queensland blackwood

[xray]

hey guys, i was kind of hoping not to sound stupid, but i have back and side sets of a timber that was from a reputable timber dealer on the coast and he even had it labelled as queensland blackwwod. Has anybody ever worked with this timber and know of its other names so i can research more before using it in a guitar. It has a beautiful grain pattern and it is fairly plain in terms of figure. I had a bit of trouble finding quartered boards that were not twisted, this may have resulted in bad racking which was obvious but could also point to the timber being unstable and prone to movement. Any tips ore details appreciated thanks xray

[Kim]

Hey Xray,

I think you may find that what you have is good old aussie blackwood. From memory it grows from tassie (of course) across to Vic and up the coast through NSW into Sothern QLD. It just grows faster the further north you go as long as the rain fall supports.

Cheers

Kim

[Bob Connor]

I've been using Queensland Blackwood for bridges for a while now.

It is quite different from the wood that grows in Tassie and Victoria.

Much heavier and denser. I didn't realise that you get it in guitar size.

My supplier indicated to me that he had it available for fingerboard and bridges but not too much larger than that.

[Allen]

It grows all the way up here as well. One of the local wood merchants has it in slab form. I haven't tried it yet, but can't see why it's not worth building with it. It certainly is dense.

[graham mcdonald]

Bob,

What you might be getting is one of the numerous dry country acacias, several of which look a bit like Tas blackwood. Got a pic?

cheers

graham

[xray]

i will post a pic under this thread for an i.d by photo. it sounds like it is the acacia kind and it is definately more dense than tassie blackwood. it is slightly lighter in colour and the sizes that were available were mainly squared 3 and 4 inch. i think my next om guitar will be from the tassie variety or the queensland. it will be interesting to build the same guitar with the two varients for back and sides though.

[Bob Connor]

Graham

I'm at work at present so I'll get some pics next time I'm at the shed.

It's definitely Blackwood. Just bloody hard, dense and heavy Blackwood.

The supplier I get them from knows his wood fairly well and I've got a heap of other desert acacias from him.

I built some bridges out of all these different woods a while back.

The Tassie blackwood weighed in at 21 grams. Queensland Blackwood 38 grams.

I re-designed our bridges, making them narrower with this in mind because I want to use the local wood but I also like a bridge weight of 27-28 grams for most guitars.

Most of the other desert acacias I've messed about with (Acacia harpophylla(Brigalow), Acacia Exelsa(ironwood),Mulga and the like come in at about the same weight.

[Bob Connor]

Here they are.

[graham mcdonald]

It would be interesting to know which bit of Queensland it comes from. Looking at your bridge pin holes, I was wondering if you notice any difference string to string from the different break angles over the saddle?

(though I have just realized that that is a left handed bridge?)

cheers

graham

[Bob Connor]

I'll see if I can find out Graham.

The bloke I get this wood from has an Ebay shop, Barking Log Products but you can deal directly with him. I have his email at home if anyone would like it.

He also sells Spanish Cedar

He is well worth getting in touch with as his prices are more than reasonable. For example I've been getting Ironwood (acacia exelsa) fingerboards from him for around $10.

He is also aware of the requirements of us luthier types for clear wood with no knots or voids.