Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi OLFer's!

For your viewing pleasure, I have just published a profile of Western Australian Sheoak complete with photos. It's an amalgam of information I have been squirreling away for my own reference and I've decided to formally compile everything I've learnt into an easy to access database. As always, improvements, corrections and additional information/ your own experiences are much appreciated- I'll update the profile citing you and linking back to you!

I can't link pics directly to here so do pop by to http://guitarbench.com/index.php/2008/09/17/western-sheoak-tonewood-database/ for the full Visual presentation. As always, I present the text portion of the interview for your consideration- although I do highly recommend popping by to see the pics!

Warmest regards,
Terence
http://www.guitarbench.com

Casuarina fraserana| Tonewood Profile | "Western Sheoak"

All pictures - Click to enlarge!
Please email with any corrections/ additional info
We aim to keep each profile as complete as possible & your help is appreciated!


Quick Facts
Scientific name: Casuarina fraserana
Trade names: Western Sheoak
Janka: 1900
Uses: Back & sides, drop tops
RIYL: Koa, Mahogany
Bling factor: Shows Strong medullary rays
Availability: Limited
CITES status: Not listed. No restrictions

Note: (RIYL) Recommended If You Like
Bling factor rated out of a maximum of 10, based on the most highly figured sets we have seen.

[Ed.- read more about this and other Australian Tonewoods in Jack Spira's fantastic article... here!]
Natural History

Western Sheoak is an erect dioecious with a limited range in South West Autralis from Perth to Albany. It attains heights of 15m in it's woodland and open forest habitat.

Named after the botanist, Charles Fraser, the first specimen was collected in 1840 by Johann Priess.

Priess was a German born botanist and zoologist who between 1838-42 collected over about 200,000 plant specimens in Western Australia. Charles Fraser was also a famous botanist, based in New South Wales, Australia. How Fraser, who is blamed for the failure of the Swan River expedition due to inaccurate reporting of soil conditions had this species names after him and not Priess is not clear.

Status

Western Sheoak has a limited range but is not widely exploited although it is now gaining popularity for turning and decorative uses due to it's broadm prominent medullary rays.

Physical properties

The timber is a deep red colour with an even and fine grain. It exhibits a large medullary ray figure which can be very attractive.

Western Sheoak has a Janka rating of around 1900 and a Specific Gravity around 0.8.

As a tonewood...

It's use has been limited to the Australian builders butbends well and works as a back and sides wood.

Jack Spira says:"The W A sheoak on the other hand seems a perfect density, is easy to work and bends well. I have found a marked difference in sound between the well quarter sawn backs, which have the broad medullarys going right across. "

Subjective tone...

My experience with sheoak is that the tone is much like a vintage mahogany with very open overtones.

Jack Spira again: " Guitars with well quartered sheoak backs have a lot of volume and projection, quite bright, but not as many overtones as blackwood I think, so a more woody, less metallic brightness. The guitars with Sheoak backs sawn on the rift, or the beautiful lace figured ones with grain going everywhere seem to make quieter, more polite sounding instruments."


Availability

Limited sources in southwest Australia.


Links:
ASPAG http://asgap.org.au/eregn.html
Jack Spirka http://www.jackspiraguitars.com/
Special thanks to Jack Spira for his time, data and pictures

References:
Alexander Rule "Forests of Australia"
Wikipedia


©2008 Terence Tan.
Pictures copyright individual holders.

Any infringement of copyright is entirely unintentional. Any copyright issues should be address to: writers@guitarbench.com. We will attempt to resolve these issues quickly.

interestin the quote about the different tonal quality,s between quarter and rift backs!

i am not sure how this would effect the tone with a back wood but its an interesting comment.

Also wouldent the sets with ray/lace figure and quarter sawn sets be one and the same as you need quartersawn wood to see the medulary rays?

joel.

Joel,

WA Sheoak is truly wonderful stuff, Jack is spot on with his assessment of workability. For density, I would compare WA Sheoak more to Cuban Mahogany rather than African or Honduran but this can vary widely from tree to tree. One thing for sure is that WA Sheoak takes a finish MUCH better than any of the mahoganies.

Also, whilst it may look similar to that African species which is also marketed as "Lace" that has a notorious reputation for grain separating during the bending process, there is absolutely NO relationship between these two species. I want to be very clear that no comparison between these tonewoods should be made, WA Sheoak is a completely different tree from the other side of the earth and is far superior as tonewood and it looks better IMHO.

As for your question about 'Lace Figure' and 'Medullary Rays' the confusion lays in the fact that they are not one and the same with WA Sheaok.

Quarter sawn WA Sheoak will produce medullary as can be seen in this image of Jack Spira's fine guitar.



Where as flat sawn will produce 'Lace Figure' an example of which can be seen in this image.



Either way it is beautiful wood, very stable, works and bends well, takes a finish beautifully, and has a great tap tone. If anyone wants to give this stuff ago, Tim Spittle of Australian Tonewoods, who is of course an OLF sponsor, is your man.

Edit; Just one more point, check Tim's site out, this wonderful wood is remarkably under priced in my opinion and represents a complete bargain.

http://www.australiantonewoods.com/

Cheers

Kim

Australian Tonewoods Western Australian Sheoak
Further to what has already been stated about Western Australian Sheoak I have some images of typical material that I process on a regular basis. The tonewood is quite consistent in density and seasons well. The rays do produce quite a stunning finish. Should anyone have a yearning to work with this tonewood I am prepared to offer a special shipping rate. If you order two sets at $150 each I will only charge shipping for one of the sets. Total $350 not $400.

regards

Tim

It also makes beautiful fret boards. I've got some pieces for neck blanks as well, but haven't found the right project to use them on.

