Official Luthiers Forum!

Hmmm....sounds like you have some issues with the sniffer Hesh...

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

Black walnut, with Spanish cypress a close second.

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James Warwick
J. Warwick Guitars, LLC
http://www.jwarwickguitars.com

CHERRY !!!! by a long shot. Then spanish cedar.

The negative reaction to ebony suprises me. I smell good , I mean my sense of smell is good, and I've worked a ton of ebony and NEVER noticed a smell at all! I think all I have is Gabon ebony, though.

I do like the smell of a woman, too.

Ron

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OLD MAN formerly (and formally) known as:

Ron Wisdom

Somewhere in the middle of Arkansas......

Walnut is one of my favs until the set of Imbuia I got from Bob.
It fills the shop with a sweet cytress sent.

Wade

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Wade
Nashua, NH
http://www.wadefx.com

When Primavera heats up, it smells like popcorn. Its become one of my favs.
Cocobolo is up there, too.
-j.

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“If God dwells inside us like some people say, I sure hope He likes enchiladas, because that's what He's getting”
-jack handy

Spanish Cedar, love it. Although I'm alergic to the dust.

funny...I can't smell cherry. I did a massive (to me) carving project a while ago (that's still unfinished) and I couldn't smell the cherry wood I was working with then.

Tell you what, though, this thread makes me want to head down to my local woodturning/carving supplies and spend an day sniffing the wood store!!!!!Sam Price39043.5341898148

Huon Pine - another native of Tasmania where I grew up.
(no two headed jokes from you mainlanders)

Used extensively for boat building but has been used for soundboards.

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Bob Connor
Geelong, Australia

Huon pine, now that is facinating!

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

The picture on the right looks like something out of the Dinosaur era. Dang, the flora there is something else, eh?

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

Sam, I don't notice a smell with cherry until I'm cutting it. Wonderful smell being cut.

Ron

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OLD MAN formerly (and formally) known as:

Ron Wisdom

Somewhere in the middle of Arkansas......

Bob,

Houn really does have a unique smell all of it's own, however I find it over powering after a while, it makes the air very thick. Incredible wood though, and would have to be, without exception, the worlds single best boat building timber. (that ought to stir some opinions )

In the late 80's to early 90's I worked on Great Kepple Island off the coast of central QLD. I would to travel back and forth between the island and mainland on my days off upon a ferry named the Denison Star. She was built in the middle of last century, the hull and structure is solid Houn from go to woe with the exception of a massive 96' long 17" wide keel which was laid down from the one log. Back then she was fitted out with solid Blackwood throughout. She remains unstoppable and beautiful does the Denison Star

Despite her long service history working the Gordon River in Tassi and the east coast of mainland Australia, I am certain she will be still plugging around romancing the masses in the middle of next century. Such is the result when skilled shipwright meets Houn Pine.

I have a top set of Houn for a guitar, it has wonderful whitebait figure and it taps OK. It does not ring so much as a crisp spruce might, but one day I will build a small body guitar from it. On the upper section of the headstock I will inlay a larger, yet upside down island of Tasmania in Tiger Myrtle, below that will be a smaller upside down island of Australia made of Western Myall. Different woods but the design will in fact be identical to the plaque that use to hang above the wheelhouse door of the Denison Star before the refit.

Cheers

Kim

Spanish Cedar, Cherry, Bois de Rose and Cocobolo.

Mike

[QUOTE=Hesh1956] A couple of weeks ago when I asked you guys if something was BRW or HRW you told me to go smell it. I smelled nothing after cutting and sanding a piece. Since then I have made a bridge out of what I know it BRW again cutting and smelling it....... Nothing.
Last night I was sanding ebony and again I can't smell anything......

I have yet to be able to smell anything from any wood. What's up with that?
[/QUOTE]

I agree - the BRW smell to me is very subtle, not at all like Indian, which is chocolate factory all over the place and really stands out. BRW I don't quite get.

