Official Luthiers Forum!

An acquaintance of mine just asked if I could help find him some red mulberry wood:

"I have not been able to find dry red mulberry wood. I need a couple of pieces
(1 as a spare) to repair a Persian stringed music instrument. The size is
approx 5" x 8" and I want to ultimately thin it to around 2mm thick. This is to
replace a broken soundboard."

Does anyone have any they could sell me? Since it's for a soundboard, I'm guessing
that he wants it quarter sawn / nice and straight grained. Any ideas where to look
would also be appreciated.

Cheers,
Dave Fifield

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Cambrian Guitars

"There goes Mister Tic-Tac out the back with some bric-brac from the knick-knack rack"

A google search shows a couple of sources of mulberry (not sure if it is "red"), including a board on ebay.

Thanks Bill (is it?), but my pal already exhausted all the ideas that google comes up with (he actually found some at one place but they won't ship anything less than $500 worth!), and that board on eBay is as flatsawn as can be!

Any other ideas? Perhaps someone in Florida who has a local lumber yard nearby with a log or two?

Cheers,
Dave F.

_________________
Cambrian Guitars

"There goes Mister Tic-Tac out the back with some bric-brac from the knick-knack rack"

I am curious if your friend is really sure it is red mulberry. If not, then some other wood should be OK to restore the instrument.

He's adamant that it's red mulberry. He says "I did some research and found that almost all of the plucked lutes from the entire region are made of mulberry, not just Iran. It is a common and not
especially fine hardwood but I might as well restore it with the proper wood if I can. The color of the entire instrument is a ruddy brown, unlike the soundboard of an oud which is "al'oud" and which the Spanish mispronounced and became the Western instrument "lute"" in one email.

However, like you, I'm not convinced. I've given him lots of options like using spruce and simply staining it to the right color, or even having a go at repairing the damage (which is puncture/split damage due to the instrument falling from about 7' to hard ground).

Thanks for your help.

Cheers,
Dave F.

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Cambrian Guitars

"There goes Mister Tic-Tac out the back with some bric-brac from the knick-knack rack"

Dave, you might want to talk to Colin. He might be able to give you some insight into the use of mulberry and a possible source.

_________________
Aoibeann

Thanks Lillian - clue me in please, which Colin?

Cheers,
Dave F.

_________________
Cambrian Guitars

"There goes Mister Tic-Tac out the back with some bric-brac from the knick-knack rack"

Sorry Dave. Colin S. has worked on some very old instruments for museums.

_________________
Aoibeann

Do you have pictures, Dave? Would two pieces with a seam work? If so I might be able to help you. It's ornamental mulberry and turns maybe a little more honey colored than yours. I use it for bridge plates.

_________________
Ken Franklin
clumsy yet persistent
https://www.kenfranklinukulele.com