blackwood - timber for guitars

[@OscarBenben]

So proud to play a Maton guitar that went through this all process and helped the income of many workers 🤟🏼 #matonguitars

[@barrykerr7540]

Had the privilege of spending a day in the Otways with Murray, truly a master with the chainsaw and a hardworking and skillful operator. Murray knows his trees and his countryside intimately. The impact on the forest was minimal and measured. Only the oldest trees are harvested as i understand it. Blackwood has a relatively short-lived the life span- around 70 years after which it dies and often succumbs to insect attack making it unsuitable for harvesting. I will never forget that special day with one of Australia's outstanding craftsman. Sincerely, Barry Kerr, Luthier, Woodtoneguitars, Australia

[@debrachant]

All true Barry, great skill in dropping a tree and not damage any others. We are going to film again with his son and document the whole process from dropping, cutting up and carrying out. The forest is lucky to have him....

[@thatellipsisguy8984]

Would dispute the lifespan under the right conditions (which the Otways should be ideal). Trees on my brother-in-laws place adjoining Tarrabulga National Park are 180cm and 25m+, with remnant stumps from last century 3m+

[@andrewmeade6426]

Most of the Otways is national park so not sure where you went to cut tree down. Maybe private property. Hope so. If not how does someone get to lop a blackwood and take it home from the forest. Just send me a slab maybe 10 x10 inches 3mtrs long and l' ll keep quiet. l ll even turn a bowl out for you as a thank you mate .

[@johnbrady1211]

That would make an awesome body for a naturally finished Stratocaster...

[@andrewmeade6426]

nice HX or maybe HZ kingswood station wagon with 253 V8... pull that trailer load no problem

[@ricgstevens]

Can’t believe Murray is still harvesting Blackwood from the Otways! Good on him for doing so. I met Murray in the 90s and bought half a trailer load of freshly sawn Blackwood billets which were originally destined for Maton guitars. I distinctly recall the cold morning we headed out - to a private property near the town of Forest, deep in the heart of the Blackwood country. It’s beautiful and green out there. Real rain forest environment. Trees are carefully selected before a chainsaw goes near them. The key is identifying trees with good colour, and better still fiddle back grain structure. I can attest to Murray’s harvesting techniques - minimal environmental damage as no heavy machinery is used, not even horses. Everything is hauled out on his poor shoulders. I reckon he’d have a bloody sore back each time he falls a tree. Blackwood typically grows in deep valleys and ravines so it is very hard work getting this timber out. Murray is well known to the instrument making industry here in Victoria - I know several guitar makers who use Murray’s Blackwood as the quality is super good. Good health to you Murray

[@debrachant]

and yes he has a sore back but we all suffer something from what we love...

[@ishure8849]

G'day ricg, my grandfather was the forestry officer in Forrest in the 30/40s I'm running a Lucas Mill in North East Vic and my cousin is running one down in Tassie, he believed in selective harvesting.

[@bradleyrussell1973]

Man, you have that saw tuned great! SCREAMIN'!

[@tokolosh6467]

That man could do open heart surgery with that chainsaw, a master at his craft, and those guitars are just beautiful.

[@lintondoohan2748]

Just my 2 cents for people complaining about the content of this Video: - If you watch to the end, you can see the end user of the timber is an established and reputable guitar manufacturer, do you really think they would source timber from someone who didn't possess a licence / have a knowledge in what they were doing? - Blackwood is a pretty expensive timber (at least for me on the west coast of Australia) so I highly doubt that what was taken from the tree in the video was all that was used from the tree. You saw the size of the trailer, obviously multiple trips would have been taken to recover the rest of it. Like Debra has already explained, this was just a video showing process, so not necessarily the final events that day (which most likely involved multiple trips back to the site, if not that day, in the following days).

[@debrachant]

Exactly!

[@demolitionwilliams7419]

Spot on. Shouldn't be hard to understand

[@RafaGonzalez-d3r]

Best video for in depth action by far!!!!!

[@darrellblanchard2362]

I want some! We have black walnut , juglans nigra and silver leaf maple, white oak, persimmon, black locust ( pseudo acacia) here in central Oklahoma. For soundboards we have Eastern red cedar. When I get some dried I will start the Oklahoma sustainable wood series

[@debrachant]

otwaytonewoods.com.au/species

[@demolitionwilliams7419]

Skills. And just beautiful wood

[@seadrifter8975]

Great video great looking guitars

[@robertmurphy9498]

Nice wood love how well the dude with the chainsaw milled it on site

[@dmurr4330]

Beautiful craftsmanship, love attention to detail, awesome skill with chainsaw also. Oh and beautiful guitars by the way.

