“Roasting” Soft Curly Maple involves gradually heating the wood up to temperatures of greater than 160 degrees celcius in special heat chambers made of stainless steel under anoxic conditions. The heat removes organic compounds from the wood cells, changing both the physical and chemical make-up of the wood. The process is natural and chemical free. It darkens the wood to a beautiful rich chocolatey brown color whilst still showing the gorgeous grain and figure of the underlying wood.

The thermally modified wood is more dimensionally stable, but the process does reduce bending strength and make the wood a little more brittle. This makes it chip a little easier than the un-modified lumber. The brittleness makes it less suitable for intricate cabinetry, but it is still an excellent choice for less intricate items such as floors, tops, panels, cladding etc.

Extra care needs to be taken when finishing thermally modified wood, as the "bone dry" wood has a tendency to "suck in" much of what is given to it. Our in-house woodworking specialist has had excellent results with Osmo PolyX. He suggests a thicker finish will work better.

“Roasting” Birdseye Maple involves gradually heating the wood up to temperatures of greater than 160 degrees celcius in special heat chambers made of stainless steel under anoxic conditions. The heat removes organic compounds from the wood cells, changing both the physical and chemical make-up of the wood. The process is natural and chemical free. It darkens the wood to a beautiful rich chocolatey brown color whilst still showing the gorgeous grain and figure of the underlying wood.

The thermally modified wood is more dimensionally stable, but the process does reduce bending strength and make the wood a little more brittle. This makes it chip a little easier than the un-modified lumber. The brittleness makes it less suitable for intricate cabinetry, but it is still an excellent choice for less intricate items such as floors, tops, panels, cladding etc.

Extra care needs to be taken when finishing thermally modified wood, as the "bone dry" wood has a tendency to "suck in" much of what is given to it. Our in-house woodworking specialist has had excellent results with Osmo PolyX. He suggests a thicker finish will work better.

Considered to be the most abundant hardwood in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States, Red Alder has long been used in the region for furniture and cabinetry production -- as well as being a popular choice for electric guitar bodies dating back to when the instrument first went into mass production, in the 1950's. Ranging in color from a light tan to reddish brown, Alder has a soft, lightweight stature -- which makes the wood very easy to work, and it finishes and glues well.

Red Alder is usually sold in two different grades: knotty, and clear. Clear grades are most desired by cabinet and furniture crafters. Many such tradesmen compare the wood's cooperative disposition to that of Black Cherry.

Although technically a hardwood, care must be taken with Alder until finished as its surface can be rather soft (thus, denting easily). The wood is decidedly non-durable, so confining its use to indoor applications and treating the wood with some type of hardening finish (such as lacquer) is recommended.

Pink Ivory remains one of the most elusive, coveted and highly desirable of all the world's many exotic woods. Despite being indigenous to Southern Africa, the wood is rare throughout its home continent. What isn't exported abroad is said to be hoarded by rich, hierarchical families throughout Africa, as the wood is considered to be on the same level of value as diamonds and emeralds.

Its reputation in the US is that of being one of the most elusive, difficult-to-source of all exotic woods, and one of the "holy grail" exotic tonewoods in the eyes of many guitar builders.

In addition to its dazzling colors, texture and overall supremely regal appearance, Pink Ivory possesses great density (3230 lbf, on the Janka Hardness scale), making it well suited for a variety of applications. It is very popular with wood carvers and turners, alike, although it can be difficult to work and has reputation for dulling saw blades.<br><br>The Wood Database lists trees as growing to maturity at heights ranging from 100 - 130 feet, and trunk diameters of 3 to 5 feet. This, however, is inaccurate as trees rarely grow past 35 feet in height with trunks around one foot in diameter. The tree is protected and sustainably maintained in South Africa, only felled after the issuance of very limited permitting by respective state government environmental authorities. Given this, it's little wonder that finding any Pink or Red Ivory beyond small craft-sized pieces has proven a very difficult task in the US.

Denser than East Indian Rosewood, Honduran Rosewood is well known for being the preferred wood for Marimba bars, with its ringing, well-rounded tonal properties. It compares well to Brazilian Rosewood (many claim it actually superior), producing a well-balanced acoustic guitar, with great projection and strong lows and highs. (In fact, during the '50?s and '60?s, the great flamenco guitar crafters considered it to be the only acceptable substitute to Brazilian Rosewood.)

Honduran Rosewood's grain lines are unusually tight and straight (though sometimes wavy or interlocked). The color ranges from a medium tan to a brownish brick red color, medium brown (sometimes with a purplish tint) or even a medium to dark burgundy, with occasional dark brown or black ink lines. Due to the wood's density and high oil content, it can be difficult to cut, machine and glue. Its texture can range from fine to medium; (not unlike Braz Rw) it is porous, and those pores are usually medium- to large-sized. As would be expected -- given its oily nature -- the wood has a rich natural luster.

Honduran Rosewood has grown difficult to obtain in recent years, due to a poaching epidemic in Belize which victimized the species in 2011 and 2012. Despite a wane in its supply lines, demand for the wood remains constant. Every major source we could find were unanimous in listing "2200 lbf" as the Janka Hardness rating for this wood, but we consider this figure to be very suspect. Most knowledgeable sources compare its weight and density to Brazilian Rosewood. The same sources list Bocote's Janka Hardness at 2200 lbf, also, and the Hon Rw examples we have handled are far more dense than any Bocote. (Some darker examples were more along the lines of a Cocobolo-type density.)