Official Luthiers Forum!

O.K., so now I’ll apologize in advance for not having pictures. I have to buy myself a digital camera since I’ve lost the last one I had.

     I have a very interesting story for my fellow zoot-heads, here at the OLF.    Ever since I started building, about a year and a half ago, a friend of mine from work, Peter, would say he knew someone with all sorts of woods, Mike. This guy Mike wanted to meet with me because he found guitar making cool and all that jazz, and he thought I would be interested in his selection of woods.

     But you guys know how it is. Plans change constantly and you never seem to have enough time or money to really want to bother someone, maybe just to have it become a waste of energy.   I’m just a fledgling amateur builder so my livelihood does not depend on fabricating guitars.   However, I’m glad to report that tonight, meeting Mike proved to be quite fortuitous for yours truly.

     From a very large and impressive pile of wood, I walked away with the following:
(Note: not all the stuff is quartered. It runs from perfectly quartered to flat sawn…measurements in inches were not indicated otherwise.) And this is the stuff I got because it was visilble on the top of a pile of about 4 ft. high, 6 ft. wide and from 8 to 12 ft. long.

Highly curly Makore: 1.25 x 14 x 10 ft. There's another one in the pile at 20 inches wide...

Zebra wood: (1 x 5 x 9ft.)   (1.25 x 11 x 7 ft.)

Wenge: 2.25 x 6 x 8 ft. Now I know this is not wide enough for a two piece back, so three pieces backs it is!

Kingswood: Now this stuff is absolutely gorgeous to look at. Mike claims it’s a true rosewood. Beautiful dark redish brown with ink black lines. Very heavy and dense. I didn’t take a big piece tonight, but I know where there’s a lot more! Bigger pieces too!
1 x 6.75 x 4 ft.

And as a bonus, Mike gave me (that’s right, as in free of charge) two huge pieces of African mahogany. (2 x 6 x 7ft) (2 x 4.25 x 9 ft.)

He also had some snakewood. He knew this stuff was very expensive. He had to fork over some serious bucks to get it. I saw two beautiful pieces, and he claims to have two other larger ones in the pile somewhere… The ones I saw were aprox. (1 x 4 x 3 ft.) Fingerboard material ? (1.5 x 7 x 1.5 ft.) Bridges? That will be for a future guitar for me, myself and I… Also mentioned was Padauk, Bubinga, Sapele, and a rather funny piece of wenge streaked with white.

So he’s promised that I have first pick at the zoot pile. All the kingswood and all the snakewood is promised to me. I said I'd go by to slowly and methodically work my way through the pile and chose all the pieces I wanted. Cool, no?

And I’m not telling how much I paid for all that wood. You’d really hate me then!

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I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...

Sounds like heaven bud, please let me shop at your place now!

   Serge, my friend, you'll always have access to the zoot stash!

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I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...

Alain, what part of Canada are you in again ?

West coast right? right

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Al, prepare to have a visitor this week end bud!

Hi Alain

Well Done on your score.

Kingwood is a member of the dalbergia family it is dalbergia cearensis, I picked up some Kingwood fingerboards a while back, and it is definately on my list of Back and Side Wood to try, as you say it is pretty dense, should made a fine guitar.

The wood you mention that interests me is the Wenge with white streaks, are you sure its Wenge and Not Panga Panga, I picked up a board a while back which is waiting to be resawn, they are related but Panga Panga exhbits the streaks, and where wenge always feels a bit rough even after sanding, Panga Panga feels smooth.

Down here at the Houston hardwood glut, there are two different Kingwoods for sale: Brazilian and Mexican. Anyone familiar with that? The Mexican (which luckily I was able to find a piece sound enough for bindings) is darker, and I think prettier. More expensive also. But more full of cracks. The Brazilian kingwood looked like a cross between EIR and Cocobolo.
Any experience...anyone?

Oh, Alain, on that 3' piece of snakewood, I'd go for bindings mate!

