anyone know what this wood is?

Talk about musical instrument construction, setup and repair.

Moderators: kiwigeo, Jeremy D

Post Reply
kpcart
Myrtle
Posts: 98
Joined: Sun Jul 03, 2011 11:12 pm

anyone know what this wood is?

Post by kpcart » Tue Apr 14, 2015 10:36 pm

anyone know this wood?
I have access to some long dried logs which are far more then wide enough for 2 pieces backs and long enough for ribs(sides) and for neck blanks.
i cut this smaller piece at the quarter and the grain is good, with seemingly no grain runount over this size.

i have had 3 oppions the, person who cut the tree down said he thought it was a Willow tree. another person then told them it was a native willow myrtle, 3rd oppion today is it might be a Warren Creek cedar - which i think is another myrtle variety.

some logs look quite light coloured in the timber, while others have pronounced pink.
i measured this small piece to be 460kg/m3 and it feels very stiff in both directions (at 4mm thickness).
SAM_2984.JPG
SAM_2986.JPG
SAM_2987.JPG
going by success of makers in this forum, maybe i wont be scared to use wider grain wood, as opposed to what i am traditionally used to.
at the moment i am working out a suitable "aussie" replacement wood for mediteranean cypress, and at the same time an aussie alterantive for spanish cedar for a neck.

User avatar
Steve.Toscano
Blackwood
Posts: 489
Joined: Thu Feb 07, 2013 11:43 pm
Location: Port Stephens NSW

Re: anyone know what this wood is?

Post by Steve.Toscano » Tue Apr 14, 2015 10:56 pm

The pinkish is looking very king billy like. However im no expert.

User avatar
charangohabsburg
Blackwood
Posts: 1818
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2010 1:25 am
Location: Switzerland

Re: anyone know what this wood is?

Post by charangohabsburg » Wed Apr 15, 2015 2:46 am

A picture of the standing tree, leaves and so would be the better way to determine what it is. Guessing the species by looking at the wood is more often than not pure lottery.
Markus

To be stupid is like to be dead. Oneself will not be aware of it.
It's only the others who suffer.

curly
Blackwood
Posts: 229
Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2012 9:25 pm

Re: anyone know what this wood is?

Post by curly » Wed Apr 15, 2015 4:46 am

I agree with Marcus , foliage and fruit really help . From the weathered outside of your log it appears those would be long gone .
Firstly its not Agonis flexuosa , Native willow Myrtle . It's very much heavier .
It could well be a Salix willow . They fit the bill for weight and strength , only thing is I have never crossed any with what appears to be a clearly pink heartwood , though they do get some pretty funky fungal colours . I reckon if the outside of a Salix log looked like your sample the heartwood would be rooted . It's very not durable .
My best guess (without getting serious ) is California Redwood , Sequoia sempivirens . Everything in your description fits except is generally slightly lighter weight than that in local grown stuff . One really telling thing for CR is how photosensitive it is (or how much it oxidises , I cant tell which ) . The way to test for this is to half cover your dressed board and leave it that way for a week . Afterwards the exposed part will be significantly darker . And fear not , the colour will equalise over time .
A way of narrowing down whether it's conifer or hardwood is the presence of vessels in the end grain , a google search on wood I D will talk you through it .
All the best .
Pete

Kamusur
Blackwood
Posts: 754
Joined: Thu Dec 30, 2010 10:08 pm

Re: anyone know what this wood is?

Post by Kamusur » Wed Apr 15, 2015 8:23 pm

Markus and Pete are on the money and heed the advice they have given. For my 2 bobs worth not knowing what the timber is personally i'd never use it for any structural part on a guitar. There is a lot of blood, sweat, tears and money one way or the other goes into building an axe so i'd be going with something tried tested and true i just reckon sometimes its not worth depending on an unknown FWIW.

Steve

kpcart
Myrtle
Posts: 98
Joined: Sun Jul 03, 2011 11:12 pm

Re: anyone know what this wood is?

Post by kpcart » Wed Apr 15, 2015 9:06 pm

there is no more info about foliage, fruit or even branching, after i enquired today,
, just vague third person commentary that it may have been a weeping willow or some other willow.

the tree was located on a property that has heaps of conifers, some very interesting like ahuge dawn redwood, ginko biloba, cedar of lebanon and a variety of cypresses, plus many overseas decidious tress, including a wonderful black walnut.

it doesnt have much of a smell compared to conifers ive smelt, not pine, not king billy, and the smell is very weak actually

kpcart
Myrtle
Posts: 98
Joined: Sun Jul 03, 2011 11:12 pm

Re: anyone know what this wood is?

Post by kpcart » Wed Apr 15, 2015 10:37 pm


curly
Blackwood
Posts: 229
Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2012 9:25 pm

Re: anyone know what this wood is?

Post by curly » Thu Apr 16, 2015 7:33 am

That looks a good possible match ,
I have never handled a weeping willow . The willows that show up locally , usually in woody weed removal programs are pussy and crack . Yes you read that correctly , it's pussy willow or crack willow . The timber of both is white through into browny grey . Thinking back to my time working with Chris Searle in Tassie he had some lovely Willow boards that were a bit on the pink side of brown .
I've always been impressed by the strength to weight of willow timber , it does however have a strange flexible ductile quality . A cricket bat has to take some pretty radical shocks so the impact resistance has to be high . Someone will chime in with the correct component name , the single offset soundboard brace in a violin was often traditionally willow .
Mountains of Salix genus timber show up and are usually burnt through stream and river clearing works . It's a shame , surely there could be some specialised uses for it .
Pete

User avatar
kiwigeo
Admin
Posts: 10583
Joined: Sat Sep 29, 2007 5:57 pm
Location: Adelaide, Sth Australia

Re: anyone know what this wood is?

Post by kiwigeo » Thu Apr 16, 2015 8:19 am

curly wrote: I've always been impressed by the strength to weight of willow timber , it does however have a strange flexible ductile quality . A cricket bat has to take some pretty radical shocks so the impact resistance has to be high . Someone will chime in with the correct component name , the single offset soundboard brace in a violin was often traditionally willow .
If the Aussies are bowling against the Kiwis and its the last ball of the match then the bat doesn't need _any_ impact resistance :?
Martin

User avatar
DarwinStrings
Blackwood
Posts: 1877
Joined: Thu Nov 13, 2008 10:27 pm
Location: Darwin

Re: anyone know what this wood is?

Post by DarwinStrings » Thu Apr 16, 2015 9:23 am

Ha! Kiwis just never forget do they.
Life is good when you are amongst the wood.
Jim Schofield

lauburu
Blackwood
Posts: 229
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2010 7:25 am
Location: Auckland NZ

Re: anyone know what this wood is?

Post by lauburu » Fri Apr 17, 2015 6:03 am

Ha! Kiwis just never forget do they.
With neighbours like ours we can't afford to forget. :wink:
Miguel

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Mr K and 130 guests