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Honduran Mahogany. Tonewood Database.

May 4, 2011 Terence Tonewood Database

Swietenia Macrophyllia | Tonewood Profile | ”Honduran Mahogany“

We present and highly recommend viewing the pdf version of this article first as it contains the most up to date information and more photos.

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Quick Facts
Scientific name: Swietenia macrophyllia
Trade names: Mahogany, Honduran Mahogany
Janka: 800 approx
Uses: Back and sides. veneer
RIYL: Mahogany!
Bling factor: Chatayonace and curl is uncommon
Availability: Good
CITES status: Not listed. No restrictions
Note: (RIYL) Recommended If You Like

Natural History

Honduran Mahogany has a native range from south Mexico to the upper Amazon in Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil. It grows to 45m tall, 2m in truncal diameter.

Ken Miller #118
(click for fullsize)

Dreadnought
Bearclaw Red spruce top
The Tree Mahoganyback and sides
Find out more:
1. Ken Miller Interview
2. Owner’s Impression.

Famous trees

“The Tree”
The Tree is the name of a large, figured mahogany tree discovered in the Honduras. The figure was exceptionally good with a very intense, even flecked quilting. Timber from this tree has made excellent guitar sets, table tops and veneer stock. For our feature article on “The Tree” click here.

Status

Honduran mahogany is currently threatened due to habit loss and over logging. However, well established plantations exist in its natural range and abroad.

Physical properties

Honduran Mahogany is pinkish to yellowish when fresh oxidising to deep rich red or brown with distinct yellow-white sapwood. It is easy to work with hand or machine tools and takes a excellent polish.

It is seen in various figures, with curl, quilt and wavy grain.

Basic specific gravity (ovendry weight/green volume) 0.40 to 0.68; air- dry density 30 to 52 pcf.

Janka side hardness 740 lb for green material and 800 lb for dry.

As a tonewood…

Honduran mahogany has a long history as a tonewood for necks as well as tops and back & sides. With it’s easy workability and ability to take a beautiful finish, it is a popular tonewood for small and major manufacturers.

Subjective tone…

Dana Bourgeois puts it best:

“Where rosewood guitars can be thought of as having a “metallic” sound, mahogany ….guitars are better described as sounding “woody, although the harder, more dense examples … can take on some of the characteristics of the rosewoods.”

Availability

Plantations should ensure a decent supply for the near future, although old growth timber is now on the CITES appendix 2 and trade is now limited.

Links/Sources:
Wikipedia
Trees, shrubs and plams of Panama
Dana Bourgeois

©Terence Tan.

Pictures copyright individual holders.

Any infringement of copyright is entirely unintentional. Any copyright issues should be address to: writers@guitarbench.com. We will attempt to resolve these issues quickly.

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Sitka Spruce. Tonewood Profile.

February 10, 2010 Terence Tonewood Database

Picea Sitchensis | Tonewood Profile | ”Sitka Spruce”

All pictures – Click to enlarge!
Please email with any corrections/ additional info
We aim to keep each profile as complete as possible & your help is appreciated!

Quick Facts
Scientific name: Picea Sitchensis
Trade names: Sitka Spruce
Janka: 510
Uses: Tops
RIYL: Port Orford Cedar
Bling factor: Can have bearclaw
Availability: Good at present
CITES status: Not listed. No restrictions

Note: (RIYL) Recommended If You Like
Bling factor rated out of a maximum of 10, based on the most highly figured sets we have seen.

Natural History

Sitka spruce is a coniferous evergreen tree ranging from Western Alaska to California. It is the third largest conifer topped only by the Coastal Redwood and Douglas-fir and is the largest spruce in the world. Heights up to 100m and trunk diameters to 7m have been recorded.

Stika spruce can be long lived with trees over 700 years old documented. However, large size does not indicate age as it can grow rapidly. One individual, the Queets Spruce is 350-450 years old and adds grows more than a cubic meter of wood annually.

Famous trees

Kiidk’yaas (“ancient tree”) also known as the Golden Spruce.
This was a Sitka spruce growing on the Banks of the Yakoun River in Haida Gawii, British Columbia. Due to a rare genetic mutation, it’s needles were golden instead of green in color. Although revered by the Haida First Nation living on the island, it was felled by an umemployed logger to highlight the damage caused by logging companies.

Read more about the Golden Spruce in my upcoming article, Golden Spruce and the Six String Nation.

Queets Spruce
This is a Sitka spruce tree growing near the Queets River in Olympic National Park. It is the largest spruce in the world with a trunk volume of 337 m³ (11,901 cubic feet) and an estimate age of 350-450 years.

Status

Heavily logged for more than a century, only a remnant of the sitka spruce forest remains along the Northwest coast of the United States.

