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Some exotic woods

Discussion in 'Luthier's Corner' started by pacmanb, Nov 8, 2005.

  1. Nov 8, 2005 #1
    pacmanb

    pacmanb Guest

    Jan 19, 2005
    Bulgaria
    Another wood-related question:

    These are some woods I found recently in a local store (sold as hardwood flooring :) ) : Merbau, Kempas, Cumaru, Cunila, Ulin, Keruing.
    I might use some of these in a couple of projects, as they are easily obtainable and relatively cheap. I've found some info about some of them, most of them seem stable enough to be used in lutherie, some of them are quite hard and wear-resistant, so they could be used as fingerboards.
    I'm curious if anyone has used any of these woods - what's your opinion about their sonic properties, workability etc.
    Btw. I've found out that Cumaru is also known as Brazilian Oak, which sometimes is used for neck laminates, afaik.
     
  2. Nov 8, 2005 #2
    mahrous

    mahrous Guest

    Aug 13, 2005
    Egypt
    Brazillian Oak?

    as far as i know, Oak grows in cold areas such as the US and Canada. i dont recall any info about Oak growing in tropical areas!
     
  3. Nov 8, 2005 #3
    pilotjones

    pilotjones

    Nov 8, 2001
    US-NY-NYC
    Brazilian oak would be a marketplace term. It has nothing to do with real oak, except that it might have similar properties. It's very common to see names like this, calling some wood by some species that it's not, combined with an area where ir doesn't grow. E.g. Brazilian cherry, African Mahogany, Tasmanian Oak, etc.
     
  4. Nov 8, 2005 #4
    pacmanb

    pacmanb Guest

    Jan 19, 2005
    Bulgaria
    It really doesn't have much in common with ordinary oak- it's much harder, darker (like walnut), and doesn't have the open grain of oak.

    P.S. mahrous, oak grows all over Europe too, even in the southern countries