Official Luthiers Forum!

Padauk. It split, bent, ripped and fought the whole way. I'm still picking orange dust ot of my hair an ears 5 years later. I love the look but had problems working it.
Smells terrific, like cinamon and vanilla!!

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Greg
http://garibaldiinstruments.com/

Purpleheart gives wenge a hard run as being the most splintery stuff around. Hard to avoid slivers with that stuff.

Purpleheart.

But I mean the really purple stuff, not after it's turned reddish brown. It just doesn't match with other wood colors and looks terrible. I can't figure out why anyone would want to do that to an instrument they spent so much time on.

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http://www.birkonium.com CNC Products for Luthiers
http://banduramaker.blogspot.com

There is a certain plank of african mahogany in my shop, and whenever anybody makes the tinniest bit of sawdust from it, my nose gushes blood like a fountain. Its the only wood that does it to me, but i stay away from the shop if anyone is processing that stuff.

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Jordan Aceto
Ithaca, NY

I second that entirely! The dust is the devil also because it stains anything that's close to it afterward! I almost have to clean my shop after planing an ebony fretboard or else the next spruce top I pass in the planer will come out grey!

Plus the fact that it splinters too easily (to my taste) when fretting/refretting.

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Alain Moisan
Former full time builder of Acoustics, Classicals and Flamencos.
(Now building just for fun!)

Put that up in classifieds!

I got some Sapele for tons of kerflining, and it turned out to be 'figured' sapele, really hard, does not plane well, or joint well, etc...

I'll trade you for the cow-pie, poison ivy fingerboard bridge!

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Here is what a Parlor Guitar is for!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEa8PkjO6_I

Yeah - that stuff smells like dead animals!

It is streaked like that because that particular tree grew in a swampy area - so that's why.

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The member formerly known as erikbojerik....

Jordan - It sounds like that plank should just be out of the shop period. Shock sensitivities can get way worse with time. You could lying on the floor struggling for breath the next time.

I wonder what species it is? I'd guess that since stuff labeled as African Mahogany comes from several different genus, there is probably a big range in how a given person would respond to them.

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Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu

I don't like cocobollo, love the looks but hate gluing it together. Much difficulty, even with new surface and wiping with alcohol.

Hmmm, you're missing out on a truly fabulous tonewood. Alcohol is not good enough in my experience. I use Acetone, a good
wipe on two perfectly planed surfaces, wait a minute, glue up, no problem. Same method works for teak or any oily wood.
Why not give it another try? You'll be glad you did! A good clean joint with good squeezeout works wonders.

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Bill Hodge


One does not simply, own enough guitars!

Jake, did you try pumice? I just finished a Wenge Baritone and the pumice was absolutely fantastic!

Still, I'll never use Wenge again. Looks good, sounds great, but just a pain to work with. However, the pore filling, which I dreaded the most, turned out to be quick and painless with the pumice.

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

Someone I saw a while back, I can't remember who, (maybe Robbie O'Brien?) used drywall joint compound with a black dye
added as a pore filler on a dark large pored build. Apparently they used it with great success. Robbie, if you're monitoring
this thread, was that you? If so, how'd that work out for you? In having been a remodeling contractor, and a pro woodworker
I've seen a lot of strange things, but the joint compound idea was a new one to me. In all the years I've been in business,
I'd never seen the likes.

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Bill Hodge


One does not simply, own enough guitars!

Yep that was Robbie

Howdy Michael my Brother Texan,

Well that's just all sort's a alright if it works out well under any finish
It don't get any cheaper and more readily available than Joint Compound.

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Bill Hodge


One does not simply, own enough guitars!

Wow - What a great topic - I've learned one thing for sure - never going to work with Wenge.
As for ebony, yeah the sawdust is a nightmare - I'm going to have to get a lot better with the scraper - sandpaper's a problem with the stuff (made my nice maple veneer between the fretboard and the neck look like mud). But otherwise I love ebony. So hard, such a beautiful shine when you plane it right.

Oh, and another vote for Black Walnut as a personal favorite - easy to bend, can have some absolutely captivating figure for backs, and I actually like that barnyard smell it produces when you work it. Just don't dump the sawdust in your compost - walnut is toixc to vegetable plants like tomatoes.

As for what I don't like - I haven't found any real pet peeves yet.