Big leaf maple backs... pretty thick?

**fscotte** · Apr-01-2012, 5:41pm

I received a really nice piece of big leaf maple from Spruce Bruce recently for my next back plate. It was about 38 lbs/cf.

It's my first slab cut back so the first thing I noticed was how flexible it was as I started to carve. Well, I'm basically .200" down the center, with the recurve around .125 - .130, and I'm fairly thick going up to the heel ala Loars.

But I've reached my deflection standards as well as my tap tuning standards, and I must stop carving.

Has anyone carved a mandolin back as thick as this? It seems quite thick compared to what I've seen others carve. Does slab-cut generally mean less stiff?

**peter.coombe** · Apr-01-2012, 6:17pm

Does slab-cut generally mean less stiff?

Slab cut will be less stiff than quarter sawn if cut from the same log. Wood varies enormously so there will be some overlap, but in general slab cut does mean less stiff. Carve it thicker.

Has anyone carved a mandolin back as thick as this?

Yes.

**Michael Lewis** · Apr-01-2012, 11:49pm

The procedure I follow is to carve the outside shape to the final contours, and only then do I remove material from the inside. some wood is much more flexible than other examples and should be treated with that flexibility in mind as it tends to have lower resonant frequency than stiffer wood.