelized necks do. That comparison tells me it has helped because all the necks are cut and machined the same, so the grains, etc, are close, relatively. And the non-caramelized necks ain't too shabby for tuning stability at all, either.

Maybe this is all the result of a milder Winter and dry-ish Spring, or my anecdotal experience is simply thinking I'm seeing something where I'm not. Take it with a grain of salt.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
There are other benefits to stabilizing than just warp control. It makes the wood polish much better and usually greatly increases the pattern and contrast. I stabilize about 50 to 100 pounds of curly maple a year and some that looks so-so comes back stunning.
Since the wood is rather inexpensive and is light, the actual cost per handle is very small. I figure I have between $3 and $8 per handle depending on the wood and size. I can easily get $30 for very nice scales/blocks, $20 for the average nice sets, and up to $50 for exhibition sets.
Even the ones I don't sell are pretty nice. I give them away to new makers to make their knives with.
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I got 27 blocks about 1.5x 1x 5.5 stabilized at K&G the first time I sent out wood to be stabilized. Worked out to $7 cdn per block all in. More recently I sent them about 120 pieces and it worked out to a bit under $6/block. I just find my wood in the forest while I am at work and toss it under the porch to dry. Cut it up into blocks when I need more and send them out for stabilizing.
 

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marchone said:
How does that affect tuning? I’ve never heard this. I’m considering ordering a custom bass with a roasted neck from Fender. If that’s another benefit I’m in.
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The necks are rock solid. Funny enough, if you've been around guitars a long time, you'd feel the difference when you fret them. I'll be honest, I loved the stability they offered, but did not like the feel. I personally could feel the difference in "hardness" and didn't like it.
 
Ron Raducanu Ron Raducanu Ron, are you suggesting the fretboards were roasted, too? I don't have that. Separate maple board on one maple neck, rosewood on another, and rosewood on mahogany. 'Boards aren't roasted, feel normal. The satin finish on all three of these necks is smoooth. Andersons. Best guitars I've owned in 55 years of playing. Ended my guitar buying days.

Interesting observation about the necks. Now I'll be feeling for any difference every time I pick one up. Thanks! LOL.
 
fitzo said:
Ron Raducanu Ron Raducanu Ron, are you suggesting the fretboards were roasted, too? I don't have that. Separate maple board on one maple neck, rosewood on another, and rosewood on mahogany. 'Boards aren't roasted, feel normal. The satin finish on all three of these necks is smoooth. Andersons. Best guitars I've owned in 55 years of playing. Ended my guitar buying days.

Interesting observation about the necks. Now I'll be feeling for any difference every time I pick one up. Thanks! LOL.
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The ones I had and played were maple through and through, so yes, the whole neck and fingerboard were roasted. One piece. They were Ibanez's and I could definitely feel the difference from my non roasted necks. Sorry about that, LOL.
 
Ron Raducanu said:
The ones I had and played were maple through and through, so yes, the whole neck and fingerboard were roasted. One piece. They were Ibanez's and I could definitely feel the difference from my non roasted necks. Sorry about that, LOL
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Yeah, I can see where we have two differing experiences. I even asked that question about the boards when I ordered the first one.
Having a lot harder board is going to influence everything feel, of course. Even going from RW to maple, untoasted, is a difference. I'm a sloppy old blues player, though, so the effect of an odd feeling board is not the same as a shredder or Abasi clone. LOL
 
fitzo said:
Yeah, I can see where we have two differing experiences. I even asked that question about the boards when I ordered the first one.
Having a lot harder board is going to influence everything feel, of course. Even going from RW to maple, untoasted, is a difference. I'm a sloppy old blues player, though, so the effect of an odd feeling board is not the same as a shredder or Abasi clone. LOL
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Interestingly, the necks had Stainless Steel frets, which I also didn't like. The Strat in my avatar is my #1. It's 21 years old, and is so well worn, it fits my hand like a glove. I compare everything to that neck. None have come close. The Les Paul I'm building is the closest thing to it as I shaped the neck myself.
 
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