 
|
Use of
Australian Native Timbers in Mandolins
by Peter Coombe
After reading the editorial
in the June 1996 issues of the Journal I decided it was
time I ceased being a passive member of the AAMIM. As an
enthusiastic user of Australian native timbers it was
time to stick my neck out and write a contribution for
the journal, so here goes.
I have been making mandolins
part time for just over 3 years and in that time have
completed 16 mandolins and 3 Appalacian Dulcimers. My
mandolins are based on the Gibson A type - i.e. carved
top and back, oval sound hole. I have tried to use
Australian native timers wherever possible, and it is
noteworthy that of the 4 mandolins I have made that I
consider to be exceptionally fine instruments, 3 were
made almost entirely from Australian woods. I use
Australian woods in my instruments partly on principle,
because I believe Australian musical instrument makers
should use Australian timbers wherever possible, partly
because of the results I am getting, and increasingly
because my customers are demanding Australian timbers. In
addition, the local timbers are sometimes easier to get
and invariably cheaper than importing luthier's wood from
overseas.
What follows is a necessarily subjective appraisal of
various Australian timbers that I have used in my
instruments. I do not have any means of objectively
measuring responses, so have to rely, like most of us, on
my own ears and the reaction of customers and other
musicians. I have been playing mandolin for more than 10
years in a local folk band so am reasonably able to
discern differences in tonal quality. In most cases my
opinion is closely mirrored by that of other musicians. I
have attempted to minimise all the innumerable factors
that affect sound quality in musical instruments by using
the same basic construction techniques, but with some
refinements in the bracing of the top. In addition, as
well as the original Gibson A 1, one instrument has been
kept as a reference against which all new instruments are
judged so I can measure progress or otherwise. I came to
instrument making with no preconceived ideas and as a
former scientist I was eager to experiment. Thus I have
experimented with various Australian native timbers,
sometimes in combination with imported woods all in
search of the elusive exceptional tone. There is no doubt
that one can get very good results from Australian native
timbers. The instruments will sound different from the
traditional spruce/maple and in the case of mandolins I
believe superior.
If one is trying to reproduce a
"traditional" sound, then it is probably better
to stick with the traditional timbers because you will
never find Australian timbers with precisely the same
qualities as the traditional woods. You may also have to
modify the construction technique to compensate for the
different physical characteristics of the wood. I have
found an increasing interest amongst musicians in favour
of the use of Australian native timbers in Australian
built instruments, a trend which should encourage members
to use native woods. However, it takes courage to try
something different in an instrument that is already well
established. One is always mindful of the amount of work
that goes into an instrument and nobody wants to make a
dud that won't sell. Courage and an open mind is required
and one could be richly rewarded. I certainly was.
The Australian timbers I have used
are:
| (King
William Pine Front) King William Pine is, in my
humble opinion, one of the finest soundboard
timbers that grows upon this earth. I should
qualify that, and state that I believe it is one
of the finest soundboard timbers for mandolins
and Appalacian Dulcimers, because that is all I
have had experience with. In my experience, it
makes beautiful, sweet, clear sounding mandolins
that are preferred over the best spruce-topped
instruments by a majority of mandolin players
(about 60/40 in favour of King William Pine).
Mandolins with King William Pine tops sell well.
It is also a lovely timber to work with, planes
and carves beautifully and has a pleasant
aromatic odour when worked. It is not as strong
as Spruce along the grain, so I use Spruce
bracing, and carve the top a little higher than
my Spruce tops (tip from Graham Caldersmith,
thanks Graham). The down side is that it is now a
very difficult timber to get, and if you do
manage to get some you may have to cope with
curly grain, splits and hidden knots. However,
well worth the effort. |
| (Blackwood
Back) I have used Blackwood for back and sides
and necks in a number of my mandolins and all the
Dulcimers. The best combination for mandolins so
far has been with Engelmann spruce, but I still
have not made an instrument with a King William
Pine/Blackwood combination. That particular
combination has been used in 2 Appalacian
dulcimers with great success and will be the
combination used in my next mandolin. Blackwood
is a very variable timber with a wide variation
in colour, density and hardness and can come in
highly figured fiddleback forms. An instrument
made with fiddleback Blackwood back and sides can
be strikingly beautiful. Blackwood I have found
to be a moderately troublesome timber to work
with. Timber for mandolin backs will often warp
and twist when sliced, so are best cut to size
and left for as long as practical before joining
and carving. Even then, backs will often curl up
their edges when carved. In addition, Blackwood
dust is moderately irritating and the harder
pieces can be hard on bandsaw blades. Bending
qualities in general are good, although once
again variable. Fortunately however, Blackwood is
readily available, reasonably cheap, and not too
difficult to find quarter sawn in timber yards. |
| (Queensland
Walnut Neck) One of Australia's most beautiful
cabinet timbers with strong dark grain streaks,
sometimes highly figured is now very difficult to
get and almost impossible to find quarter sawn. I
have only made one instrument with Queensland
Walnut back and sides with a Sitka Spruce top. It
has been quite a successful instrument, bought by
a Canberra mandolin player who is still very
happy with it. Queensland Walnut makes very good
necks, being moderately hard and dense although I
must qualify that by saying that the timber I
have has been seasoned for at least 10 years.
