Thread: Wood Chatoyance

Originally Posted by Fekit

Well, at that size and really negligible weight I'd be happy to send over a couple of pieces. If they get past customs at your end, all well and good if not, well you get that.

I have some melenoxylon from Cardwell in North Queensland. Where do I send it?

This would be AWESOME!!!
I will send a private message.
Thanks
Paolo

Originally Posted by chatometry

This would be AWESOME!!!
I will send a private message.
Thanks
Paolo

I sent a private message, but it does not appear in the sent messages... I hope @Fekit got it.

Originally Posted by Log Dog

Acacia Celsa rivals Blackwood for Chatoyance
Flindersia Brayleyana too!
Log Dog

Can they also rival the current n.1 (acacia koa)?

We tested about 100 species, out of thousands and thousands out there, so statistically there has to be something exceeding koa...!

Technically, chatoyance is a microscopic property that causes light to be reflected in a way that depends from fiber orientation (anisotropic reflection). Curl is caused by a wavy distribution of fibers, so fibers have different directions in different positions on the surface. This, combined with anisotropic reflection, yield the amazing "curly" look we all know. This page shows some examples
Curl – PZC Chatometry

This page shows some other figures:
Other Figures – PZC Chatometry

An extreme example is found in flecks, where fibers are perpendicular to main fibers, and so they are 90° out of phase in the anisotropic reflection cycle. A good example is this...
Hi-res chatoyance / chatoyancy on unfinished Louro Faia wood veneer - YouTube

Paolo

Originally Posted by chatometry

Can they also rival the current n.1 (acacia koa)?

We tested about 100 species, out of thousands and thousands out there, so statistically there has to be something exceeding koa...!

They eat Koa for breakfast LOL
Log Dog

Hey Paolo

Mate I've just had a look at that youtube video. It might be worth your time to have a look at the following thread of mine.

Silky Medullary Madness

Originally Posted by chatometry

We tested about 100 species, out of thousands and thousands out there, so statistically there has to be something exceeding koa...!

Yes I believe that certainly their are species out there that rival Koa
Don't get me wrong...Koa is stunning
However here in OZ we have nearly 1000 species of Acacia
Many yield beautifully figured wood
Also we have a number of rainforest species that also yield wonderful wood
Qld Maple,Maple Silkwòod,Black Walnut,Miva Mahogany,Silky Oak etc
And then there's nearly 1000 odd species of Eucalypts
Again many of them delivering the most wonderful figure
We are very fortunate to have such an abundance to choose from
I haven't mentioned some of the other obscure species that occur throughout the outback
Montana,Conkerberry and the like!
You obviously love wood...I applaud you for that
I implore you to dig deeper and investigate some of the species that I have mentioned
I can say with great confidence that they will rival any other species elsewhere on the planet for beauty and of course,chatoyance
Happy to send you some samples tòo
Keep up the good work old mate
Log Dog

Originally Posted by chatometry

Can they also rival the current n.1 (acacia koa)?

We tested about 100 species, out of thousands and thousands out there, so statistically there has to be something exceeding koa...!

There are over 800 known species of Eucalyptus alone. By comparison, "Pinus" is spread world wide but only has 111.

Something that might be worth knowing is how chatoyance changes in time. I say this because I believe a wood's true visual character can only really be observed after it it is freshly milled. No amount of sanding or polishing even with the finest grits can ever really capture its true colour and reflectance etc. When I mill something I can often see it changing rapidly afterwards even in just a few minutes (mainly colour) but also reflectance. I realize this has no practical value but it may be something that contributes to the actual values of chatoyance you measure.

Originally Posted by Log Dog

Acacia Celsa rivals Blackwood for Chatoyance
Flindersia Brayleyana too!
Log Dog

Yes, LD, Qld Maple (Flindersia brayleyana) is also way up there. Here is a nice examples of one piece that I turned...

Qld Maple - 12in.jpg

Wrongly or rightly, I don't expect to see that amount if figure in some wood without chatoyance, but often see wood with chatoyance that has no figure.

On the difference between figure and chatoyance, according to Paolos' s Chatoyance website...

Chatoyance is often highlighted by figure; however, chatoyance can be considered as a property of the material, while figure is related to the specific piece of wood under analysis. Figure creates contrast patterns which make chatoyance much more evident; yet if there is no chatoyance, the figure won’t show.

