Bubinga back and sides
 

I just bought a back and side set of bubinga on Ebay.
The vendor offers thicknessing for a good price. What measurements should I have him thickness them to? I don't have any way of doing it myself.
Here's pictures of the pieces.
I'd also appreciate any criticism of the wood's appearance. If it stinks, please say so, as I didn't pay all that much. I'm sure they'll look different once I get them here.

http://i794.photobucket.com/albums/y...a/bubinga1.jpg

http://i794.photobucket.com/albums/y...ga/bubinga.jpg

Thanks for your input.
Bob

I'm not qualified to comment on its structural qualities or answer your question about thicknessing, but I do think it's really beautiful!

Fliss

That's nice bubinga. I would go for .080" on the sides and .110" on the back. It is a good idea to have bubinga thicknessed by someone else. Tim McKnight saw that I was doing bubinga once and I'll pass on his suggestion to you. Go out to your sidewalk and practice sanding on it, because that is what it is like to sand bubinga.
Yes - It is tough stuff. It makes oak look wimpy. It does bend nicely and it is a great tone-wood.

Thanks guys. LOL on the sidewalk.
Steve Kinnaird told me that bubinga has a tendency to "facet" when bending, so to be very careful. I'm going to see if I can pay him to bend it.
Bob

Wow, beautiful wood!

very perty!!

Bob, ya done good on that purchase. Looks just fine.
As for sanding this for you, how much $$ do you have??

:D

Steve

Oh, I was just bending bubinga cutaway today. I have sides 2.6 mm and I think back too (it was a time ago I sand it).
Bubinga bends like butter, yes - but I had hard time doing cutaway - it didn't want to stay in shape - it bent then unbent as easily. After 20-30 min of trying it stared to crack so I had to bend shallower cutaway and create new insert for mold.
But for normal shape it bends easily. I still like rosewood though, bubinga is hard but also brittle and it can crack .
But if the back is not joined then I would be careful thicknessing it before.

I don't have hands-on experience with this wood, but 2.6mm sounds way too thick for sides. For the species I've used, I aim for 2mm sides. The thickness of the back can vary more and is less of a structural concern than it is a tonal one.

Steve, I'll sand it........... it's the bending that has me whipped.
It would be great experience for Ryan!!
Name your price!!!

I would have to agree--and disagree--with the statement that Bubinga bends like butter. It depends (surely) on the individual species in your hand.
The difference seems to be due to the fact that several different species, and even a different genus are sold as "Bubinga". Consider this quote from the LMI website re. Bubinga:

"The most common varieties being used for instruments include Didelotia africana and Guibourtia demeusei, one of four Guibourtias known as Bubinga."

Well. I built a guitar with curly Bubinga sides that I approached with fear and trembling. But, no problem--it bent like butter.
Next up was some waterfall Bubinga, that bent like bulletproof glass.
This is the one that faceted so badly, and I was glad to have had enough thickness in the sides to sand them into a fair and smooth curve.

So Bob, bending your sides will have to be based on the species!
Take it up to the foresty lab at SFA and see if the boys there can ID the species (and genus) of what you've got.

Steve


(Just kidding about the SFA lab. They're your friends if you've got Southern Yellow Pine. Bet they've seldom seen Bubinga.)

That's some pretty wood...much nicer grain than the bubinga on my Larrivee L-03, IMO.

http://www.hudsdad.com/pics/l3s1.jpg

Hudsdad, I can't see as much of the sides on that Larrivee, but what I do see hints of some pretty nice figure. I do like the back as well. It's more toward the waterfall like Steve mentioned, though not as pronounced as his.
I still like it.
Steve, when I get that wood, I'm gonna drive it out to your shop to let you see if you can discern the make and model. The vendor had this to say about it: Guibourtia Sp. Does that help?
That's the easy kind to bend, right?!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And thanks, Hudsdad on the comment on the wood. I can't wait to open it up whenever it gets here from Georgia.

Bob

That looks like a set from Zootman, if so that's great! I have almost finished a dred with sides and back of bubinga. Great wood, bends like east Indian rosewood and to me it sounds just as good, only thing is it sands harder. I would go with .090 on the sides and .110 on the back. Zootman has finished sanded for me before and he does a great job. Another plus (but it may just be me) bubinga doesn't seem to split as easy as EIRW and it has a slight floral aroma but it doesn't burn your nostrils as bad.

I have come home from the shop smelling of rosewood only to have my girlfriend accuse me of smelling like another womans perfume. LOL

Chris, this didn't come from the Zootman. Somebody else asked me about that. It's a guy in Georgia. Aaron Hix.