Which wood to chose

[Gordon]

Hey, Stuart, Eilam… Jeez, bring up an old chestnut like wood choices (do they make flutes in chestnut?), and all these old friends pop back in…

But, yep, the cut, the player, the maker, all that, and then the wood. I’m always happiest with a blackwood flute, but I’m betting I could be persuaded to like red lancewood, too, especially if it came in the shape of a Grinter…

[chas]

@yillbrillem

I like boxwood if you can get it. Very light and easy on the hands and arms but a hard wood that can have some nice grain patterns also.

Yep, as most know I’m a boxwood guy, too. I just found out that I’ve got a Noy (Rottenburgh model) coming probably Wednesday, which Peter said he made from an especially figured log. AND I’ll be on vacation in the back woods of New England a week after that. Life doesn’t get much better.

[Denny]

Aw, Charlie, that is such a shame!

[Jon_C]

Hi,
I’d have to say the wood of choice for me is Cocuswood, especially if it has been aged for 170 year…

[Jon_C]

@sturob

I haven’t posted in months, but since I happened to look today and saw that Gordon responded to this thread, I think I have to as well.

Red lancewood is the bomb. Beautiful timber with the accoustic properties of cocus but less care. If you look through the flute pics page, you’ll see a flute of mine made out of red lancewood (a Grinter).

Mike Grinter claims the timber requires more care than blackwood, but I would have to say that (at least in my climate) it seems just as hardy.

Cocobolo is a nice timber that’s available in a whole bunch of colors but there are too many reports of its allergenicity for it to be a real contender. I know that mopane has been popular, but I also recall reading (maybe someone else knows more about this) in the past few years that it’s actually getting to be more scarce than blackwood. That could mean that good mopane is harder to get than good blackwood, but I don’t know. Personally, I was never impressed with mopane, appearance or otherwise . . .

But when it comes down to it, get what you like the looks and feel of. Timber selection is psychoacoustically critical but probably veritas-acoustically minimal.

Stuart

Hi Stuart,
Good to hear from you!
It is too bad about Cocobollo, I was all set up to make flutes with the stuff, it is such a beautiful wood, with all the good qualities for a flute, oily, super hard, nice beautiful grain… I even have alocal distributer that is the major importer for it in San Diego. The cost of the wood was about $30 a flute! But sadly it just isn’t worth going into the emergency room for!
The wood seller says, that his clients don space suits to work with the stuff, to keep from being effected. Then is the possible reaction of the flute player. I like Mopane a lot. It is a good hard wood with a nice grain. Has almost the same feel as turning cocuswood, but not quite as fine a grain. They sell Mopane at the local rocklers, so I can get all I want.