Would you use this wood?

[Omobono]

On the current Tarisio auction there is a fiddle back notable for a couple of 'features'

Would you use or avoid such wood? (Must be good tone wood?)

https://tarisio.com/auctions/auction/lot/?csid=2198962176&cpid=3569418240&filter_key=

 

[Dwight Brown]

Not so much, but I have no idea of the circumstances at the time.

DLB

[Don Noon]

I think that today there is plenty of better wood easily available, which might not have been true when that one was made.  So, no... I wouldn't use that wood.  There was far better wood for sale at VSA 2018 for $29, including neck and ribs, if cost is an issue.

[Thomas Coleman]

I would. 

[Michael Szyper]

I would use it. First of all, i wouldn’t care about the knot. Second, the wood structure is very nice. Look how little pigmented and narrow the winter growth rings are, they are barely visible. The only thing that bothers me is that cracked long failure at the bottom, don’t know how it looked from the beginning, but it looks like it might have been filled from the beginning. If that would be the case, i would rather change my opinion and discard it. 

I don’t fear knots and branches in tone wood, as long as it does not leave holes which have to be filled. My experience from handling and measuring way over 10 000 pieces of spruce is that very often the pieces which have a “bent grain” because of a branch growing nearby are the stiffest / with a far higher speed of sound than other pieces from the same tree.

[Anthony Panke]

I think it looks beautiful. In terms of the crack, that would be a small problem but in general I tend to like the look of interesting wood. 

[Kallie]

I wood.

[Andreas Preuss]

no worry as a maker, many worries as a sales agent.

[Dwight Brown]

The way I see it as a player and a collector the integrity of the back is very much in question.  A modern maker has so many choices of really nice wood to choose from and you are going to put just as much work into a questionable piece as a wonderful one.  Plain wood is fine but I don't care for tons of knots or big knots.  Then again I could be full of cheese :-)

 

DLB

[David Beard]

If... maybe...

[Rue]

I think it's pretty.

[Wood Butcher]

Viewed as a whole on the tarisio site, it is quite a stunning slab cut back, so you can see why someone decided to use it despite the obvious knot. The inlet piece and crack on the lower bout are later damage and repair attempt.

I think the greatest difficulty with using a piece like this today would be to convince a player it will be ok, I'm sure many would be put off no matter how good it sounded, rather than any structural issue.

[Don Noon]

38 minutes ago, Wood Butcher said:

I think the greatest difficulty with using a piece like this today would be to convince a player it will be ok, I'm sure many would be put off no matter how good it sounded, rather than any structural issue.

A slab-cut back with a knot in it I think has a very high potential for problems structurally, and that is something I'd avoid.

And then there's the marketability problem... the ones that think it's interesting or pretty will likely be a small minority, and even smaller when you are looking for someone to actually plunk down the cash for it.

[David Burgess]

I would not use that back. Too many potential future problems for the client (already evident), and I do care about stuff like that, since my sense of responsibility does not end when I cash a check.

Is it charming and visually appealing? Sure.

[Wood Butcher]

11 hours ago, Don Noon said:

A slab-cut back with a knot in it I think has a very high potential for problems structurally, and that is something I'd avoid.

And then there's the marketability problem... the ones that think it's interesting or pretty will likely be a small minority, and even smaller when you are looking for someone to actually plunk down the cash for it.

Yes agreed. While historically it was possible to use such wood, it would seem a fools errand to do so now.

[uncle duke]

On 5/4/2019 at 7:01 PM, Omobono said:

Would you use or avoid such wood? (Must be good tone wood?)

I would and have before and I'll mention I also believe in the words of the first four lines of the apostles creed before revision but the question that I have no answer for is if one could write a Sunday homily based on what one sees in this particular piece of back wood here and using an idea or two from Revelation to boot.  

To be more specific - the Nicene Creed.

[Nicolas Temino]

Yes, I would probably use it...but not for violin making.