Thoughts on Kauri Wood?

[Ross Lowry]

I was thinking of buying some wood called Kauri it is suppost to be prehistoric trees that is very rare(and expensive).
Any opinions or advice on this type of wood would be appreciated.
Thanks

[Matt Campbell]

Ross,

Where in the world did you find a place to buy this?

This site has some great information-http://www.architecturals.net/tip.cfm?articleID=3140

[Steve Kohn]

I bought some last year and made a couple of boxes out of it. Very soft and easy to work. Reminded me a lot of cedar, except the smell. When you first cut it it smells like vinegar.

[Ross Lowry]

Matt, here is a link to a place that sells some http://www.ancientkauri.co.nz/index.php/home_ancient_kauri
Thanks guys for your replies

[Jamie Buxton]

There is kauri growing today in New Zealand. Enough of it has been logged that they're protecting what old growth they have left -- kinda like redwoods in California. But to call it rare is overstating the point. That "ancient kauri" in your link is special stuff. Kauri trees have been preserved in peat bogs, and are now being pulled out. That kauri may be thousands of years old.

[John Michaels]

Here a place to buy it, and info about the trees

http://ancientwood.com

[Don Eddard]

I've made a few pens from some of the AncientWoods pen blanks. The grain is pretty unremarkable, but there is an deep iridescence and chatoyance to it when it's finished and polished. Beautiful stuff, but real soft to work, and at least for me, tended to break off the pen tube if I got too heavy handed with the cut. I'd imagine it'd be nice to work doing flatwork, but not real dent and ding resistant due to its softness.

[Montgomery Scott]

Kauri is one of the several species of pine that grows in NZ. There was a large slab of the 50,000 year old stuff for sale near me that I looked at. As has been remarked before it is unremarkable in appearance but has been reported to be easy to machine. I've spent a lot more than $100/bd ft for wood, but not on something so plain. If having something old has significance to you then go for it, otherwise I'd pass on it.

[Ross Lowry]

Thanks I will take all this into consideration.

[Jack Briggs]

I have used the ancient kauri for guitars. The first piece I received of it came with authentication and certificate of RC14 (radio carbon test) stating it was older than the limits of test @ 50,000 yrs.

Kauri has its issues with working. Tearout can be extreme on endgrain with shaping operations. Sanding is pretty trouble-free, though.

Kauri has its own chatoyance, even with straight grained pieces. But the really figured pieces can be astounding. The most desirable kind of figure is called "Whitebait" named for a local NZ bait fish. The term comes from the fact that the vertically oriented lines resemble a school of the swimming fish viewed from above.

Some of the "whitebait" figure can be seen in this pic:

http://www.briggsguitars.com/www/images/027.jpg

[Ross Lowry]

Jack, that is the best looking guitar I have ever seen!
Could you give me some advice on preparing this wood for a finish and putting a finish on this wood?
I would like to use something that is hard and clear that isn't going to yellow with time and will allow the all the characteristic of the wood show?
Would a lacquere be good?
Thanks

[David Weaver]

Tonally, what is it like? It looks like a cross breed of pine, maple and mahogany - kind like some of each.

How dense is it? Dense enough to sound like mahogany?

Nice clean job around the heel - looks like it would be a nice comfortable player.

[Jack Briggs]

Ross,

Thanks very much. I have to buff this one out and finish assembling, but when it's done I have super high hopes that it'll be more astounding than the last one I did (below).

http://www.briggsguitars.com/www/images/136-136.jpg


The top of this new one is same as above: Flamed Redwood (sequoia sempervirons).

David,

Since Kauri is a conifer and related to spruces and pines, it's reasonable to assume it would have a tonal response along those lines. While I've not played a spruce solid bodied guitar, I have played a Fender Telecaster mader from Ponderosa Pine. The Kauri may sound similar to pine, but one thing I can attest to is that this one I'm working on now is one of the most resonant for a solid body that I've ever handled, let alone built myself!

I don't think it'll come into the range that mahogany has, though. Nothing in my experience has the bass response of swietenia macrophylla, or Honduras mahogany. Walnut comes close, but is usually denser and therefore heavier, much harder to carve necks from. The first kauri guitar (above) had a really crisp tone like a spruce topped alder body, perhaps, but with its own thing going on in its tonal nuances. The redwood top softens the attack slightly, and looks striking as well.

As for finishing, I spray completely nitrocellulose lacquer, but with this instrument in particular, I start by wiping the entire guitar with 3 or 4 applications of freshly mixed blonde shellac, ~2lb. cut. I do it just like Frenching a finish, only there's no oil in the mix - just straight shellac. This serves 2 purposes: Providing a good barrier to which the lacquer will adhere well to and getting into the figure of the redwood to make it really 'pop' out and give tremendous 'silk' or highlighting the medullary ray cells very nicely. After a couple days of drying I found the it took less clear topcoats of straight lacquer to get enough build to wet sand flat and then buff. It's a very thin finish, indeed - something I'm ultimately looking for. The customer is a very finicky player who owns Classical instruments of the highest quality and French polished, no less. He wanted the thinnest finish that would provide decent protection and still allow the tones to come through unchoked.

[David Weaver]

That's nice looking finish work - especially if it's thin. I like that body style - sort of a hamer / Dean Hardtail type of style - nicer to play usually than some of the production stuff that has a super long heel.

I have to agree with your customer. I'm not a real great guitarist, but I have bought a lot of instruments with strings on them, and I don't like thick finishes - it may make guitars record a little clearer, but it takes a lot of that thick live tone out of them.

I have screwed around with some guitars with different than traditional woods, but maybe my taste in tone is a little too "low brow" because I seem to keep coming back to adirondack topped acoustics with mahogany or rosewood sides, and solid body guitars with a maple top and mahogany neck and back. The only thing close to out of the ordinary that I have is a walnut squareneck - I really like the way that sounds.

I like nitrocellulose, too - it's nice to see that some people still want to spray it.

Anyway, great stuff. I hope you continue to post your guitars as they get finished. I can't be the only person who likes to see them.

Won't be hard to remember your last name - I can remember it by thinking Lawnmower and Jim Triggs. Do you have a web page?

[Jack Briggs]

David,

I do. PM or email me and I'll send it. I noticed that new rules forbade web links in a signature, so I removed mine. Don't know if it's kosher to post it here either!

I also have a newly setup discussion forum where some of my current works are shown in progress. I'll give you a link to that as well.



Cheers,

[Ross Lowry]

So how do you buff the finish?
Thanks Jack!

[Jack Briggs]

Pedestal buffer - shop made:
http://www.briggsguitars.com/www/images/buffer.jpg

I start by wet sanding with 3M 366L 15 micron graded finishing discs to get the finish surface dead flat and free of orange peel. This takes a few hours. Then buff with Menzerna dry compounds to museum quality shine. This usually takes 3 hrs. or so. Final assembly takes better part of a day, then the instrument needs to be setup.