Hawaiian Milo wood?

It looks exotic, and it's from the Islands so it MUST be good for something?!?! Has anyone used this?

pahu said:

It looks exotic, and it's from the Islands so it MUST be good for something?!?! Has anyone used this?

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Lots of it. Looks good, sounds, good, works well. Harder to find than koa though. It grows only along the shoreline in Hawaii and much of it has been lost to condos and hotels. It's one of my favorite woods and I treasure what I have.

It is the wood I am always looking for and rarely find. One of my favorites also.

Yep, I've used it several times and love it.

My Moore Bettah is made from some really nice Milo....Chuck has the nicest Milo I have seen....the tone is great but I think that has more to do with the builder..no inlays except a small palm tree on the headstock..but this uke will never leave me.....

Thanks for replies. I had seen some on eBay but it was not quarter-sawn and pieces of small logs.
I can imagine finding good workable lumber would be difficult.

pahu said:

It looks exotic, and it's from the Islands so it MUST be good for something?!?! Has anyone used this?

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http://www.theukulelesite.com/ukulele-market/imua-custom-milo-tenor-tg-22-milo.html

Milo and Koa: mountains and the sea, I heard them once described. My wife has a MB soprano with milo, it is gorgeous and I love the sound of it. Thanks, Chuck!

I've never worked with Milo wood myself so don't know how it works or sounds. Below is a description for those of us that don't know this wood:

Thespesia populnea, commonly known as the Portia tree[3] /ˈpɔərʃⁱə/, is species of flowering plant in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is a small tree or arborescent shrub that has a pantropical distribution, found on coasts around the world.[4] However, the Portia tree is probably native only to the Old World,[5] and may have originated in India.[6] Its name is different in different languages in India. Nowadays, its wood is mainly used in making furniture because of its good ability to undergo carving. The wood from the tree was used by early Tamil people to make instruments in ancient Tamilakam.[7] It is possibly indigenous to the Hawaiian Islands and elsewhere in the Pacific,

pahu said:

Thanks for replies. I had seen some on eBay but it was not quarter-sawn and pieces of small logs.
I can imagine finding good workable lumber would be difficult.

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You're right. Milo is a medium sized bushy like tree with gnarly, twisted trunks. Perhaps because of its size and the way it grows it doesn't seem to be commercially milled, at least on a large scale and most of what you'll find are smaller diameters. I did have one slab that was over 20" wide once. I traded it because it was flat sawn. The best milo will have hues of purple and pink in it and I particularly like the sapwood. Most of my milo came from a downfall during hurricane Iniki many years ago and only occasionally will a tree will show up at a mill. Its been a long time since I've seen any quantity of it for sale. It's a relative of the hibiscus family, once considered one of the royal woods in Hawaii and use by the common man was prohibited. It bends and sands very well and when it's cut or sanded has a very strong, pungent odor that I find somewhat irritating. There are quite a few large milo trees growing within a mile from me on the coast but they are on federal land. I've noticed that from time to time someone will lob off a limb at night for some project.

Moore Bettah Ukuleles said:

There are quite a few large milo trees growing within a mile from me on the coast but they are on federal land. I've noticed that from time to time someone will lob off a limb at night for some project.

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Chuck, it seems like the Big Island is blessed with more than Koa (and active volcanoes)