The Story of the "D" Log as Told by Steve Gilchrist

[MojoMando]

I was curious as to whether either of my two beloved Gils were made from the fabled “D” log, so I emailed Steve to ask him about that, and also where the “D” label came from. Below is Steve’s answer which he gladly said was ok to share with this forum. (BTW: Answer to my first question: one is and one isn’t.) MojoMando

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G'day,

Well, there is nothing mythical about that tree, or maybe there was... before it was chopped down? :)

That log was just a great example of a big old hard sugar maple tree. Came from up-state NY and was given the code "D" because it was spotted by a "Drunk" retired logger.

I got it in 1998 and it yielded about 160 sets. There are only a few backs left now.

That log was big, had deep "slow" curl and offered up many sets of the same quality. It was just about all "slip" matched (not book matched) with a few 1 piece backs.

Hard sugar maple is hard sugar maple, no matter what it is called.

Thank you tree "D".

[Malcolm G.]

Love it!

So, backs in Tree D, eh?

Do you need the special glasses?

[Will Kimble]

Fascinating to me that it was "just about all "slip" matched". Thanks for sharing.

Will Kimble
www.kimblemandolins.com

[sunburst]

Well, there is nothing mythical about that tree...
It was just about all "slip" matched (not book matched) with a few 1 piece backs.

Hard sugar maple is hard sugar maple, no matter what it is called.

Exactly. All the hype is from others, not from the builder. We all have roughly equal access to quality wood.

[Rob Fowler]

Not being a builder I don't know what "slip matched" means. Can somebody clarify? Thanks!

Good to hear it from THE MAN.

[MikeEdgerton]

Anyone curious about past discussions about this subject can find most of them here (https://www.google.com/search?q=The+%22D%22+Log+site%3Amandolincafe.com&sourceid=ie7&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&ie=&oe=).

[sunburst]

Not being a builder I don't know what "slip matched" means. Can somebody clarify? Thanks!

Good to hear it from THE MAN.

First, book matched (traditionally considered best for tops and backs) means a piece of wood is sawed in the middle and opened like a book. The edges are then joined and glued to make a two piece top or back with a center seam and very similar looking grain to each side.
If the wood cannot be sawn that way for one reason or another (usually not thick enough), consecutive, end to end, pieces can be taken from the board. One piece is flipped over and joined to the other in a similar manner to a book matched set. The grain will not always look as similar to each side of the center seam, but it will look closer than randomly chosen pieces normally will. Purists may think it is an inferior way to make a two piece plate, compared to book matching, but there is no quality difference.

[johnny5]

haha, it's so funny that after all of the conjecture about the mythical d-log's super mysterious (or random, i read just the other day that it was from a property owned by susan sarandon) origins, the builder's final answer is "yeah, pretty much just a nice tree i got a while back".

like he was going to say aliens planted it or something.

[Steve Ostrander]

You mean that it's not a tree from Orville Gibson's boyhood home? Dissapointed....:)

[MikeEdgerton]

You mean that it's not a tree from Orville Gibson's boyhood home? Dissapointed....:)

You need to read this (http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/showthread.php?44514-Thoughts-on-the-new-Orville-Mandolin-from-Gibson!) thread.

[Rob Fowler]

First, book matched (traditionally considered best for tops and backs) means a piece of wood is sawed in the middle and opened like a book. The edges are then joined and glued to make a two piece top or back with a center seam and very similar looking grain to each side.
If the wood cannot be sawn that way for one reason or another (usually not thick enough), consecutive, end to end, pieces can be taken from the board. One piece is flipped over and joined to the other in a similar manner to a book matched set. The grain will not always look as similar to each side of the center seam, but it will look closer than randomly chosen pieces normally will. Purists may think it is an inferior way to make a two piece plate, compared to book matching, but there is no quality difference.

Thank you, John. Much appreciated.

[Tim W]

I had been wondering about this very thing but never thought to ask. I went to a house concert the other day to see Mike Compton pick a while and since I knew his was made from that log I just asked him.

He gave me me a bit more detailed description but that first post is the jist of it. Nothing special, just a good Huge tree. It's ironic that this thread came up just after I learned the answer, I reckon other folks must be wondering about the same stuff I am.

[Wilbur James]

The lure of the mythilogical, it creates such longing...........

[BradKlein]

Nothing 'mythical' perhaps, but this is what 'magic' looks like when it comes to making musical instruments. Mr. Gilchrist doesn't say that the D log is just a random tree that he just happened to use on 160 mandolins. I have to imagine that he liked it more than the alternatives available to him. And that having such consistency, the ability to make over 100 instruments from the same tree allowed him much better control than he'd have otherwise.

Just as with Stradivari, the 'magic' is the sum of many 'mundane' decisions, skills, opportunities, techniques... but that doesn't make it less magic as far as I'm concerned.

