Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi folks.
I've heard of people using kauri pine as a back and sides material, however I have a billet that is supposed to be a soundboard.
It doesn't look at all like anything that would typically be used as a soundboard.
It looks similar to some spanish cypress i have, only darker.
The growth rings are very widely spaced.
It does have a tap tone, and its quite light.

I bought it so as to make soundboard patches and reinforcments out of.
But i felt guilty about chopping it up for that use, and found some scraps to use for that instead.
So I now have a kauri soundboard that i have to decide what to do with.

Does anyone have any experience in using this particular timber for soundboards?
Any thoughts or input greatly appreciated.

cheers,
Claire

I know Laurie Williams of New Zealand has used Kauri for sound boards. Not the ancient stuff but trees he has cut down. http://www.guitars.co.nz/tonewoods.html

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

Hi Claire,

There are some photos of Kauri tonewood on Laurie's website.....check out this page for same: http://www.guitars.co.nz/ancientgrades.html

Cheers Martin

Hi Claire,
I've just finished building a classical using a kauri soundboard. It didn't have much in the way of tap-tone originally, but I'm pretty happy with the final sound - good bass & mid-range, maybe a little lighter-on in treble. I can't offer much in the way of any special treatment that may be necessary - this was my first guitar, and I just followed the basic recipe in Jim Williams' book. Will try to attach a picture of the soundboard before I attached the bridge.
Steve