In the world of wood, there are different definitions for the word ‘billet’, so here’s ours:

A billet refers to a piece of wood, which has been resawn and dried.  It’s in essence, a small board.  Because our first sort for wood is material, which will make guitars, we aim for guitar specifications.  In general, a billet must be at least 6” in width and a minimum of 19” in length.

We cut billets in mainly two thicknesses: 1.5” or 2”.  We refer to these as ‘full billets’ (2”) or ‘half billets’ (1.5”).  Yes, I know that 1.5 is not actually half of two, but it’s what we call them.

A word about grade… Throughout the descriptions on products, wood grade will frequently be noted. Below is an explanation:

• 3A refers to light figure.  A 3A piece may have small “dead spots” where the figure is not present at all or is so light that it will only be seen once the piece is finished.
• 4A refers to nice figure, which covers the entire piece, but lacks iridescence, or "pop".
• 5A refers to strong figure and “iridescence”, which means white contrasting lines.