[@thomaslau9631]

How old is the tree? It is important the guitars so made from the wood bring back life.

[@debrachant]

I think about 80 years

[@gregmartin1757]

Pretty nice guitar, but I must say that was the most aggressive fret levelling I have every seen! Most luthiers do fret levelling carefully and precisely but I guess this guy has probably done this hundreds maybe thousands of times so it probably works out okay for him.i myself would never recommend a beginner try it like that because it is very easy to remove to much material to quickly. DO NOT attempt yourself if your not a expert or experienced luthier. Enjoyed the video.and looks to be a pretty well built quality instrument.

[@knowmusicman157]

I love the smell of 2 cycle gas/oil mix in the morning. It's the sound of victory!

[@alanoffer]

This is Australia so I would imagine that the cutting of a tree like this is carefully monitored . But who is around to notice ?

[@debrachant]

trees are allocated by the Department of Conservation, so they know

[@BeardALaCarte]

Plus the Australian Blackwood grows wildly and fast, no one really cares when they get cut down

[@missionron]

A guy like this isnt doing ANY harm to the species. Its the otganized Chinese rosewood poachers thst are destroying the land.

[@em4703]

Yea the trees seem to be selected to be in their prime as in wood quality, but close to their natural demise (as in if a few years the wood would deteriorate anyway and the tree would become sick/die). It's visible how the wood in the video has a big crack in the middle, that will be a rotting spot in the years to come, so him cutting it down didn't put a negative dent in the specie's population as it was already on the path to it's death.

[@juliantaylor7663]

Which Blackwood is this cause I look at the maton website Just says Blackwood It looks similar to walnut or Queensland walnut I found tasmainian Blackwood which has a lighter colour than this tree

[@debrachant]

www.otwaytonewoods.com.au/

[@hastyberford]

It's amazing dirt and water can turn into that.

[@TheMASDrummer]

Interestingly enough, the tree is mostly made of air and water.

[@7REDDRACO7]

Hi Debra , may we get a piece for a special neck thru 10 string guitar i'm building, 60" x 5" x 5" so my log needs to be longer please and quarter sawn at the mill. those stumps your cutting are too short and stubby, it ruins it for necks.

[@debrachant]

otwaytonewoods.com.au/home This is the business website for contact

[@davidfriesen7748]

Wow ! That wood looks like it cuts like Iron and as heavy too !

[@AntonioGomez-ob9og]

I'm sorry for my ignorance I hope anybody can tell me what kind of wood is that besides Blackwood once again thank you very much guys God bless you

[@debrachant]

otwaytonewoods.com.au/species

[@mikemartin6554]

cool vid...somewhat cathartic. isn't this the brand guitar that Tommy Emanuel uses?

[@debrachant]

Yes

[@HalcyonGuitars]

Can anyone say who the supplier is that one may purchase some blackwood?

[@debrachant]

hello Halcyon Guitars, this is the website www.otwaytonewoods.com.au/

[@HalcyonGuitars]

@@debrachant Thank you. Coincidentally I’ve had a tab to that website open for over a year. I’ve sent them dozens of emails but they’re just not answering…

[@debrachant]

i've sent a message, see if get a response after xmas

[@reatonable]

And how many guitars does he get out of a tree? Just asking for a friend.

[@debrachant]

lots - all blocks he cuts up onsite to measurement to book-match for backs and sides, and they are then cut to thickness (as in near start at Maton in video).

[@gilbertdada0077]

How much for the big block of wood

[@debrachant]

You will have to discuss it with the business otwaytonewoods.com.au/home

[@lonniejohns8895]

did anyone notice that the tree did not go where he had notched it but to the right of that!

[@northmanlogging2769]

dutched the undercut, steered it off

[@loaclips4627]

Si cortas un árbol deberías sembrar (plantar,etc) 10 más

[@debrachant]

agree

[@craigdouglas9979]

btw Acacia melanoxylon is the botanical name. I am intrigued, 1974 model car with Victorian number plates. There are small portable mills to do this type of work, why a chain saw. Tas Blackwood does occur in Victoria and in fact a good way up the eastern sea board but logs like that are rare outside of Tasmania. The Maton factory looked much as it did when I got a tour in 1982; has it not changed? Both the billets and the guitar looked like Blackwood. There was no defect in the log? There was no seasoning process? I think on private land under some circumstance this may be a legal practice. These timbers can be purchased via normal commercial channels, that is from a timber yard. I know this from first hand experience. Something here just ain't right?

