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Has anyone built with Eucalyptus? In California, we're surrounded by the stuff and it appears to be fairly dense. I tried to do some research, but couldn't find a lot of information about it. Also, I've not seen any guitars using it; perhaps there's a reason for it?


Steve

The older timers than me have always said originally eucalyptus was brought here both for windbreaks and lumber but the wrong species was imported for lumber. The general species planted in california is useless for lumber because it warps and twists and cracks so badly after milling. If it isn't good enough for framing lumber I don't see it being stable enough for our work.

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http://goatrockukulele.com

sorry, Michael, but do you by any chance know the species of that eucalyptus? could it be E. globolus? i´m asking because that species was introduced here in the 50´s and has by now conquered almost all of the territory and is useless for lumber- it´s used mostly for making paper.

cheers,
Miguel.

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Hey there Steve. I have built a guitar using Eucalyptus Globulus - and have attached a couple of pics.

This was nicely figured wood that I sourced from a local mill here in NZ. It worked pretty well, and I had no issues with bending the sides. Sanding was a bit of a mission though and a good flat block was essential for that. This one has bloodwood binding.

I am really happy with the sound. This guitar is brighter than similar model guitars I have made from EIR - but I don't know if I can put that down to the timber or the myriad other things that go into a guitar. ( This was my 5th guitar - so not a lot of experience to go on )

Dave

check out the species name.

I've always known eucalyptus as Honey Locust, which is an acceptable wood if it is big enough.


If it's big enough and dense enough and pretty enough, why not give it a try regardless of it's name?

Dave

I heard there are over 350 different types of eucalyptus, some more millable than others. The stuff in California was enthusiastically promoted by Jack London, but is not one of the more useful ones. Beautiful guitar by the way.

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"Preoccupation with an effect gives it power and enhances the error"
from "Your Owner's Manual" by Burt Hotchkiss.

Honey Locust is "Gleditsia triacanthos" . Honey Locust and Black Locust are native Legumes. Common well known trees of the eastern U.S. Very stable and rot resistant woods.
Eucalyptus is not a Legume or close to it. Eucalyptus is in the myrtle family I think.

The common eucalyptus found here in California is the blue gum, "Eucalyptus globulus"(it is everywhere) is pretty much a pain for any type of woodworking. Very unstable, very hard to dry, checks, cracks, splinters, is twisted, rowed, hard as nails, unstable in service, etc, etc. Which is too bad as it is quite often figured and nice looking. It is nice enough looking to tempt you to try to tame it. I don't recommend it.
L

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Cut to size.....Beat to fit.....Paint to match.

I made a guitar with Californian E.globulus. I used it because it was so beautiful and just to see it I could. A local sawyer was helping a friend cut up a tree for firewood. When he got to the pretty part he went home to get his portable bandsaw with a 42" throat. He said that the key to seasoning it was to cut it into 1 1/2 - 2 inch slabs before it could start checking. I had Dave Borson resaw it and the plates came off the saw as flat as pancakes. I decided to use double-x back bracing for added stability. It was easy to bend but warped with the grain some so I bent it a little thick and sanded out the irregularities. The most trouble I had was with some chip out during routing.

It is a dense and high damping wood, but when paired with a bright sounding top it can be great for jazz and swing tunes especially. Here is a sound clip. http://www.franklinguitars.com/Site/Home.html I don't think anyone is going to get rich making eucalyptus guitars and I wouldn't recommend it to a beginner but if you like a challenge try to find some.

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

Eucalyptus globulus is hopeless, it is only grown for woodchips here in Australia. There are other species that make far better quality wood. Here in Australia we have hundreds of species, some of which grow to huge trees in the forests of Victoria, Tasmania, and southern Western Australia. In Tasmania and Victoria the wetter areas have tall forests mainly of Eucalyptus trees that grow tall and straight, and the wood is used for woodchips, floors and furniture. Sadly most has been woodchipped. The wood is nearly all milled on the quarter becasue it splits otherwise, and can often have pitch pockets. The best pieces can have interlocking grain, wavy grain or tight fiddleback grain. Eucalyptus regnans (mountain ash) and Eucalyptus obliqua (stringy bark) can be excellent tonewood. Most of it is fairly bland, light coloured and straight grained, but some can be beautifully figured. I have made 2 mandolins and one guitar from what I think is E. regnans, but it might be E. oblique, can't be sure. The sound of those 2 mandolins have blown away every other mandolin I have made before, and that includes some made from very expensive violin Maple. The guitar is also very nice and I preferred it to my EIR guitar. Has a different sound than rosewood - lighter and more responsive, but very fine sound. I am no guitar expert since I have not made many guitars, but I can assure you it certainly is an exceptional wood for mandolin backs.

