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I have a plank of brazilian, 11x86x1.75 that I acquired from a retired cabinet maker who acquired it from a cabinet shop that closed years ago. The wood was left over from a boardroom project for Illinois Power in the 50's or 60's. It still has a stencil mark on it indicating it was for that project. Before sending this off to be resawn, should I try to get Cites certification? I don't even know if it is possible or worth the effort. Anyone here have any experience with this?

Hello,

unfortunatelly I can not give you much advise, since I am living in europe, and I guess it might work different in every country. Basically you need a bill / paperwork where you can proof that it has been cut before 1992.

Are the dimesnions in cm or in inches ???? Can you show some opictures, just for the fun of it...

Cheers, Alex

Here you go Alex. three planks all 1.75 inches thick. $30 bd ft got the job done.

That didn't work. A little help with the picture thing?

Maybe the file size is too large? Limit is 250KB, I think.

2nd try

Thank you, very nice! Do you already know where to send it for resawing? Borson Resaw?

Cheers, Alex

Yes, Alex, I'm thinking Borson. There is a high quality door maker locally who could probably do it, but Borson has so much experience with guitar woods.

In this case I would also go to Borson, or do it myself

Nice wood, have fun with it!!!!!

Are you certain that it's Dalbergia nigra - i.e. does it pass the scratch-and-sniff test?

I've seen lots of "rosewood" from Brazil that is not the correct species, and simply stenciled "Brasil" or some such. Kingwood comes to mind as a look-alike that's often passed off as D.n. Bear in mind that it's often not a matter of intentionally misleading anyone.

As far as I know, the only definitive test available to lay folks like us is the smell. Dalbergia nigra has an absolutely distinctive, unmistakeable odor when sanded, cut or heated.

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Cheers,

Frank Ford

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Frank, it did, and the smaller pieces show that classic spider webbing. The long one is on the quarter, and appears to be a cut off of a live edge, but alas not wide enough for more than fingerboards and bridges. The smallest is mostly on the quarter and will yield some gorgeous sides. The big piece has some quarter moving to flat. It's pretty rough, so some light surfacing and end cuts to better read it.

Unless you plan on exporting it or selling it to Martin, IMHO there is no reason to get CITES paperwork.

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John

John Hall has re-sawn several Brazilian rosewood planks for me with excellent results.

Thanks, David. I've done business with John in the past, always first rate. And he's closer than California. Thanks for the tip.

Thanks, John. I just didn't want to make any mistakes early on.

Bob Cefalu is also a good choice to get this stash cut up by.

Nice looking wood there.

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My strategey for resawing planks (Brazilian) has always been to have the entire piece cut into slabs (as per the judgement of the person doing the sawing) and to have everything thickness sanded out to about .110".
This allows you then to pattern around the inevitable checks and other defects and freely assign pieces to backs or sides in such a way as to use the material to it's maximum advantage.

Thanks, David. Good advice.

I'm told that 'papered' sets of BRW go for about twice as much as ones without the paper work. I'd imagine the guitar would be worth more, too, since you, or the buyer, would have the option of selling it over seas.

I have a set with paperwork. Only problem is that the paperwork has an expiration date, and it expired last October. Kind of takes the fun out of buying for future use!

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Waddy

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Jeez - as if I NEEDED another reason to feel really old.

I have a few pieces of Brazilian rosewood I bought from regular lumber dealers as far back as 1967, and some I got from sources that had it for decades before I came along. Papers? I've never seen official papers for any piece of wood. How does one certify that the wood in question actually matches up to the papers?

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Cheers,

Frank Ford

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Frank. Frank this does not apply to me but I have heard of those who buy this type of wood accompanied by the proper paperwork and receipts and use that information for other wood. If you have proof and receipts that the wood was purchased before a certain date it is in fact completely legal


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Ken

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Ken

There was a thread on here a while back about how to get CITES paperwork for wood that currently does not have it. You have to pay a fee (its the government, so that should go without saying) and then you have to explain where the wood came from. You may or may not get the certification, so it may not be worth the hassle.

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