Walnuts are not uncommon to the bowls of Neapolitan mandolins. Eugene
At 09:00 AM 2/15/2007, Rob Dorsey wrote: >Hi All, > >I have often and long wondered why we do not use walnut for lutes as a body >wood. It certainly is as hard as maple, particularly the birdseye, and has a >beautiful nominally dark hue. I imagine a walnut body with holly spacers >under a fairly clear varnish as being lovely. There are so many variations >of walnut in color and figure so as to provide a pallet of choices from >which the client and builder might choose. If time allowed I'd make one on >spec for proof of concept. Perhaps before LSA next year. > >Best, >Rob Dorsey >http://RobDorsey.com > >-----Original Message----- >From: Anthony Hind [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] >Sent: Thursday, February 15, 2007 8:23 AM >To: Martin Shepherd; Lute Net >Subject: [LUTE] ebony etc > >Martin > > As you know I am not a specialist, but found a few sites where >guitar makers are raising the same questions as you are. They appear to be >looking at cherry, walnut, and redwood. > >I am not sure what woods they are hoping to replace with these. > >However, I heard that some lute makers might be using rifle stock wood to >replace ebony. I think it is a form of walnut : Highly Figured Claro Walnut >~ Gun Stock Wood > >http://www.ca-walnutdesigns.com/products/products.htm > >Here are a few quotes about walnut, followed by remarks on persimmon ( a >local American ebony-type) : > >Best > >Anthony > >http://crab.rutgers.edu/~pbutler/rebec.html > >The fingerboard, tail, endpeg, and bridge all are carved from black walnut >wood to contrast with the body - cheaper for the model than the ebony I >would have otherwise used, and definitely easier to find. >The body was stained with a wood oil, both for color and sealing the wood, >but no varnish was applied. > >However, there is a problem with walnut according to the following : > > http://groups.google.com/group/rec.music.makers.guitar.acoustic/ >browse_thread/thread/dee77fd44d6142a/562990314731bb57?lnk=st&q=stained >+woods+to+replace+ebony&rnum=2&hl=fr#562990314731bb57 > >Well, recently I spoke to a (relatively new) luthier who worked >for a large high-end guitar company. (I won't mention names or >locations here, so as to avoid any flaming anyone.)He said that >this company had a large run of Oregon walnut guitars in a number >of sizes, and that they had mostly all been "duds". He felt that >walnut was an excellent sound absorber (kind of like teak), rather >than a sound reflecter, and provided the example of rifle stocks, >where walnut is the most common wood, ostensibly because of its >ability to absorb vibration. For this reason, he does not offer >walnut as a choice in his guitars. > > > >Reply > >I have a guitar that is made completely of Walnut. Walnut back and >sides, >walnut top, walnut neck, and even walnut tuning knobs. Believe me, it >is not >a dud. The walnut top is clear, distinct, cannot be overdriven, highs >and >lows are very seperate, each with great fundementals. The overtones are >certainly not as dominant as one would find on redwood or englemen, >but they >are there. > > >The hard one to replace will be ebony. The 'local' variety, >persimmon, is >most usually white, although you can find logs with some dark grey >streaking. Look at Henry's myrtle/spruce classical in the 'Student >Gallery' on my web site to > see a nice piece of persimmon used as a fingerboard. The white >stuff is >nice and hard, we just have to figure out how to stain it. > >Have you tried Black saddle dye in coats? I am not a luthier but I >bought >a bum-around guitar-a Martin DM and stained the Indian rosewood >fingerboard and bridge with this dye and it looks like ebony from a few >feet away-of course, white wood may not take the dye. > >Alan Carruth / Luthier >http://www.alcarruthluthier.com > >http://groups.google.com/group/alt.guitar/browse_thread/thread/ >39d81be8892a6b79/3444368f9a812342?lnk=st&q=stained+woods+to+replace >+ebony&rnum=5&hl=fr#3444368f9a812342 > >You can use ebanol from http://www.stewmac.com >it makes rosewood look like ebony. >it probably wasn't a mahogany fingerboard, most likely rosewood, or >one of >the cheaper woods typically used. >ebanol will stay on, stain wont stay on. > > >Patrick K <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message > > >http://www.bartruff.com/services.php > >Currently good stocks of ebony come from India which has a non- >threatened status for its species of Diospyros. But obviously, if >every instrument maker rushes out to buy the Indian stock, there will >be a problem. > >So, I use a little trick. Ordinary US grown persimmon certified by >the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) as sustainably grown can be >stained to look as black as Indian ebony, and it is equally as fine >and hard. Same Family, same Genus, different species. It even sinks >in water like "ebony" because it is ebony. It makes no difference to >the sound, performance or integrity of the violin and the beauty is >just as lustrous. > >http://groups.google.com/group/rec.music.makers.guitar.acoustic/ >browse_thread/thread/dee77fd44d6142a/562990314731bb57?lnk=st&q=stained >+woods+to+replace+ebony&rnum=2&hl=fr#562990314731bb57 > >The hard one to replace will be ebony. The 'local' variety, >persimmon, is most >usually white, although you can find logs with some dark grey >streaking. Look >at Henry's myrtle/spruce classical in the 'Student Gallery' on my web >site to >see a nice piece of persimmon used as a fingerboard. The white stuff >is nice >and hard, we just have to figure out how to stain it. To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
