Ancient Kauri teles

[tonyw]

I am going to put together 2 guitars one tele 12 string one other deign from Ancient Kauri. I received 2 cuts of it today measuring 600mm x 400mm x 50mm. My idea is if i do 2 teles ones definately a 12 string maybe hollow, the other a tele junior or a LPS junior style or even a jazzmaster type. I am half way through a chambered Baritone strat and when finished i will start on a tele.





The timber is rough at the moment but has some nice flame in it.

Any ideas or advice much appreciated.

[Clive Hugh]

No ideas or advice but years ago I started a precision body in kauri but ran out of money so a friend took it over and it turned out pretty well. It wasn't old kauri, I got it from a sawmill near us when I lived in NZ. It was nice wood to work with.

[tonyw]

G'day Clive
they now dont sell the new Kauri so it would be a nice get from back then.
I went with the Ancient Kauri because of some guitars i had seen built with this timber. The 2 slabs of timber i have they weight is approx 6.5 kg per piece but theres alot to come off and out so they should be reasonable in weight by the time they take a guitar shape.

cheers
Tony

[Nick JD]

It's okay to work with - the only things I would add are that it's got almost no strength across the grain because there's no sap in it. You can snap your offcuts with your fingers. And fully dry it has a high moisture content - must be something to do with its age.

And it needs sealing - eats up finish and never stops asking for more.

If you want the "whitebait" shimmer in the finish, go all the way up to 1200 grit before finishing, and you must always have clean hands because it loves skin oils.

[tonyw]

G'day Nick
thanks for the advise. I always wear cotton gloves after a naptha wipe down 1st up then dont get my hands on the timber or finish again until i have it done.

One pieces has the white bait shimmer the other is more red/brown with a slight crack running with the grain. I have a bucket of tru oil here and the sealer, also wood filler, it reminds me a bit of mahogony but the grain seems tighter. Its rough sawn timber right now so will see how it looks after i get about it a bit with some sanding.

[preeb]

How can a guy from Israel get hold of a few blanks of Ancient Kauri from the land down under?

[jkingma]

Originally Posted by preeb

How can a guy from Israel get hold of a few blanks of Ancient Kauri from the land down under?

preeb... I have no trouble getting it in Canada, so you should be able to get it shipped to Israel.

tonyw... I seldom put a pickguard on a Kauri guitar so I attach my templates with double sided tape, (cuz you have nothing to cover the screw holes with). So you have to be really careful removing them otherwise you'll rip up a lot of wood fibers with the tape. Imagine ripping a piece of duct tape off a block of balsa wood.

[tonyw]

Originally Posted by jkingma

preeb... I have no trouble getting it in Canada, so you should be able to get it shipped to Israel.

tonyw... I seldom put a pickguard on a Kauri guitar so I attach my templates with double sided tape, (cuz you have nothing to cover the screw holes with). So you have to be really careful removing them otherwise you'll rip up a lot of wood fibers with the tape. Imagine ripping a piece of duct tape off a block of balsa wood.

preeb: contact Ancient Kauri kingdom in New Zealand they were more than helpful but it takes awhile up to 25days for it to even get to Australia. http://www.ancientkauri.co.nz/

jkingma: Excellent advice thanks for that and i dont think i will be using a pickguard. I notice that the timber will crack etc which after 55000yrs in a swamp i think i would as well. By the way your Kauri guitars look superb.

Heres a pic of the mock up of the Baritone strat i am putting together at the moment and as soon as its finished i will start the kauri.

[preeb]

Thanks tonyw, I'm on it.

[Nick JD]

Originally Posted by preeb

How can a guy from Israel get hold of a few blanks of Ancient Kauri from the land down under?

Gil! The Land Down Under is Australia! You're thinking of The Land of the Long White Cloud aka Aotearoa ... New Zealand.

Like the UK, while not being too partcular about our borders, we like you Northerners to at least try not to blur our identities .

BTW shane "at" ancientkauri.co.nz will sort you out. He's a nice guy.

[tonyw]

Originally Posted by Nick JD

Gil! The Land Down Under is Australia! You're thinking of The Land of the Long White Cloud aka Aotearoa ... New Zealand.

Like the UK, while not being too partcular about our borders, we like you Northerners to at least try not to blur our identities .

BTW shane "at" ancientkauri.co.nz will sort you out. He's a nice guy.

Too funny.... but ya might have ta be an Aussie ta get it

And Shane also Helen are great

[chezdeluxe]

Originally Posted by Nick JD

Gil! The Land Down Under is Australia! You're thinking of The Land of the Long White Cloud aka Aotearoa ... New Zealand.

Like the UK, while not being too partcular about our borders, we like you Northerners to at least try not to blur our identities .

BTW shane "at" ancientkauri.co.nz will sort you out. He's a nice guy.

Borders !!!

There is a large bit of the Pacific Ocean called the Tasman Sea between us.