Queensland Walnut is well known to be a terrible
timber for blunting tools and stinks to high
heaven when worked. Acoustically, it is similar
to Queensland Maple. Bending qualities are poor,
absolutely the worst timber I have ever tried to
bend. However, the best quarter sawn pieces are
difficult to beat, they make very handsome
looking instruments. |
| (Queensland
Maple Back) One of Australia's great cabinet
timbers, but once again, more and more difficult
to get. It is one of my favorites because it is
softer than the other hardwoods, so it is easy to
work, the dust is not irritating and the timber
is easier on tools. Also it is the most stable of
all the timbers I have tried. Queensland maple
sometimes comes in highly figured pieces,
although almost impossible to get nowadays. It
has very good bending qualities, although the
grain does tend to compress in tight corners. I
have made a number of quite successful mandolins
with Queensland Maple backs and sides; the best
combination has been with King William Pine. |
| (Ash Neck) I
have only used Ash for headblocks and tailblocks,
but Ash is on the list for experimentation for
backs and sides and necks. It sometimes comes
with fiddleback figure. |
| (Jarah
Back and Neck) The biggest surprise of all (to
me) has been Jarrah. Jarrah is a very hard,
dense, stiff timber and is relatively
acoustically dead when tapped. It is still
readily available, cheap, not too difficult to
find quarter sawn and sometimes comes with
fiddleback figure. It is fairly hard on tools and
has only moderate bending qualities, and I find
the dust quite irritating. However in combination
with King William Pine, makes strikingly
beautiful sounding mandolins. With a King William
Pine top and fiddleback Blackwood bindings quite
a handsome combination is achieved. So far I have
made 2 mandolins with Jarrah backs, sides and
necks and both have exceptional tonal qualities.
One of these instruments (illustrated) I am happy
to say, is now in France. The instruments are
fairly heavy because Jarrah is a very heavy
timber and most musicians notice this but get
bowled over by the tonal qualities. Both
instruments have the typical qualities of King
William Pine, i.e. sweet and clear in the treble
but also have a long sustain and a lovely, rich
powerful bass quality that was not apparent in
the King William Pine/Queensland Maple
combination. The long sustain is probably due to
the stiffness of Jarrah and the bass qualities
may be due to the fact that the back was tuned
lower than the top (this is my theory anyway).
Jarrah is easier to tune lower because it is
relatively stronger and heavier. I presently play
one of these instruments in the band and it is
now my reference instrument. Overall, Jarrah has
been a great success. |
That is a brief summary of my experiences with
Australian native timbers in musical instruments. I hope
other members find my comments interesting and useful.
Other timbers on my list to try in mandolins are
Tasmanian Myrtle and Red Cedar but as yet I have been
unable to obtain samples of a suitable size. Since Jarrah
has been so successful in mandolins, other hard heavy
timbers of which Australia is well endowed, may be worth
examining. Suggestions of other timbers from members will
be gratefully accepted. Australia, I think is
particularly well endowed with native timbers suitable
for backs, sides and necks and fingerboards. Timbers such
as Blackwood, Jarrah and various other Eucalypts and
Acacias are likely to be available for some time to come.
The problem as I see it is the supply of soundboard
timber. King William Pine is already very difficult to
get and I believe that commercial harvesting is about to
or has already ceased. It is an extremely slow growing
species so is difficult to harvest sustainably. Although
I have sufficient supplies at the moment I do not know
how much longer I can continue to make instruments with
King William Pine. At my age I should have at least 20
years of instrument making in front of me and would like
to continue to make instruments of native timber but in
the absences of King William Pine it will be difficult. I
have purchased salvaged timber but the quality was rather
indifferent, with only about 1/3 useful for soundboards.
Any suggestions for soundboard timber from members?
In closing, I would like to send a special thanks to
Jack Spira for donating quite a substantial plank of King
William Pine to me and to Gillian Alcock and Graham
Caldersmith for many suggestions and encouragement. Some
fine mandolins shall emerge from that plank of King
William Pine.
|
