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Tiger Myrtle from Australian Tonewoods
http://www-.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10102&t=9700		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  Aust Tonewoods [ Wed Dec 06, 2006 10:26 pm ]
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Well it is good to see that many of you are curious about Tiger Myrtle. I would like to thank you for all the positive feedback and in particular Craig and Hesh for your posts. The prospects for more sets are favourable and I have another 9 sets which will be available in the new year. They have been resawn from the "widow maker" hollow trunk shell salavged in the forrest. Among the material I have resawn I came across the amazing figure featured below. The full image shown measures about 10" x 5". Two or three of the sets feature this figure. I should have numerous pieces for headplates and other trimmings.







regards

Tim


Author:  Bobc [ Wed Dec 06, 2006 11:25 pm ]
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Beautiful wood Tim.
Author:  Aust Tonewoods [ Thu Dec 07, 2006 1:02 am ]
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Lets hope we can turn some of this material into stunning and sweetly sounding instruments!

Tim
Author:  Serge Poirier [ Thu Dec 07, 2006 4:57 am ]
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Yup very nice wood Tim !!!
Author:  Steve Kinnaird [ Thu Dec 07, 2006 5:58 am ]
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Ooooh, can I add a piece of that to my order?

I'll PM you!

Steve
Author:  Kim [ Thu Dec 07, 2006 11:08 pm ]
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Tim,

That is just amazing figure, I have seen a bit of the spotted stuff before but this example with the random black squiggling lines over red embers looks tribal and hypnotic.

Once again Mr Spittle you have produced something truly unique and beautiful for us to feast our eyes upon. However you should be warned, that this really is becoming all too much, especially after leaving me with such a bad case of wood envy from viewing Craig's latest set.

Tim, any more of this wood porn and I will succumb leaving my children presentless for Xmas, and this will be all your fault.

Cheers

Kim
Author:  MarkJ [ Fri Dec 08, 2006 12:36 am ]
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Absolutely stunning. Does anyone know how this wood works out for classical guitars, say paired with an Engelmann top?
Author:  Kim [ Fri Dec 08, 2006 1:35 am ]
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Mark,

The only comment that I can give regarding tone of this wood is from my own comparative assessment of tap tone.

My Tiger Myrtle set seems to sustain very well, it is not as "glass like" as some EIR that I have but it seems to sustains longer and is not near as heavy.

If I had to choose in comparison with all my sets (and this is getting to be quite a diverse selection now ) I would say that the Tiger is most similar to some Cuban Mahogany I have in tap tone, weight, and general feel in the hand, however the grain is very fine by comparison.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

Kim

Author:  KiwiCraig [ Fri Dec 08, 2006 8:58 am ]
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Tim ,,,, you have gone and done it again !!! . That is a fabulous piece of wood.

An Alert to others : Tim has a Tiger set on the OLF Auction right now !. It looks to be the QUALITY dark coloured Myrtle .BUY NOW ! , I'll bet you'll never regret it . Myrtle has a fantastic tap tone,,,,,period.

It's the nicest wood you could wish to work ,as also testified by Hesh .

Stop it Tim ! You are going to make a Kiwi very broke !

Craig Lawrence

Author:  Kim [ Fri Dec 08, 2006 10:07 am ]
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Craig,

If you think that one is tempting, scroll down and have a look at the sets on Tim's Site, if I did not have Xmas coming up for my 2 girls that middle set would be all mine.....then again.....hey Santa........ Ouch! Santa just looked in and told me that she will be giving me a thick ear for Xmas if I even think about it

Cheers

Kimlarkim39059.755462963
Author:  crazymanmichael [ Sat Dec 09, 2006 8:26 am ]
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ah well kim, hope you cope well with pain?
Author:  gratay [ Sat Dec 09, 2006 9:38 am ]
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just stunning...
Author:  Alain Desforges [ Sat Dec 09, 2006 7:51 pm ]
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Ooooohhhh! My WAS senses are tingling!
Author:  Kim [ Sun Dec 10, 2006 9:51 pm ]
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Folks,

I posted what is writen below in the "Very amateur guitar wood" thread where Joel showed us an example of Tasmanian Myrtle (Nothofagus cunninghamii) that he has, without this stunning Tiger figure.

I just thought it may be of intrest to anyone inspired by Tiger Myrtle to read the reason that I understand causes the dark spots and lines that appear in this rare and unique tonewood. To those who may have already read it, sorry

[QUOTE] Tiger myrtle is extremely rare, much more so than I think most realise. It is my understanding that the Tiger figure is present only at the base, or buttress, of the very occasional tree. And that the figure cannot be determined until the tree has been feld, so this really is needle in a haystack stuff.

As mentioned by PaulB, the figure is thought to be the result of a fungal invasion. A good indicator that this is probably the case, as already mentioned above, is that it's affect seems to diminish as you move further up the trunk where cooler dryer air is able to circulate. Around the stump, moisture and temperature levels are much more stable so maybe the beautiful figure is a kind of tree Tinea [/QUOTE]

The weird thing is that this spotting does not appear to be detrimental to the woods structure. Rather it seems every bit as stable and strong as the rest of the fibre as I am sure Craig, Hesh and Steve will attest. Maybe it has something to do with the incredibly fine and close grain, who knows.

What ever it is, one thing is for sure, strange and wonderful things sometimes happen in the dark temperate rain forest of north western Tasmania     

Cheers

Kim


Author:  Aust Tonewoods [ Sun Dec 10, 2006 11:33 pm ]
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Greetings all,

I couldn't help but add a few thoughts and an image or two. Just a point of clarification regarding Tiger Myrtle. Tiger Myrtle is only Tiger myrtle when Nothofagus cunninghamii presents a black discoloration which in most cases seems to follow specific cellular pathways very much like the medullary rays that are so vivid in tonewoods like Lacewood or Sheaok. Where there is an absence of this black marking the material is simply common myrtle. Sometimes it might also be flamed, burled, full of birdseye or a combination of all these features.

regards

Tim
Australian Tonewoods


   


      

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