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#1
11-29-2023, 04:47 PM
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“The Tree” or not “The Tree” that is the question.
 I thought I would share this for fun and also to get some opinions. With Stew Mac recently posting some less figured sets of “the tree” it got me wondering if the chair I’m sitting in is made from “the tree.” What do you think? The tree or not the tree? Here are some pictures.    The story behind “the Chair.” About 22 years ago my wife walked into the local hardwood supplier and purchased a plank of Honduran Mahogany as a gift for me for our wedding anniversary. The salesman was surprised at her purchase saying they had had this piece of wood for many years, and didn’t expect a young lady to walk in and purchase it. The plank of wood was about 7’ long 14”to 16” wide and over 2” thick, quilted and very dark compared to all other Honduran Mahogany I have seen since. I tried asking the wood supplier about it, however they didn’t have records going back that far. While at the time I had never heard of “The Tree” I knew this wood was special as a gift and for its beauty. I wanted to make something special out of it, so before I was bit by the guitar bug I made something I always wanted a Morris chair. It doesn’t really matter if it is the tree or not but it’s fun to imagine, what if. What do you think could it be? Or is it just some nice Mahogany. 
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#2
11-29-2023, 06:30 PM
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Obviously I couldn’t speak with certainty, but that looks very much like The Tree. I have seen many things passed off as it that don’t look as good as that. Probably genetic testing could confirm it, but as long as you didn’t sell it for $15K, I think you can pretend quite well.
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#3
11-29-2023, 06:50 PM
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“The Tree” or not “The Tree” that is the question.
There’s a lot of trees [emoji268] that look [emoji102] similar to ‘The Tree’…I would doubt the harvesters of the tree sold any off for furniture -wrong!!! They sold a lot of the initial lumber to furniture makers, so, it could very well be’The Tree’ …. you never know [emoji15][emoji3]
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Jeff Mark Hatcher Pina Parlor Torrified Maple/Cedar Stephen Kinnaird 00 B&W Ebony/Engelmann Spruce Simon Fay African Blackwood/Sinker Redwood Wolfgang Jellinghaus Torres Modelo 43S Maple/Spruce K Yairi CYTM Maple/Cedar Last edited by canuck7; 11-29-2023 at 11:01 PM.
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#4
11-29-2023, 08:10 PM
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The Tree used in furniture
Hi Joe,
I absolutely love that Morris Chair! Years ago before I got the bug to build guitars, I was building Arts and Crafts style furniture. I remember seeing several pieces of furniture highlighted in Fine Woodworking Magazine built from the tree. Here is a link to an article on the tree that mentions the story from Fine Woodworking magazine showing some of the pieces made from the tree. https://fliphtml5.com/lzncd/qtld/basic If the link doesn't work just do a google search of: "Fine Woodworking Magazine the tree" and you should find the article. The timing for your wife's purchase of the wood could mean it came from some of that stock. You'll probably never know for sure, so I would just consider naming your Morris Chair "Joe's "the Tree" throne" Jim
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#5
11-29-2023, 08:22 PM
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Looks like it could be the tree - but take 22 years and then add the time it sat unsold in the shop and my bet is that it predate the time when The Tree was finally removed from the Chiquibul.
Either way, you've got a great place to sit!
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The Bard Rocks Fay OM Sinker Redwood/Tiger Myrtle Sexauer L00 Adk/Magnolia For Sale Hatcher Jumbo Bearclaw/"Bacon" Padauk Goodall Jumbo POC/flamed Mahogany Appollonio 12 POC/Myrtle MJ Franks Resonator, all Australian Blackwood Blackbird "Lucky 13" - carbon fiber '31 National Duolian + many other stringed instruments.
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#6
11-29-2023, 08:47 PM
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Nice Chair!!!
Tree or not, that is one BEAUTIFUL chair, and I am official jealous!
Too bad there weren’t more planks!!! My wife Cindy has a serious thing for fine furniture. So we have a bunch. Until we got together, most of my furniture came from thrift stores and yard sales. But I have always had the best guitars and gear I could possibly afford Nice work! Sit comfortably and play on. Paul
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4 John Kinnaird SS 12c CUSTOMS: Big Maple/WRC Dread(ish) Jumbo Spanish Cedar/WRC Jumbo OLD Brazilian RW/WRC Big Tunnel 14 RW/Bubinga Dread(ish) R.T 2 12c sinker RW/Claro 96 422ce bought new! 96 LKSM 12 552ce 12x12 J. Stepick Bari Weissy WRC/Walnut More
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#8
11-29-2023, 09:39 PM
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Great version of the Morris chair. We have a lot of Stickly pieces including a couple of Morris chairs in quartersawn oak. I like your wood more.
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“You got time to breathe, you got time for music” ~ Briscoe Darling __________________
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#11
11-30-2023, 01:01 PM
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Always dangerous for me to post on such things. Without more info it can be hard to judge if it was "The Tree". Based on when the wood was purchased I would say no. It is very pretty mahogany for sure but a little more towards Plum Pudding figure than what is common in the considerable amount of this material I have handled. I believe it was Hearn Hardwoods that had a batch of highly figured Honduran Mahogany in the late 1990's I believe. All of this aside, I love that furniture and wish I had it. LOL
Like others I have seen sets of "The Tree" that were suspect! I have likely seen more Tree Mahogany than most people and the figure varies widely and a little bit of caution is deserved when paying the premium this wood commands. As to the "1000 Board Feet and only 1500 board feet remaining", while humorous it is somewhat less than accurate. The Tree yielded 12,000 board feet. All figured. The Stump was pulled out in the 1990's. Every guitar built with "The Tree" gets hyped and posted so it seems like "Thousands" have been made. (Especially on this Forum.) They haven't. At about one guitar per board foot it is safe to say there are a few more to be made. ...and yes I am biased and I sell this stuff...so there is that...
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https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-T...56266954411686 http://www.reverbnation.com/jayhowlett http://www.jayhowlett.com Guitars: I'm really happy to have a few nice ones.
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#12
11-30-2023, 01:14 PM
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Quote:
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#13
11-30-2023, 01:20 PM
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Quote:
I love it!
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#14
11-30-2023, 01:25 PM
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Smithsonian Article
Thanks for the comments and thought everyone!
Since I brought this up for fun, here is a link to the Smithsonian article just in case you haven't seen it. It's an interesting read. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-...ree-180979792/ Who knows maybe there is more out there waiting to be found.
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#15
11-30-2023, 01:45 PM
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Quote:
__________________
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-T...56266954411686 http://www.reverbnation.com/jayhowlett http://www.jayhowlett.com Guitars: I'm really happy to have a few nice ones.
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