Check Out This Myrtle

http://www.myamoeukuleles.com/bodyShop.html

Working with Gordon and Char I am lucky to be around so many amazing pieces of domestic woods. This board is a perfect example. We have a few different suppliers who save us the unique stuff, cause we love sap wood, color variants, un-even curl, worm holes, etc... All of these defects make it fun and customers get a unique piece.

Not to say we don't also use straight grain and even, symetrical curl. We just like the unique stuff too.

Is that $400 extra, just to use that piece of wood, instead of a piece of regular Myrtle?

I subscribe to MyaMoe on Twitter and have seen quite a number of these unique builds done with outrageously figured woods. Even when I was making veneered furniture for a living I would have been wary of using them. At the risk of seeming critical, tho I salute MyaMoe's bravery for going this route and at first sight these instruments look great, I strongly suspect you are storing up problems for the future.

To put this in perspective:
I have a writing box that I made over 25 years ago from a solid piece of English Walnut feather curl - that is the curl right at the centre of the crotch. It's about the size of a tenor top and looks sensational. However, instaed of creating a fielded panel and fitting it into the top unglued as should have been the practice, I glued it into a rebate. Now, only the coners are fixed to the rebate - the rest has shrunk away in an even curve from the corners... I finished it with vaseline - a great finish for walnut. The actual surface looks like a plougherd field now it has sunk and risen over time. I also have a small koa terz guitar part built with a huge curl across the centre of the back. This acts like a hygrometer and indicates the minutest fluctuations in humidity by swelling or shrinking at this point.

You may get lucky - I hope so.

Nadilog hapus

liam_fnq said:

Is that $400 extra, just to use that piece of wood, instead of a piece of regular Myrtle?

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That's correct. Being pretty isn't cheap.

liam_fnq said:

Is that $400 extra, just to use that piece of wood, instead of a piece of regular Myrtle?

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Depends on the model you pick "The Tradition model is offered in mango, koa & myrtle only. If you would like a Tradition model using the "Homecoming Queen" wood, the upgrade amount is $500."

Yup, good points Pete. For some of the crazy pieces, we have used some strategic reinforcement, including carbon fiber. We are interested in making instruments that last longer than a lifetime, so aesthetics are not the first consideration.

Love that myrtle. Beautiful wood. That master grade mango uke on your site is stunnung. I also enjoy lots of contrast in the wood. Makes for a really spectacular bookmatch.

deach said:

That's correct. Being pretty isn't cheap.

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Coming from one who lives it? Happy Holidays Deach!

deach said:

That's correct. Being pretty isn't cheap.

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that was a bit of a low blow wasn't it?

Glad you're on it Aaron. Personally I wouldn't go there - I'd make that stuff up into a bowl and have it on my sideboard to look at In fact I have several I did when I was teaching woodwork and demonstrating green turning on the lathe. Used to lean back when I was cutting and let the students get showered in sappy shavings - couldn't do that in British schools these days

Pete Howlett said:

- couldn't do that in British schools these days

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If you can find one that still has a wood shop!!

Pete Howlett said:

I also have a small koa terz guitar part built with a huge curl across the centre of the back. This acts like a hygrometer and indicates the minutest fluctuations in humidity by swelling or shrinking at this point.

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Pete, would you please elaborate. Does this happen because there is "a huge curl" or have you seen this happen with more uniformly curly koa? I don't know when the trends towards curly koa started, but it certainly seems to be very common in the more expensive ukes. It sounds like you're suggesting these instruments could be sensitive to "the minutest fluctuations in humidity".

Drew Bear said:

Pete, would you please elaborate. Does this happen because there is "a huge curl" or have you seen this happen with more uniformly curly koa? I don't know when the trends towards curly koa started, but it certainly seems to be very common in the more expensive ukes. It sounds like you're suggesting these instruments could be sensitive to "the minutest fluctuations in humidity".

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I don't think curly koa is subject to what we're taliking about here, but not absolutely sure. I have a Ron Saul curly koa concert that was built in 2000, and the wood is still perfect. (satin finish). Same with a super curly koa Tony Graziano concert built in 2001. (mirror lacquer finish).