However, it has been successfully introduced into Britain and northern Europe where it is now widely grown for lumber.

Threet Guitar
(click for fullsize)

A Sitka Spruce topped guitar by Judy Threet.
More details here

Physical properties

Sitka spruce is creamy white with a pink tinge. It has long wood fibers, great resonance, dimensional stability and good gluing properties. These provide it with resilience and elasticity.

It has a Janka rating of 510 lbf and a spefici gravity of 0.35.

As a tonewood…

Sitka spruce is stiff along and across the grain with a characteristically light weight. This creates a high velocity of sound.

It is currently the industry standard wood and is widely used by most major and small shop companies.

Subjective tone…

My experience with Sitka spruce is that it has a strong fundamental tone with relatively few overtones. This leads to a direct, punchy tone with great headroom.

Dana Bourgeois wrote:

“Sitka is an excellent choice of topwood, then, for players whose style demands a wide dynamic response and a robust, meaty tone. On the other side of the balance sheet, the lack of a strong overtone component can result in a “thin” tone when played with a relatively light touch-depending, of course, upon the design of the guitar and the other woods used in its construction. The break-in period for a new Sitka guitar can also be longer than that of other spruces.”

Availability

Although it’s range is limited, good management and current stands of planted trees ensure a relatively good supply at present.

However to highlight the real scarcity of tonewood within a harvest, Brian Thair says “The tonewood prospectors on the coast of British Columbia will tell you that very little of the overall Sitka spruce harvest is good enough for tone wood. Pretty special trees and maybe just a piece of each of them. When Yamaha, Martin & National come up here, they go straight to the prospectors. Here in my patch of the interior along HWY 16 in BC, the Annual Allowable Cut was 75,000 m^3. Of that, tone wood was less than 2,000. That’s NOT because most of it has already been cut and spooled off into plywood! Somebody in the city of Prince George is cutting tops, I’ve been told that a #1 rough spruce (probably white or Englemann) guitar top is about $50.00. “

Links:
LMI http://www.lmii.com
Dana Bourgeois http://www.pantheonguitars.com
Jack Spira http://www.jackspiraguitars.com/

©Terence Tan.

Pictures copyright individual holders.

Any infringement of copyright is entirely unintentional. Any copyright issues should be address to: writers@guitarbench.com. We will attempt to resolve these issues quickly.

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Claro Walnut. Tonewood Database

July 8, 2009 Terence Tonewood Database

Juglans hindsii| Tonewood Profile | ”Claro Walnut”

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Please email with any corrections/ additional info
We aim to keep each profile as complete as possible & your help is appreciated!

Claro Walnut technically refers to the species J. hindsi. There are many varieties and hybrids f walnut and to start with, I’ll just run through a few of the scientific and common names for the various walnuts. My research has indicated that Claro Walnut is J.Hinsii although some folks refer to English Walnut grafted onto Claro root stock as Claro Walnut.

Juglans regia— common walnut, Persian, English, Carpathian walnut
J. californica S.Wats. — California Black Walnut
J. hindsii — Hinds’ Black Walnut- most commonly called Claro walnut
J. nigra L. — Eastern Black Walnut

Quick Facts
Scientific name: Juglans hindsii
Trade names: Claro Walnut
Janka: approx 1,000 lbs
Uses: Back & sides, drop tops, veneer
RIYL: Earthy, wood tone.
Bling factor: color variation and curl not uncommon
Availability: Well managed
CITES status: Not listed. No restrictions

Natural History

Claro walnut is the trade name for Juglans hindsii. The species was first discovered by the English Botanist Richard B. Hinds growing in California in the Sacramento Valley. In fact, the first large stands of Claro Walnut were found in the following 3 locations:
The valley of Walnut Creek in Contra Costa County,
The banks of the Sacramento River,
The Wooden Valley east of Napa.

This tree attains heights of 30 to 60 feet and is commonly found in northern and central California where it is often found with a single erect trunk. Although commonly branchless for 10-40 feet, it has an impressive crown which can be wider than the tree is tall. Equally impressive is the diameter, with lengths of 5-6 feet regularly attained.

There is confusion about Claro walnut due to the widespread use of Juglans hindsii as the rootstock of orchard trees. With Claro walnut wood below the original graft and lighter-colored English walnut above, some woodworkers have featured this dramatic change in color of their work.

Status

Although commercially important as a rootstock for English walnut orchards throughout the world, several sources claim that Juglans hindsii is endangered, with few native stands remaining. Outside of horticulture, it is used mainly for high-quality furniture, gunstocks and guitars!

Physical properties

Claro Walnut is beautiful timber. It’s colour varies from black and orange contrasts to the usual chocolate walnut tones. It frequently has prominent curly figure which occurs in conjunction with colour variation. A a timber, Claro Walnut is a pleasure to work with as it works well with both hand & power tools, has good strength and bending properties, and takes finishes well.