[Clive Hugh]

I have a sneaky idea that the ancient kauri is stuff dragged out of a swamp where it has been for a loooong time. I'm surprised you say new kauri is not available, I thought they were selectively logging it and getting it out by helicopter. NZ is not the only source of kauri, there are other related species in the pacific islands which they use for boat building.

[originalmatthew]

I've built a couple of guitars out of ancient kauri. It is indeed swamp wood according to the US importer. http://www.ancientwood.com They have some great finishing tips on the site as well. The guitar on my avatar is kauri! I have not experienced the weakness mentioned, but be prepared to sand until your fore arms look like popeye's. It's beautiful stuff, can't wait to see the guitars you make from it!!

[tonyw]

Originally Posted by Clive Hugh

I have a sneaky idea that the ancient kauri is stuff dragged out of a swamp where it has been for a loooong time. I'm surprised you say new kauri is not available, I thought they were selectively logging it and getting it out by helicopter. NZ is not the only source of kauri, there are other related species in the pacific islands which they use for boat building.

been in the bog for from 30,000 to 55,000 years according to carbon dating they teel you about on all the literature they sent with it. New Kauri is protected.

[tonyw]

Originally Posted by originalmatthew

I've built a couple of guitars out of ancient kauri. It is indeed swamp wood according to the US importer. http://www.ancientwood.com They have some great finishing tips on the site as well. The guitar on my avatar is kauri! I have not experienced the weakness mentioned, but be prepared to sand until your fore arms look like popeye's. It's beautiful stuff, can't wait to see the guitars you make from it!!

I love the look of this stuff, one of the blanks looks like a white hot bushfire, how ironic that i will be doing some work on this guitar near Marysville which was wiped out during the bushfires.

Looks better in realtime but heres a pic

[jkingma]

Here are a couple of my favorite looking pieces that I've used.

[tonyw]

Wow John
those are fantastic, i love the guitar with the Bigsby, reminds me of a rick and a gretch corvette combo. My idea is for one tele or a LPS shape is a single pup at the bridge, i have an old ultrasonic pickup here that although its a neck pickup i might try it in the bridge, i also thought about the filtertrons for the 12 sting as i have access to a pair.

[preeb]

Originally Posted by Nick JD

Gil! The Land Down Under is Australia! You're thinking of The Land of the Long White Cloud aka Aotearoa ... New Zealand.

Like the UK, while not being too partcular about our borders, we like you Northerners to at least try not to blur our identities .

BTW shane "at" ancientkauri.co.nz will sort you out. He's a nice guy.

So sorry... my mistake.
I'll rephrase:
How can a guy from Israel who doesn't know the difference between down under and Aotearoa get hold of a few blanks of Ancient Kauri from the Land of the Long White Cloud ?

I sent an email his way. No reply yet but the night is still young.

[kiwitele]

he probably has a bus load of tourists going through the shop

[tonyw]

Originally Posted by preeb

So sorry... my mistake.
I'll rephrase:
How can a guy from Israel who doesn't know the difference between down under and Aotearoa get hold of a few blanks of Ancient Kauri from the Land of the Long White Cloud ?

I sent an email his way. No reply yet but the night is still young.

He will get back to you just may take a day or 2

[tonyw]

Originally Posted by kiwitele

he probably has a bus load of tourists going through the shop

Ahh your from Rotorua havent been there since i toured through in the 70's. 1st thing that grabbed my attention was the smell then the place i was staying had hot thermal bathes and hot kiwi lasses, i have fond memories of Rotorua.

[kiwitele]

same smell, same hot pools, but the hot lasses have moved on..... not much Kauri here either, plenty of radiata pine though

[tonyw]

This build is starting to take shape, well it hasnt been shaped yet but the parts are arriving.
The ideas are these
1st an Esquire i have 2 options for the pickup, one is wind it myself i have all the gear, or i have 2xL298TL noiseless on their way from Bill and Becky, i can use one of these not sure about the tone etc.


Guitar 2 is a HB neck a Wilde noiseless L298SM for strat middle and the other tele noiseless in the bridge, the neck will be an old German made Ultrasonic HB that apparently Bill helped to design that i have sitting here. This guitar may also end up being a 12string



will start these guitars soon and work them in tandem

[Sitruuna]

How would ancient kauri work as fretboard- or neckmaterial? Anyone tried?

[tonyw]

There are some necks made from Ancient Kauri.
I was going to try make the scratch plater for the esquire out it.

[jkingma]

Originally Posted by Sitruuna

How would ancient kauri work as fretboard- or neckmaterial? Anyone tried?

It is no where near hard enough for a fretboard but if you found a nice stable quartersawn piece it might make a nice neck.

[Nick JD]

I was walking past a calendar on my kitchen door and thought I'd snap a photo of it.

It's an un-ancient Kauri - one of the few that escaped the logger's saws (a lot of 'Cisco was made from Kauri before it burnt). It's not Tane Mahuta* but still an absolute monster.

February 2010 is Kauri month at my place!



*Trunk girth 45.18 ft, Trunk height 58 ft, Total height 167.98 ft. It's a pity all the big ones are gone.