Thread: King Billy Pine................

JIm, this guy is one of australias main guitar wood suppliers


http://www.giletguitars.com.au/luthier.html

you will see KB pine on their supplie list, maybe he needs some fresh stocks..

this guy alos uses in in mandolins

http://www.petercoombe.com/jaamim.html

Have a look at the other woods they use, lots of blackwood...

from his site

<TABLE border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top></TD><TD width=500 colSpan=2>Use of Australian Native Timbers in Mandolins

by Peter Coombe

After reading the editorial in the June 1996 issues of the Journal I decided it was time I ceased being a passive member of the AAMIM. As an enthusiastic user of Australian native timbers it was time to stick my neck out and write a contribution for the journal, so here goes.

I have been making mandolins part time for just over 3 years and in that time have completed 16 mandolins and 3 Appalacian Dulcimers. My mandolins are based on the Gibson A type - i.e. carved top and back, oval sound hole. I have tried to use Australian native timers wherever possible, and it is noteworthy that of the 4 mandolins I have made that I consider to be exceptionally fine instruments, 3 were made almost entirely from Australian woods. I use Australian woods in my instruments partly on principle, because I believe Australian musical instrument makers should use Australian timbers wherever possible, partly because of the results I am getting, and increasingly because my customers are demanding Australian timbers. In addition, the local timbers are sometimes easier to get and invariably cheaper than importing luthier's wood from overseas.

What follows is a necessarily subjective appraisal of various Australian timbers that I have used in my instruments. I do not have any means of objectively measuring responses, so have to rely, like most of us, on my own ears and the reaction of customers and other musicians. I have been playing mandolin for more than 10 years in a local folk band so am reasonably able to discern differences in tonal quality. In most cases my opinion is closely mirrored by that of other musicians. I have attempted to minimise all the innumerable factors that affect sound quality in musical instruments by using the same basic construction techniques, but with some refinements in the bracing of the top. In addition, as well as the original Gibson A 1, one instrument has been kept as a reference against which all new instruments are judged so I can measure progress or otherwise. I came to instrument making with no preconceived ideas and as a former scientist I was eager to experiment. Thus I have experimented with various Australian native timbers, sometimes in combination with imported woods all in search of the elusive exceptional tone. There is no doubt that one can get very good results from Australian native timbers. The instruments will sound different from the traditional spruce/maple and in the case of mandolins I believe superior.

If one is trying to reproduce a "traditional" sound, then it is probably better to stick with the traditional timbers because you will never find Australian timbers with precisely the same qualities as the traditional woods. You may also have to modify the construction technique to compensate for the different physical characteristics of the wood. I have found an increasing interest amongst musicians in favour of the use of Australian native timbers in Australian built instruments, a trend which should encourage members to use native woods. However, it takes courage to try something different in an instrument that is already well established. One is always mindful of the amount of work that goes into an instrument and nobody wants to make a dud that won't sell. Courage and an open mind is required and one could be richly rewarded. I certainly was.

The Australian timbers I have used are:

<CENTER><TABLE cellPadding=6 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=50> </TD><TD width=180>King William Pine</TD><TD width=220>Athrotaxis selaginoides</TD></TR><TR><TD width=50> </TD><TD width=180>Blackwood</TD><TD width=220>Acacia melanoxylon</TD></TR><TR><TD width=50> </TD><TD width=180>Queensland Walnut</TD><TD width=220>Endiandra palmerstoni</TD></TR><TR><TD width=50> </TD><TD width=180>Queensland Maple</TD><TD width=220>Flindersia brayleyana</TD></TR><TR><TD width=50> </TD><TD width=180>Ash</TD><TD width=220>Eucalyptus regnans</TD></TR><TR><TD width=50> </TD><TD width=180>Jarrah</TD><TD width=220>Eucalyptus marginata</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></CENTER>

<TABLE border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=bottom width=240>
King William Pine</TD><TD vAlign=bottom align=right width=240>Back to Index </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

<TABLE width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width="100%">(King William Pine Front) King William Pine is, in my humble opinion, one of the finest soundboard timbers that grows upon this earth. I should qualify that, and state that I believe it is one of the finest soundboard timbers for mandolins and Appalacian Dulcimers, because that is all I have had experience with. In my experience, it makes beautiful, sweet, clear sounding mandolins that are preferred over the best spruce-topped instruments by a majority of mandolin players (about 60/40 in favour of King William Pine). Mandolins with King William Pine tops sell well. It is also a lovely timber to work with, planes and carves beautifully and has a pleasant aromatic odour when worked. It is not as strong as Spruce along the grain, so I use Spruce bracing, and carve the top a little higher than my Spruce tops (tip from Graham Caldersmith, thanks Graham). The down side is that it is now a very difficult timber to get, and if you do manage to get some you may have to cope with curly grain, splits and hidden knots. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

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Alos these guys source wood the world over, check out all the type sof wood they supply

http://www.lmii.com/

Wood for instruments needs to be prepared in a specific manner.

Theres a guy in melbourne that uses Sassafras fro Harp soundboards.

Maton australia uses Blackwood and Sasafras in its instruments.

http://www.maton.com.au/

INstrument makers are always lookin for quality stock so u may find a taker on some of those nice woods u have there...

cheeeeeeeers

Just as a matter of interest i do have a small amont of King Billy in various widths and length boards if anyone desires to play with something different,it is a quite soft timber but works well,it is not easy to get hold of but i do come across it ocasionally..............

Tasman............

Originally Posted by Tasman

Just as a matter of interest there is a tender here for tas timbers and there are some King Billy Pine logs in the tender,as it is extreemly rare there might be some one out there who might just want some,the tender finishes on the 2nd August..................

Tasman

Dear Tasman,

I'm interested in your current tender and would like further information regarding how much of each timber is for tender. Also, how do I put an offer in?

Many thanks,
Malcy

I think you may find you are a little late. The tender Jim was referring to was in 2004.

A mate of mine got some of the logs. They cut some boards.

Absolutely gorgeous stuff!
I have a coffe table made from two slabs of KBP burl that I picked up years ago at morrison's in Strachan.
When I get to know more about this photo posting caper I willpost a pic.
Apparently it is now harder to procure than Huon Pine.
I have also seen instances of heart checking in some pieces of work done with KBP.

Yep,sorry but long gone and have not seen any since in log form .......

Regards Tasman ...................

Ha, nice to see someone quoting direct from my web site. At least some of the information is useful.