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I am inexperienced with semi- and tropical hardwoods so I need some help with this one
I just found an amazing board of - I thought it was zebrawood{looked zebra patterned}, he said granadillo at my local hardwood supplier - does that make sense to anyone?
anyway it was 13.00 a bd ft, is that a good deal - its realy beautiful 12-14 ft >its nicely figured like those sets of black and white ebony only more white with black stripes - 1 1/2" - 2" thick and looks 1/4sawn{does that make sense with that figure?}
but I really couldnt tell that well the ends were really rough sawn and it was covered in grime, it was dark etc.
Cheers
Charlie

Hey Charlie,

Kind of hard to tell without seeing a photo. I have a suggestion. Visit LMI and go through their mostly wood/back and sides/ menus and then take a look at their photos for granadillo and zebrawood. That might help some.

Best,

Michael

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Charlie, GRANADILLO is the wood you are looking at. It is a heavy, dense wood with good tone and varies in figure but it is not Zebrawood....unless it was labeled wrong! its heavier than zebrawood. Good wood for guitar making and it has a nice tap tone too

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Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
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well this wood is mainly creamy white, it has greyish black lines every 1/4 to 1/2" that wander somewhat, lengthwise down the enitre board but seldom if ever touching, it looks like a real beautiful board and even if it is flatsawn Im assuming it will suffice for back and sides. Its sort of bowed, but not crowned from what I can tell, even if milled flat it would still yield a 1" thick board at least. But that would lead to grain variation throughout the sides and back.
Can anyone tell me if that is a good deal or not at $13 bd ft????
Cheers

I don't see enough evidence of what your wood is yet. Can't set a value without knowing for sure what ya got, charliewood. Any chance of taking a photo of the board at the store and posting it?

Larry that would be difficult, its about 45 minutes away -But then again where I live everything is 45minutes away from here!
I rely on the missus for rides {no hand controls}and shes a gardener, so she is busy as heck right now, its hard to arange a trip.
But this store only sells hardwoods, and the have some beautiful stock. I figure if its hardwood and beautifully figured - it can work though right?
I will phone them and see if i can get some clarification on the species.
Cheers
Charliewood

Species name wood be good, charliewood. If I was home or in the shop I'd attach a couple photos of either wood for you to pick, but I'm in Ohio this week visiting grand kids.

Granidillo is a common wood word used for quite a few species including coco bolo in some places.

Maybe a web search and a link to a similar appearing wood?

I was right the first time - it is zebrawood the board is 1 1/4' x 11" x 14 ft I have to buy the whole board and it would be with taxes about $170.

Do you hear that sound - thats the banker , he wants to buy your wood for as little as possible , so its time to decide - deal or no deal?


Whatya guys think anyone wanna split it with me?
Cheers
Charliewoodcharliewood38841.578912037

If that's $170CAN it's a steal and if $US right on low market retail value (less any tax). $170 devided by 16.04 board feet is $10.59/bf

I phoned back to reserve it and she said she made a mistake, she said its 11 ft long - Oops,
I thought it was a good deal either way - Im definitely gonna take it anyhow - if anyone wants to split it, I may do that, but Im only gonna half it - obviously shipping to our area would apply.
Cheers
Charliewood
Thanks Larry charliewood38841.6000578704

Larry Im kinda dumb with math,
Could you tell me your bd ft calculation scheme so I know what Im doing in a lumber yard next time?
PS yes CDN dollars and before tax its like 154.90 or something - **** taxes, I hate them!!!
Cheers
Charlie
LanceK38849.3061921296

[QUOTE=charliewood] Larry Im kinda dumb with math,
Could you tell me your bd ft calculation scheme so I know what Im doing in a lumber yard next time?
is it lxwxh/12?
Cheers
Charlie
[/QUOTE]

one board foot equals 144 cubic volume inches in any shape. Traditionally it's explained as 1" x 12" x 12". Remember dressed wood will be thinner (down to 13/16), but still figured as 1" thick. Below that (3/4" thick and thinner)it's sold as square foot and not board foot.

In your specific board it's 1.25" x 11" x 132" (11') divided by 144=12.6 board feet.

I know my stuff, but check for math errors. I cut some boards three times and they're still to short.

Thanks Larry, doh that makes sense, I will write that on my calculator cover.
so its 12.60 or so a bd ft CDN
Do you figure is this a reasonable deal still at those dimensions?
Cheers
Charliewood
Plus if it has a slight bow in it - is there a way to steam and clamp it flat again?charliewood38841.6154050926

This is the picture at LMI of thier zebrawood - thier sets are $74.00 or so - I find this board has much nicer figure - serious its more akin to that black and white ebony that was around a while back and went like hotcakes - only reverse the black and white.