[@debrachant]

otwaytonewoods.com.au/species

[@craigdouglas9979]

You may have got more money for that log to be sliced for veneer than you would for guitar backs and sides. How do you avoid end splitting in the drying process in all those short lengths. Most of the the Blackwood in Queensland is Sally Wattle, either broad or narrow leaf. I the 80s I sold trailer load after trailer load of it people who made kitchen doors. What an immoral waste of a finite resource. Why don't you offer other species, Myrtle or King Billy as sound boards? good luck, Craig.@@debrachant

[@debrachant]

You'll notice Murray taps the tree when he first walks into the bush, checking the resonance before he cuts.

[@silent8ch977]

What happened to the rest of the tree?

[@debrachant]

useable timber carried out and heads decompose back into the forest

[@vietnguyentas]

What license that allowed you to cut live trees? Are you in Tas or Vic?

[@debrachant]

it is a Victorian licence, the only one, to choose from an allocated lot for instrument making

[@dalejones4186]

Hi Debra. How long does it take to dry this wood for use. Great video

[@debrachant]

thank you. roughly Murray air dries timber in a closed room for about 3 years in 2 inch planks, then machines movement out, and when Maton receives it they kiln dry for 3 months.

[@debrachant]

he also has wood air dried for longer you can buy from him if interested www.otwaytonewoods.com.au/

[@HalcyonGuitars]

Watching you cut off the sapwood made me cry…

[@mulekickhandmadeguitars8465]

My only question is, did he make use of the entire tree? Or, did he only use the small amount of wood that we saw him carry out of the woods?

[@geemac7267]

You're kidding, right? Of course he used as much as possible, else he wasted his time and effort. They make a lot of guitars and they will use every bit of that tree they can. That's how profitable businesses work.

[@debrachant]

it would be boring watching them carry it all out - very hard work!

[@mickcarson8504]

debra chant I'd better check guitars made from this fellow and his wood. Where are they sold and what name are they named?

[@debrachant]

He sells the timber to Maton

[@DMSProduktions]

Amazing how people DON'T read!

[@bloodswarms]

How long does the wood have to sit for the moisture to get out of it, before you start using it to make a guitar?

[@debrachant]

3 months at the factory, but Murray has his own stacked that air dries

[@LoneWolf-yp2mo]

Love watching a MASTER with a chainsaw !! This guy knows his wood ! AWESOME video !

[@debrachant]

Thank you

[@ggvbeer4339]

how long takes to dry that wood ?? ... 1 year ?? .... 2 ??

[@wilmafingerdo279]

oreg beer 1 year per inch thickness, if air dried. Kiln drying speeds that way up, maybe 1 inch per month. Looks like about 6x6 blocks so maybe 6 months for the lot

[@ggvbeer4339]

great . thanks

[@rafaelvalimfernandes]

Is this the Australian Blackwood (Tasmanian Blackwood)?

[@debrachant]

Blackwood in Victoria, Australia

[@hitnorcal]

This guy is a beast! I love this video.

[@jameslucas6589]

That should be enough for the neck. What are you making the top from?

[@debrachant]

You will have to look at the Maton site to see what timbers they use for the top, my interest for this video was showing the process from a raw resource to a musical instrument

[@paullanier8280]

Chestnut

[@dietrichmuller172]

Is this in Melbourne?

[@debrachant]

outside of Melbourne, in Victoria

[@zijingx4124]

Wtf he is good in saw, hats off 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@bigbobvub]

There's nothing quite like the feel of a STIHL chainsaw!! They'll cut through any kind of wood like a hot knife through butter!

[@debrachant]

...operated with skill

[@milliondollaroptions]

Might want to join the Plumbers Union with all that crack in your video..lol

[@debrachant]

It was hard to avoid!

[@TheOldBoy101]

Love the PPE !

[@boozoochavis7506]

Master with a chainsaw, but even with kiln drying that wood could not have been ready in a short amount of time? Beautiful instruments and some serious workmanship going into them , thanks for sharing this video.

[@debrachant]

thank you.... the tree dropped in the film is not the same as made into the instrument, but Maton use blackwood Murray Kidman cuts.

[@rodney73991]

im only guessing but think took vedio cut then later on took vedio of make gutters. i got wood lay around 10 years or more. one point every time cut fire wood if nice wood i cut least few boards for cutting boards and boxes..

[@rum5812]

A MASTER NOT NO HEMET AND YOU NEVER STAY AT THE STUMP AND THE PILLOW HAAAAAAAAAAA

[@allhopeabandon7831]

Vacuum kiln would dry it with little degradation or checking...those little pieces would only take a couple weeks to suck the water out at room temperature pulling 20+ inches of Hg. My question is where is this that its so tropical? The highway looks to be in the US...FL, AL or LA?

