My Favorite Wood II

I just purchased some Black Limba lumber and here are a few pictures of book matches from that piece.   Shhhhh! It’s a secret so don’t tell anyone– this wood duplicates Koa and Black walnut in density and tonal quality.  The pattern of the wood varies substantially as you can see.  All of these pieces plus sides came from the same piece of  lumber that was barely 8′ long.

The “bird’s eyes” are from moisture contamination around beetle holes.  These pieces are acceptable for backs and sides.  I do not usually use the beetle hole pieces for tops but it really doesn’t make that much difference as long as there aren’t too many holes in the wrong spots.   The eyes definitely give character to the appearance.  I am matching these pieces with necks of the same wood or black walnut pending availability.  The instrument shown is near completion and gives you an idea of what the wood looks like in a finished instrument.  Black is beautiful baby!