How about this?

Gorgeous! :drool:
 
$40 a board foot in the UK if you can get it. I'd expect this to be in that ball park. Good quality koa is from $85 a board foot. If it's instrument grade then it is very well worth paying for. I'd buy it but it is not possible to export mahogany outside of the country it lives in. And when I see stuff like this, I weep. That is some very very special mahogany, especially with it being sinker - flushed out by a flowing river... best start to it's life on the road to becoming usable limber. Maybe Ron could chip in here?
 
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Gotta build a few before I buy more wood but that's an awesome find. From what I've read, slow drying wood for years slows the cell change in a way that makes the cells stronger and the wood more resonate. So if that's correct then the rave over these "sinkers" is that that process has been slowed down even further by preservation of the wood in the mud (and other conditions? weight of water? pressure?) , creating a wood version of very fine wine? What effect would mineral deposites from different underwater environments have?

Ah... answering one of my own questions I googled "river reclaimed wood mineral deposites" and got a page right away with this "The mineral deposits that have leached into the wood for the last 100 years or so from the river bottom environment have caused the wood to develop a rainbow of hues." Very interesting indeed.
 
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I bought some redwood sinker off of ebay. I haven't used it yet, as it isn't big enough for a concert sized uke (though the auction claimed it was--should have paid closer attention to the dimensions)--I'll have to build a soprano, or put it on a CBU. If nothing else, the wood looks different than anything else on the market, and so, it is unique. There are some claims to improved sound, but as I understand it, it's nothing anyone can put a finger on to explain what makes it "better", so it's one of those subjective things.

I know Hearnes would like us to call for quotes, but I sent in an email stating my intended purposes and how much I'd like (basically a couple inches of quarter sawn River salvaged sinker Genuine Belizean Mahogany, 3' x 9" or whatever they suggest that would get me the same desired result, enough wood for two concert sized ukes).
 
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I think you would have to buy a board Matt - generate some interest and make a 'wood club' purchase.
 
Pete Howlett said:
I think you would have to buy a board Matt - generate some interest and make a 'wood club' purchase.
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Thanks Pete--I sent them a follow up message based on your post. We'll see how much it is to ship a board to Michigan.

(I'll send ya some, say it's walnut. ;))
 
Pete Howlett said:
I'd buy it but it is not possible to export mahogany outside of the country it lives in.
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I'm confused... I don't know all of the details of CITES, but the wood came from Belize and is being sold in the US. How could they manage to import such a large quantity, but they can't export enough for a few ukes? :confused:
 
Nice log, real pretty.

Shame it's flatsawn.

Itsme - If the wood has been cut before the ban, and that can be verified, it is legal to ship into the states.
 
RonS said:
Itsme - If the wood has been cut before the ban, and that can be verified, it is legal to ship into the states.
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Okay, but once that's been verified, it's still not allowed to be exported to the UK??
 
itsme said:
Okay, but once that's been verified, it's still not allowed to be exported to the UK??
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I'll go out on a limb and speculate this: CITES is something nations agree to (or not). Each nation must then enact laws to uphold CITES. The devil is in the details. Also, the details are in the details. :)
 
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