Official Luthiers Forum!

does anyone have any experience dealing with this supplier either directly or on the internet via ebay that you would care to comment on?

I have purchased from him on eBay in the past and was happy with the quality of the tops. His grading scheme used to be a bit hard to follow but I believe he may have changed his descriptions.   He also has his own forum Luthier Forum which does have some interesting builds to follow.

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Don Atwood
Arlington, VA

CMM,
I have bought a few things including some larger sized billets, and have always been happy with the quality.
Over the lst year his prices have gone up quite a bit though. And shipping from up there is costly op top of it./
I trust Him for sure.
BTW..you into Fairport C.??

Farewell Farewell......
Glen S

thanks for the feedback.

and glen, yes the lads are among my favourites! unless something intrudes on my plans, will be meeting up with them later this month.

I ordered a billet of spruce from him, and it is very nice. It is from the same log that William Cumpiano built with. BTW, William Cumpiano said that his spruce from the log I bought from is the best spruce he had ever used. So that is why I bought some. I haven't cut it yet, so I don't know how good it will be. It is 1 1/2" x8 1/2" by 24".
Tracy

I usually just lurk here, but I did recently get 20 top sets from Mario. One comment I'll make is that his sets are rough, so I have no idea how he can properly grade them. After planing them smooth a good percentage were not top quality as advertised. This wouldn't apply to billets of course.

On the positive side, he is replacing all the sets I found substandard. So, while a bit of a hassle, he does back things up. BTW, I don't have a use for all of these sets so if someone wants to try some sets without having them shipped from Canada and with better pics, drop me an email. Would be interested in trades involving some nice black walnut or koa too...JAmes38483.4491319444

I'm hesitating to chime in, but this guy has become so full of hyperbole that I just can't imagine dealing with him again. Not that he's trying to be deceptive or anything, but he sure blows a lot of smoke.

I bought a billet from him when he first started selling and it was sawn rather than split, so I explained to him why builders wanted to see the split face. He basically threw a hissy fit, so it became clear to me that (1) he did not know what instrument builders were looking for and (2) I was not going to deal with him anymore. He was just a another guy with a chain saw and a lousy attitude.

He advertised the billet I bought as Sitka and it was not; it probably was an Engelmann/White spruce hybrid, but that's just my guess. It was different stuff; not bad, but not Sitka. He claimed vehemently that it was Sitka but now he advertises some of his stock as an Engelmann/White spruce hybrid. Draw your own conclusion there.

Several of us posted similar comments on MIMF which he read and then threatened to sue Deb. He basically behaved like a 2-year old.   

That said, I am sure he has learned some since then, and this is not to say that you can't get a square deal. Just thought I'd share my experience.

I'll anticipate the threats that could be arriving in my In Box before too long.

Bobc38483.4738541667

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Beautiful and unusual tone woods at a reasonable price.
http://www.rctonewoods.com/RCT_Store
The Zootman
1109 Military Rd.
Kenmore, NY 14217
(716) 874-1498

I think Cumpiano was the first guy to explain to him about silk and perfect quartered wood. At least he acted like that was a big revelation from him.

I bought some tops and a billet from him and agree that you couldn't tell the grade of the tops without cleaning it up first.

I think his over-the-top self promotion is more common than not for loggers/wood merchants, at least the ones along the west coast Canada and SE Alaska. They are a lot like the old prospectors I think.

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Scott Thompson
Port Townsend,WA

"In a perfect world we'd all sing in tune
But this is reality so give me some room"
-Billy Bragg

I have bought tops and billets from Mario. Scott and Bob hit it on the head...he is an over the top promoter who as a logger bought a section of old growth timber that is hybridized spruce.

When he first started selling on eBay he was much less expensive but as he has learned more about the wood he is cutting and what luthiers are looking for his prices have gone up.

One thing that has been determined is that there are two distinct types of spruce that he is cutting. One is a hydrid of Sitka and White Spruce which looks very much like Sitka and the other species is a hybrid of Engelmann and White Spruce. The Sitka/White looks more like Sitka while the Engelmann/White look more like Engelmann. Because he is a self promoter and the wood is in the Kermodie forest, he calls them Black Kermodie (Sitka) and White Kermodie (Engelmann).

While he splits his bolts (wedge shaped) from the logs and stumps, when he then divides them down into billets (roughly rectangular 2.5 to 6 inch thick) he uses a 20" Hitachi Resaw B750 to saw the bolts into billet form which is why you recieved sawn billets. I have the same Hitachi Resaw.

If you ignore most of the hype and bluster, Mario has some nice wood. I have had better success with billets than tops mainly because early on he did not know enough about grading tops...that may have changed.

Some of the "curly bear" (see what I mean about the hyped names of wood) billets I bought look and sound better than euro spruce than I use for classicals. They had the look of real german which you cant get anymore with a tone that was top grade euro...

I have not tried any of the sitka hydridized wood that Cumpiano raves about as I only build classical and have only used the Engelmann hybrid tops.

Mario is trying to please so when I recieved anything that I did not like, he replaced it without question. I would not buy the inflated price wood from him but forgiving the hype, he does have some nice wood.