Official Luthiers Forum!

Anyone care to take a stab at this one ?

Brazilwood? Just kidding How about cocobolo.

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I was thinking that Bob because of the pattern, but I never saw coco that colour ?

The Colours more like EIR but I guess you don't get that in Brazil

dalbergia nigra?

I agree with Brad...Brazilian Rosewood, Dalbergia Nigra.

If you unable to get it identified locally you can ship to me for inspection

I would guess BRZ as well.

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John Mayes
http://www.mayesluthier.com

Me too.

Best,

Michael

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Live to Play, Play to Live

I have a piece of BRw that looks just like this
john hall

Brad, Shawn, John and Michael...you are correct. The locals here call this "Gaviuna" which is their name for this distinctive BR with the purplish characteristics. I traveled to a guys house yesterday who was once a supplier for furniture makers. A friend of mine here told me he had visited his business a few days ago trying to sell some woods he had left over from many years ago. He had Imbuya, Mahogany and the normal stuff but, he said he had a little "Gaviauna" but wasn't sure how much. So, my wife called and spoke with him and he said come on out and he'd separate what he had. Most of it was small turning squares..1" X 1" and 1" X 2" ranging in length from 1' to 4'. However, he had a few larger pieces too. All so oxidized it looked like ebony. I told him I didn't have a use for the squares but, would buy the larger pieces. He agreed. I couldn't wait to hit it on the planer. When I did the smell knocked me down it was so pungent and it sounded like planing glass. Some pieces were this "Gaviuna" which I got 4 classical sets from. I only had enough off two other pieces to build a couple of dreadnoughts that are "BLACK". As black as any ebony I've ever seen. He said about 60+ years old. Just thought the color of this might stump you. I've seen the purplish casts in BR but, not this dominant before. I got it cut into sets last night but, my thickness sander isn't finished yet, still waiting for parts to arrive from the US. Could take a week or more but, when I get it sanded down I'll post pictures of the sets. Good work guys..you know your wood. Heres a piece of the block...Beautiful huh ?

Don't guess they call it Dalbergia Nigra for nuthin'!

Pretty stuff.

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

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Its Brazilian... often when its freshly cut it exhibits similar colors, which in turn change with oxidization or somesuch.

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Brazilian rosewood-100% sure

Hey Brazilwood,

ask the locals about a wood called "Orelha de Onca" The C sounds like an S.
Also, look for some Musotaiba (sp) ...accent on the I

The smaller 1x2" sticks would be good for bridge blanks.

The longer that BRW oxidizes the darker it gets...the blackline sections of the sample at the top are the giveaway when identifying BRW...other rosewoods will so similar but you see black, sapwood, and spider-webbed heartwood all next to each other, chances are it is BRW.

What the locals are calling Gaviuna maybe be confused with Caviuna. Caviuna is a name that is sometimes applied to BRW but also is used when referring to Pau Ferro. To confuse things more, In Bolivia Pau Ferro is called Morado. People have also over the years refered to BRW as Santos Rosewood which is also usually Pau Ferro.

A recent controversy is whether people have been selling wood as Caviuna and shipping BRW which would violate CITES. There are alot of Spanish luthiers that refer to the wood used for their backs and side as Caviuna, so as to not tip their hand that it is really BRW. Others have bought Caviuna, expecting BRW only to receive Pau Ferro...

I know that there is a active group of Mahogany plantations in Brazil working to get their plantations FSC certified so that they can control a market for legal mahogany. Have you heard if there are any tree plantations that are looking to do that with BRW to create a sustainable, legal source for BRW?

Hey Shawn..I think you've been to Brazil ? You know that is a real dilemma here. The common names from area to area. The similarities in the appearances provide the means to deceive. But, I really think that some of the locals here don't know the true differences. And some do but use the different names to confuse the buyers. That said, I will tell you that the person I speak about in my members section, "Mr. Wood" used that same deception to try and pull one over on Martin Guitars. Maybe I shouldn't tell this but, what the hey..
During my first encounters with "Mr. Wood", knowing he had legal permission to export his BRW, I contacted Martins Wood buyer to strike a potential deal. The first words out of her mouth were, "If this is coming from "Mr. Wood", I don't want anything to do with it". So, I was very direct with "Mr. Wood" and explained that he had a bad reputation and told him what Martins Buyer had told me. His response was that...Martin some years back had ordered a good quantity of BRW and he mistakingly sent them "PAU FERRO" !! Does this give you some indication as to the "honesty" of "Mr. Wood"? He explained it was an honest mistake that he made and that he eventually made things right with Martin. But, I'd love to hear their side of the story. I have heard the same from others regarding "Mr. Wood" too. I will be adding more about this to my members section in the coming weeks.
As for your question about Plantations of BRW. I have been told there is one guy, don't remember his name right off hand but, I have it logged on my computer somewhere, that has started a plantation I believe near Santos. My understanding is that he has planted some 10,000 plus saplings. The saplings are readily available here about 1 hour out of Sao Paulo. It is a government branch of the ecological department that sells them for about R$1.50, from my understanding. It is also my understanding that this plantations resources will not fall under the CITES restrictions and the wood can be legally sold and exported.