[Chris Baird]

As a builder it's useful to have a lot of wood from the same tree. Once you get one mandolin right, you know what to do with the rest of them.

[blauserk]

haha, it's so funny that after all of the conjecture about the mythical d-log's super mysterious (or random, i read just the other day that it was from a property owned by susan sarandon) origins, the builder's final answer is "yeah, pretty much just a nice tree i got a while back".

like he was going to say aliens planted it or something.

I heard it was Sigourney Weaver's property (which is consistent with upstate NY; I dunno where Sarandon has houses). Being a "great example of a big old hard sugar maple tree" is nothing to sneeze at.

[Dan Margolis]

"So, backs in Tree D, eh?

Do you need the special glasses?"

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!!!!!

[Paul Statman]

"So, backs in Tree D, eh?

Do you need the special glasses?"


Now you're just being silly, Dan. You would definitely need a 3D pick and and 3D strings, though..

[grassrootphilosopher]

As a builder it's useful to have a lot of wood from the same tree. Once you get one mandolin right, you know what to do with the rest of them.

That sounds about right to me.

By the way I found that the backs of the D-log mandolins looked especially nice. I saw (and played) an early "The Gilchrist" (late 70ies I guess) two early 90ies "Gilchrists" that all looked allright, okay back, nice tone and projection but they didn´t hype me out. My good mandolin is about as good as those. But I played the Ex-Compton #500 and someone´s #502, both D-log and both had a little extra while even two serial numbers away both instruments sounded different. The backs on both are very, very nice indeed. Special D-log backs... nice.

[Perry]

I heard it was Sigourney Weaver's property (which is consistent with upstate NY; I dunno where Sarandon has houses). Being a "great example of a big old hard sugar maple tree" is nothing to sneeze at.

That would be cool since I am in moderately upstate NY and have a D log specimen. One piece back.

Maybe from this property?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jillrachel/1867492369/

[Boombloom]

I ran into Mr. Gilchrist years ago at the old Noppet Hill Bluegrass Festival in western Massachusetts. I told him I had a bunch of Adirondack Spruce on the woodlot behind my house. We had a nice talk about the Adirondack region and State Park. I invited him up for a visit but he hasn't shown up yet....

[OldSausage]

He probably has quite a long list of trees to visit. Maybe he's not looking to branch out. Or perhaps he just arrives quietly, and leaves.

[Bill Baldridge]

Maybe he's not looking to branch out.

Clever:)) Maybe he arrives quietly and leafs.

[Spruce]

There was another "D" log that made it into a bunch of Gils, and that was an Engelmann log which yielded a gob of sets that I sent to him in '92 or so....

[doc holiday]

Well talking of Tree-D, Dan M......the back of your Ellis isn't hard to look at. Seem like T.E. & Bill C are frequently arm-wrestling over maple....

[Bill Baldridge]

OldSausage
After I got to bed last night I didn't find my post to clever itself. I intended it as a gentle ribbing, but I regret it now and don't see how I added anything of value to the discussion. Couldn't find a way to remove the post myself, so I apologize to you and the other members.

[Glennly]

Now you're just being silly, Dan. You would definitely need a 3D pick and and 3D strings, though..

If you have 3 D strings, your mando will sound a bit funny!

[OldSausage]

OldSausage
...I apologize to you and the other members.

No worries Bill, I took it just how you intended.

[Joe Parker]

Another myth D-bunked!! I guess I may as well trade for a banjo with one of those tone rings from the Bronze Age and the rim carved out of the reclaimed keel of the Edmund Fitzgerald...

[dang]

Came from up-state NY and was given the code "D" because it was spotted by a "Drunk" retired logger.

I believe I will use the "D" code in the future, based on my (or others) serendipitous finding of objects while intoxicated...

[MikeEdgerton]

Another myth D-bunked!! I guess I may as well trade for a banjo with one of those tone rings from the Bronze Age and the rim carved out of the reclaimed keel of the Edmund Fitzgerald...

The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down regarding that one... :cool:

[blindrobert]

First, book matched (traditionally considered best for tops and backs) means a piece of wood is sawed in the middle and opened like a book. The edges are then joined and glued to make a two piece top or back with a center seam and very similar looking grain to each side.
If the wood cannot be sawn that way for one reason or another (usually not thick enough), consecutive, end to end, pieces can be taken from the board. One piece is flipped over and joined to the other in a similar manner to a book matched set. The grain will not always look as similar to each side of the center seam, but it will look closer than randomly chosen pieces normally will. Purists may think it is an inferior way to make a two piece plate, compared to book matching, but there is no quality difference.

Hmm - this is different than what I learned in architecture school. Slip matched does not involve flipping the pieces, they are literally "slipped" off to the side so that the pattern is repeating but not Rorschach-like with near symmetry.

