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Padauk Anyone?
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Author:  Ray L [ Thu Jan 13, 2005 6:15 am ]
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I was wondering if anyone here has worked with Padauk? I brought some awhile ago and cut it into guitar sets, seems brittle. If you have experience, how is this stuff to bend? Can I make a tight cutaway (I use a Fox style bender)? Can I also make the neck out of Padauk? Any recommendations would be great.

Ray
Author:  Pwoolson [ Thu Jan 13, 2005 6:21 am ]
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Yes, indeed it's very brittle. Expect to break some (maybe a lot). It will also bleed badly. So if it's next to a light wood, you'd better shelac both surfaces. Pores are huge and will take a lot of filling to make them go away. Those things said. If you can pull it off, it makes a lovely instrument. Color will fade in time to a greyish brown rather than the orangeish crimson that it starts out as.
Not sure about neck wood. It would work for lams of a multi piece neck but my instict says it's not stable enough for an entire neck. Though it's probably been done successfully.
Author:  Steve Kinnaird [ Thu Jan 13, 2005 3:23 pm ]
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Ray, Paul is spot on about Padouk (my prefered spelling). I've built three guitars w/ Padouk, and I love the stuff. It is difficult to bend. It bleeds onto white purflings (even after being sealed). It ruins you clothes. But it has a heavenly fragrance, makes a beautiful guitar, and is resonant like rosewood. I have used it for neck material. Plenty stable. But also plenty heavy. Let me try to include a photo that shows a Padouk guitar w/ Padouk/Purpleheart/Padouk neck. This was a heavy instrument...but it souded nice.
Author:  Dickey [ Thu Jan 13, 2005 3:45 pm ]
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Hey Steve nice Axe. I was in Paducah Kentucky admiring a statue of an American Indian Chief. His name was Paduke, I don't know how they managed to change it to Paducah, but they named the town after him. Riverboat town, land of my forefathers, including my grandpappy.
Author:  Shawn [ Thu Jan 13, 2005 4:00 pm ]
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There are several species that are sold as Padauk (Pterocarpus Macrocarpus, Pterocarpus soyauxii, Pterocarpus indicus. I have worked with some that are light (around the density of koa) and others that were much more dense.   P. Macrocarpus is the most common type as you have pictured. P. soyauxii is from Africa and is the densest. P. indicus which is most times called golden pauduak is better known as Amboyna when in Burl form or Narra in lumber form.

All of the Pterocarpus are a good tonewood and in the countries to which it is native they are also used for marimba like instruments as well as stringed instruments. One thing to be careful of is that the very stripey vertical grain type you have pictured can split easily from changes in humidity so if you are shipping to other parts of the country make sure that they understand how to care for a guitar. You dont want someone to leave it in the back of a van in arizona in the sun on the way to a gig and then complain about cracks that are developing...

The comments about bending are right on. The toughest to bend is when the stripey grain is interlocked. It is awesome looking and will have a broken, mottled figure that catches the light but is a bear to bend and will break or split without warning.

I have built 6 from Narra and 2 from Pauduak (macrocarpus) but after problems with splitting built only to an 00/000 size. Most were parlor size classical built after a smaller German classical I have and have had no problems.
Author:  Dennis E. [ Thu Jan 13, 2005 4:28 pm ]
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I've got a beautiful padauk board stashed away. I've been thinking I would eventually slice it up into matched bridges, fingerboards and headplates, although I worry about the material being too "splitty" for reliable bridges.

Now you've got me thinking it might make great uke sets. It has similar color and figure to Steve's gorgeous guitar and it rings as sweet as a country church bell on Sunday morning.

Author:  John Kinnaird [ Thu Jan 13, 2005 11:15 pm ]
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And made one out of narra. I love the tonal properties of the wood and for that reason alone think it is worth the effort. Padouk smells like cotton candy at the circus when freshly cut. It is difficult to bend. Use plenty of heat and take it slowly. I used to bend by hand and resorted to taking a clothes iron set on high heat to press down over a hot pipe. Scorching is a problem at those high heat settings, but it does help the wood to relax.
Author:  John Kinnaird [ Thu Jan 13, 2005 11:17 pm ]
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Forgot to say   Padouk necks are great. Do it.
Author:  LanceK [ Thu Jan 13, 2005 11:29 pm ]
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John, your pictures is scary!
Author:  Dave-SKG [ Fri Jan 14, 2005 12:47 am ]
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I once made a ZEBRA electric guitar with a Padauk neck. It was great! I only tung oiled it for finish. Macassar Ebony fretboard. As it was played more and more the neck got darker.I would go for it!
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