Official Luthiers Forum!

Pau Ferro!

How can you go wrong with this stuff??

Hi Russ..is that one of the sets you got from Brazil Tonewoods ???? That's a beautiful guitar..let's see more of it.Brazilwood38684.5921412037

it's used a good bit. I have done two with it. tight pores, easy to finish.

Beautiful work, Russ. Pau Ferro is a nice wood, but that's no ordinary piece of Pau Ferro.

Jeff,

How did you guess???

Guys, if you are looking for nice Pau Ferro (like this), send an email to Jeff at Brazilwoods. Great wood and great service!

Kelby...actually that is a fairly ordinary piece of Pau Ferro if you know where to look. Russ has bought several sets from us and that one is fairly typical of what we sell. I just blocked out another cubic meter of Pau Ferro that is absolutely gorgeous..here's one of the back sets. This one has more of a chocolate colored look but, they vary from an orange tint to purplish...to chocolate colors like this one.

And the tap tone is amazingly sharp. I should have a lot of sets on our site in the coming days.

Russ..I know you are a busy guy..but when you have time please email me some good High Res photos of this guitar. I'd like to post them on the site if you don't mind.

Jeff,

I'll get you some pics of the guitar ASAP, but I still have some work to do on the neck ( I am going a bit inlay crazy on this one).

I plan on taking a bunch of new photos to update my website, but I doubt I will get that before the holidays..."real" job keeps getting in the way of building!!

As soon as I have something for you, I'll send 'em over!

Thanks again for supplying such nice wood, you just can't go wrong with such nice materials.

Some poeple report allergies to the stuff. Then again, some people report allergies to one or another of almost every trop wood. I like Pau Ferro/Morado myself.

I like it, it makes a good bridge or fingerboard too. One builder I know, Dan Sharp made a very nice L-00 with it recently.
But, I don't use it much because I am very allergic to its dust. So is Mario Proulx, and I have read about a bunch of others who have quite severe reactions to the dust. You should protect yourself from the dust all the time, even if you show no reaction because it will break down your resistance in time. You become sensitized to it after a while, so be careful.

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Mark Swanson
Swanson Guitars
http://www.MarkSwansonMusic.com

The statistics that I've seen indicate that 15% of the population is potentially allergic to Pau ferro. I've got several sets put back and am getting more leary of trying it. Is it just the dust or could one react to the unfinished wood itself (eg. fretboards)?Don A38684.8298263889

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Don Atwood
Arlington, VA

Don

I think that the dust is the biggest problem. I don't think I have ever heard of anyone reacting to a fretboard. And since fretboards are oiled that should be some protection.

It is not just Pau ferro that can be the problem. Cocobolo is another one that is known to cause problems among other woods. The dust from that stuff is nasty. Fortunately I have never run into any problems with any kind of wood dust. I wear a dust mask most of the time I am in the shop (always when I am sanding or scraping) and always have the dust filters and collectors going. I also am sure to wash/shower as soon as I can when I am done working in my shop.

If you know you have problems with wood allergies then you may want to avoid the stuff. Some people react when they get it on their skin. But if you don't I would give it a try. These woods make beautiful guitars.

Josh

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Josh House

Canadian Luthier Supply
http://www.canadianluthiersupply.com
https://www.facebook.com/canadianluthiersupply?ref=hl
House Guitars - Custom Built Acoustic Instruments.
http://www.houseguitars.com

It was my favorite fretboard wood, until.....

I don't have a problem with Cocobolo, but Pau Ferro and Spanish Cedar dust do wicked things to me.

Just be careful with it. Lovely stuff, otherwise!

I built one with Pau Ferro no problem at all, it instantly became my favourite 'rosewoody' type wood. So heh! lets build another. Well after thicknessing the back I ended up in casualty (ER) with severe breathing difficulties and the mother and father of skin rashes. I guess I'm one of the unlucky 15%. It was one of the first guitars I gave away (the recipient is OK).

But it did sound wonderful.

Colin

_________________
I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

Ooooppss...I just got spanked in a PM by "The Big Kahuna" for posting pics of the "Pau Ferro" set. Sorry Lance and the paying sponsors. Just got excited because that's the first guitar photo I've seen from any of the OLF'rs that bought from me when I was sponsoring the site. I have temporarily had to stop sponsoring the site due to lack of the funds for it at the moment. However, I have plans to reinstate when the conditions permit. I like this forum and what it does to help the "Art". Lots of good people and info that you just can't find anywhere else in a moments notice.
As for the allergic thing. It is a fact that some do have reactions...ranging from minor to obviously more serious ones by a few. But, here's something I found out regarding this dilemma.
I have blonde hair, blue eyes, am very light complected and have had "Hayfever / Allergies" all my life. The first time I worked with Pau Ferro I did experience some minor red splotches that developed around my ankles and lower legs, and my groin area. However, there was no ithching or any other problems. Just looked like I had walked through a chigger patch. But, I have continued to work with it and that was the only time I had any problems. So, eithier my immunity has built a tolerance to it or there is some truth to what I was told by a local here who explained why he thought this happened.
The first time I cut Pau Ferro and had this reaction was with some stock I bought that came from Brazil (the Bahia area). I didn't like the look or quality of that wood as much as the stock I am currently buying which comes from Bolivia !! It's totally different. This is the stuff like the example photo I posted.
The local explained to me that what caused this allergic reaction was not a result of the Pau Ferro species iteself but rather the region it came from. He explained that some regions have a "Parasite Vine" that attaches and feeds off of Pau Ferro and other trees. This vine can become very large and actually becomes part of and infects the wood of the tree and this is what people are actually allergic to. I don't know how much truth there is to this but, it would seem to make sense by the one time allergic experience I had. The bottom line for me is, I no longer have any allergic reaction to this wood. And I'm working only with the Bolivian stock. I work with it almost daily and have developed a great respect for it's properties. To be truthful I like working with it over BRW. It's much more consistant.
Once again..my apologies if I stepped over the boundaries. Brazilwood38685.5090046296

I had an ugly itching skin reaction to cutting & sanding Pau Ferro for a fingerboard, bridge & peghead. Since then, no problems encountered in just using the fretboard - I play it every day. It seems that the dust is the irritating culprit - at least in my instance.

Skip

The Bolivian Pau Ferro is really nice stuff!!