Steve

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

[QUOTE=Steve Kinnaird] Down here at the Houston hardwood glut, there are two different Kingwoods for sale: Brazilian and Mexican. Anyone familiar with that? The Mexican (which luckily I was able to find a piece sound enough for bindings) is darker, and I think prettier. More expensive also. But more full of cracks. The Brazilian kingwood looked like a cross between EIR and Cocobolo.
Any experience...anyone?

Oh, Alain, on that 3' piece of snakewood, I'd go for bindings mate!

Steve[/QUOTE]

Steve,

I picked up a small block of Kingwood and used it on the rosette, headstock and bridge of the cedar/maple GC. Works really nicely, polishes up well and glues easily:




I understand that it comes from small trees so pieces big enogh for back/sides may be hard to come by. It was used a lot in fine cabinet making/marquetry and hence I think it's name - Kingwood - as in a wood fit for a king.

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Dave White
De Faoite Stringed Instruments
". . . the one thing a machine just can't do is give you character and personalities and sometimes that comes with flaws, but it always comes with humanity" Monty Don talking about hand weaving, "Mastercrafts", Weaving, BBC March 2010

Rod, I live in a small town just 50 km's East of Ottawa by the name of Curran.

   Russel, thanks for the info on the kingswood. It is a very beautiful piece of wood. I can't wait to cut it up... That piece I got yesterday is too small for a set but I'll try finger boards with it for sure. How did you like it for FB's?
   As for the Wenge? I haven't seen the piece in question. Mike said is was buried somewhere in the pile. He says he's never seen nothing like it, that it's almost as if someone made a checker board pattern in white on the board since the line are so clear. All I know is that I can't wait to put my hands on that piece!!!

    Steve, I do believe he mentioned that it was Brazilian Kingswood but I'm not sure. I was a bit in shock and probably not paying attention as much as I should have. As for the snakewood, if the board is long enough (which I think it might not...) I will definitely try to get some binding out of it.

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I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...

I like the Kingwood for fingerboards, and for some reason it is incrediably cheap over here, I paid about $ 3 for fingerboards and they are quite pretty, it is denser than most rosewoods.

Dave

Madinter has Kingwood Sets

Madinter Kingwood

[QUOTE=RussellR] I like the Kingwood for fingerboards, and for some reason it is incrediably cheap over here, I paid about $ 3 for fingerboards and they are quite pretty, it is denser than most rosewoods.

Dave

Madinter has Kingwood Sets

Madinter Kingwood[/QUOTE]

Russel,

Very tempting - if only I wasn't broke Dave White38874.5010069444

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Dave White
De Faoite Stringed Instruments
". . . the one thing a machine just can't do is give you character and personalities and sometimes that comes with flaws, but it always comes with humanity" Monty Don talking about hand weaving, "Mastercrafts", Weaving, BBC March 2010

Dave--very attractive. That looks, from this side of the pond, like Brazilian Kingwood. And let me take this opportunity to say that you have just about the coolest label I've seen!

Russ--Madinter's Kingwood looks just great. And available as low as 75 Euros! I don't know what that is in real money, but it sounds reasonable. Get some!

Steve

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

Dave

Of course your broke your a Luthier

Steve

I will do when I've got the current batch out

[QUOTE=Steve Kinnaird] Dave--very attractive. That looks, from this side of the pond, like Brazilian Kingwood. And let me take this opportunity to say that you have just about the coolest label I've seen!

Russ--Madinter's Kingwood looks just great. And available as low as 75 Euros! I don't know what that is in real money, but it sounds reasonable. Get some!

Steve[/QUOTE]

Steve - thanks.

75 Euros is about 8 gallons of petrol

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Dave White
De Faoite Stringed Instruments
". . . the one thing a machine just can't do is give you character and personalities and sometimes that comes with flaws, but it always comes with humanity" Monty Don talking about hand weaving, "Mastercrafts", Weaving, BBC March 2010

Dave, i can relate tho i'm not a pro like you, i'm a Janitor!

[QUOTE=Dave White]
75 Euros is about 8 gallons of petrol [/QUOTE]

Ouch! So it comes to this: can I build the pretty guitar, or drive to work (so I can afford the wood for the pretty guitar)? Catch 22, isn't it?

SK

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com