I find that I'm more fascinated by the intrinsic smell of each wood, and not by it's ability to evoke something else. I had mentioned cherry, and Old Man chimed in the CHERRY!!!!!. But, I had forgotten ...

are you ready ...

black locust!

OK, now I'm done.

JK

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Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu

What a bummer- had a 100 bd ft of dhalbergia stevensonia come in today and ready to smell that beautiful scent, only to find that it had been fumigated in the central american method of soaking it in diesel. Just luv Mack Truck in the morning!

Dean

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Dean

Hey Kim

I can remember a trip on the Denison Star when I was a kid.

Left from Strahan, across Macquarie Harbour and into the lower reaches of the Gordon River.

That area of Tassie has quite a brutal history. the most incorrigable of the convicts were sent there and spent most of their days hauling Huon Pine logs out of the bush.

Do you know that Mick Thomas song A Tale They Won't Believe?

True story of Alexander Pearce, who escaped from Macqaurie Harbour with five other convicts and he killed and ate them trying to escape. (no Macca's in south west Tassie in those days I guess.)

I'm going down to Tas to see the folks after Christmas so if you are interested in any Myrtle Burl or Black Heart Sassafras or Birds-Eye Huon let me know because I'm going to try and hunt out some nice stuff for rosettes and end grafts.

Thanks for reminding me of that

Cheers

Bob

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Bob Connor
Geelong, Australia

Haven't cut many yet but Bloodwood has a very nice aroma

[QUOTE=bob_connor] Hey Kim
I'm going down to Tas to see the folks after Christmas so if you are interested in any Myrtle Burl or Black Heart Sassafras or Birds-Eye Huon let me know because I'm going to try and hunt out some nice stuff for rosettes and end grafts.

Thanks for reminding me of that

Cheers

Bob
[/QUOTE]

Sounds Great Bob,

I would love some nice stuff for inlay. We will have to do a trade of some kind, PM me when your back with the apples

Cheers M8

Kim

Freshly milled mesquite is a pretty wonderous smell....spruce39044.9603935185

I like the smell of BRW. To me it smells like Juicy Fruit Gum. Bloodwood smells like Sweet Pipe Tobacco when in the bender. Cherry just plain smells good when cut or heated.

I don't care for the smell of walnut and ebony. I am a little sensetive to the dust of both of them.

In a way I even enjoy the unpleasant ones. Back when I used to smoke I couldn't tell the difference in smell from red oak to cotton candy.

Oh yeah, Dogwood is another favorite even though it isn't used for guitars. Smells like mens cologne to me.

Although it has nothing to do with luthiery, a live standing Jeffrey Pine, when you stick your nose right in the bark, smells JUST like vanilla cream soda. When I head up to the Sierra, it's one of the first things I do: find a Jeffrey Pine and take a big whiff. I get strange looks.

Not a wood but the worst smell from building guitars has to be working with bone. Holy schnikeys, that stuff is FOUL!

There are so many wonderful smelling woods in this trade that I've often thought somebody should make a line of 'Luthier Cologne' in all the different scents. You listening , Stew-Mac?

BRW has got to be my favorite, with cedro right behind. One most poeple don't asociate with lutherie much is apple. It makes great small parts, such as pegs, and smells like apple pie when you heat it up.

From time to time I'm very senstive to macassar ebony, although that only started a year or so ago. It used to just smell a bit 'peppery', but now, if I'm tired, it sends me into coughing and sneezing fits. I'm not too fond of the smell of Port Orford cedar, either. And Al Taylor is right, 'cow wood' is pretty bad if you overheat it.

[quote]Although it has nothing to do with luthiery, a live standing Jeffrey Pine, when you stick your nose right in the bark, smells JUST like vanilla cream soda.[/quote]

   If I'm not mistaken that's how they get synthetic vanilla flavoring. By distilling certain woods, I don't know if it's the jeffrey, or not, but I'm pretty sure that's what they do!

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Billy Dean Thomas
Covina, CA

"Multi famam, conscientiam, pauci verentur."
(Many fear their reputation, few their conscience)