New Pheasant wood tenor

Other than the noxious sanding dust it produces and the all too common white mineral stains, Pheasant Wood is one of my favorites.I don't use ebony or rosewood, anymore, and we don't have too many dark hardwoods here in Hawaii, so I very often use Pheasant Wood for fretboards, bridges and binding. It is one of the few woods that I cut off the quarter because you need to do that to get the feather effect. It still seems to be reasonably stable cut that way. Occasionally I use it for bodies, but mostly for the trim and parts.
 
Hello, and questions, likely for Bob. (I'm several steps ahead of myself, as I don't know what I'm doing yet, and won't jump into this wood anytime soon. I'm getting help to build a baritone uke that won't use this wood, but love the look of it and the Hawaii connection -- I lived on the Big Island for several years -- so I purchased some for a future build. But enough digression. The questions: )

There isn't much information on Pheasant Wood. What would you recommend for back/side thickness for a baritone ukulele? And I stumbled on someone suggesting it works much like Brazilian rosewood. Is this true, and do you have any other tips for this wood?

Dofthesea: How is the build going?

--Greg
 
I guess that's one way to become a pheasant plucker.
 
I have never used it before but here are some data:

Average Dried Weight: 50 lbs/ft3 (800 kg/m3)

Specific Gravity (Basic, 12% MC): .62, .80

Janka Hardness: 1,490 lbf (6,640 N)

Common Uses: Musical instruments (ukeleles and guitars), turned objects, carvings, and other small specialty wood items.

Relatively soft for a "hardwood". As for thickness of back and sides: Lots of threads on this to research but aim for about 0.080 or more on the back and a bendable ~0.070 on sides.
 
I'm not a huge fan of pheasant wood for bodies. I mostly use it for fretboards, bridges, binding, and misc ornamentation. To really see the beauty of the wood it has to be flat sawn so that the feathers show. It is really beautiful cut that way and worth trying as a body once in awhile. It is impossible to give specific target wood thicknesses without actually seeing the wood, but something close to 2-2.1mm for the back, and 1.7-1.8mm for the sides are numbers that I often seem to end up with.Good luck with your building!-Bob
 
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