[@allhopeabandon7831]

AUSTRALIA!

[@Leonard.J.Mills.]

And what scientific name of blackwood?

[@debrachant]

A master with the chainsaw!.... otwaytonewoods.com.au/home

[@nicholasbiddle7893]

Kinda sad to see that giant ancient tree get cut down like that

[@debrachant]

always sad and confronting to see a tree cut down for furniture, instruments, building or firewood. you can be assured this tree has been selected with a lot of attention and care for the best tone wood and milled as efficiently as possible by a conservationist and artisan. turning that timber into a beautiful instrument by luthiers extends the life of the tree and the carbon is retained.

[@iAmDislikingEveryShort]

@@debrachant milled as efficiently as possible with a chainsaw 🤣😭

[@mathieulamaure1487]

Is this Acacia Melanoxylon ?

[@debrachant]

otwaytonewoods.com.au/

[@BeardALaCarte]

Sawed and Aussie blackwood the other day, looks pretty much the same from what i can see

[@tjerkheringa937]

I never saw a Grenadill-tree this big!

[@debrachant]

Hello Tjerk www.otwaytonewoods.com.au/pages/species-2

[@rrve9998]

Do you own thís big tree ....Sir ?

[@janojano8570]

What kind of tree or name?

[@debrachant]

Acacia melanoxylon

[@randyscott9034]

Where is this at ?

[@debrachant]

Victoria, Australia

[@Leonard.J.Mills.]

And he didn't quarter saw the log and yet he got straight grains.

[@DMSProduktions]

Where abouts in Vic was this? Otways?

[@debrachant]

Yes

[@DMSProduktions]

Thanks, I thought it might have been. It DID look more like Tasmania! I knew it WASN'T The Dandenongs!

[@roleraniasno]

Where?

[@debrachant]

Victoria Australia

[@freedok]

Tasmanian Blackwood?

[@debrachant]

No Victorian otwaytonewoods.com.au/home

[@pm270100]

mate the bucking holden

[@eqlzr2]

Takes a long, long time for a tree to grow. Looooonnnnngggg time.

[@jamessonke4411]

Whats your point? Let them all fall naturally and decay. Or use it for things that can be enjoyed for generations. Nothing is ever wasted depending on how you look at it. Food tossed into a landfill feeds insects and microbes and continue virvke of life

[@danialexquande7813]

U just watched a wrong channel i guess

[@albertkelly7129]

getting the blackwood with the kingswood haha good stuff

[@danangsaputra4263]

Is it legal ?!

[@debrachant]

Murray has a licence

[@danangsaputra4263]

debra chant 😂

[@davidparry8514]

11:30...I did that to the neck of my Martin D 28, scary but it played a lot better for it.

[@watso-007]

Where did u filmed it, country

[@debrachant]

Victoria, Australia.

[@DMSProduktions]

LOL!

[@neilmcdougall3972]

Acacia Melenoxylon

[@DMSProduktions]

Wrong thread?

[@donvanco3078]

lol - that tree had enough wood for about 50,000 guitars.

[@andrew719]

Agreed! It seems a ridiculous waste of material. Surely they could add to the description above what happens to the remainder of the tree?

[@marc_spence]

You'd have to assume that the section they took was only one of multiple, working their way up the tree until the thickness and/or grain dispersement was unusable.

[@leeminhoa9654]

No, just 600 guitar

[@chapre1974]

And a drum set

[@seroupavakian8703]

Don Vanco l

[@dylansadler4542]

is there any way you could put me in touch with this man

[@debrachant]

otwaytonewoods.com.au/

[@dylansadler4542]

thank you

[@johnnypk1963]

Wonderful film, thx.

[@behradnasirimusic]

Love this australian wood

[@vallenhenjouoldbloodfamkuk4197]

Minimal destruction and very satisfying 👍

[@SYLVESTRIVS]

which species' name? because "blackwood" is a generic name, please

[@debrachant]

www.otwaytonewoods.com.au

[@copyandoriginal]

Who permits you to kill a tree?

[@debrachant]

He has a permit and allocated certain trees to choose from

[@davidramossalsologoporexse2469]

Thsts what i need Few of does blocks To build my one pcs acoustic guitar.

[@frontbum420]

Dude has mad skills with a chainsaw.How long has he been in the bush?