It has a Janka rating of approximately 1,000 lbs force and a specific gravity of 0.56.

As a tonewood…

As a tonewood, guitars built from claro walnut retain the wood’s natural color, figure and has the bonus of being stable in service. Many luthiers and factories offer Claro Walnut as an option. A testiment to it’s beauty, wood working properties and sustainability.

Stephen Kinnaird is a big fan and says:

“Claro walnut is one of our favorites. First of all, there is the undeniable beauty of the material. Few North American species can trump Claro visually. Some of the wilder maples have more to offer in the swimsuit competition, but not everyone likes a blonde guitar. Claro’s rich chocolate color helps–for those who listen with their eyes.

Second, the workability is a dream. This stuff should be offered to every apprentice when they attempt their first side-bending. It bends itself.

Third, the sound. Unfortunately, Claro has gotten the meaningless reputation for sounding “woody”. Every species sounds like wood, and that’s precisely why we like guitars! (Ok, some species sound woodier than others, but that’s a different discussion.) Let me say this: Claro walnut sounds spicy. I think it sounds like it smells, and it smells great.”

[Check out an interview with Stephen Kinnaird here]

Subjective tone…

I would classify this wood as warm and earthy with the overtone depth of rosewood and clarity comparable to mahogany guitars. It also tends to impart less colour to the bass and treble.

Availability

Commonly available

Similar woods/ Alternatives

Bastogne walnut and Eastern Black Walnut are good alternatives.

References:
Wikipedia
Fine woodworking: encyclopedia of wood
Stephen Kinnaird: Check out an interview with him here and his website here.
Allied Lutherie

Pictures copyright individual holders. Guitar photo courtesy of Sephen Kinnaird.

Any infringement of copyright is entirely unintentional. Any copyright issues should be address to: writers@guitarbench.com. We will attempt to resolve these issues quickly. We accept that we can make mistakes and omissions thus, any additions or corrects will be cheerfully accepted!

©Terence Tan

4 comments Claro Walnut, Tonewood Database

Bastogne Walnut. Tonewood Database

May 27, 2009 Terence Tonewood Database

Juglans x paradox Burbank | Tonewood Profile | ”Bastogne/Paradox Walnut”

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Please email with any corrections/ additional info
We aim to keep each profile as complete as possible & your help is appreciated!

Bastogne Walnut technically refers to the paradox hydrid which is J. hindsii x J. regia. There are other hybrids which exist such as J. ailantifolia x J. cinerea, J. nigra x J. regia, J. hindsii x J. nigra to name a few.

To start with, I’ll just run through a few of the scientific and common names for the various walnuts.

Juglans regia— common walnut, Persian, English or Carpathian walnut
J. californica S.Wats. — California Black Walnut
J. hindsii — Hinds’ Black Walnut- most commonly called Claro walnut
J. nigra L. — Eastern Black Walnut

Quick Facts
Scientific name:J. hindsii x J. regia
Trade names: Bastogne, Paradox
Janka: approx 1000-1500 lbs force
Uses: Back & sides, drop tops, veneer
RIYL: Walnut/ Maple/ Rosewood
Bling factor: Figure is common
Availability: Limited
CITES status: Not listed. No restrictions

Natural History

Luther Burbank attempted to create a fast-growing hardwood by cultivating hybrids of English (J. regia) and Claro walnut (J. hindsii). [Our research is unable to determine if Burbank actually hybridized these strains or he discovered a naturally hybridized tree].

There are several theories how the tree received the Paradox moniker. One is that hardwoods conventionally take a long time to grow and mature hence, a fast-growing hardwood is a paradox. Another possible paradox is a naturally occurring hybrid which does not display characteristics of either of its parents.

It has more recently been marketed as Bastogne, a more elegant French term derived for ‘Bastard’ due to it’s heritage. What is certain is that Burbank succeeded in cultivating his Paradox walnut and it still stands at the Luther Burbank Homes and Gardens.

Bastogne Walnut matures quickly, anywhere from 20 to 80 years and grows much larger than either of it’s parents. In addition, to producing few fruits [some trees produce non at all!], it is sterile and unable to reproduce naturally.

Status

Bastogne Walnut is not currently endangered- it is cultivated for it’s physical and growth characteristics.

Physical properties

Bastogne Walnut can vary greatly in color, texture, grain and density. However, it is generally the densest of all walnuts and often displays a green hue and broken fiddleback figure. The most common color contrast is with the colors of Claro and the dark streaks of English Walnut.

