Official Luthiers Forum!

I need a great piece of European Spruce. I want it tight even grained, with good silking, and pretty stiff. I don't care if its Italian, or Carpathian, or Caucasian or mongolian or outer slobovian, just so it comes from somewhere Pices abies is native and it is a good piece of wood

Anybody got anything like that for sale?

John

John,
I have some old German spruce with bearclaw in it and quite a few very fine grained Caucasian spruce tops.
Let me know if you're interested.
Steve

John,
Steve just sent me some caucasian and some carpathian. Both were very very nice. THANKS STEVE! Steve can you send me a pic of the German spruce or is it up on your site. Thanks Again!

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Dave Bland

remember...

"If it doesn't play in tune...it's just pretty wood"

What's the difference beteween Carpathian and Caucasian? Are they both P. Abies?

John

John

Carpathian is picea abies
Caucasian is Picea orientalis

[QUOTE=RussellR] John

Carpathian is picea abies
Caucasian is Picea orientalis[/QUOTE]

Russell's right or at least that what many of the East European timber cutters claim. My information is that you can count the number of 'True' P. orientalis tops around on the fingers of maybe two hands. The guys at the Royal College of Music have been looking for a long time, but the Botany Department at the University have never yet found a recently cut sample of 'P.orientalis' to actually be P.orientalis, always it has turned out to be just P.abies.

I have four tops that have proven to be P.orientalis, but they are very old, from Roumania before the war. one of these I've promised to Joshua, and another to the RCM.

Colin

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

Thanks guys.
   I assume the P. orientalis' natural range is farther east than P. abies. How far east are we talking about? Is that eastern Europe or more east than that?

John

To the Best of my Knowledge (Colin has greater expertise than I on these matters) Eastern Europe and moving into Asia, around Turkey which is partly in Europe and partly in Asia, and I think into Iran.

Russell

Again, Russell is right, the Caucasus mountains and Asia Minor (Turkey, Iran etc). It has been grown in other parts of Europe and Eastern USA for timber, but the rapid growth at lower levels makes it unusable as tonewood. It grows very rapidly between 10 and 50 years old making it fine for pulp, but only the old growth stock from the mountain areas is considered really suitable for instruments.

Orientalis, simply means Eastern (as against occidentalis meaning Western).

Colin

_________________
I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.