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Thread: Prewar tonewood

  1. #1

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    Lurking around small sawmills in the Mt. Rainier area during Wintergrass, I picked up a sample of doug fir farwood buried in the Osceola mudflow 5000 yrs ago, and was wondering if anyone had utilized any of this stuff as topwood. Might make an interesting combination when paired with backwood from interior structural beams off Noah's ark.
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  2. #2
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    I have a Unicorn mandolin with a douglas fir top. #I think the majority of Gerhardt's Unicorns used fir.
    Marc

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    iii mandolin Geoff B's Avatar
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    Holy Moly! What a find! I'd pair those fine woods with a vine motif inspired from the hanging gardens of babylon, but inlayed with jewelry from the ashes at Pompei, and plate the hardware with gold from the statue of Zues in Olympia (of course, you have to find it first)...
    Wow...:O

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    You'd have to make the nut out of fossilized T-rex toenail.

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    I may be old but I'm ugly billhay4's Avatar
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    Well, Bill,
    You must have been out scrounging all day Saturday and thus missed a prime piece of Englemann I brought you (as promised) plus the address of the mystery woodyard in Tacoma I told you about.
    I gave up about 8:00 PM and gave the wood to Fletcher Brock.
    PM me if you're still in town and I'll hook up with you with some more of that Englemann.
    Bill Hay
    IM(NS)HO

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    wood butcher Spruce's Avatar
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    Interesting bearclaw in that fir farwood....

    Are the splotches superficial, or do they go in aways??

    How's the weight?

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    Mando accumulator allenhopkins's Avatar
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    For the headstock inlay, I suggest Raquel Welch in her leather bikini from One Million Years BC.
    Allen Hopkins
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    Bill, how does that wood respond to tapping? How does a splinter of it break? That should give you your answer.

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    Allenhopkins you are truly a man of great vision!




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    Michael/Bruce- it doesnt have the bright howl of an engelmann tap, dont know what to compare it to since my only other dougfir is 60 yr old salvaged bleacher seats from an Indiana highschool. This is much lighter weight wood, seems tough against the ol' pocket knife, the splotches are only on the surface, but the grey color goes all the way thru. He said the logs are sandblasted (mudblasted?)on the surface, but look fresh when initially sawn, turning this color quickly in the air. He'll be cutting 2 logs this spring from the electron mudflow 600 yrs ago, we'll see what a mando set feels like then.

    Bill- nice to meet you and see your 2 point, sorry to miss you and that engelmann, I was in and out and missed Gail also, next time!
    Geoff/Mark- as soon as the radio carbon dates come back on this mastodon tusk, I'll know if its age-suitable for peghead inlay on a prehistoric mando, like the fossil walrus tusk mandonuts I got from Kurt at Greg Boyds booth.

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    Mandolin addicted...So? Pete Counter's Avatar
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    HAHAHAHEEE...OFF NOAHS ARK.........sorry.
    Mr Bussman, someday I WILL have you build me a mandolin.(I hope)




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    Registered User Red Henry's Avatar
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    I have one of Bill's A-models, and it's definitely Mighty Fine. Many folks have said it's the best A-model they've heard. My daughter Casey will be using it when she teaches "Mandolin 101" classes at Kaufman Kamp this June!


    Red Henry

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    Modulator ;) PhilGE's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by (oldwave maker @ Feb. 24 2008, 12:27)
    Lurking around small sawmills in the Mt. Rainier area during Wintergrass, I picked up a sample of doug fir farwood buried in the Osceola mudflow 5000 yrs ago, and was wondering if anyone had utilized any of this stuff as topwood. Might make an interesting combination when paired with backwood from interior structural beams off Noah's ark.
    Gee, Bill. If you reversed the order, you'd have an Ark-top mandolin. Might have to make it with port-holes. Now, that sounds like something right up your alley!

    I wonder what stories a mandolin made of 5000 year old might tell... might have to play some "basic Rock" on it... (apologies to Reiner and Brooks).

    -Phil

    P.S. Bill, be on the lookout for a pal of mine named Jeff. He's in the market and got to play my OW. He's smitten and wants to know much, much more.

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