Hi- I’ve found an interesting wood from Eastern Canada. It’s hard, curly maple that has been heated for over two days at 320 degrees Fahrenheit. This turns it caramel-brown and enhances the grain figures. The grain stripes seem to move like a holograph in the light. An aroma of maple syrup was given off when the wood was turned.
What a beauty!
Nice timber, and nice whistle!
What are the working characteristics of this wood…any difference from non-cooked maple?
That’s torrefied wood…they have been doing it in Europe for some time (I saw it there almost ten years ago and it wasn’t new then), and I was at a meeting where the engineer planning the Canadian plant where this probably came from went throught the plans. At least one cabinet door company in Quebec offers it as part of their product line. Another interesting property should be that the wood is waterproof or close to it, as I recall. Very interesting material (my day job is instructor in a college woodworking program).
Very nice whistle! Looks like figured walnut.
Is this what lumber suppliers call “Roasted Hardwood”? I had only seen soft maples that went through that process. It’s used by a local flooring provider here from whom I buy timber. He says the roasting process helps in color matching the boards, much like staining, but without the extra effort. Is it more difficult to glue than non-roasted timber? I’ll have to try some of this. Could you share the name of your supplier?
Feadoggie
Is this whistle made from Hard Rock Maple or Big Leaf Maple??? I had a large piece of Big Leaf Maple from Eastern Canada. It was kiln dried. I’m assuming by putting it in an oven like you did is similar to kiln drying it. But I could be wrong. Anyways, I had a beautiful Native American double flute in the key of low D and high D made from it. The walls were 3/16" thick. It was super curly. It looked identical to this curly maple whistle. And unfortunately, the sound was dead. I asked a few Native Flute makers about this and they told me they seldom use curly hard maple because it absorbs the sound too much. But perhaps since your whistle has very thin walls, this deadness isn’t a problem.
There are some inexact terms going around , like roasted… doesn’t tell you if it is torrefied or not. Here’s a quick link to the basic idea behind it: http://www.mectorrefaction.com/advantages.html
There is no big Leaf maple in Eastern Canada; it’s a purely PNW/Southern B.C wood. Something mixed up somewhere.
Beautiful wood and a beautifully made whistle. A pocket sized Gem!!
Are you sure? Big leaf maple is a western species, having diverged from the eastern maples at the time of the last ice age. These days it’s native to the pacific coast from BC (or perhaps extreme southern alaska) to California, depending on altitude. I’ve never seen it in any forest in Ontario or Quebec, and I’m a forester’s son. There’s likely a few growing in arboetums here and there back east, although to tell the truth I don’t recall having seen one.
The lowest block in this picture appears to show pitting in the grain. Is that what I’m seeing, or is that an optical illusion?
Looks like a bit like some “tear out” occurred while lathing.
Loren
Torrifaction sounds like it would (theoretically) yield nearly the perfect wood specs for instrument making, however I don’t recall hearing of any instrument makers (flute, guitar, etc.) using torrified wood in the past. Does anyone know how new the process is with regards to using in on commercially available wood?
Loren
I have an interest in lutherie (coming from playing guitar and mandolin), and have built a decent little library here at the college, and know some luthiers…I have never seen any reference to it in that sector at all. Most of the equipment I have seen for it is industrial scale gear, too large for a small shop but not too large for a mid-sized custom guitar shop or a larger manufacturer. I have seen some equipment manufacturers list musical instruments as a potential application, but as I said, haven’t seen any reference at all within the guitar making world. I may just have missed it of course.
I understand there is no Big Leaf maple growing in Eastern Canada. But I bought many pieces of Big Leaf Maple and Hard Rock Maple many years ago from a lumber company in Western Ontario. And the piece that I had made into a Native American D Flute was very curly Big Leaf Maple. It was the hardest of all the Big Leaf Maples that I bought. I still have some Hard Rock Maple but it wasn’t as curly as the Big Leaf Maple. And the flute makers that I contacted all agree that maple’s sound quality is not very good. I also have a very curly koa flute and there is no comparision in the sound quality. Perhaps if the bore was coated with a hardening substance used with some flutes, then the sound quality might be better. I am not familiar with torrifaction. But if it improves sound quality, then go for it.