Herbert wrote: > > How do lute makers get the special wood they need? > > Are there retail suppliers? Do they use personal contacts? Do they cut > down trees themselves? Is it common for makers to be uncommunicative > about this?
There are lumber yards that sell tonewoods and various other woods used in instrument making. Some are big commercial enterprises, some are not. Sometimes a luthier will do his own cutting. If a luthier is uncommunicative about where they get their wood I would guess they're protecting a source they don't want used up. When a professional refuses to answer certain questions I tend not to persue those questions any farther out of courtesy and respect for their craft and trade. > Does the wood have to be aged, kilned, or otherwise treated? If so, who > does that? The wood must be dried. If you use wood that still retains much of its moisture it will ikely warp badly on you as the finished instrument continues to dry out. Drying can be accomplished in a kiln, which greatly speeds up the process but also increases the cost. Any good sized lumber mill will likely have a kiln. Smaller shops will probably job this out (increasing cost even more as they have to pay the kiln owner and recoup that plus profits). If you cut your own wood you can let it air dry in large planks prior to cutting into smaller sections for trimming intto staves. The general rule for air drying is about a year per square inch of thickness of the plank or trunk. So a three inch thick plank will take about three years to dry to the right point where it can be turned into an instrument. No other treatments are usually used in woods used for instruments as this usually involves chemicals that could alter the tonal quatlity of the wood. And as a caution, if you ever get any scraps of that pressure treated, green colored wood the DIY stores like to sell for outdoor work such as deck, DON'T BURN IT. The smoke from the chemicals in the treatment are TOXIC and DEADLY. Hope that helps. Regards, Craig