_________________
Allen R. McFarlen
Barron River Guitars & Ukuleles
Facebook
Cairns, Australia

Anyone else notice the simalarities between the back of Jack Spira's guitar,



And the bottom set shown in Tim's image?



Nice fretboard by the way Allen, in fact I remember that great looking guitar well. I think that WA Sheoak is just about the right weight for bridges and will be experimenting with same. As a fretboard material it is hard but probably not as hard as the ebonies so wear could be an issue down the track. With this in mind, a while back I sent some samples of WA Sheoak to Larry Davies of Gallery Hardwoods to test for suitability using his acrylisation process. From what I recall his test proved to be most promising with good uptake or penetration of the treatment. Therefore I would imagine that once treated with Larry's process, WA Sheoak would be an ideal choice for fretboards in every respect so I am keen to follow this up.

Cheers

Kim

Hi kim i was not in any way knocking jack comments i just find it interesting that there can be an audible diference between rift an quarter backs.
i am sure that i am not the only one finds the implications of this coment very interesting.
if there can be an audible diference in identical guitars with rift or quarter sawn backs then surly this could translate to other species.
I can only assume that this is an effect of the stiffness diference between rift and quartered backs.

as for the lace figure comment i said this becouse lase figure as its usualy known in species such roupala (i agree about the seperation whilst in this species)/american sycamore/london plane and sliky oak is a result of large medulary rays that cause the lace effect.

i can see in the pic that the lace figure seems to be more iregular than you would expect with this phenoman so i bow to you experience in this matter.
I have no experience with this wood in person but i am very fimalar with london plane which allthough not related is a "lacewood"

Sorry if my comment caused offence,

joel.

Interesting, Terrence. Thanks for posting. Just wondering out loud here... can any of you tell me if Western Sheoak is the only Sheoak commonly used as tonewood in Oz? Reason I ask is that here on the coast in Florida, we're up to our eyeballs in Sheoak. Locally, we call it Australian Pine but what it really is is Casuarina Equisetifolia. Looks like common names for it include Ironwood, Bloodwood and Beach Sheoak. This stuff was planted extensively here in the 30s and 40s by the old CCC to stabilize the barrier islands and coastal causeways but now it's considered an invasive species. A lot of communities are clearing them out in a serious fashion and it's pretty easy to come by. So, are we sitting on a tonewood bonanza or just so much firewood.

_________________
Jim Womack

"Be thankful we're not getting all the government we're paying for. "
Will Rogers

Hi Jim
Western Australian Sheoak is specific to W Australia and has the botanical name Allocasuarina Fraserana. There are several main casuarinas trees varieties in Australia and they vary considerably in their suitability for instrument making. I believe that you also have in Florida an ongoing invasion of Paperbark trees (Melaleuca species).

From a supply perspective annual production of WA Sheoak for guitar sets would be about 30 - 50 sets. If demand grows I might be able secure more. Lace Sets will always be limited.

regards

Tim

Thanks Jim!

There are other Sheoaks (from the allocasuarina family) which are used as tonewoods, although WA Sheoak is the most common.

I am well acquainted with Ironwood aka Casuarina Equisetifolia as here in Singapore it has been planted by the coastal areas to prevent erosion. I'll be sure to post up the full profile as soon as I format it, but here are the bare facts.... hope it's useful.

Warmest regards,
Terence
http://www.guitarbench.com


density of 900-1000 kg/m3.
Heartwood is pale red, pale brown to dark red-brown.
Grain - straight, slightly interlocked or wavy
Texture- fine & even.
Shrinkage- moderate to high (difficult to dry as can warp and check.)
Janka- high
Medullary rays - prominent on radial faces.

Uses:
=excellent firewood. Ignites even when green. Trust me, many a BBQ has been started with one in my household!
= house posts due to resistance to termites
= Tannin 6-18% tannin in Bark
= Western Malaysian use the bark for treating facial pimples

Joel,

I did not think for a moment that your were knocking Jack's comments. In fact I found his comment interesting as well, but I can see how a piece of woods ability to transmit energy into sound could be directly related to the grain orientation of the piece at hand. Aside from structural reasons, this phenonemum may be why well quartered BRW was and largely still is the wood of choice among the classical masters.

Also, just so you know. I never was in any way offended by your comments and remain a little confused as to why you should feel that I would have been. As I see it, you had posed a simple question which asked if lace and ray were one and the same. I simply attempted to answer that question for you and remove any confusion with Jack's comment on the grounds that I have had a fair amount of experience working with this exceptional wood. It grows as we speak in the bush right across the road from my house

Cheers

Kim

Sorry kim,

I took it from your post that you thought i was poo pooing jacks comments wich in actaul i was just interested.
if there is indeed a audible diference in the sound between quarter and rift backs i have to re-asses my thoughts on this matter.
personly i have not made enough guitars to be able to tell the difference but i would interested to hear orhers comments on this subject.
Maybe i will start another thread so as not to hijack the oroginal post.

It also interesting that the lace figure in this wood is not caused by medulary rays wood allways finds another way to amaze me each day,

Joel.

Yes, indeed it took the process very well, Kim!! Thanks again for sending all those test pieces!! I showed the infused sheoak piece to Mr. Spittle at GAL and we had chat of getting some bulk pieces sent over for acrylizing into knife handles.

Thanks for the confirmation Larry,

Knife Handles! Please mate, leave some of that wood big enough for fretboards

Cheers

Kim