Posted on January 11, 2010March 7, 2024 by Dale Phillips Review: Acoustics of Wood by Voichita Buchur Review: Acoustics of Wood by Voichita Buchur reviewed by Nicholas Von Robison Originally published in American Lutherie #57, 1999 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Five, 2008 Acoustics of Wood Voichita Buchur CRC Press, 1995 ISBN 0849348013 Voichita Buchur’s book Acoustics of Wood is a synthesis of over fifty years of work by the scientific community into the physics of how this complex material responds to vibrational wave stimuli. With almost 800 references into the literature and about ten years from inception to its being published in 1995, it is a tremendous resource for the luthier’s understanding of his/her main material. I don’t get the feel from the text that the author is a maker herself, even though she is a member of the Catgut Acoustical Society. The book is heavily weighted towards violin family instruments, but this doesn’t make the book any less valuable to guitar makers. After a short, well written, general discussion on the anatomical structure of wood (macro, micro, and molecular), a brief outline is presented dividing the book into three major sections. Part One explores the physical phenomena associated with the effects of acoustic waves in forests (windbreaks to attenuate noise) and architectural acoustics (concert halls, office buildings, restaurants) with wood being used as a construction material and insulator in conjunction with other nonwood materials. A survey of six European concert halls and their geometrical, acoustical, and construction data is pretty interesting. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of our premium web content offered to Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. Members also receive 4 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. If you are already a member, login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on January 6, 2010May 16, 2025 by Dale Phillips Review: Identifying Wood: Accurate Results With Simple Tools by R. Bruce Hoadley Review: Identifying Wood: Accurate Results With Simple Tools by R. Bruce Hoadley Reviewed by Nicholas Von Robison Originally published in American Lutherie #29, 1992 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Three, 2004 Identifying Wood: Accurate Results With Simple Tools R. Bruce Hoadley Taunton Press, 1991. 224 pp. ISBN 0-942391-04-7 Can’t tell the difference between... uh... spruce and Shineola? Hope that batch of Picea excelsa you paid a small fortune for really isn’t Pinus attenuata or something similar? In times past, wood identification has been the weak spot in most luthier’s knowledge simply because the ID methods available have not been user-friendly. Dr. Hoadley has made a valiant effort to remedy this problem and I think has succeeded very well in his hybrid approach to wood identification. Of the old methods, one approach involves trying to match an unknown wood with a photograph or a veneer sample. The futility of this approach is obvious unless you are a rank amateur trying to determine whether a sample is walnut or zebrawood. The other method, usually presented in texts for professionals, involves a thorough understanding of wood structure, formation, chemistry, and so on. The ID process is accomplished by the use of dichotomous keys — this type of key presenting a series of choices, each choice involving only two possibilities. While this method can be highly accurate if you know your wood stuff, making a wrong choice or misinterpretation anywhere during the keying process can throw you wildly off the track. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of our premium web content offered to Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. Members also receive 4 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. If you are already a member, login for access or contact us to setup your account.
