Apple wood?

ChuckBarnett

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Any of you folks ever used apple wood in ukulele building? Upside? Downsides?

Thanks!
 
Finding apple fruit wood in a large enough dimension and quarter sawn is difficult. It is closed grain but the color is tan to brown, not very interesting to look at. I have used Peach and Apricot fruit wood with good success. It is very pretty with golden yellows and oranges to warm pinks. Be sure any fruit wood you use is well cured and stable before you build. Good luck.
 
Any of you folks ever used apple wood in ukulele building? Upside? Downsides?

Thanks!

It can be used but might have one BIG problem: Significant shrinkage. Shrinkage: Radial: 5.6%, Tangential: 10.1%, Volumetric: 17.6%, T/R Ratio: 1.8.

Comments: Apple has a high shrinkage rate, and experiences a large amount of seasonal movement in service. Its appearance and texture closely resemble Cherry, another fruit tree. Yet Apple is significantly heavier and harder than Cherry, and is excellent for turning
 
I lucked into some apple wood this summer.

  1. It's quartersawn (I'm processing the logs)
  2. Some are large enough for 1 piece tenor backs and bookmatched guitar backs (not dread size)
  3. It has an interesting marbled and mottled appearance, dramatic contrast between sap and heart wood, and streaks of other colors in some cases
  4. It is heavy and dense and difficult to dry with a lot of shrinkage
  5. Other common woods, at least "on paper" share similar numbers of shrinkage and t/r ratio yet are commonly used in woodworking
  6. Examples: White Oak, Sycamore, and Gaboon Ebony to name a few
  7. Wood is hard on edges and blades, very tough
  8. It's so wonderful you can simply paste in photos now. Bravo.
Anyone talking me out of this?

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I lucked into some apple wood this summer.

  1. It's quartersawn (I'm processing the logs)
  2. Some are large enough for 1 piece tenor backs and bookmatched guitar backs (not dread size)
  3. It has an interesting marbled and mottled appearance, dramatic contrast between sap and heart wood, and streaks of other colors in some cases
  4. It is heavy and dense and difficult to dry with a lot of shrinkage
  5. Other common woods, at least "on paper" share similar numbers of shrinkage and t/r ratio yet are commonly used in woodworking
  6. Examples: White Oak, Sycamore, and Gaboon Ebony to name a few
  7. Wood is hard on edges and blades, very tough
  8. It's so wonderful you can simply paste in photos now. Bravo.
Anyone talking me out of this?

4QXrQVhZzhaccdp07rzK8ed5sbQP_dzKthrATkSAu_CsxlN2IsKgMNu8XRBC6bk9Oy_6Kp-TbfW9fdVpO8vyo0J5Zna8Y_rx7mq2hoJghLJkfD2nX22JYHtaCeTmTqyh594Z5ECm-dPod8VGt92-0rSMiJEcGa-z2O-I_mnA1M-yfJ9alrd4y47KV_bthuJ-hTTlcdWg40sTeHOhnWuIzCRiPRNmPPO0_TwiH0RW30UVC3HiT-x-VWqLkzVnFlZkSdm5MOmnF0UU-OueZGwhPjH3bB41U86sZlKV1KHtmgh-pK_qZXm1sQAuPhEWcwNebDzooCggLHDVGhVWrXyunbRgRbb3sAhAfFQN2torvy7l7Sg2vBEAhestH5XkrrC-Vmp4OXk_2tAgaHX_cLN_IIjE0bYYeyDZLX8jrn1O0-6PLuDc_UmObQ1sGxoPbhHJJIxPajHlBD5jrzITZbmSZ8ThuaneCVp1pLQz8h2qUzMq1pcwsgAe3Mhy_RHgYD3oN01cYWG_J0VAfdW0TBEbVuYryYJ2aoU_W4BwMamVIQn_O7DzzdqXcaWDTPvlTz7P6lBp6PkFUndFCVSfesBczxIBA95HJXFD5ua6oyguBcxfL4yv5YKgc2CsAYX9ZpFnPqa4fEm91436ja82w5l6rjbMv-exHvt4j8c_kB5rnSyfWyf_kbjjfl4rjlmXJBqCIKfrqzXkylup7VFd18GOktEMN4OlacwJXD7NAFVEUCpOnAsSSHJJD8eOa98LIzQs7H4mgI6LmT_JjPGjmEE1W50CdMhrWSpn_U0L39tO-l4fdqXXiCLx6bC5THZxSny9C32pqwaIbvTiN17sSKez8rOJvH_EyKXsgoKaZ0TLgXMfOditq7jq_eFWZUZK0jZiXVbRh0c_9dAnqkdDh-JltYZrDiHnS6gV-uJQeDyY7YF7BL7xxg=w568-h757-s-no




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Pictures didn't come through.
 
It's working now. Can see the resawn plates now but they look to be checking really badly.
Not really understanding what you think you are seeing, but no they are not checking badly. Just a few cracks near the ends and a corner. Plenty of crack free surface to work with.
 
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