wierd wood fact

mortuarymike-nv

mortuarymike-nv

mortuarymike-nv
Silver Member
Mopane is a wood that is excellent for making bagpipes, flutes and other woodwind instruments. Some people even prefer the sound to that of African blackwood, the industry standard. Interestingly, in a work published in 1857 about his African missionary travels, the famous Dr. David Livingstone ("Dr. Livingstone, I presume") mentions mopane as a tree that the natives warned him to stay away from in a lightning storm, as they said "the lightning hates it". Apparently the tree is struck by lightning much more than other trees in the area. Mopane is the national tree of Namibia. It is a very hard and dense wood, being an excellent turning wood and musical instrument wood. Has a specific gravity around 1.0 or sometimes more.



MMike
 
It plays great and works as well as any wood we use, it dries well, is stable, dense, finishes easily, and has nice tonal qualities. The one thing it has going against it is its appearance. It's a medium reddish brown wood with very little if any contrasting grain lines. I'll post a picture as soon as I figure out how the heck to do it.
 
mopane-66x200.jpg



Is this it??????
 
mopane

I have a piece finished i will photograph it .

Reminds me of goncarlo alves in looks or kinda like a rose wood.

MMike
 
purple heart

* Purpleheart {Peltogyne pubescens} wood can be made to become a darker shade of purple in two ways. One is by placing it in direct sunlight, and this will only darken the color superficially, it can be sanded off very easily. The second way, is by heating it, at say 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 8 - 12 minutes. This will darken the color, not only on the surface but also throughout the whole piece.

* The Copaiba {Copaifera langsdorfii} nicknamed the Diesel Tree, grows in the Amazon of South America particularly in Brazil, and produces oleoresin called copaiba that is so much like diesel fuel, that it can be used as fuel for diesel engines. On average a mature tree can produce approximately 14 gallons of diesel per year.

* The Manchineel tree {Hippomane mancinella}, native to the Caribbean coast and the Florida Everglades, is the most dangerous tree specie on earth. It has had an evil reputation since the Spanish explorers first found it in the early 16th century. The tree exudes an extremely poisonous and caustic sap that was once used on the tips of arrows for poison. Contact with skin causes numerous blisters, a very small amount gets in an eye, it can blind a person permanently, and one bite of the fruit can make one deathly sick.
MMike
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top