I did read the 2006 thread and I do know that you have experience specific to LV. I wasn't asking about yourLoren wrote:
Yes, I have experience specific to LV wood and the question at hand, did you read the referenced thread from 2006?
I have talked about LV multiple times over the years and covering the same stuff repeatedly gets old.
I imagine none of that will satisfy you so here’s a short answer: LV is particularly susceptible to wet/dry cycling. This is what causes it to crack (eventually) on virtually any direct blown instrument. Seems to fare much better on bellows blown instruments, or so I’ve heard. We only made direct blown instruments where I worked, so that’s all I have certain knowledge of.
qualifications, I was asking for more information about the specific cause of the cracking problems you had
encountered. The 2006 thread gave no specifics.
Anyhow, thanks for clarifying here that it is the wet/dry cycling that caused the problem in your case. This is not something
that would be expected for a wood that is reported to be both oily and extremely stable and durable once seasoned.
I also note that a lot of quenas are still made from guayacan (which I believe is another name for lignum vitae), and like
the one I have owned and played for well over a decade, they seem to do fine. I wonder if there is something different about
its use in construction of a quena vs a recorder or a transverse flute that feeds into this apparent contradiction.