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So... Here is an example of the wood I got from a mate of mine. Please excuse my poor photography. I've just put a thin coat of shellac on one of the boards inside he OM shape outline.



It was sold to him as Tassie Blackwood. The wood started out as a slab and was resawn to 12mm thick and then put through a thicknesser down to 5mm. Dimensions are 1200mm x 220mm x 5mm each. I just described in pretty vague terms what I wanted, since neither of us really know much about this sort of thing, and this was the end result.

Comments? Is it really blackwood (if you can tell from this pic)?. I haven't seen much blackwood before so I can't judge. Should I used the outside edges in the pic as the inside edge (as there's more flamey bits on that edge)?

We'll both be a bit more knowledgeable next time around, and won't waste nearly as much wood. I ended up with five boards in total. Enough for two back and side sets and some spare.

I think that it's pretty green. So I've got it stored like this in the spare bedroom, and will have for a while (unless the wife makes me move it!).



Ahh, beer! is there anything it can't do?

We're in for a hot and humid summer down here. Today it's in the mid 30's and around 70% humidity. Of course, my garage/brewery/workshop gets full afternoon sun making it a mite hot in there. Only jig making for me this summer!

We had our hottest October for over 50 years, then the coldest November in 101 years. Crazy stuff.

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If God had wanted us to drink beer, he would have given us stomaches.

Don't you recognise this Hesh? It's tas myrtle - hold the tiger.

I've got a set of this with a nice tight fiddleback figure. Mine's all pinkish tho, none of that sapwood. My three year old daughter wants a pink guitar....

*Edit* thats Nothofagus cunninghamii for the botanically mindedPaulB39061.9968402778

My other three boards have less of the sapwood and more of the pink.

Reckon it'll work out OK?

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If God had wanted us to drink beer, he would have given us stomaches.

Joel, I think you've got some nice stuff there.
I like the looks of it.

Steve

P.S.--Meant to add this: you Aussies really have some interesting species at your disposal!
I need to come visit/shop!Steve Kinnaird39061.9987268519

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

Have a look at Heshtone's latest, if yours is anything like his it will be awesome.

Good thing about this timber is the pores are so small you don't need to fill.

The spots are from a mould or fungus or something. Joels stuff is mould free, is all. Same stuff tho. Our board table here at work is the same, it's a very light brown colour.

Dunno what I'm going to tell my daughter when her pink guitar turns brown....Could always paint it I suppose.

Most Tasmanian Myrtle looks like this. The tiger Myrtle is rare because you're looking for a tree that has a fungal infection. I've seen some that looked really redish even under finish. The only thing I don't like about it is that you can't tell how it's going to look under finish. It's really hard to pick - at least for me.

Another thing I don't like about it is that I don't know how it'll sound as a guitar just yet. Waiting on Hesh, but Hesh being Hesh, I don't think we'll have to wait very long.

Oh, and I was kidding about painting it, no really.

Yep looks like myrtle (Nothofagus cunninghamii) alright.

Tiger myrtle is extremely rare, much more so than I think most realise. It is my understanding that the Tiger figure is present only at the base, or buttress, of the very occasional tree. And that the figure cannot be determined until the tree has been feld, so this really is needle in a haystack stuff.

As mentioned by Paul, the figure is thought to be the result of a fungal invasion. A good indicator that this is probably the case, as already mentioned above, is that it's affect seems to diminish as you move further up the trunk where cooler dryer air is able to circulate. Around the stump, moisture and temperature levels are much more stable so maybe the beautiful figure is a kind of tree Tinea

Cheers

Kim

I remember having a chat with a bloke that gets blackwood out of the Otway ranges in victoria once and he was saying that the prized stuff is the base of the trunk....
But the logging industry doesn't take that part of the tree ..they just lop it off and leave a metre or so sticking out of the ground and burn the base of the trunk..
unfortunately theres only a few guys who have licenses to go in and take what they want for furniture, instrument making etc...but most of the tree bases get set fire to....so he said...what a waste

[QUOTE=gratay] I remember having a chat with a bloke that gets blackwood out of the Otway ranges in victoria once and he was saying that the prized stuff is the base of the trunk....
But the logging industry doesn't take that part of the tree ..they just lop it off and leave a metre or so sticking out of the ground and burn the base of the trunk..
unfortunately theres only a few guys who have licenses to go in and take what they want for furniture, instrument making etc...but most of the tree bases get set fire to....so he said...what a waste[/QUOTE]

This is true, the logging Co's do not want to encourage a market that may interfere with their plan to drill the land with fast growing eucalyptus. (blue gum)

Woodchiping is where the money is, if you create a market for slower growing ecologically diverse high grade furniture timbers, these may restrict thier access to the land, better just to burn it and kill any threat

Cheers

Kim

Forget about the wood lets talk bout the beer!?

I'm not good with wood but I can spot a brewer with his keg and bottles. I no longer brew beer since I became a diabetic. Now I am relegated to Michelob Ultra which only has 2.6 carbs per 12oz. At least they now have an Amber that has a bit more flavor. Hmmm...sounds good...maybe I should be a bit off my face. Anyway, your wood looks good so build something nice while enjoying your beer.

Philip
konacat39063.528287037

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aka konacat

If you think my playing is bad you should hear me sing!
Practice breeds confidence and confidence breeds competence. Unfortunately, I'm stuck in practice.

[QUOTE=gratay] I remember having a chat with a bloke that gets blackwood out of the Otway ranges in victoria once and he was saying that the prized stuff is the base of the trunk....
[/QUOTE]

Was that Murray Kidman you were talking to Grant?
He supplies most of Maton's Blackwood from the Otway stumps.

The fiddleback comes from the base.

So if you know any farmers down that way with blackwood stumps on their property and you can use a chansaw..........

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Bob Connor
Geelong, Australia

bob, yep...murray it was. I met him while i was working for maton actually...nice guy..

and as far as beer goes I just bottled a Czech pilsner yesterday...can't wait to try it....thats the problem with home brew... waiting