Hawaiian Koa
- Thread starter Qjunkie
- Start date
I have some curly koas. They are light and a little pitty when getting cut.
Has OK tone but I'm going to core with a denser rosewood.
That'll get the weight up and should hit better.
Has OK tone but I'm going to core with a denser rosewood.
That'll get the weight up and should hit better.
JoeyInCali's comments are right on. I did make a forearm out of of a very dense piece of koa burl once, but other that that I have only used it for inlays or butt sleeves because it is so light. I like the way it looks in a cue, but I guess that is just personal preference. I used to have a beautiful koa guitar that had a very unique smokey sound to it.
koa
I use quite a lot of curly koa that I get from a ukalele maker friend of mine here on Oahu. It takes alot of "inspecting" as this wood tends to be somewhat pitted. Many of the pieces are nice and solid, but still require coring for weight. This wood tends to be light and coring is necessary both for strength and weight. It does finish beautifully and is one of the best looking cue woods around. A cored Koa cue hits as well as anything else around if done correctly. I like to use Purpleheart for the core. I have used Ash and Maple also, but I prefer the Purpleheart.
I use quite a lot of curly koa that I get from a ukalele maker friend of mine here on Oahu. It takes alot of "inspecting" as this wood tends to be somewhat pitted. Many of the pieces are nice and solid, but still require coring for weight. This wood tends to be light and coring is necessary both for strength and weight. It does finish beautifully and is one of the best looking cue woods around. A cored Koa cue hits as well as anything else around if done correctly. I like to use Purpleheart for the core. I have used Ash and Maple also, but I prefer the Purpleheart.
I have some Koa. Mine are on the light side as well. The nice figured pieces I have are a tad heavier than the non figured, but they are all sub 40 pounds/cubic foot.
There are published numbers suggesting the density of Koa can vary widely and be quite heavier than what I have. I have heard some say the darker colored pieces are harder and heavier. One supplier told me that is because they come from a higher altitude. That didn't really seem to be the case in what was sent to me though.
Kelly
There are published numbers suggesting the density of Koa can vary widely and be quite heavier than what I have. I have heard some say the darker colored pieces are harder and heavier. One supplier told me that is because they come from a higher altitude. That didn't really seem to be the case in what was sent to me though.
Kelly
Hello,
Building a few cues with Koa right now. Beautiful wood, Another cue maker told me that Koas ideal moisture content is around 18 to 20% other wise it becomes too brittle. He likes to make extreamly thin deco. rings so that might of had something to do with it. I have a huge slab of Curly Koa Looks like brown ripels in water.
Bryan Fisher
Fisher Cues
Building a few cues with Koa right now. Beautiful wood, Another cue maker told me that Koas ideal moisture content is around 18 to 20% other wise it becomes too brittle. He likes to make extreamly thin deco. rings so that might of had something to do with it. I have a huge slab of Curly Koa Looks like brown ripels in water.
Bryan Fisher
Fisher Cues
I had a cue made with Koa in the handle, with ebony in the forearm and butt. That was one beautiful combination. The light Koa handle helped balance the ebony without coring....
Regards,
Doug
Regards,
Doug