See these diagrams (maybe it's different in luthiery):
http://www.veneernet.com/matching.html

[sunburst]

Yes, slip matched veneer is not flipped, and a panel has a repeating pattern of grain going across the surface. Mandolin back (or top) wood can be done that way too, but in that case there are only the two pieces (normally), a repeating pattern is neither desirable nor possible, a book matched look is traditional, and flipping one half approximates that look. Maybe it's not technically slip matched because of the flip, and maybe Gilchrist didn't do it that way, but it's the way I've done it when I've not been able to get book matched pieces, and I don't know what else I would call it other than slip matched.

[blindrobert]

Wouldn't that still be a book match? If you start with a slab of wood that's 1" thick and split it into two 1/2" thick pieces, when you flip one over (like opening a book) it's a book match. When you slide one over you have to flip it to get a mirror image of the grain - there's no way to make it work if you don't flip one piece. If you slide it over and don't flip it, it's a slip match.

The OP described a log that was cut into slip matched pieces. Presumably, one could take two successive pieces of slip match and use them as though they were a book match. In the context of Mr. Gilchrist's situation it sounds like the individual pieces were of proper dimension to use as single-piece backs, so book matching wasn't necessary. Maybe I need to go read the oP again, I could be inaccurate in my recollection of the described events.

Edit: Mr. Hamlett, I misread your post. It sounds like you are talking about two similar, but not successive pieces of wood from the same tree. So the grain would approximate a book match but not line up perfectly the way true book matched pieces would. I am not sure what to call that either...Mad Libs matched?

[sunburst]

If you start with a slab of wood that's 1" thick and split it into two 1/2" thick pieces, when you flip one over (like opening a book) it's a book match.

It is.
I actually have some spruce that is one 1" thick and 6" wide. If I split that with my kerfless miracle saw ( ;) ) that would give me two 1/2" pieces, but the best tool I have for the job removes at least 1/16" of wood, so I end up with two pieces under 1/2", but that is beside the point because I want to start with about 5/8" thickness to carve a top so I can't get book matched carved tops from that wood. The way I manage to get tops from it is to cut two end-to-end pieces, saw them to 5/8" thickness, flip one over, move it down beside the other piece, and glue them together in that position. That isn't book matched, but it usually looks like it unless the grain changes enough along that length for the pieces to look different from one another. I've always referred to that, perhaps incorrectly, as 'slip matched', and it was my assumption that that was what Gilchrist did with the maple, and I could be wrong.

[blindrobert]

Ah - thanks for elaborating. I want one of those kerfless miracle saws!

So, if I understand you correctly, you are starting with (for instance) a 6" x 36" x 1" board, cutting it in half perpendicular to the grain to make two 6" x 18" x 1" pieces (again with the kerfless miracle saw), then reducing thickness and doing the approximate book match thing. Is the back on the F-style #22 on your website an example of this technique? (It looks gorgeous!)

[sunburst]

Is the back on the F-style #22 on your website an example of this technique?

I don't want to hijack this thread completely, but; probably not. I bought a stack of that wood from someone's wood stash, already milled and marked as book matched sets. I can only assume it is book matched. I haven't done the "slip match" (or whatever) with maple, only with spruce, as in the top of #19.

[Fiddlesticks]

I don't want to hijack this thread completely, but; probably not. I bought a stack of that wood from someone's wood stash, already milled and marked as book matched sets. I can only assume it is book matched. I haven't done the "slip match" (or whatever) with maple, only with spruce, as in the top of #19.

The famous "D" log came from Old Standard Wood, the wood was taken on the slab in 6 inch widths, the two matched pcs. One from the outer slab and the second one right under it are slipped to lay side by side then one pc. Is flipped end for end. This is how most of the backs found in old Gibsons were cut and matched...we call this a slip and flip match and it is surprising how matched the wood looks when the instrument is complete. The whole tree was seasoned with our vacuum process, we also provided the Adirondack that is in most all of the D log instruments.

John @ OSW

[Pete Jenner]

I ran into Mr. Gilchrist years ago at the old Noppet Hill Bluegrass Festival in western Massachusetts. I told him I had a bunch of Adirondack Spruce on the woodlot behind my house. We had a nice talk about the Adirondack region and State Park. I invited him up for a visit but he hasn't shown up yet....


I'm sure he's just having car trouble or something and he'll be there soon... :whistling:

[Pete Jenner]

...and I don't know what else I would call it other than slip matched.

Flip matched?

[holden]

So the D log was the tree under which Napoleon surrendered to Wellington? Or Cornwallis to
Washington? Which is it? As a drunk I kinda like the real story. But there's got to be something
special about a log that provided the backs for around a quarter of all the
Gil's out there at the time..

[padawan]

If I was to contact Mr. Gilchrist and persuade him to let me purchase some of his castoff scraps from the D log and then used them to make pencils (an easy enough process) would said pencils improve my penmanship? Would my Doggerel become Divine?

Honestly, I'd do it just to have a piece of the "magic" (well, famous) wood.

Great thread, btw. Thank you