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Jonathan
Oud Junkie
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Wood sources//Appropriate Oud Woods
I am a bit addicted to Gilmer Woods ( http://www.gilmerwood.com )
Great wood, and great pictures. I have also picked up some decent wood from ebay, believe it or not.
What other US sources are you guys aware of that show pictures of the actual piece of wood you are purchasing?
I can stick with Gilmer and ebay, but if you guys have any other recommendations, please let me know.
The spruce for the face I picked up at lmii, but I am really looking more for interesting wood for the bowl.
Thanks
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Jonathan
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While we are at it, how about listing what woods we have seen used on the oud bowl. I really want to know what woods are practical to use. And, what
exotic woods can be used when I am feeling adventurous.
Walnut
Mahogany
Maple
Rosewood
Ebony
Palisander
Beech
Padauk
Wenge
Mulberry
Sycamore
Lacewood
Juniper
Olive
Cherry
Plum
Pear
Pine (??--saw this on an internet site. Listed as yellow pine--kind of hard to believe)
Yew
Others?
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Jameel
Oud Junkie
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I get my domestic wood from a local hardwood supplier. Most of the wood I use is cut right here in Iowa. I also have a place near me that sells exotic
stuff. There have got to be some nice hardwood suppliers in your area, Jonathan. If you find a place that sells hardwoods, chances are you'll find
yourself in the midst of some great wood. My supplier gets all kinds of unique boards, and I don't pay a premium since I go through the stacks and
discover them. Another guy I know who has a sawmill cuts 3 and 4" thick turning squares from hardwoods. I can get a whole oud worth of ribs from a
chunk like this, and they are all sequential. I think the woods you mentioned are excellent, except for the pine. Olive is usually very crazy grain,
not a good choice. I have a bunch of it, but would not use it for a structural element. Maybe inlay or a pickguard. Gilmer has some incredible boards.
Did you see the huge Bubinga slabs they have? They are like 14' long, 4' wide and 2+ inches thick. I would add Holly to your list. I once saw an Ebony
and Holly lute bowl. Quite striking. Also, African Blackwood (its a Dalbergia) is also a good choice, but heavy. This is what Shehata calls ebony, I
believe.
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Jonathan
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I saw it. The prices are a bit high, but it is fun browsing.
I probably shouldn't say they are high, since I have no idea what would is supposed to go for.
I actually have some Bubinga. Can it be used for an oud? It would be pretty tough to cut, and quite heavy, but I would be willing to try. Sometimes
these super hard woods seem a lot easier to bend. It would be tough on the saw blade, I am sure of that.
I am at that stage right now of trying to reclaim wood from old furniture. I am going to to visit my parents in a few weeks, and reclaim some walnut
from an old chest they no longer want. Pretty amazing the quality of wood on some older furniture. Even in furniture that was not too "high end",
the wood is often amazing.
I have no idea what I am going to do with all this wood, but, oh well.
OK, so, to the list, I add:
Holly
African Blackwood (Dalbergia)
Thanks
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Hosam
Oud Junkie
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I got most of my wood from my local hardwood store too. In the store you can see, touch, smell and most importantly tab on the wood and listen before
picking what you really like. For soundboard and what you can not find in the local hardwood store check out
http://www.colonialtonewoods.com/
http://alliedlutherie.com/
I have also got soundboards from lmii.
You can also add these to your list:
Imbuia
Sapele
Ovangkol
Bloodwood
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Peyman
Oud Junkie
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I live in Maryland. Exoticlumberinc.com is 10 minutes away from me. They have so much in there that will make you dizzy. The problem is they only
carry flat sawn wood and you have to buy "one" board. But the prices are unbeatable. You have to look around to find what you need.
I have also bought from Ebay. The results have been mixed.
I got some African Rosewood, which I read is the same as Bubinga. It is beautiful but the stuff I have is hard to bend. Off course it might be easier
with the blanket device.
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Jonathan
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I don't want to sidetrack the topic, but the heating blanket makes everything easy to bend. Stuff that was really tough for me in the past now just
melts into place. And you can make a simple device in about 15 minutes. I'll post pics of mine somewhere, but, really, there is not much to show.
Thanks for the links, guys.
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muthada
Oud Maniac
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hi to all
some SUPPLIERS!
http://www.luth.org/hot.htm#label2
best regards
ilan muthada
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Red
Oud Addict
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You guys certainly know alot about wood. I have a series of silly questions, please mind my ignorance in this matter. Is the wood ever painted or
robbed of its color when used for an oud? and can u recognise the types of wood on ouds? also what are the commonly used woods for most egyption oud
bowls? what about turkish ouds?
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Jonathan
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I hope somebody more knowledgable than me answers your question.
For Turkish ouds, I think probably the most common woods are:
Mahogany, Walnut, Maple, Wenge, Rosewood, and Padauk.
Mahogany and Walnut is a fairly classic combination. It seems that most of the older ouds are one of these two woods, or a combination of both. Not
all, but a lot.
So, if you just know what those 6 woods look like, you know the wood on probably most Turkish ouds.
Walnut has a lot of different appearances. It's ridiculously common. It can range from a stunningly dark and beautiful brown to something much
lighter. It may be common, but it is also often very beautiful. So, if in doubt, just guess walnut. Mahogany, although varying in appearance, is
pretty recognizable. So is wenge. And not a lot of other woods look like padauk--it's got that characteristic orangey red color.
Wood can be stained for an oud. Not real common, but it is done.
Somebody please correct me if I am wrong on any of these points.
