An Interesting Build (at least for us...)

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Stephen Kinnaird
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An Interesting Build (at least for us...)

Post by Stephen Kinnaird » Thu Nov 10, 2011 3:12 pm

G'day mates, sorry to be silent of late.
Wanted to share a build with you that we found rewarding.
We acquired some alternative-alternative wood last year, and finally got to put it into a guitar.
A little-known species called Kelobra, or Guanacaste.
The trees grow quickly and become massive, which is good news for any woodworking discipline.
The timber is lightweight, with an attractive interlocking grain figure.
Looks something like a cross between walnut & Koa.
Sounds like that, too.
Bends realllly easily on top of all the other plusses.
Only downside(s): monster pores, and the unavoidable tendancy to provoke coughing spasms.
No real alergic reactions to this stuff, just want to cough when it's being sanded.
Of course, a good dust mask eliminates all problems--except the pores. That's every man for himself.

Image

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Image

Image

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Top is an almost "blistered" piece of bearclaw Sitka.
Rosette is Sapodilla, the wood favored by the Aztecs to support their pyramids internally. (Should support that soundhole alright.)
Bindings are Macassar ebony.

Thanks for looking,

Steve
There are some great woods, down under!

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Kim
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Re: An Interesting Build (at least for us...)

Post by Kim » Thu Nov 10, 2011 3:21 pm

Great looking guitar as usual Steve. The B/S looks almost like monkey pod and I see what you mean by 'big' pores...the figure in the sitka top is awesome....Brent Cole of Alaska Speciality Woods by any chance??

Cheers

Kim

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ozwood
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Re: An Interesting Build (at least for us...)

Post by ozwood » Thu Nov 10, 2011 4:04 pm

Nice Guitar.

Nice Timber , is the B&S timber a Readily available Timber ? certainly looks the Business.

Love the Figure in The Top.

Cheers,
Paul .

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Stephen Kinnaird
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Re: An Interesting Build (at least for us...)

Post by Stephen Kinnaird » Fri Nov 11, 2011 5:20 am

Thanks mucho, guys.
Answers:

Kim--no, Brent didn't supply this top. Normally you'd expect this from him, but Gilmer supplied this top.

ozwood--readily available? hmmm... I know Steve Roberson of Colonial has some. We acquired our set(s) from an individual who bought 4 huge tables, each table top one slab of wood. Shipping company (from El Salvador) cracked the table tops, and thus he no longer needed them as tables. We, and one other luthier, got the slabs from which our shop has been resawing the pieces. This set came from a table top that was over 8 feet long, 5 feet wide and 5 inches thick.
Lots of wood there.

Thanks again,

Steve
There are some great woods, down under!

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Allen
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Re: An Interesting Build (at least for us...)

Post by Allen » Fri Nov 11, 2011 7:12 am

Nice looking instrument Steve.

If I was a betting man I would have said that wood was Raintree (Monkey Pod). Pores so large you can actually pour Metho on top and watch it run out the other side. And makes you cough like mad.

After building this one, would you use it again?
Allen R. McFarlen
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Re: An Interesting Build (at least for us...)

Post by christian » Fri Nov 11, 2011 7:49 am

Beautifuly looking guitar Steve !!! thanks for posting...that spruce is stunning !!!
I agree with Allen the timber looks just like Monkey pod, wonder where the timber originated from?

Cheers,

Christian.
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J.F. Custom
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Re: An Interesting Build (at least for us...)

Post by J.F. Custom » Fri Nov 11, 2011 9:47 am

Well...

I'm going to go against the grain here and suggest it reminds me (by appearance) of some Goncalo Alves -
goncalo alves.jpg
goncalo alves.jpg (25.9 KiB) Viewed 17406 times
wood-goncalo-alves-tigerwood1.jpg
wood-goncalo-alves-tigerwood1.jpg (14.71 KiB) Viewed 17406 times
goncalo_alves_LRG.jpg
goncalo_alves_LRG.jpg (11.76 KiB) Viewed 17406 times
Goncalo Alves however is very dense and heavy. It also looks like some Burdekin Plum I've used, a poor photo for reference unfortunately -
Pleiogynium timorense, Burdekin Plum, Australia.jpg
Pleiogynium timorense, Burdekin Plum, Australia.jpg (244.19 KiB) Viewed 17406 times
But you are unlikely to have heard of that - even within it's home territory it is not widely known.

Then there is Monkey Pod... :roll: So many timbers on this planet. 8)

In any case, looks the goods - very lovely guitar Steve!

Jeremy.

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charangohabsburg
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Re: An Interesting Build (at least for us...)

Post by charangohabsburg » Fri Nov 11, 2011 9:51 am

Stephen Kinnaird wrote:Of course, a good dust mask eliminates all problems--except the pores.
:lol:

That's awesome gorgeous looking wood, especially seeing it in your guitar!
Markus

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It's only the others who suffer.

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Re: An Interesting Build (at least for us...)

Post by GregL » Fri Nov 11, 2011 10:29 am

Great looking guitar! The wood looks like monkey pod to me - Albizia saman - found in South America, South East Asia, Pacific Islands, and other places - including in Guanacaste in Costa Rica (hence the common name mentioned by Stephen).