Get the right Eucalyptus species from the native forests and you won't be disappointed. There are some Aussie tonewood suppliers who do supply guitar sets nowadays. I think it is one of the great hardwood tonewoods and is very much under appreciated.

Wow that stuff is beautiful, I had no idea.

Here is an article on the history of eucalyptus in California. http://library.csustan.edu/bsantos/section2.htm The sections on Uses As A Hardwood and It Has To Be Well-Seasoned are quite interesting.

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

I hope nobody is reading this thread, so euca stays a bit longer a secret wood.

ATM I am processing about 50 sets of unreal figured euca, evry 5A matergrade maple gets jellish next to this figured flames....

I'm a total newb with guitars but I keep a large inventory of stabilized red-gum eucalyptus for knife handles; one of my all-time favorites! I think with the right species it would really make some amazing guitars (well, at least they'd look great )

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"Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never--in nothing, great or small, large or petty--never give in, except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy." - Winston Churchill

Yes it is a bit of a secret wood at the moment. Even the Australian guitar makers don't use it much. However, every Aussie maker I have spoken to who has used it has been very positive about the results. The makers and the tonewood suppliers are telling me that the best species to use is Eucalyptus regnans. It is the most stable wood, and is readily available. This species is the biggest tree, growing up to sizes comparable to the Californian Redwoods so guitar sized pieces are not a problem. You won't find it growing in the USA, it is nothing like E. globulus which has been described as an aggressive weed in parts of Australia where it is not naturally growing. A quote from my friend Bob from Tasmanian Tonewoods

"Can be highly figured and Fiddleback, takes a stain well. Has warm and clear tones, great clarity like a cross between Mahogany and Maple. It's use has been limited to the Australian builders, but it makes beautiful sounding backs and sides, and necks. beautiful to work with, very stable and very strong, as well as been lightweight. Excellent for drop tops and solid body guitars."

Peter

yeah, eucalyptus is a big genus and there is some amazing looking wood amongst them. in fact, i´ve never imagined a guitar as beautiful as Ken´s. but here in my country (an specially in my neighbourhoods: northern iberian peninsula) they have the lowest rep a tree can : it´s truly an invasive species that has ruined countless acres of indigenous forests (i´m talking about the globulus variety). it´s a very aggressive species that uses fire to it´s own advantage (it´s rather tolerant of small fires and is usually the first plant to grow after the fire has extinguished), grows faster than anything i know and has an incredible root system that takes all the moister from the ground - after you cut the eucalyptus from a piece of land, you get two possibilities : or more eucalyptus grow, or it will slowly turn into a desert. sorry for the OT (and venting) but i´m on a crusade here. i say: if it can be done, cut all those bastards into guitar wood!

cheers,
Miguel

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sorry, i´m coming in again

just to add: there is also a plague around here with two other aussie imports (it seems we´re good soil for species from down under): acacia melanoxylon and acacia dealbata. the former is - of course - a rather known tonewood, and a very beautiful one. as for the later (and far more aggressive) i don´t know if it´s suitable or not for guitar work: has anyone tried it?

cheers,
Miguel.

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member of the guild of professional dilettantes

Acacia dealbata otherwise known as silver wattle. Native to where I live. Hardy aggressive plant that springs up just about anywhere around here, but it is not a weed. However, I can certainly understand how it could become a weed in areas where it is not native. A few Aussie guitar makers have used "silver wattle", but whether it is actually the same species or not I am not sure.

thanks for the reply. just for info, A. dealbata was the first invasive species to conquer all of the portuguese territory, which is quite an accomplishment as the north is rather hilly and wet and the south is hot and dry. it´s quite a nasty invader. it looks pretty, though.

cheers,
Miguel.

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member of the guild of professional dilettantes