Thanks, muthada, for the list. It still seems that Gilmer does the best job with the pictures of the wood, though. I appreciate your help.
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Peyman
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Jonathan, have you tried to bend walnut in your machine? I remember it gave you some problems too.
On topic of walnut, there is something called white walnut in Iran. It's a beautiful creamy white color. Some people use it in instruments.
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Jonathan
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I have not yet tried walnut, but I am about to.
I have two projects going. The first is quilted maple and mahogany. The maple is easy easy. Almost no spring back. The mahogany bends very, very
easily, but has a fair amount of spring back, which I have minimized by cooking it for a longer time, and at a lower temperature.
The second is going to be cherry and walnut. I bought both off of ebay, and so far I only have the cherry in my posession. Incredibly figured for
cherry--I still have to cut it, but I will post a pic of it shortly because I am so in love with it. I don't have the walnut yet.
I bent some wenge, and it was easy as can be. As is the lacewood. It seems that the harder the wood, the easier it is to bend.
I would love to see pictures of the white walnut, if you happen to see an instrument with it.
I have been looking at some other, nontraditional woods as possibilities for down the road. Namely, koa, which I have seen used in guitars and which
was used in some mandolins a long time ago. Also, mango wood and pistachio wood--the grain in these is pretty nuts, so they might be impractical.
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Jonathan
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Just a quickie shot of my current one. There's only going to be 17 ribs this time.
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Jonathan
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I'm going to start cutting this tomorrow or the next day--a figured cherry, for my cherry/walnut one.
Without the bender, I never would have thought about doing two at once. But I save a lot of hours with the bender. A lot!
I just want to find a cheaper source for that heating blanket. I need a backup, just in case.
I am going to try to do that curve in the cross section of the ribs of the cherry and walnut like in that post I put up a few days ago. Don't know if
it will work, but I think it should. I will put up a couple pics of that process, but I am guessing that that is at least a couple of weeks away.
I do think, though, that it should let me get the bowl rounder, and stronger. We'll see.
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Peyman
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The picture I attached shows a setar bowl made from white walnut.
I have read that people use mulberry on ouds, but I haven't seen any pictures. When mulberry ages, it turns into a very nice golden orange color. It
also has very nice grain patterns.
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Jonathan
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Thanks!
I was told that this oud was mulberry and walnut. I have no reason to think otherwise, but I have never seen mulberry wood anywhere else.
Are there any other woods that I left off of the list?
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Jonathan
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Just got my ebay walnut a couple of hours ago, so I will let you know how that bends as soon as I get it all cut.
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Jonathan
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I am sort of tempted to make a page on my site where you can click on the name of the wood, and then see a picture of it in an oud. Shouldn't be too
tough to do.
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Red
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Jonathan thanx for the info. I see 3 ouds in the background of that pic! How many ouds do you have and how many of them did you make? If you don't
mind me asking ofcourse. As to adding a "Woods" page in your website, that would be great. It helps more when the wood is seen on the oud rather than
it being displayed as a block.
Peyman, is that a picture from a book you have? If so what is the name of that book. Looks very interesting. Is it some sort of guide on woods and
musical instruments?
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Jameel
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The most common species of Walnut in N. America is Black Walnut (Juglans niigra). This White Walnut may be what we in N. America call Butternut
(Juglans cinerea). It's a creamy, very light brown color with the same grain as Black Walnut. It's also very light and a bit softer than Black Walnut.
I think it would make a fantastic oud, especially if alternated with Black Walnut. It's now endagered, and is difficult to come by, at least where I
am. Luckily, a friend of mine has some that is 20+ years old, and recently gave me enough for several ouds. Already resawn to boot!
On the left, Butternut. The right, Black Walnut
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Jameel
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another pic
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abusin
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Hi All,
I can't wait Jameel to see this come to life, and join the forming string of your creations,
best to all
Awad
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Peyman
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Jonathan, that does look like mulberry. It's not very figured but has the orange color. They use mulberry with very close grain, found in dry areas,
for tops as well. I am curious to know if any one has used any thing like walnut or mulberry (other than spruces, cedars, firs, pines, etc) for the
tops on ouds. Some guitar makers use walnut and other trees. In the US, they use figured mulberry for gun stucks.
Jameel, I heard that butternut is white walnut as well. But these white walnuts are true walnuts and in Iran they are called "white walnuts," like the
picture says. I was told walnut wood can vary in color greatly. The store I mentioned before has butternut. But I wasn't too impressed by it. It
didn't look like what you have here. I liked their walnut selection though. Maybe I should go there and take pictures. They have purple heart, and
something called yellow heart. I was impressed with how much exotic stuff they have. The only problem is that the place is really hot like a tropical
jungle...
I also wanted to say that "claro walnut" looks amazing as well. It's expensive though but would probably make a nice bowl.
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Jonathan
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Thanks a lot, Red. I have only completed the one so far that is on the Projects page. I have bought, well, too many.
That purple heart gets sort of ugly after awhile, doesn't it? It doesn't keep that pruple color. I have some of it, but haven't tried to bend it
yet. Very very heavy.
I think that is a billet of claro walnut that I posted above. Still haven't cut it--coming down with a cold, so it may have to wait.
Are other nut woods OK for ouds? Chestnut?
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octopus
Oud Admirer
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Dear Oud Makers,
Greetings from Türkiye. We are producing and selling musical instruments
woods.
When you have need our products, you can visit our web.
http://www.octopus.com.tr/store
Now we are preparing exellent quality Spruce tops for Guitars.
Thanks.
Muzaffer Yeltekin
info@octopus.com.tr
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