The black lines on this piece Im thinking of buying are sparser more sporatic, and wander around back and forth.
Cool even if I get 3 sets it will be a good deal, I figure<no pun intended. charliewood38841.6213425926

[QUOTE=charliewood] Thanks Larry, doh that makes sense, I will write that on my calculator cover.
so its 12.60 or so a bd ft CDN
Do you figure is this a reasonable deal still at those dimensions?
Cheers
Charliewood
Plus if it has a slight bow in it - is there a way to steam and clamp it flat again?[/QUOTE]

Yep..that's a good price!!

Shouldn't be much bow when it's cut down in 32 and 22" lengths. Zebrawood because of it's interlocked grain can get squirlly as it grows. If the tree grew with a crook then it's there forever, but if it's a drying defect the wood fibers "memory" can be re-programmed by full water saturation, stickering with weight until it's re-dried flat. This could be done (if needed) after it's cut into smaller pieces. Most likely, you won't need to do it if there's not much bow in the full 11' length. This is a quick primer only and it could be a bit more complicated that this.

Awesome - thanks for the 5th time Larry, I know a bit about pliance of wood as did a fair amount of storing curing and drying before - Im sure I could pick up on this too.I will check the Library for material on it.
Cheers
Charliewood
Now its time to go and organize this shop, sharpen hone build , etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc.

Hey charlie, how you going to cut it? do you know someone who will process it?

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Sent you a PM.

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"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

Have a partner to split it with now, Thanks Rod
Cheers
Charliewood

Hey Charliewood,

This may be a bit late, because it sounds like you already committed to buy it, but most of the Zebrawood (or "Zebrano") that I have seen that is well quartersawn has rather boring pinstripes, and the stuff with wandering limnes on the face is usually rift at best, maybe even flatsawn. You may know that flatsawn wood can be used in lutherie, but it is a very good idea to know the tangential shrinkage percentage of any wood you want to use flatsawn. Besides the great difficulty getting a good bookmatch in flatsawn wood, Zebrawood has a VERY high tangential shrinkage factor, 12% to 15%. So high, I would think twice about using it, if flatsawn.

If it is quartersawn, and just happens to be from a tree with "character" that made the bands of color (I don't think they are really annular rings) have some wiggle, then wonderful, you found a treasure. But if it is flatsawn, I recommend that you pass on it.

Dennis

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Dennis Leahy
Duluth, MN, USA
7th Sense Multimedia

You can tell if it's quartered easily enough - the dark/light bands will be visible on the end.

Zebrawood is 10.25US/bd. ft. here, so price sounds good. I almost bought a 10 ft board myself just the other day, but it was only 7.75" wide. But that's enough for OM's right? I was being a fraidy cat. (I did go back and buy up the Bubinga I asked about before.)

What small parts is zebrawood good for? I have 4 pieces that are big enough for fingerboards, but I don't know if anyone would want to see a fingerboard like that except on some sort of novelty instrument.

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Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu

Thanks for the info - I will bring my plane and shave the end and have a look at whats going on.
Cheers
Charliewood

Be aware too that Zebrawood has large pores to fill (and if using a colored filler, instead of clear epoxy, you'll have to decide what color you want the pores to be.)

Also, to my nose, Zebrawood smells like a zoo cage on a hot summer day when you cut it. Not a big deal, but it ain't rosewood.

Just so this doesn't sound like all negative, I have seen a few Zebrawood guitars (and I have made some Zebrawood furniture), and it really is beautiful stuff.

If you get a look at the end grain, remember that if one edge is very well quartersawn, then that edge (resawn) will make a good bookmatch for the backs, even if the rest of the grain falls away from the quarter. And, try to sort of extrapolate the amount of width in the board that is quartersawn (radial shrinkage is about 7%), and the amount fully flatsawn (12% shrinkage, yikes!), and how much is somewhere in between those extremes.

Without looking at the endgrain, I'd be willing to bet a tub of lard that in this picture of Zebrawood, the bottom edge of the board is rift, approaching quartersawn, and the top of the board is approaching flatsawn. Hope this helps!

Dennis

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Dennis Leahy
Duluth, MN, USA
7th Sense Multimedia

Obviously this is something Rod should read as well - I was a bit hasty perhaps, contact me Rod we'll discuss this.
Cheers
Charliewood