Thanks,
GregL.

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Stephen Kinnaird
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Re: An Interesting Build (at least for us...)

Post by Stephen Kinnaird » Fri Nov 11, 2011 3:38 pm

Again, many thanks for your kindness.

Allen--would I use it again? In a heart beat. Well, the next heart beat after putting on the dust mask.
Besides, we have to use up all this stuff somehow. But seriously, I am quite impressed with the sound from this guitar, and also enjoy that it weighs almost nothing. We had to use those big old honking tuners just to keep the guitar from floating off the bench.

Christian--this wood grew in El Salvador. The original owner and his wife were driving through the countryside there, and spied a woodworker displaying these tables made from a downed tree. The craftsman claimed the tree fell due to an earthquake. Also claimed this stuff was "old growth mahogany". So who knows how things really happened.

Jeremy--you (et al) are right, it does look like Monkey Pod. And Goncalo Alves (a bit). I thought it looked some like Kokko, which I haven't seen in 40 years. I have heard of Burdekin Plum...thanks to this site!

Charango--thanks mate!

Greg--ah, who knows... you might be right. Perhaps it IS Monkey Pod. Hah! Wouldn't Jeff Yong like to know that we have 500 board feet of the stuff??

Guys, I really do appreciate the positive feedback. As we all keep looking for new species to work, and turn our aching eyes away from the old tried and true timbers, it's a joy to find those that really succeed at the task.

Steve
There are some great woods, down under!

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DarwinStrings
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Re: An Interesting Build (at least for us...)

Post by DarwinStrings » Sat Nov 12, 2011 1:53 pm

Nice Steve. A large Enterolobium cyclocarpum (Guanacaste) fell over in the bot gardens during our last cyclone (Carlos), at a guess the trunk is around 1.7m dia and 3m long. I have used this wood before but not for guitars and when I was offered the trunk I put my hand up straight away as it is a great bit of lightweight wood. I just can't get it though as I don't have the gear or skill to deal with the size of it. Bummer.

Jim
Life is good when you are amongst the wood.
Jim Schofield

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Stephen Kinnaird
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Re: An Interesting Build (at least for us...)

Post by Stephen Kinnaird » Sat Nov 12, 2011 3:03 pm

A tree that is 1.7 miles in diameter, and 3 miles long...wow!
That would be hard to handle....

No, wait... you guys went to that metric system, didn't you?

Actually not sure what that equals, as we measure in rods at our shop.

But anyway--one of these babies grew in a bot garden, huh?
Who got the wood? Perhaps they could give you a chunk they busted up?

Steve
There are some great woods, down under!

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DarwinStrings
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Re: An Interesting Build (at least for us...)

Post by DarwinStrings » Sat Nov 12, 2011 9:46 pm

The wood is still mine, on hold for me as there is no need for them to move it at the moment. It will just take a big effort from me Steve and I am not sure if I want to go to the effort. The root system is still attached as well as the first set of branches. I may just take some branch at about 800mm dia which I could handle.

Yep, Botanical garden grown, eco friendly wood supply. The growth rate is amazing with some of those imported trees up here.

Jim
Life is good when you are amongst the wood.
Jim Schofield

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Stephen Kinnaird
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Re: An Interesting Build (at least for us...)

Post by Stephen Kinnaird » Sun Nov 13, 2011 1:22 pm

Jim, in our neck of the woods, there are a few free lance sawyers... they bring their saw to your site.
Do you have that option where you are?
Perhaps you and a few mates could man-handle that stump, and drag it to a saw that could be carted to the site.
That seems the simplest way to me.
And yes, I do think it would be worth it. Not just for your own building, but you could do some supply work to fellow Aussie luthiers.

Just thinkin' out loud....

Steve
There are some great woods, down under!

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Ron Wisdom
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Re: An Interesting Build (at least for us...)

Post by Ron Wisdom » Sun Nov 13, 2011 3:46 pm

That's another real beauty, Steve. Nice to see you post again.

Ron

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Kim
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Re: An Interesting Build (at least for us...)

Post by Kim » Mon Nov 14, 2011 9:07 am

Nice to see you post again also Ronald. 8)

Cheers

Kim

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Ron Wisdom
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Re: An Interesting Build (at least for us...)

Post by Ron Wisdom » Mon Nov 14, 2011 1:31 pm

Thanks, Kim. I've not been around much. My building came to a halt this summer because of the intense heat and humidity in Arkansas. So, I spent a good bit of the time building a climate controlled room inside my sweltering shop. Then a tree fell through the roof and I had to take care of that. Anyway, the new room is great and I've resumed work on three that I started about a year ago. I will post some photos of the guitars and the room soon.

Ron

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Stephen Kinnaird
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Re: An Interesting Build (at least for us...)

Post by Stephen Kinnaird » Mon Nov 14, 2011 2:53 pm

Like old home week! Thanks for the kind words, Ron, good to shake hands again.
Sorry for your travails--that tree was just insult to injury, huh?
Hope to see pix of your guitars soon.

Steve
There are some great woods, down under!

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