Another Sapwood Inclusion in Blackwood

[Casey Burns]

In the thick of the current Folk Flute batch. Here is another example of a sapwood inclusion, just turned. I really like these. This one has spots. There is a bit of curly grain visible in the blackwood. Again - some may object to any sapwood on their flutes in blackwood. To me its a special design element that I like to include when possible, and its the best use of the materials at hand.

Casey

[crookedtune]

Parallel discussions are happening on all the electric guitar forums on the subject of 'road-worn' finishes. Of course it's purely subjective, but I like them, as long as they don't plaster 'SRV' and such all over the things --- (fan that I am).

I like blackwood inclusions as well. Adds character, IMO.

[I.D.10-t]

The difference is one is a pretense and the other an element of the material being used.

I still remember watching Martha Stewart beat a perfectly good wooden dresser with a chain to give it a used/broken in appearance.

[Casey Burns]

I've seen the chains approach done with violins. Actually there is quite the art to simulating wear and tear.

[Nanohedron]

The difference is one is a pretense and the other an element of the material being used.

I still remember watching Martha Stewart beat a perfectly good wooden dresser with a chain to give it a used/broken in appearance.

Hell, that's old-school.There was the "antiquing" craze of the late 1960s, where people (like my parents) would paint their stuff to look old, worn and distressed, and taking chains to it to help the effect along was definitely a well-known option in the practice. As Casey mentions, there's an art to it, though; I've seen some pieces so beaten by chains that it was obvious, and one couldn't help but think that somebody was enjoying flogging their furniture just a little too much. Turns out that it was also a practice of unscrupulous "vintage" furniture dealers, too. I expect that's originally where the whole idea came from.

[I.D.10-t]

I just see them as two different categories, one is an artifact or even byproduct of the material, manufacture, and use, the other a manufactured effect for decoration. The difference is like that of a cast iron pan that has a shiny black coat of seasoning from use, and the black spray painted Griswold nailed to the pub wall. There must be an art to it because my worn jeans are worth less than $10 where as some of the new threadbare distressed ones sell for over $100. (I must admit getting a small chuckle out of seeing worn out knees on jeans where the wearer's knees would not naturally fall)

[Steve Bliven]

...There must be an art to it because my worn jeans are worth less than $10 where as some of the new threadbare distressed ones sell for over $100....

And why can't I convince my wife and daughter that I'm being stylish while they contend I look like a bum?

(None of which relates in any way to Casey's flutes or inclusions or whatever....)

Best wishes.

Steve

[monkeymonk]

...There must be an art to it because my worn jeans are worth less than $10 where as some of the new threadbare distressed ones sell for over $100....

And why can't I convince my wife and daughter that I'm being stylish while they contend I look like a bum?

(None of which relates in any way to Casey's flutes or inclusions or whatever....)

Best wishes.

Steve

I have the same fashion problem minus the daughter.

This is a really beautiful bit of sapwood.....I believe the term wabi-sabi applies.

I wonder, would there ever be a thick enough piece of sapwood to make an entire flute out of?

[Peter Duggan]

This is a really beautiful bit of sapwood.

Must be in the eye of the beholder when I just don't find it attractive at all...

(Sorry, Casey, but think you already knew that it has polarising tendencies!)

[Gobae]

Yeah, sapwood inclusion doesn't do it for me either. But I'd LOVE to see a flute made from a burl or spalted wood! The results from turning those are gorgeous.

[Lars Larry Mór Mott]

This is a really beautiful bit of sapwood.

Must be in the eye of the beholder when I just don't find it attractive at all...

(Sorry, Casey, but think you already knew that it has polarising tendencies!)

Word up.. I wouldn't pay full price for a flute like that any more than for a boxwood flute with knots, but again - beauty is in the eyes of the beer holder..

[Feadoggie]

That is an attractive inclusion, Casey - kind of a "red spot weather photo on mars" look to it.

But I'd LOVE to see a flute made from a burl or spalted wood!

Burls can be a pain to turn but they are really interesting stuff to look at. It is common to see burls used in NAFs.

Spalted wood may not be the best choice in my humble experience. I would want it to be stabilized first. I turn some spalted maple. I have a bunch of logs in the shop - growing fungi. Remember that the cause of the attractive spalted variation is a fungus growing in dead wood (usually). Much of that wood is not tough enough to hold up to becoming a flute. It is not uncommon for a piece of spalted wood to break apart along the lines of the fungus growth. And it is a fungus after all, so take that into consideration as you hold it up to your mouth. Polymer stabilization can overcome much of that though. After which you are pretty much turning plastic. But what's cellulose anyway?

Interesting topic, Casey. Keep 'em coming.

Feadoggie

[Casey Burns]

I've done a few flutes in Mountain Mahogany featuring a little bit of spalted sapwood - but avoiding any of this in the bore. Spalted maples and such are great for stringed instruments.

I don't understand why some object to a little highlight of sapwood on blackwood such as this example. Structurally its not any problem, otherwise they wouldn't be using it on high end handmade guitars. It doesn't affect the tone. Knots are a different matter and on some species such as boxwood I try to avoid them. Again there is the best use aspect - why reject a piece of wood because there is a little bit of sapwood on it? And for boxwood - its commonly a choice between using the boxwood that is air dried for sometimes a few decades or not using it at all. There just aren't piles of well aged boxwood (or other woods for that matter) laying around. Perhaps the use of these pieces reflects the current status of the resource.

Thus I'll continue to produce flutes with the occasional sapwood inclusion. I find them attractive - especially this one.

[Gobae]

I don't understand why some object to a little highlight of sapwood on blackwood such as this example.

For me "little highlight" is the key issue. I'd rather see MORE sapwood spread throughout than just a single spot. As a singular area is seems more like an "oops" in an otherwise clear piece of ABW.

But, as many have said before, it's all personal aesthetic preference.

[I.D.10-t]

I don't understand why some object to...

Some don't like black wood, some don't like boxwood, some think pink ivory is girly, and rosewood keeps changing color and smells. Burl could be a nightmare of consistency which some would enjoy and some would choose fungal infection of their wood. Delrin is slippery, Ebonite brittle... etc.

I wouldn't try to understand, just make them and let the customer decide.