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I have a question. I hear people discuss snakewood all the time yet from all I know about snakewood, it is rather unstable.

I say this form some experience because I once used it to create the most beautiful pen and pencil set I have ever seen yet one week later, it began to crack and ultimately somewhat peeled away from the brass cores. Given this and being admonished to forget ever using snakewood for pens because of its lack of stability, why does it hold up OK for lutherie? Is it because the bridge is far thicker than what is left on after turning pens/pencils?

Inquiring minds want to know!

Thanks, Steve Brown

Along these lines...is it exposure to air/moisture that causes instability? Therefore, if it is sealed, can we assume it will be more stable?
Sorry I don't have an answer, but I am piqued as well.
-j

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I use it for pens all the time... I have never had a problem. Did you turn it down to virtually nothing?

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
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Honestly, I don't think people use it for any high-brow tonal reasons. It's just really, really pretty. And yes, can be highly unstable. And expensive.

I don't think air/moisture can cause instability; wood will move some, some will warp no matter what (hooray for reaction wood), but cycling should let it all dry out and acclimatize properly. Of course, woods that are by nature unstable can be stabilized, but simply sealing (as in, applying sealer) is highly unlikely to do the trick. Larry Davis sells a bunch of vacuum-impregnated acrylized products, if that's your deal, including fingerboards. Not sure how they glue up, but I'd be tempted to go with something like that if I found a wood that was too pretty not to use, and too unstable to use.

Snakewood does make for some beautiful accents, trim, headstocks, bridges, bindings etc. The logs are very small in diameter with a tremendous amount of waste. Lots of cracks and checking. I shudder everytime I cut into one for fear of making the wrong cut. I generally try to quarter them to increase stability which of course increases waste. Very beautiful wood.


Bookmatched headplates and bindings.Bobc38694.8958449074

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Sorry to not respond until now.

It's been a long time since I did it but the barrels were of the straight variety and the wall thickness matched that of the ferrules (1-1/2mm?).

Maybe I had bad wood at the time cuz snakewood makes the most beautiful pens by far!

Thanks, Steve

I have used SW for three builds so far. Used it for fretboard, headstock, binding and even 2 bridges and so far no problem. One guitar is over a year old and the other two are more recent so I guess I will see the long term results but I saw other builders using it for fretboards and bridges as well.

Not sure where the heck he found it (but he gets some of the most amazing wood), but Serge deJonge made a guitar from SW for the back and sides !!!! I have only seen pictures, but it was spectacular looking thats for sure. He uses it for bindings, Fbs and bridges often.

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

I've used it for binding on a few guitars. It is by far my favorite wood for looks. But for every set of binding that went on a guitar I have one set that cracked while I was trying to bend it. That is why it is such a costly upchage. It really hurts to break a set of $50 binding.

Josh

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Josh House

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First of all -almost all of the snakewood I have seen (and bought) comes into this country soaking wet!!
The way I have dealt with this is to let the half logs dry to a point and then reduce them to smaller chunks.
Then they need to "do their thing" for a long while.
Then I cut them into fretboards,bridge blanks etc.
Then they need to "season" further.
At every stage some material gets lost to splitting.
Not a very fast process.
Other woods like Gabon ebony have similar problems to a lesser extent.
I have been lucky sometimes and found a stash of "dry" stuff already cut into boards
At every stage I seal them in shellac.
I only sell it when I feel it has been through all this time and has "calmed" down.
This is why the "clear" material is so expensive.

[QUOTE=TonyKarol] Not sure where the heck he found it (but he gets some of the most amazing wood), but Serge deJonge made a guitar from SW for the back and sides !!!! I have only seen pictures, but it was spectacular looking thats for sure. He uses it for bindings, Fbs and bridges often.[/QUOTE]For awhile Gilmer had 3 b/s sets available. The first was snatched up quickly, the other 2 sat there awhile. At $1200 per, I can see why.

All the back and side sets I have seen have big "dead" spots (no figure) in some areas.
I have seen 4 piece sets with great figure all across the sets.

[QUOTE=Brad Goodman] First of all -almost all of the snakewood I have seen (and bought) comes into this country soaking wet!!
The way I have dealt with this is to let the half logs dry to a point and then reduce them to smaller chunks.
Then they need to "do their thing" for a long while.
Then I cut them into fretboards,bridge blanks etc.
Then they need to "season" further.
At every stage some material gets lost to splitting.
Not a very fast process.
Other woods like Gabon ebony have similar problems to a lesser extent.
I have been lucky sometimes and found a stash of "dry" stuff already cut into boards
At every stage I seal them in shellac.
I only sell it when I feel it has been through all this time and has "calmed" down.
This is why the "clear" material is so expensive.[/QUOTE]

Brad,

Thanks, this makes perfect sense.

Steve