It has a Janka rating of approximately 1000-1500 lbs force and a specific gravity of 1. Air drying takes long but it is stable in service once dry.Bastogne Walnut is prized by big bore shooters as it is strong enough to stand up to recoil yet heavy enough to slow recoil torque.

As a tonewood…

As a tonewood, it is comparable to Claro walnut in how it works and produces a striking guitar.

Bob Taylor once described walnut as “rosewood on steroids”. I believe he was referring to Bastogne Walnut!

George Lowden says” Bastogne walnut is harder than claro or English walnut as a generalisation. It usually has less colour variations but does have very nice figure often.”

Subjective tone…

Resources: 1. George Lowden, Lowden Guitars here.
2. Allied Lutherie
here.

I have played a number of Bastogne Walnut and tonally it rivals the best Indian Rosewood in terms of overtones but it retains a stronger mid range and a fundamental. What I found attractive about these guitars is the projection, which is within the realms of a mahogany guitar.

George Lowden again: “Because of the hardness it gives a very defined clear sound, great for most playing styes except perhaps flat picking where you might prefer to use a rosewood for that ‘thicker’ lower mid range. I love walnut as a tonewood, particularly good with redwood tops and sitka in mid sized, and cedar in large guitars. In small guitars it works well with cedar also.“.

Availability

Fairly good.

Similar woods/ Alternatives

Claro and English walnut, the parent stock are both similar.

Examples

Here is a lovely 12 fret 00 by Dennis Kwasnycia with a Bastogne Walnut back

References:
Wikipedia
Fine woodworking: encyclopedia of wood
George Lowden, Lowden Guitars
Allied Lutherie

Pictures copyright individual holders. Bastogne Walnut picture courtesy of Allied Lutherie.
Dennis Kwasnycia: http://www.kwasnyciaguitars.com/

©Terence Tan

One comment Bastogne Walnut, Tonewood Database

European Yew. Tonewood Database

February 12, 2009 Terence Tonewood Database

Taxus baccata| Tonewood Profile | ”Yew”

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Please email with any corrections/ additional info
We aim to keep each profile as complete as possible & your help is appreciated!

European and Pacific Yew are very similar species, in terms of physical properties.

Quick Facts
Scientific name: Taxus baccata
Trade names: Yew
Janka: approx 1,600 lbs-force
Uses: Back & sides, drop tops, veneer
RIYL: Maple, Walnut
Bling factor: Often very plain
Availability: Limited
CITES status: Not listed. No restrictions

Natural History

European Yew is a very slow growing small/medium evergreen attaining heights of 28m and a trunk diameter of up to 4m. Some stands in Scotland are estimated to be approximately 2,000 years old. The fruits are soft, bright red and berry-like. Whilst the seed itself is extremely poisonous, the aril not harmful and very sweet tasting.

The Yew has been exploited throughout history for it’s timber as well as for taxanes. In the Middle Ages, yew was extensively harvested for bowstaves whereas more recently, chemotherapy agents called Taxanes have been extracted from the leaves of European Yew & bark of the Pacific Yew.

Adrian Lucas
Arbour
(click for fullsize)
Arbour Model
Douglas fir top
English yew b/s
Read more about this guitar here.

Status

This species is threatened by disease as well as demand from pharmaceutical companies. However, conservation efforts are ongoing.

Physical properties

European Yew as a narrow, white sapwood which is sharply demarcated from the orange-brown heartwood. It takes an excellent finish, but is prone to tearing especially in cross-grained material.

It has a Janka rating of approximately 1,600 lbs-force and a specific gravity of 670kg/m3. It can be stable and durable although the sapwood is susceptible to woodworm attack and many newer trees have spiraled trunks creating problems especially when bending sides.

As a tonewood…

As a tonewood, Yew has been only infrequently used and predominantly by the UK luthiers. In my experience it is modestly difficult to work with, although care needs to be taken when bending the sides.

UK based luthier Adrian Lucas says “the colour ranges from pale brown to purple in the heartwood and a creamy white in the sapwood. The grain patterns are quite striking as this is a softwood, being evergreen, although it has a density higher than many hardwoods.It grows in quite a twisted fashion and has a lot of knots and cracks. This makes it difficult to plane without tearing, so it’s best scraped and sanded. It’s also quite difficult to find in large sizes that are free of large knots and cracks, so I tend to make multi-piece backs using only the clear wood.” (read more about Adrian Lucas here)

Subjective tone…

I have found it to be appealing tonally with maple like clarity but very sweet, intimate and appealing overtones. Adrian Lucas finds it “imparts a woody, springy quality to the tone of a guitar.”

Availability

Very limited.

References:
Wikipedia
Adrian Lucas www.lucasguitars.co.uk

©Terence Tan.

Pictures copyright individual holders. Lucas guitar picture courtesy of Adrian Lucas.