Jon Posted April 9, 2007 Report Share Posted April 9, 2007 I offered to thickness some fingerboards for the guitarist of my band because they looked pretty bad. 4 Ebony boards (1 not pictured) and 1 unidentified board. The color of the board reminds me of Koa, far right in this picture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellipsis Posted April 9, 2007 Report Share Posted April 9, 2007 I had it pegged as Koa upon first seeing it. Although my opinion is by no means professional or accurate. But it is very Koa-esque. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted April 9, 2007 Report Share Posted April 9, 2007 Could be Indian Rosewood or Mexican Rosewood, or any one of several other Rosewoods. Is it the same weight as the Ebony? Koa typically isn't quite as heavy, and that doesn't really look like Koa to me, but you would need to post a REAL closeup of it for us to really inspect it. I wouldn't be using no steenkin' Koa for a fingerboard anyway... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted April 9, 2007 Report Share Posted April 9, 2007 How hard is the wood? and what is the weight like? It looks like it could even be Shedua(Ovangkol or Amazakoue). It is very similar in weight and texture to Bubinga. Hard to say without a little more info. Hardness, density, smell, pores are all clues that really help. Sometimes color and grain can be a little deseptive. Peace,Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted April 9, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2007 Nor would I use Koa for a fingerboard. The weight isn't comparable to Ebony. It's definitely not Indian Rosewood, it is fairly less dense than IRW and produces a very light colored dust. This piece is thicknessed sanded and sanded up to 320, so it's at about it's natural color. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted April 9, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2007 How hard is the wood? and what is the weight like? It looks like it could even be Shedua(Ovangkol or Amazakoue). It is very similar in weight and texture to Bubinga. Hard to say without a little more info. Hardness, density, smell, pores are all clues that really help. Sometimes color and grain can be a little deseptive. Peace,Rich It's hard to say at this point, I've done very little work on this wood. It sands very well, with the density less than Hard Maple, more dense than African Mahogany. The grain at first reminded me a bit of some Bubinga, but it has very small grain pores, and lots of them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spazzyone Posted April 9, 2007 Report Share Posted April 9, 2007 the grain is not as strong as this but its my guess madagascar rosewood scroll down to the 2nd grade pics http://www.alliedlutherie.com/other_fingerboards.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted April 9, 2007 Report Share Posted April 9, 2007 Oh you have to love a guess what wood this is game. How bout a few pics- Shedua-click Koa-click East Indian RW-Click Mad. RW-click Here is a page that links all sorts of pics by species-click Peace,Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted April 9, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2007 It definitely has the color of Koa, but not the grain. My guess would be Mad. RW as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted April 10, 2007 Report Share Posted April 10, 2007 I found a good source for ID'ing wood, with the most accurate pictures I've seen yet. I managed to identify my mahogany (which I thought was Honduras) as being actually African mahogany. The picture was a perfect match. Same goes for a piece of English oak I have laying around. Anyway, you have the wood so it should be easier to ID for you than me. http://www.woodfinder.com/woods/woodindex.php Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J_48_Johnson Posted April 10, 2007 Report Share Posted April 10, 2007 (edited) Could it be a straight grained piece of bocote perhaps? Edited April 10, 2007 by J_48_Johnson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ibreakemineedtobuildem Posted April 10, 2007 Report Share Posted April 10, 2007 That looks a little like Jatoba. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RGman Posted April 10, 2007 Report Share Posted April 10, 2007 It has the colour if those two acacia relatives, melanoxylon and koa, rub it down with alcohol so we can see the finished colour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oz tradie Posted April 10, 2007 Report Share Posted April 10, 2007 I'm keeping my thoughts on this one to myself, as it's not going to get you closer to your goal. But I will say this..................If we ever find out what that f/board is, it is secondary to the fact that you've all thrown in a heap of great links to timber colours and variations therein. I've just added them all to my favourites folder (pssst.......I don't think it's koa/acacia/blackwood) bugger, couldn't help myself. Blackwood/acacia cheers, Stu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted April 10, 2007 Report Share Posted April 10, 2007 I'm with fry - shedua/ovankgol/amazaque. It looks just like some i used to make a neck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted April 10, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2007 rub it down with alcohol so we can see the finished colour. I tried earlier, but the batteries died right as I was taking the picture. I'll try and get another tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RGman Posted April 10, 2007 Report Share Posted April 10, 2007 oooh! i'm jumping on the bandwagon on ovangkol http://www.colonialtonewoods.com/images/sh.../ovangkolAA.