It's the irregular wood grain in a piece of wood that presents the fibres in different orientations that allows for the variations in light reflection.

Chatoyance gives the illusion of being able to see below the surface of the wood, which highlights some figure patterns, like quilting.

However, many patterns that we call figure don't depend on this illusion and are simply the result of the grain pattern that is exposed on the finished surface, like the mendullary rays in oaks.

I'll leave you wood specialists to sort us out if you think we are wrong about any of this...

Originally Posted by NeilS

Yes, LD, Qld Maple (Flindersia brayleyana) is also way up there. Here is a nice examples of one piece that I turned...

Qld Maple - 12in.jpg

Wrongly or rightly, I don't expect to see that amount if figure in some wood without chatoyance, but often see wood with chatoyance that has no figure.

On the difference between figure and chatoyance, according to Paolos' s Chatoyance website...



It's the irregular wood grain in a piece of wood that presents the fibres in different orientations that allows for the variations in light reflection.

Chatoyance gives the illusion of being able to see below the surface of the wood, which highlights some figure patterns, like quilting.

However, many patterns that we call figure don't depend on this illusion and are simply the result of the grain pattern that is exposed on the finished surface, like the mendullary rays in oaks.

I'll leave you wood specialists to sort us out if you think we are wrong about any of this...

Wonderful piece of Qld Maple
Beautifully crafted I.must say!
Worth noting that it is quartersawn too
Perhaps another variable that enhances chatoyance
Log Dog

I also see the fundamental structure of it all over the place too. Take the following for example.

S2.jpg

I'm not actually certain what this wood is apart from being non-ferrous. Anyway, as you can see there is figuring & chatoyance in this piece, but what many people would have not realised before is that this forms as an actual physical character within the structure of the tree, that piece you see feels as rippled as it looks.

I have also noticed over the years that this can emanate all the way to the exterior of some trees.

Originally Posted by Log Dog

Yes I believe that certainly their are species out there that rival Koa
Don't get me wrong...Koa is stunning
However here in OZ we have nearly 1000 species of Acacia
Many yield beautifully figured wood
Also we have a number of rainforest species that also yield wonderful wood
Qld Maple,Maple Silkwòod,Black Walnut,Miva Mahony,Silky Oak etc
And then there's nearly 1000 odd species of Eucalypts
Again many of them delivering the most wonderful figure
We are very fortunate to have such an abundance to choose from
I haven't mentioned some of the other obscure species that occur throughout the outback
Montana,Conkerberry and the like!
You obviously love wood...I applaud you for that
I implore you to dig deeper and investigate some of the species that I have mentioned
I can say with great confidence that they will rival any other species elsewhere on the planet for beauty and of course,chatoyance
Happy to send you some samples tòo
Keep up the good work old mate
Log Dog

My issue is exactly in finding samples, because many of these wood species you mentioned are just not available here. Would you really be up for supporting with samples?
This would be awesome.
If we want to cover some Australian species with some statistic significance, we need samples from different logs within the same specie (or group of species), so help from other people would really really be helpful!

So true. We did a few tests about sunlight effect on chatoyance:

Sunlight exposure on purpleheart – PZC Chatometry

Sunlight exposure on field maple – PZC Chatometry

UV light exposure – PZC Chatometry

In fact, EVERYTHING affects chatoyance...

Originally Posted by NeilS

Yes, LD, Qld Maple (Flindersia brayleyana) is also way up there. Here is a nice examples of one piece that I turned...

Qld Maple - 12in.jpg

Wrongly or rightly, I don't expect to see that amount if figure in some wood without chatoyance, but often see wood with chatoyance that has no figure.

On the difference between figure and chatoyance, according to Paolos' s Chatoyance website...



It's the irregular wood grain in a piece of wood that presents the fibres in different orientations that allows for the variations in light reflection.

Chatoyance gives the illusion of being able to see below the surface of the wood, which highlights some figure patterns, like quilting.

However, many patterns that we call figure don't depend on this illusion and are simply the result of the grain pattern that is exposed on the finished surface, like the mendullary rays in oaks.

I'll leave you wood specialists to sort us out if you think we are wrong about any of this...

Beautiful piece!!!!