Both of these have aged enough without any problem whatsoever, and if 11 or 12 years isn't going to have a problem show up,.....i would bet curly koa isn't usually a problem. With builders such as Chuck Moore using it almost exclusively over many more years than that,.....i'm not worried.

Not to say a problem can't show up, but i would bet if it did it was more from using wood that hadn't stabilized long enough before building with it. Wood sellers can make mistakes, or a builder misplaces a "new" set into an aged pile and uses it prematurely. But i would think that to be a rare occurance.

All curly wood moves and no extra-curly or extrordinary curl surface is still pool table flat after 10 years. Take a look at any curly wood and this will happen. Of particular note should be any violin - it's like a ploughed field and the more extreme the figure, the less stable it will be. About 3 years ago someone posted a picture of their collection of koa Taylor guitars either here or in a link over at Flea market Music. The guy was sat surrounded by about 20 highly figured instruments in very strong sunlight. As the sun caught the gloss finishes on these guitars, those with the most beautiful figure had distorted - you could see it in the reflection. The extreme figure timbers that MyaMoe are using and the place where they come from in the bole of the tree suggest to me potential problems for the future. And Joe - it doesn't matter how long you leave this stuff, it will still move and the movement is not predictable. We are not talking about perfect quartersawn curly koa koa here from the clear part of the bole - we are talking about that highly figured irregular curl stuff that grows near a limb or a defect and that produces sensational visual images for us but it nevertheless, not good instrument timber.

I must be a souless type of person..co's I dont realy like wood with defects ..worm holes knots etc: I try and avoid..But I do make ukes out of wood with flame patterns and such, just co's I know some folks like e'm like that (I know! Ken's a Hypocrite)..but for me constructional materials including timber should be flawless I hate to see a pine top guitar with an almost perfect grain, book matched with a single knot at each side of the lower bout,

Here's a myrtle I have just put on the first coat of finish. I was making this for me but a friend wanted it for a Christmas present. I don't think I'm a gonna make it in time

I try to stay away from commenting on other builders work. But I can comment on how I choose wood.
There are different types of curl. Some are good for building instruments while others are best used in picture frames and jewelry boxes. It might even be said (and has been many times) that the more boring the figure, the better sounding and longer lasting the instrument will be. I personally believe this is true to a certain extent. Each individual board has to be evaluated on it's own. If structural integrity were of prime importance, which it should be, I will try to stay away from crotch curl or any radical curl. On the other hand I absolutely love fiddleback curly koa, with it's closely stacked rows of tight curl, it works and sounds like low figured or non figured wood. I look for consistency in choosing wood with curl patterns that seem not to be under stress. Especially important with center seams. Aaron is correct though, there are certain steps in treatment and working with this wood that "can" alleviate some of the potential problems you might run into. I assume that builders using this type of wood are well aware of the potential problems with it and are comfortable with their skills and techniques to avoid problems.
Like Pete, I've seen waves on older curly instruments (mostly on a lot of well-intentioned home made Hawaiian ukes), especially with crotch curl with the wide bands, that you could surf on.
I am talking generally here, not specifically about the piece posted. I have no experience at all with myrtle. I am responding primarily to Joe's comment and want to make sure that people know that all curl is not created equally.

Myrtle is such a 'kind' wood - easy to bend and finish. I am sure it will become a great replacement for traditional tropical hardwoods in instrument making. I know if I was living in the US I would be promoting this as my 'local' wood as I am with English cherry here in the UK. And before you say it, I'd be doing the same with Black Acacia in my back yard!

Pete Howlett said:

Myrtle is such a 'kind' wood - easy to bend and finish. I am sure it will become a great replacement for traditional tropical hardwoods in instrument making. I know if I was living in the US I would be promoting this as my 'local' wood as I am with English cherry here in the UK. And before you say it, I'd be doing the same with Black Acacia in my back yard!

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I agree Pete we have been using a lot of myrtle and some maple and walnut.
We are Trying to stick with what grows in the northwest for the most part.
Myrtle is a great tone wood . And has a smell all its owen when working it

Good points, everybody. I have to say, I work 90% of the time with the simplest and plainest woods at Mya-Moe and I like it that way. I leave the crazy stuff to Char!