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bainzy Posted April 10, 2007 Report Share Posted April 10, 2007 Pretty sure that isn't Madagascan Rosewood, looks like Amazaque/Shedua/Ovangkol to me (whatever it's called, lol). I've heard it's a pretty good tonewood FWIW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted April 10, 2007 Report Share Posted April 10, 2007 I am guessing Shedua in part because it is a fretboard, but I could also see it as Black Limba. You really have to just look at density, pores, smell and such. Black Limba I also think that hint of curl/figure in the board is also swaying me tward Shedua or Limba because it is very common to find a bit of figure like that. Mind you my guesses are based on what I see in lumber. Most of the time we see a lot of rare figured or unique boards pictured on the net. The two links that have been posted to picture sights are pretty darn good at giving you a better look at the spectrum of looks you find in these woods. Peace,Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted April 10, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2007 I appreciate the information and help guys. This wood is definitely Ovangkol. I believe I have heard of this wood being used in Warwick's. I'd definitely love to find some more of it, it's beautiful and not a pain to sand (no clogging / not overkill on density). The pores are a bit like Limba, but from my experience, Limba has always had the same sized pores at a very consistent rate. The pores in this wood range a bit and they're all over the place, more consistent than Limba. Rich, I can't really do much more with this wood to determine the density (other than weighing it and I don't have access to a scale), and I've been sick off and on the past few weeks. Still can't smell anything. On the topic of Limba, I'll try and get a picture of the board I plan on bookmatching for an acoustic top in the distant future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted April 11, 2007 Report Share Posted April 11, 2007 I appreciate the information and help guys. This wood is definitely Ovangkol. I believe I have heard of this wood being used in Warwick's. I'd definitely love to find some more of it, it's beautiful and not a pain to sand (no clogging / not overkill on density). The pores are a bit like Limba, but from my experience, Limba has always had the same sized pores at a very consistent rate. The pores in this wood range a bit and they're all over the place, more consistent than Limba. Rich, I can't really do much more with this wood to determine the density (other than weighing it and I don't have access to a scale), and I've been sick off and on the past few weeks. Still can't smell anything. On the topic of Limba, I'll try and get a picture of the board I plan on bookmatching for an acoustic top in the distant future. Ovangkol/Shedua or whatever it is being called. Is not really that uncommon. You can find it at most hardwood dealers(sold as lumber). Shedua(guibourtia ehie ) is closely related to Bubinga(guibourtia tessmannii ), and I could see how Warwick could be attracted to using it. Most of the retailers around here sell it for about the same as Bubinga(about the $10-12bd.ft range). Gilmer usually has some very colorful and nicely figured pieces available(cost is usually higher than lumber of course). A Limba soundboard sounds cool . I have never really got into the Mahog/Koa or other hardwood soundboards(Maybe one of these days when I have a few more acoustics under my belt I will have tried a few more things out- So many things to try and so little time). Peace,Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted April 11, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2007 Thanks again Rich! I haven't seen any sold around my area, so it's unheard of to me. It's just nice to come by a piece of wood every now and then that I have never heard of or worked with, definitely an educational process. Regarding the Limba, I'm sure it will sound cool. The acoustic will either be my first build guided by a luthier or just a distant future build when I get more acoustic builds under my belt. I don't have any close-up shots of the wood, but I have cut it down to about 30-34" x 9" x 3/4". It's already been air-drying for about a year, around 6-8% moisture content. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted April 11, 2007 Report Share Posted April 11, 2007 That is a cool piece of wood you have there. I wish I had a luthier to guide me on my acoustics. I am sure I would have learned a lot faster and would be much further along today. If you are ever wanting to look around at cool acoustic woods. Take a peek at RCTonewoods.com Bob C. has a great looking site and lots of great woods to look through. Peace,Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick500 Posted April 11, 2007 Report Share Posted April 11, 2007 Someone say limba? I bought a couple of really nice black limba neck blanks from SoundAt11 recently. One of them is flamed. (Oops, thought I had a pic but it's on my other PC. I'll post up when I start building something with it.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badsnap Posted April 13, 2007 Report Share Posted April 13, 2007 I'm not sure if it's hard enough to use as a fingerboard, but my intial reaction was goncalo alves (tigerwood). I am by no means the wood coniseur that Rich is though. Peace...Rog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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