Wenge Wood

[Ben_Shaffer]

I heard a Video of Martin Doyle playing one of his Flutes in Wenge Wood and he and his Flute sounded very nice.
I’m not familiar with this wood. Does anyone know of Flutes made from this wood and if so how did they sound and look? I believe this Wood is from New Zealand, but I could be wrong.

[Nanohedron]

Stunningly beautiful wood.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millettia_laurentii

It comes from Africa, and is listed as endangered. Like blackwood (but only distantly related), it has toxic properties that pose a hazard to the woodworker, and I venture to guess that sensitization is also a likely risk for the fluteplayer.

[Loren]

Fine for things like guitar backs and sides, but I wouldn’t play a flute made from the stuff, or work with it.

https://www.wood-database.com/wenge/

“Allergies/Toxicity: Although severe reactions are quite uncommon, breathing Wenge wood dust has been reported to cause central nervous system effects, abdominal cramps, irritation of the skin and eyes, and is a sensitizer. Also, Wenge splinters tend to take longer to heal and are more likely to go septic (get infected) than splinters from other woods. See the articles Wood Allergies and Toxicity and Wood Dust Safety for more information.”

[kkrell]

Some guitar makers aren’t necessarily thrilled, either. Can look good, have good tonal properties, but also splinters easily in working, particularly bending sides.

[jim_stone]

@Loren

Fine for things like guitar backs and sides, but I wouldn’t play a flute made from the stuff, or work with it.

https://www.wood-database.com/wenge/

“Allergies/Toxicity: Although severe reactions are quite uncommon, breathing Wenge wood dust has been reported to cause central nervous system effects, abdominal cramps, irritation of the skin and eyes, and is a sensitizer. Also, Wenge splinters tend to take longer to heal and are more likely to go septic (get infected) than splinters from other woods. See the articles Wood Allergies and Toxicity and Wood Dust Safety for more information.”

That’s show biz!

[eilam]

i use Wange, it’s from Africa, beautiful wood, brittle and very splintery.

[Ben_Shaffer]

Well yes then I’ll take 5 Flutes made of Wenge with extra splinters!

Just kidding of course. I would guess if some well know Makers are making Flutes out of Wenge Wood, its a safe wood to use and maybe to work with

[paddler]

On the music page on Martin Doyle’s website there is a lovely track of Desi Wilkinson playing the air My Lagan Love
on a Martin Doyle flute made from Yew wood.

Flute Music | Martin Doyle Flutes

Now that is another wood that makes me nervous. I have had a large, lovely looking, Pacific Yew log in my wood store
for years, but have been too worried to do anything with it after reading about its toxicity issues. I was surprised to
find a flute made from it. I wonder if Martin uses some kind of barrier finish on such flutes?

[Ben_Shaffer]

Here’s Martin Doyle playing his Kiwi Celt Flute Model, which I believe is made of Wenge Wood
Nice playing by Martin on a lovely looking and sounding flute

scroll down the page a bit to see the Video

https://www.gandharvaloka.ie/product/martin-doyle-kiwi-celt-flute-wenge-wood/

[Geoffrey_Ellis]

I used to make flutes from wenge many years ago, but while it is a handsome wood, it is (as has already been stated) brittle and prone to giving nasty splinters. I found that it’s disadvantages outweighed it’s nice appearance. There are lots of excellent woods for flute making that are more pleasant to work with.

[chas]

@paddler

On the music page on Martin Doyle’s website there is a lovely track of Desi Wilkinson playing the air My Lagan Love
on a Martin Doyle flute made from Yew wood.

http://www.martindoyleflutes.com/music.html

Now that is another wood that makes me nervous. I have had a large, lovely looking, Pacific Yew log in my wood store
for years, but have been too worried to do anything with it after reading about its toxicity issues. I was surprised to
find a flute made from it. I wonder if Martin uses some kind of barrier finish on such flutes?

Phil Bleazey has also been known to make flutes from it. I don’t have a yew flute of his, but he put no finish at all on the boxwood flute I got from him. I’ve made whistles from it. I also eat the berries, which are quite tasty. Spit the seeds out without chewing them, though.

[kkrell]

@paddler

On the music page on Martin Doyle’s website there is a lovely track of Desi Wilkinson playing the air My Lagan Love
on a Martin Doyle flute made from Yew wood.

http://www.martindoyleflutes.com/music.html

Now that is another wood that makes me nervous. I have had a large, lovely looking, Pacific Yew log in my wood store
for years, but have been too worried to do anything with it after reading about its toxicity issues. I was surprised to
find a flute made from it. I wonder if Martin uses some kind of barrier finish on such flutes?

That particular track by Desi Wilkinson also appears on his album “Shady Woods”, as well as on volume 2 of Wooden Flute Obsession. Probably his was made of European Yew, a close relative with similar characteristics.

[barna]

The hardness is probably good enough for making flute from it. Its got quiet big pores so I think the pores has to be filled up. There are many great tone woods beside blackwood but you never would think that performs as good as the grenadil.

[The_Sporting_Pitchfo]

In my other musical life playing Turkish oud, wenge is a very popular wood among Turkish luthiers for the strips used in oud bowls and necks. Looks lovely on its own or alternated with another wood like maple or padauk. It’s also used by some Greek bouzouki makers for the fingerboards of their cheaper instruments. I briefly had a trichordo bouzouki with a wenge fingerboard. Nothing wrong with it, but as others have mentioned, the pores were huge.

While there are some great woods out there that arguably deserve to be more widely used for flutes (as well as the possibilities of wood/paper pulp laminates like trespa or richlite), wenge wouldn’t be my first choice.