The "Other Tree" Wood Gloat

[Howard Klepper]

Several years ago, Bruce Sexauer and I were browsing at the NAMM Show when we came upon a previously unknown (to us) wood dealer's table. He had a stack of sets of the most extraordinary Honduras mahogany either of us had ever seen. It had a combination of curl and quilt, and was also unusually hard and stiff. It also was being sold for the highest price I had ever seen for a set of mahogany, so I passed.

Bruce, having a better sense than I did for how special this was, bought one set. It was soon made into a fantastic guitar and sold. You can see it here:
http://www.sexauerluthier.com/JB-15-D-Lackey.html.

I chalked it up to experience and forgot about it, until I found a tonewood dealer in Tennessee selling some unusually figured Honduras mahogany. He had just two sets. I grabbed them as soon as I saw them; they appeared to be sawn from that same tree. They are also unusually hard and stiff. Bruce has seen them and agrees that they likely came from the same tree as the set he bought at the NAMM Show.

This is a time of increasing scarcity in many woods. But there still are some surprises to be found. And some second chances!

[martint]

Slice it up and get building! It looks beautiful.

[Tom West]

Nice score Howard. Never seen anything like that before. Looks like it couldn't make up it mind what it wanted to be..........fiddle or quilted. CONGRATS.
Tom

[billgennaro]

simply beautiful. any ideas as to what style of guitars they will be made into yet?

[Kent Chasson]

Nice find, Howard. Since it's a combo of quilt and curly, I think you should call it squirrely mahogany or The Squirrel Tree.

[iim7V7IM7]

Very special set, pretty n stiff...:-)

[Howard Klepper]

Originally Posted by billgennaro

simply beautiful. any ideas as to what style of guitars they will be made into yet?

Nope. . . . .

[Bruce Sexauer]

My customer had the choice of this stuff or the actual "Tree" at the same price. I am not saying he made the right or wrong choice, but it is interesting that he chose as he did. The guitar came out just fine, I might add, and this stuff bends far better than the tree, not that we made a cutaway as I recall. . . . perhaps we did? I'll look when I get a chance.

OH. We did! I had to wonder how I knew it bent well, being a dread and all.

[JohnM]

Beautiful Stuff guys! I'm envious.

[harvl]

Purrrrdddeeee stuff!!!... and well.... anything bends better than the Tree (...well maybe except for Manchinga!)

Harv

[Rixter]

Beautiful wood Howard! It's not often we get a second chance at something so special!

[CoolerKing]

Originally Posted by Kent Chasson

Nice find, Howard. Since it's a combo of quilt and curly, I think you should call it squirrely mahogany or The Squirrel Tree.

"That squirrel loved that tree so much, he buried all his nuts at the base. And that's how it came to be known as 'The Squirrel Tree.'"

[Bruce Sexauer]

FYI: when I got my set I saw quite a few other pieces of the same tree that were not usable for our purposes, mostly due to damage from a bird, which I understood to be a woodpecker. Actually a flock of woodpeckers, I think, and over an extended period of time. The tree allegedly had a mechanism for recovering from the onslaught which leaves scars, and I believe I was told that the lengthwise slash-stripes are the evidence.

[BBWW]

Great looking Mahogany, heck great looking wood period. Nice find.

[Don Musser]

David Borson of Precision Resawing tells me "The Tree" was not strictly quilted - but also had sections that were curly grained.