Some wood questions

[Southway]

OK, first off, this is not about tone, so I don't need opinions on that, thank you!

Does anyone one have a good list of which woods require grain filler? I have read that Mahogany does, and Alder does not, but beyond that I don't know. I have projects that include Maple, Alder, Mahogany, Poplar, and Basswood, but would like to know about any woods commonly used in guitars/basses.

Anyone know where online I might get thin pieces of wood on the order of 1/16" to 1/8" thick and up to about 6" wide? Again I'm thinking here of common guitar woods, but maybe some exotic stuff as well. What I'm thinking here is making inlays and pickguards and such. All I have found so far is Balsa and Basswood in hobby shops.

I'm interested in doing some inlay work. Some will be done on Maple necks and fretboards. I'm going to need some wood to practice on, and I know that there are a number of different kinds of Maple. Would the boards that they have at Menard's be close to the same hardness as neck Maple? I'm talking about the ones that are finish sanded and wrapped in plastic.

Dang, I'm pretty sure there was something else I wanted to ask, but I can't think of it now!

 

[Hopkins]

Ash, mahogany, oak, sapele are some common woods that have deep grain and require filling to get a glass smooth finish.

Maple, alder, poplar, and basswood are pretty tight grained and usually do not need any filling

 

[lbridenstine]

Walnut is another wide grain wood. I don't think anything really NEEDS wood filler though, it's just a matter of what kind of finish you're going for. Like Hopkins said, a glass smooth finish would require it, but an open grain/satin finish wouldn't really.

Here are a couple sites.

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http://www.oregonwildwood.com/

 

[FBB Custom]

The woods used in bass guitars are numerous but there are data for most of them online, so you can check to see if the wood is considered porous or "open grained". Is this because you will be doing the finishing, or because you want specifically to avoid open grained woods on pieces you will inlay? If it's the latter, people here will be able to suggest a range of closed grain woods.

Here you can find a list of woods commonly (or uncommonly) seen in solidbody bass guitar building. Some but not all have open/close grain notes:
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