so yea. i just bought some poplar and it's not quite flat. it doesn't lie on the ground perfectly, like it'll tilt to one side. is it ok to just glue the pieces (i have a big piece of pine for my back) onto the pine and just like put my cab ontop of it for some weight? by the way, i'm using titebond w/ the red label.

You should run it through a drum sander or plane it to get it flat. If you try to force a flat joint you'll create additional stress in the wood which might lead to problems. If you don't have the tools you might be able to find a shop who could do it for you at a small charge.

hmmm that blows. i'm using the woodshop at my highschool to do all my woodwork. hopefully they have a planer, or a drum sander. the cool thing is that i'll probably be getting 1on1 instruction on how to use all the tools, cuz i'm giving up my lunch period to do all the woodwork (i don't take the woods class).

How thick is your poplar board?
When it's thick enough i run it in the planner, but if I have a thin board I just glue it and clamp it unltil i hear the wood screaming!
I wouldn't suggest to use only the weight of the cab, it's not enough to create the necessary strenght, you need wood clamps.
The contrast from the pine will keep the poplar in place, it won't bow, unless the 2 pieces of wood try to go on the same direction.

the poplar boards are each 13/16" thick, and the pine board is 11/16" thick. only one of the poplar boards are bent. the second poplar board and the pine board are both flat.

does anyone know how many pounds of pressure are generally put out by those wood clamps?

edit, pics:
poplar:
1. http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a267/g00eY/IMG_2620.jpg

2. http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a267/g00eY/IMG_2618.jpg

pine (this is a piece of laminated pine, as you can see from the pic):
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a267/g00eY/IMG_2617.jpg

This is the only clamp that I use for gluing, I don't know how much pressure in lb they put on the wood but you can't reach it just putting stuff on top of it.
When you clamp the wood the glue in excess will come out and the rest will be absorbed in the wood and veneers.
That's why you shouldn't sand it down with a sanding paper over 100.

http://www.hartvilletool.com/shared/images/products/medium/352852_use.JPEG

gah... i'll just bring it to the woodshop teacher tomorrow and see what he says. lol...

My concern would be that if you manage to glue it up it will cause stress where the board is bending and may cause cracks down the road. If you can true up the surface.... that is the way to go.

the thing is i don't have much room to take anything off. i have it exactly at 1.5" when the pine and the poplar are combined. i know my neck needs at least 5/8", maybe 3/4" so i can achieve the low action that i like. do you think i'll be alright with a thinner body?

You could add different laminates for accents to create a thicker body...that's assuming you WANT a thicker body. It probably doesn't need to be much thicker, unless you're planning on doing a lot of carving. Good luck.

-Josh

thanks, the more i think about it the more i realize that the body doesn't need to be that thick. i just want stability in that neck pocket. i don't have any carvin planned except for the forearm and belly contours and some good 'ol roundover bit with a router. i'm bringing my wood in tomorrow to see what the shop teacher says.

so yea. i just bought some poplar and it's not quite flat. it doesn't lie on the ground perfectly, like it'll tilt to one side. is it ok to just glue the pieces (i have a big piece of pine for my back) onto the pine and just like put my cab ontop of it for some weight? by the way, i'm using titebond w/ the red label.
NO!!!

My experience is that if Murphy gets a chance, he'll screw you badly. Or in this case, make your final body be twisted and screwed.
There is a tendency among woods, to adjust to the crooked planks. I.e. when you attach a warped plank to a straight one, the straight has to be way thicker and stronger, to be able to overcome the warping forces of the thin and week but warped plank. Unfortunately....

You need to get the parts flat first.