Posted on July 1, 2024July 9, 2024 by Dale Phillips Questions: Walnut Log Questions: Walnut Log by Bruce Harvie Originally published in American Lutherie #101, 2010 Lee Pendergrast from Etowah, Tennessee asks: I know where a hundred-plus-year-old 20"×12' walnut log is in the river near me. How would it need to be sawn for best use in lutherie? This log has been in a place where the river rises and falls often, leaching out the tannins. I’ve read that the very best wood for instruments has been soaked in water; microbial action and leaching produce hollow cells which are more resonant. Bruce Harvie from Olga, Washington replies: Walnut can be a fine wood for instruments, but unless it’s highly figured (which it probably isn’t), not all that valuable. It has been used historically by many companies, most notably Epiphone for its archtop guitars. An article in Reader’s Digest many years ago contributed to the public’s perception that walnut logs are extremely valuable, but in the world of tonewoods, this is not all that true unless the tree is highly figured, in which case it can be highly sought after. But these figured trees are rare indeed, and usually found in orchards in California, not in the indigenous black walnut forests in the Midwestern USA. Another tonewood myth created by the press (mostly by a few publicity-hungry companies on Lake Superior) is the high value placed on logs soaked in water and the quality of the wood produced. It may or may not be true, but to use it as a ploy to place exorbitant prices on logs hauled from the bottom of lakes is disingenuous, in my opinion. A log soaked in water or floating in a river for a hundred years is just as likely to suffer defects from this sort of treatment.
Posted on July 1, 2024July 9, 2024 by Dale Phillips Questions: Wenge Questions: Wenge by John Calkin Originally published in American Lutherie #61, 2000 See also, Questions: African Wenge by Jeffrey R. Elliott John Calkin of Greenville, Virginia responds to Milan Sabljic’s question regarding wenge and Willy Ware’s questions regarding superglue’s interaction with finishes. Wenge is hard, yet very brittle. Splinters are a constant threat. There’s also a striking difference in hardness between the wood from different seasons. I recently made a copy of a Gibson L-00 with wenge sides that were sort of quartered and a back that was flatsawn. Keeping the back free of ripples was a nasty task involving a lot of block sanding. It’s almost as bad as softwood in this respect. Wenge is also one of those surprise woods that attack some people. The man who gave me my first piece of wenge said it gave him an intense headache when he resawed it. The exact same board had no affect on me. Superglue drop fills: At Huss & Dalton we do drop fills on conversion varnish all the time, and they are invisible. In my own shop I’ve found that with lacquer and Crystalac it should be used between coats so that it can be aggressively sanded flat, otherwise the fills are devilishly hard to hide. Fills used on the surface usually leave a witness mark around the perimeter. Even when the feather-out is perfect and the surface looks and feels dead-on after flat sanding, the fill is often visible after buffing. Finish repairs done in superglue look much better than the ding or scratch, but they are seldom perfectly invisible. Awhile back I resurrected a much-abused mahogany parlor guitar of low value. The back was cracked and dented, and I did all the repair work with dozens of puddles of superglue. The back stabilized wonderfully and looked perfectly flat after sanding. After French polishing it looked like a new guitar, but after a couple days every fill telegraphed through the shellac. More wetsanding and polishing followed, but the fills kept coming through. I finally had to tone down the gloss to make the work acceptable. My customer was thrilled, but I wasn’t happy at all. I’ve decided that the smallest amounts of CA glue possible should be used on instruments, and if possible it should be mixed with sanding dust to stabilize it. The stuff is a life saver, but it’s not quite God’s gift to lutherie. ◆
Posted on July 1, 2024July 9, 2024 by Dale Phillips Questions: African Wenge Questions: African Wenge by Jeffrey R. Elliott Originally published in American Lutherie #59, 1999 See also, Questions: Wenge by John Calkin Milan Sabljic of Belgrade, Yugoslavia asks: I would like to know is it safe to use African wenge to make classic guitar bridges. Jeff Elliott of Portland, OR responds: I’ve never tried it, but I don’t see any reason not to. It’s dense, it sounds (taps) well, and it’s beautiful. Also, Gibson used it for steel string guitar bridges in the 1970s. I think it would work very well. ◆
Posted on July 1, 2024July 9, 2024 by Dale Phillips Letter: Replanting Rosewood Letter: Replanting Rosewood by Erik Stenn Originally published in American Lutherie #69, 2002 Dear Tim, During my travels I have lived amongst and visited areas that have been heavily deforested. As an ecologist I am painfully aware of the impacts deforestation has on ecosystems both terrestrial and aquatic. As a luthier I am aware of the effects of deforestation on another level, namely the cost and availability of instrument wood. Certainly there are sources available, and I am not writing this to berate an industry — perhaps just a practice. The reality is that more species are making their way onto the CITIES list. What will be left for my children and their children? Through numerous visits to Brazil to visit family, I became introduced to many beautiful hardwoods that are now rare. My guitar teacher works mostly with Brazilian rosewood but laments its scarcity. This situation, in conjunction with my father-in-law’s dream of having his children work his land, generated the idea to reforest the land (forty hectares of old cattle grazing grounds) with hardwoods. This project relies heavily on the participation of the entire family. The children have bought into the concept of replanting (during the rainy season) knowing that at some point in their lives they will begin the selected harvesting and continued replanting and pass this on to their children. Last year we planted twenty or thirty Dalbergia nigra saplings, and this year more of the same, with diversification into other species. In our minds it is not just replanting monocrop style but to approach this by recognizing possible synergistic interactions between species. Repeated studies have demonstrated that monocropped rosewood has lower survivals. Why Brazil? We had access to land that was not being used. If we had the opportunity here in the States we would do the same thing. It is a gratifying project. Strangely, we are capitalizing on the situation, but in the process are giving back and educating ourselves. At the moment it seems like a win-win situation. I just wanted to recommend others trying this too. ◆
Posted on June 30, 2024September 17, 2024 by Dale Phillips Inside Pacific Rim Tonewoods Inside Pacific Rim Tonewoods by Steve McMinn Originally published in American Lutherie #33, 1993 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie, Volume Three, 2004 We make wooden components for stringed musical instruments, mostly guitar soundboards. We attempt to be the best in the world at what we do. For the past five years, most of our production has been for large American guitar companies such as Martin and Taylor. In the past couple of years, though, we’ve begun to export much of our wood to Europe and Asia. Recently, we’ve begun to sell tops in small retail quantities and are now putting together a price list. Elizabeth Rozier, who bought, sold, and cataloged rare books for years, is handling the retail end of the business. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of the Articles Online featured on our website for Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. Members also receive 3 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. MEMBERS: login for access or contact us to setup your account.
