| Author | Message | ||
| tbrannon
New Username: tbrannon Post Number: 1 Registered: 11-2004 |
Hey everyone...I'm new to the forum, but since Alembics are known for their awesome wood selection and use of exotic woods, I thought I'd pose this question here. I'm building a 6 string bass and live in New Zealand. I would love to use a native timber, and Kauri is the king of rare natives in NZ....does anyone know of anybody using Kauri as a fretboard wood? Thanks in advance! | ||
| poor_nigel
Senior Member Username: poor_nigel Post Number: 413 Registered: 7-2003 |
Welcome Tobin! I kind of doubt that you will find any one at this site that has used kauri as fretboard material. But maybe someone has read something on it. I read of a sofa made from it and it was $17,600+ US. From what I have read, the wood is durable, but does not fit the characteristics of woods used by Alembic for fretboard material. Since there are only 142 hectors left from the original 1.2+ million that originally inhabited New Zealand, and it is illegal to cut and mill one, it is not a wood one would tend to use much to try things out. It was a great read on the Internet about these trees that can live to be over 2,000 years old. Especially the parts about how they use the trees felled naturally hundreds (thousands?) of years ago and sunk into the swamp and have resurfaced. These, and stumps left previously, are the woods available for sale, and from what I read, are more durable. Therefore, would be a better choice for a fretboard. www.langcaster.com A good place to possibly get your question answered would be at the link above. I notice that he uses ebony fretboards. However, if anyone has used kauri for a fretboard, chances are he has, or knows someone that has. Hey, how come all his stuff is over 35,000 years old? Well, probably because there are more boardfeet of wood in a Kauri tree than any other tree on the planet! (Message edited by poor_nigel on November 17, 2004) | ||
| tbrannon
New Username: tbrannon Post Number: 2 Registered: 11-2004 |
poor nigel, Thanks for the reply and the link, it was very informative. Kauri is expensive, but avaliable here in NZ. There are only about 142 Hectares of Kauri forest land remaining, but you still find small groups of Kauri's scattered throughout the countryside. I own a 7 acre section and have 2 moderate sized Kauri trees on it. It is foolish to cut them down, but if your looking for it and keep your ear to the ground, there is always a farmer or a local who lost one to a storm. There has been a ton of planting in the past 10 years or so, Kauri is a slow growth tree, but if managed correctly, we might see Kauri readily avaliable in the next 15-20 years. It is unbelievably beautiful wood and because of it's growth rate I wondered if it might not have characteristics similar to redwood. I saw the featured custom a few months back and got the idea. I would love to use it somehow...maybe some veneers? Either how, I'll be sure to post a link when the bass is finished! (Message edited by tbrannon on November 17, 2004) | ||
| mint_bass
Advanced Member Username: mint_bass Post Number: 201 Registered: 1-2004 |
Welcome to the club Tobin i have never heard of this wood but i am sure it is lovely NZ has such lovely countryside. would it be poosible for you to post a picture of the grain of the wood so we can see it. talk to you soon Andrew | ||
| tbrannon
New Username: tbrannon Post Number: 3 Registered: 11-2004 |
Mint, check the Website that nigel posted above. The Luthier uses swamp Kauri....which is VERY aged and burled. Some swamp Kauri samples have resins embedded as well. You get some really cool dark swirls and even spots that look like Jade has been inlayed. I found another local guy who is making guitar blanks from swamp Kauri. Here is a link with a few pics. Scroll down to the bottom. www.thewoodturnersstudio.co.nz/pages/Gallery2.htm Unfortunately, for whatever reason, I can't seem to find any online photos of non-swamp kauri. It looks very similar to the swamp version, minus some of the burled veining. The coloration and graining is very similar to the aged Kauri. It is a beautiful wood. I'm going to try a non-swamped Kauri top (5/16") thick over a Mahogany core. I found a local farmer who had a big tree go down in a recent storm. =) Should be fun! I'll provide some pics of the blanks as soon as I borrow a digital camera! | ||
| tbrannon
New Username: tbrannon Post Number: 4 Registered: 11-2004 |
I found a site that has a small photo of above ground Kauri... somewhat similar to what I hope to make my top from. My wood show a lot more movement in the grain, but this might help. http://www.molcrisa.com/lamadera/maderas/kauri.htm Hablamos Espanol! | ||
| mint_bass
Advanced Member Username: mint_bass Post Number: 205 Registered: 1-2004 |
you are right that wood is unbeleivable its so very nice. I am a big fan of Burl woods so i love that wood. nice linkds thanks very much keep us up to date on how your bass goes andrew | ||
| bsee
Senior Member Username: bsee Post Number: 479 Registered: 3-2004 |
If it is "like redwood" that would probably make it a bit soft for fretboard use. I can't remember ever hearing of a redwood fretboard. I vaguely remember a discussion that said redwood was even a bit soft for use as a top, but that enough finish is applied to protect it and make it solid. Maybe I am wrong on this, but I would suspect that if you can find a piece of about 9" wide by 20" long by most of an inch thick, that it could be milled into a top for an Alembic. Not sure of the exact specs for size, but that seems about right. This would be one of the cases where they would probably let you provide your own wood for the instrument. | ||
| tbrannon
New Username: tbrannon Post Number: 5 Registered: 11-2004 |
bsee, I agree...much too soft for use as a fretboard. If I could go back and change the thread title I'd do it. It was a random thought and about 10 minutes after posting, I had my answer! At least it's getting some looks though. It is a beautiful wood and from my experience with it, is harder than redwood. I've only worked with redwood once, so I can't claim to be an expert. The kauri I've worked with tends to be much harder however. I'm building the bass myself, but hope to use an Alembic preamp and perhaps pickups. | ||
| tbrannon
New Username: tbrannon Post Number: 6 Registered: 11-2004 |
a beautiful acoustic guitar made from Kauri...check out the back! http://www.dreamguitars.com/preowned/acoustic/williams_flame_tui_2004_04101.htm |
