Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi folks,

I have just picked up this lovely snakewood log (i wont tell you how much it was)






Having onley ever processed one snakewood log before i thought i would ask the advice of some of the more experienced folks on this forum.

It does some of the typical end checks that snake allways has so i thought i would cut with these that way i will avoid runout.
What blade should i use i am thinking one of my old carbide blades as this stuff is like granit in terms of hardness.

Any thought would be much apreciated,

Joel.

Good find! There be bindings aplenty in tha' yer log...

Be careful of the dust. If you've never cut snakewood before, be very careful. It's the only wood that ever caused my tongue to swell and nearly choked me!

Other than that, I love the stuff

It's harder than hard, but it cuts very nicely and readily. Use your best blade to get the most yield.

Ditto Grumpy. It bends IMO nice also. Looks great with almost any combo of woods

Sweet log! Wish I had one of those...or two.

_________________
"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

Joel an old blade especially if it's dull will want to wander as it heats up. I would use a sharp blade. I usually cut mine on the bandsaw with a carbide blade. I temporarily screw a 1 x straight edge to the log which then rides along the fence and go from there. Beautiful log.

_________________
Beautiful and unusual tone woods at a reasonable price.
http://www.rctonewoods.com/RCT_Store
The Zootman
1109 Military Rd.
Kenmore, NY 14217
(716) 874-1498

Well i started cutting it this afternoon.
i used a reasonably sharp carbide blade and it redily.
I quarterd along the natural check line but found heart shakes inside so no
fingerboards from this one.

One quarter will be bridge blanks the rest will be bindings i will try to get
one fingerboard and some peg heads also but its a tricky job and wastage is
high.

oh well anther point to experience

Joel.

Ahh...yes, one of the reasons for my GOOB.

Expensive lessons.

_________________
"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

Unfortunately, Joel the worse is yet to come. Snakewood is so full of talose along with it's high density (up to 1.4 SG in some pieces) it will do some serious cracking in the drying phase. I absolutely won't purchase log portions for this reason alone. Some years back I found about 800 pounds of snakewood lumber in
Brazil that had been cut for up to 50 years, completely dry and ready to go which I only cut for knife handles. Some minor cracks of course, but when this stock is gone I'll not buy snake again.   

Well since I don't process the stuff I cant speak on that issue. But I do have to say it is my favorite binding wood.

That log has great looking figure

Luckily its very dry so fingers crossed. and even with 100% watage i will
get enough bindings to get my money back with some profit.

But i cant put a price on the learning curve.

I will post some picks of the processed stuff later,

Oh by the way did i say i also have a huge plain log that will yeild some 4
peice back and side sets.

God knows what it will be like as a tonewood but i would imagine it would
be nice if i can get the yeild right and leave plenty of spare wood for
unexpected cracks etc.
Becouse its a plain log it wont be too costly an experement.

Joel.

Good deal on getting the dry one and that should improve the odds much better. What is the moisture content of that piece? I'd suggest sealing the fresh ends with super glue...good luck.

Talose???

_________________
Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

You can always book match the fret boards, if you can't get the thickness. I have a bunch of snakewood bought just for that purpose.

_________________
Bob Garrish
Former Canonized Purveyor of Fine CNC Luthier Services

Snakewood bent OK for me but it is sliver prone so watch the hands too.

A very good sub for snake wood that bends easier, does not splinter, and looks almost identical is Tiger Myrtle.

Nice find Joel!!!

Larry the moisture is about 17% so not too bad allthough it will probably dry
a bit more now its quarterd.

As for the width the largest width 2 3/4 tapering to 2 3/8"

and i have another quarter about 2 1/4" but i when i cut into it i found a
huge knot in one half of the log that you cant see from the outside so i will
have to work round that as well.

Snake wood is a nightmare to process and i am begining to understand why
snakewood fingerboards are so expensive.

Joel.

That's pretty dry for log snake and you should be past the worse cracking with normal care.

Yeah it is pretty dry it comes from a very good source in france where nagle
etc get there snakewood.

Its unpredicable wood but hey i think its worth the results.

Joel.