laurel or not to laurel

It sure could be Laurel. If it were the million dollar question and I had to guess it looks like Shedua/Ovangkol to me.

Both Bocote and Ziricote are also called laurel. I’m sure others are too. As to a domestic laurel, I don’t think there is any such thing. Domestic laurel is a shrub and I doubt it gets that big. At any rate, it doesn’t look like either but it is a dead ringer for some shedua I have. I agree with bound. Shedua; Guibourtia arnoldiana.
Doesn’t matter. It’s beautiful, works easily, and takes a wonderful finish. How much does he want for it?

Steve

-- Steve in KY. 44 years so far with my lovely bride. Think I'll keep her.

hi fussy he wants £55.00

-- pgray

here`s another pic http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/1/2/4/2/7/4/3/webimg/510347207_o.jpg

-- pgray

i have purchased this now lucky it was the last one

-- pgray

Paul.

Good score; it’s nice wood. It should hot-pipe bend ok. You probably know better than I as you’ve done this before. I would be interested in seeing a photo essay (blorg?) of your progress.

By the way, I seem to recall in the Warminster/Trowbridge area, running into “Give Way to Toads” signs. Do they have that toad and badger love search problem in hand yet?

Steve

PS. Here in he “Colonies” drummers rank lower than lead singers and lead guitarists on the scale of trouble makers in a band. They take more room in the truck, expect everyone to carry their gear in and out, take longer to set up and tear down, are harder to mic, tend to play over the monitors, and make the bass player keep up with them instead of vice-versa (according to bass players). Cheers.

-- Steve in KY. 44 years so far with my lovely bride. Think I'll keep her.

hi steve im doing a zebra wood with a cedar top i have just joined the top to sides so it would be some time before starting the new one i can send piccy`s of the one im doing now if you like.i also have stages of my first one i did which is shown on here cheers for now paul

-- pgray

Paul,

Sure, post some pics as you go along. How are you bending the sides; hot pipe or steam? I had the priviledge, years ago, to watch the late Homer Ledford at work. He was a iconic figure in Kentucky, indeed the whole, country as a musician and builder of fine stringed instruments. He built dulcimers, autoharps, guitars, mandolins, banjos,etc. He played everywhere including the White House.

He had a small shop in Winchester (amazing how many cities in England are named for cities in Kentucky) and I just walked in one day and spent two hours watching him work and asking occasional questions. He could take a piece of walnut, cherry, maple, mahagony or whatever, put it over a hot pipe, and make it do as he wanted. No pattern, no worry, it just went where he wanted it to and it was right. Great fun to watch, but not so easy.

Have fun and keep us posted.

Steve

-- Steve in KY. 44 years so far with my lovely bride. Think I'll keep her.

http://hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/

-- W James Brokenbourgh Custom furniture maker http://artisticwoodstudio.com/

hi jim thanks for the link very good site what a selection opens up your eyes dosent it lol.steve i had a brill day today finished the inside a good sanding,so it was dark already at 16.30 i decided to close the box and put her to bed i lay newspaper and a towel over it because its cold now the old hydro was at 75 lol i hope this dont upset the wood to much it is a struggle here,it was ok in summer.here`s some picky s i hope.http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j234/bluepaulsky/guitar018.jpg

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j234/bluepaulsky/guitar017.jpg

hope these work as for bending sides i use a hot pipe with wet cloth gets it steaming and taking my time very nerving at this stage.as for the toads near trowbridge they put under ground piping so they can cross in piece to a better pond lol they do this every spring i think? i dont know if this should start a new blog being new on here. the back & sides turned to day looks fab nice and curly cheers for now paul

-- pgray

My local exotic lumber supply has a small 3’ board of this stuff for super cheap. I am always considering buying it. The thing is pretty much black though? Are you happy with the working and tonal characteristics of this stuff?

Tricky one as “Laurel” in Central and South America gets applied to many different species from many differnt families, as fussy mentioned.. Mostly down to ignorance there is much confusion over common names for central american hardwoods and various species will share various names between them.

The name Laurel is most commonly accepted to refer to Cordia Alliodora, Bocote and Ziricote are more proerly applied to Cordia Dodecandra, which has the well known striking dark striped grain but even if you check the wood databases online there is a wide variety in the appearance of the supposed samples of all these species.

Just so happens I was hunting through my stash today and pulled out a big chunk that was anonomously grey and very heavy and scrubbed off some of a roughsawn face to see what was inside (I bought a bulk of mixed wood some time ago and am still discovering what is under those chainsaw marks and accumulated dust)
The piece was what is commonly known around these parts as Laurel, not dissimilar to your stuff in colour and with some dark striping but not so straight grained, having several various small crotch areas from mid sized branches.
The heartwood grain is a light chestnut to grey brown colour, hints of orange, while the sapwood, which is as hard as the heartwood (pretty hard and dense, a 15 board foot chunk is hard to move around) is a silvery grey with tight grain and dark flecking. The wood has a distinct sweet spicy smell…I kept having to grab some shavings and sniff them :)

I will see if I can get a half decent pic now, if not tomorrow in daylight..

edit:pic added.. it’s the middle piece, not the best shot and as close as I could get at full zoom with the camera on the nearest solid surface to avoid shake.