Hardwoods

**Wood Densities Table**
(Prices for woodwind turning squares are now found on the main page price table, priced by the board foot, under "Special Select Grade" prices.)
Wood	Approx. Density (specific gravity) of the wood	Approx. Pounds per Board Foot
Wild Cherry	.59 (as measured by me)**	3.1
Cambodian Rosewood (D. Bariensis, D. Cochinchinensis)	.96 (web sources)	5.0
Japanese Ornamental Plum (Prunus somethingorother)	.78 (as measured by me)**	4.1
Ornamental Plum Branches*
Pacific Flowering Dogwood (Cornus Nutalii)	.75 (web sources) .72 (as measured by me)**	3.9 3.75
Lilac Branches*	?	?
European Holly (ilex Aquifolium) (I.D. of "European" is probable given the density)	.76 (as measured by me)**	4.0
Pacific Yew (Taxus Brevifolia)	.71 (web sources)	3.7
Leland Cypress	?	?
Madrone / Arbutus (Arbutus Menzesies)	.71 (web sources)	3.7
Garry Oak (V.I. local white oak)	?	?

* Branches are sized per the apparently attainable diameter over the length desired, so please specify length and nominal diameter just as if it was a turning square.
** I simply weigh the piece in grams, measure it in cm and calculate the volume, then divide. Evidently this isn't the standard and my calculated densities are on the high side. Standard is "oven dry" with virtually no moisture. Thus, I find rosewood with a density officially listed as ".96" actually sinks in water.

I will attempt to find or cut squares of good, clear wood of your nominal size requirements, so you only pay for what you need. In the rosewood, no sapwood except in corners where it will turn off. It is rare to find pieces of holly without a few small knots. (I've just got some new logs, however, and one can always hope...) If desired I will email photos of pieces having the diameter you require, and you can pick and choose.

Remember when deciding what sizes to order, that cut dimensions are nominal and are not guaranteed to the millimeter. Even with perfect sawing accuracy, the wood may shrink a bit and even attain a visible diamond, wedge or rectangular shape when it has dried. If your recorder head is pushing 1.75 inches at its widest point, you should certainly order a 1.875" square piece, not a 1.75" one, to be sure you actually have 1.75". That's in addition to any extra amount you wish to add to allow for the bore hole perhaps being not quite centered, or ending slightly off center at the far end, which depends on your own drilling accuracy and the length of the piece. Also, if you order different widths for different joints, you aren't likely to get as good a color and pattern match as by using all one piece. This is more relevant with colorful and patterned species than with more uniform looking ones.

Please note that for a given price per pound, the price by volume (ie price per board foot) varies inversely with density ("specific gravity") of the wood. A pound of cherry is a substantially bigger piece than a pound of rosewood. Also note that I have measured the density of the wood I have as-is, and some of it isn't entirely dry, if not rather green, and so these are rough figures. Some wood gets denser as it dries rather than lighter, owing to shrinkage of the wood.

My filosofy with most species is to cut logs into turning squares or smaller billets ASAP to avoid major checking of the logs or large billets. My motto is "Toothpicks don't split." Logs generally do if left whole. Also, turning squares dry out years sooner than whole logs.

$1.25 - Garry Oak (heart or sap wood), Arbutus/Madrone, Hawthorne, Cherry, Holly...
$1.50 - Yew, Spalted Lilac (shown)
$2.00 - Dogwood, Plum, Best Lilac (without the flecks in the dark areas)
$2.50 - Cambodian Rosewood (shown), Flamewood Rosewood.

Branches have an interesting property when turned about their center: the grain is more or less flat all the way around. In a wind instrument, that means the swelling with moisture should be pretty uniform. That's my theory, anyway. With some really exotic wood like lilac, one can't get whole boards so turning branches is about the only viable way to make use of this exceptionally hard, light colored wood. With other woods like dogwood and plum, turning the branches is a way to make use of otherwise wasted parts of the tree, so I'm offering plum branches at lower cost, and I'd be pleased to hear how they turn out if anyone tries them!

I've bored out the centers of some pieces to facilitate drying without checking, but I fear I may be boring out holes larger than some instrument makers want them, so I'm not making it universal. (also it's a lot of work!)

Branches aren't always straight. If someone asks for a piece, eg, 1.5" by 12", I may supply, eg, a slightly curved piece 2" in diameter, which I estimate will yield 1.5" when the excesses are turned off. A danger in using branches is that they are more likely than boards from a trunk to warp as they dry, and I won't have any that are dry except the bored ones for perhaps several years.

As you can see, ordering branches is an experiment. If you wish to try it, please let me know!

Please click on the species you wish to see in the price table above. (2007/01/31: Many of the pieces shown are now gone. I doubt I'll be able to keep this up to date!)

Individual Pieces NOTES:

* A "+" following the square dimension generally means one of the dimensions is slightly larger, eg, 1.75+"sq might indicate 1.75" x 1.875".

* '1.875' is just the decimal way of saying '1 and 7/8ths' and does not imply four digit levels of dimensional precision or accuracy.

I showed the first edition of this web site to my brother. He said I should plane the pieces so people could see the beauty of the wood. Being the purist, my philosophy was to leave turning squares as fat as possible, not trim them down.

But he's the salesman; I'm just an unappreciated inventor and experimenter who put together a new type of "minimalist" sawmill last summer (of 2006), and is trying to put it to use! In my inimitable compromise style, I lightly planed some squares, leaving any slightly thinner spots rough. Some faces that are fresh sawn don't really seem to need planing as my sawmill, using a "table saw" type of blade with relatively fine teeth, makes fairly smooth cuts.

L: Unplaned; R: Planed

Turning Squares