Official Luthiers Forum!

I have cut and pasted most of what is written below this paragraph from a post I made in an earlier thread on fretboards, I have also added a couple more images of some other stuff I cut this evening and a bit of info for anyone who may be interested.

I have set myself up to cut my own fretboards. Here in Western Australia things are quite arid once you move inland from the coastal crust.

Due to the lack of available water and nutrients, the trees (read as scrub) grow very slowly. This slow growth dictates that most of the desert timbers are VERY hard and of course dimensionally quite small. Not a good thing for back and side sets, but when it comes to things like fretboards and bridges or even pins and turner keys, we certainly have the goods here in WA.

The hardness or density of these desert timbers is generally up there, or in excess of cocobolo or ebony. Some of this stuff weighs in at around 1300kg per m3. So, just a warning for any nautically minded amputee luthiers among us, you really do not want to build a wooden leg from this stuff.

Not only is it be too heavy to lug around all day, but it is note worthy that this stuff does not float, not at all, not even just a little bit when it is totally bone dry. If you fell overboard, or if your stopper came off your leg causing it to poke a hole in your boat, you would sink like a stone

Anyhow, yesterday evening I resawed a small log of Mulga (Acacia Aneura) attached is a couple of images of one of the fretboards I converted out of the smallish round that I had. This piece has been shellacked to show figure. Not only is it just as dense as Coco, it even looks like Coco, what do you reckon, do you like the sap?



Probably not the same intensity of ink lines as Cocobolo, at least not in this bit, but it still looks pretty and it rings like a piece of plate glass. Also, because moisture is low, even when green, this stuff is very stable as a rule.



And below are a couple more images. These are of another fretboard that I cut this evening from a billet of a different kind of Acacia. I think that this one is known as Acacia Minirichi, but I can't be sure. The billet was very old and given to me as an unidentified dressed piece of wood but it sure looks like Minirichi to me. Once again shellac was used to pop the figure.



Unfortunately, this bit has a few worm holes, but with figure like this, it will we worth breaking out the epoxy. This stuff is not as dense as the Mulga pictured above, but it still a very hard wood and it taps very nice.



I cut a few fillets of this Minirichi a little thicker from which I intend to make bridge blanks, it seems to weigh in similar to BRW and has a similar feel, if that makes sense, anyhow it will be interesting playing around with this stuff.

Anyhow, I hope you folks enjoyed this quick look at something that maybe a little different from what you generally see in your part of the world. I am trying to source some quality Bunya Pine at the moment to be used for soundboards, this is a species native to Australia. I have played a few Maton guitars that have Bunya tops and they are impressive.

With Bunya, I will be able to build a guitar from all local timbers, that would be a nice thing to do me thinks.

Cheers all

Kim

Great looking woods there Kimmy buddy, can't wait to see a guitar made with them, very nice!

Pretty!

_________________
Rian Gitar og Mandolin

Kim, That looks like some fine wood for F-boards and bridges.
Beautiful.Thats a great idea to make a guitar of all local woods!Good Luck with it.

_________________
Anderson Guitars
Clearwater,Fl. 33755

It's a good example of each area having it's own treasures. Sometimes you have to look harder and it may be less "conventional", but sometimes that can be better! Beautiful wood.

Donovan

Kim, Is it as dense as Giraffe Bone? Just kidding, did any of the bone work out for you?

How about Crocadile bone for the nut and saddle?

Al

Kim that last pic could be of ringed mayall. I've got some that looks just like it but without the worm holes. Unless of course my stuff was mislabelled. Smells like violets and polishes to a nice gloss.

I didn't know how stable this stuff was so I haven't used mine yet, it's been sitting in the shed for over a year without a problem, so I guess I'll use it soon.

[QUOTE=af_one] Kim, Is it as dense as Giraffe Bone? Just kidding, did any of the bone work out for you?[/QUOTE]

Hey Scott,

Nothing is as dense as Giraffe Bone I have been hoarding the piece you sent me and have only made a saddle from it to date, but man once polished out with micromesh it is like marble, beautiful stuff.

Paul, the colouring in the images is not very good, I have a piece of Western Mayall and this stuff is very similar but the Mayall is more of a maroon chocolate were as this stuff is more chocolate maroon if that makes sense. I also have a piece of Minirichi I got from Tim a while back and it looks to be a very close match with this stuff, it even has very similar figure.

What ever it be, it is good wood. I was told it was cut maybe 30 or 40 years ago, so I will use it with pride what ever it is. One thing I can tell you, the images above really do not do this wood justice, it is quite spectacular in the flesh and I will gladly take it holes and all.

Cheers all.

Kim

That Bunya makes nice B and S's too! I'll have too get some!

    Thanks for posting Kim. I like seeing the different stuff!

_________________
Billy Dean Thomas
Covina, CA

"Multi famam, conscientiam, pauci verentur."
(Many fear their reputation, few their conscience)

That stuff can Burnya!