Snakewood

[pipersgrip]

Hi guys! Do any of you know where I could get some quality grade Snakewood blocks for an instrument? I have found pin blocks, but I don't know it they are good enough for a whistle. Thanks.

[Feadoggie]

It is available through good woodturning specialist suppliers (and eBay) but I would add a caveat. Snakewood is about as attractive as wood gets. I am fortunate to have a snakewood whistle made by Brad Anderson. It's lovely, first rate work. And I would recommend him as a maker.



I have played it in a number of workshops and the reaction to it is always the same. I'll paraphrase: a) "that's a great looking whistle" and b) "it will crack into pieces". Quite a few of these comments have come from folks that have themselves owned instruments made from snakewood and they were speaking from personal experience. So I went about talking to all my wood turning friends. Just last week I had a discussion with a well-regarded bowl turner and snakewood came into the conversation. Here's his take. Snakewood is full of resin and that is part of what gives it that light and dark figure. It has to be seasoned naturally and carefully. The resin is very susceptible to heat. It changes its structure. When you turn and bore the timber you have to be very careful not to let it get very warm. That's a real tough issue. It sometimes cracks straight away and other times it waits and surprises you. So, when you select a snakewood supplier try to find out how the wood has been harvested, resawn and seasoned. Then take care. But the results can be stunning.

Feadoggie

[pipersgrip]

Thanks for that advice! I always heard it was a hard wood to work with, but I didn't know why. It is definitely my favorite wood to look at. I am going to buy some, and see how it works out when I turn them. Hopefully all will go well, or at least get one good turn out of them.

[Feadoggie]

Here's one supplier I have used a lot. No snakewood yet.

http://www.westpennhardwoods.com/shop/c ... ory_id=791

One problem with exotic woods is that you (and the supplier) don't know where it's been in many cases. You pay your money and you take your chances. Right?

I have spent most of this year away from home caring for my parents and haven't had much time on the lathe. I miss the surprises you get when you take the tool to the blank and the grain reveals itself as you turn from square to round. One of the first things I like to do when I get home is "make sawdust". Have fun and work safe.

Feadoggie

[pipersgrip]

Thanks for that site. Do you think this one would be reliable? http://www.amazonexotichardwoods.com/Me ... _Code=TB-S

[Feadoggie]

I have not purchased any timber from them so I can't offer an opinion. Maybe some of the other wood butchers here have experience with them. Nice looking samples. One thing I would note is that the sizes of the blanks they are showing are fairly small - pen blanks and knife scales. The minimum blank I use is about 1" x 1" x 12" for a high D. Give yourself some wiggle room for working the pieces down to size. But you likely have your own design requirements.

Please, let us know what "turns up" though.

Feadoggie

[pipersgrip]

Thanks for that info. I will sure let you know how things turn out.

[chas]

There's one well-known flute maker who plays a snakewood flute that he made (Hammy?). It quickly developed a few cracks, but has been stable for many years. On the flutemakers list, everybody who had made a flute from snakewood had it crack.

I agree, though, lovely stuff. Leopardwood looks similar, but I don't know anyone who's made a whistle or flute from it.

Most of what I found is for pen blanks (I found pool cue blanks at Tropical Exotic Hardwoods, whom I've done business with before). You can browse the Woodfinder page here:

http://www.woodfinder.com/listings/000101.php

[Feadoggie]

Yes, I have heard about Hammy's flute. Cyanoacrylate is our friend.

Leopardwood looks similar, but I don't know anyone who's made a whistle or flute from it.

I have some nice leopardwood that my wife insisted I buy on a trip to a local wood supplier. It looks a bit like someone took a quartersawn white oak boad with lots of ray flake to it and dyed it a red-to-pinkish brown. It is supposed to become a bauble box for her at some point. I'll see if I can get a whistle blank out of it. I agree with you Chas, it is very attractive timber but its not terribly dense and the grain seems to be coarse. At least that is my take from the little I have done with it so far. I had not thought of it as an instrument wood. The flake in the grain is quite striking. My wife has forced me to buy a lot of nice lumber. She tortures me so. And somehow I soldier on.

Feadoggie

[s1m0n]

Not a fan of snakewood.

[starstutu]

Contact Gilmer Wood Co. They have a lot of good quality snake wood and it's not that expensive. Go to their website and you can pick out the pieces you want to buy. Plus they are great people to do business with. Good Luck!!!

[brewerpaul]

fwiw-- I made a single batch of Snakewood whistles once (4). They were indeed stunning but all four subsequently developed cracks. These were overlying the brass tuning slide, where the wood is frightfully thin anyway. I was able to repair these very well, the repaired cracks looking just like some grain lines. One of that batch was my own, and I love it, but I've shyed away from Snakewood ever since. Plenty of other gorgeous timbers out there.
If you decide to try it, I'd suggest rough turning the OD, drilling your bore, then waiting about three times your normal waiting period to let the stuff really stabilize. Examine the bore from time to time for cracks, and run some thin CA glue in there right away. Let us know your results.