[@debrachant]

his working life - a respectful master of the craft supplying instrument makers with quality timber that plays beautiful music

[@kevinkendall3122]

Now you want to see blackwood?check out Mpingo wood from Africa

[@thatellipsisguy8984]

What’s the tone of mpingo like? Blackwood has a proven history as a tonewood.

[@kevinkendall3122]

@@thatellipsisguy8984 favored for tone & durability,some of the hardest wood on Earth,French clarinet maker uses it,can't think of the name right now but they had some issues with it exploding in the lathe while it was being made

[@thatellipsisguy8984]

Kevin Kendall 'sounds' great then (sorry/not sorry!).

[@jimdoyle8224]

The tree lives on.

[@marcusgault9909]

f that wood is hard to source and expensive, surely a shocking wastage by using a chainsaw to mill it, compared to a bandsaw mill?

[@debrachant]

He has to cut up into pieces onsite initially so he can carry it out of the gully

[@XMusicIbanSarawakX]

Nice work sir,..

[@natanborges5983]

Que madeira linda ,qual nome?

[@debrachant]

'Blackwood' en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acacia_melanoxylon

[@ericashmusic8889]

Maton Guitars are grrreat !! but I don't believe they are made from fresh wood- Has to be seasoned timber- 15-20yrs +

[@debrachant]

it's not the same timber, it has been seasoned

[@hangmantrees]

It does not have to be seasoned that long! Lol

[@wilmafingerdo279]

New wood can be used after X years for every X inches in thickness, as a rule of thumb, if air dried, depending on regional humidity. You need a moisture meter to tell for sure. Kiln drying is much shorter since its controlled.

[@debrachant]

not used fresh, is seasoned, just showing the process

[@colintebble5380]

Usually air drying for 1 inch timber is around 6 months, For inch and a half is approx. 9 months and for 2 inch around 12 months and so on before it hits the kilns … Not sure about the moisture content for making guitars but for furniture it's best around 10/12 %

[@rishanjunenongbet3608]

I want to get one kg of this wood to sell I get to buy one Alto 800 maruti🐱🐭

[@GregSilverado]

I thought it a movie about tree fellers, instead it was only one

[@davestambaugh7282]

This blackwood looks really brown to me. Not like ebony.

[@debrachant]

otwaytonewoods.com.au/species

[@joebloggs7507]

I'm here because of my Maton's

[@grantbuller7429]

I love guitars but I also love trees and wildlife, so there is somewhat of a personal moral dilemma for me. But I recognise that as long as the tree species' conservation status is secure, if the timber can be sourced by a reputable feller without damage to the forest ecosystem, and if the tree is checked for its habitat value (e.g. hollows for wildlife - although I don't think this particular species develops hollows) prior to felling, then one such tree can provide for alot of guitars without a negative impact on the forest ecosystem. The large scale removal of forest and native vegetation for agriculture, urban sprawl and other large industries such as woodchipping (heinous) is a far, far greater threat to the environment.

[@debrachant]

I agree...otwaytonewoods.com.au/home

[@em4703]

Yea the trees seem to be selected to be in their prime as in wood quality, but close to their natural demise (as in if a few years the wood would deteriorate anyway and the tree would become sick/die). It's visible how the wood in the video has a big crack in the middle, that will be a rotting spot in the years to come, so him cutting it down didn't put a negative dent in the specie's population as it was already on the path to it's death.

[@alphasxsignal]

Make more guitars and cut more trees. Trees grow back.

[@svenburns9069]

You got to let the wood dry before you can do anything with it. You cannot just drive out to the woods cut down a tree get back home and start building yor guitar right away. And hopefully they did not leave the rest of the tree just lying there on the ground.

[@francisskundaliny1295]

I HEAR NO BIRDS SINGING IN THIS WOOD!ROCKN ROLLY!

[@debrachant]

Too deep in the gully

[@zardozica]

He timbered the whole tree by hand? Something inside me wants to call BS. The other part wants me to believe!

[@debrachant]

believe!

[@cookbabbabcook6648]

nice walnut wood

[@rakatokan891]

I feel sad...

[@disfunctionaldiecast7908]

Not the kingswood

[@zippy3711]

I wish I could have been there. Ya, another wood nut.

[@OTTO149x]

+zippy I'm afraid a couple of days of that and my poor back would be shot. I'd be crawling around on the floor looking for the painkillers...

[@patman0250]

Hope you didn't just go in the woods choose a tree and just cut it down without permission.

[@debrachant]

otwaytonewoods.com.au/home

[@Brandon-so9fp]

Tree huggers please see Oregon, Washington, and California for what happens when you stop logging. Hint fire 🔥

[@el34glo59]

Oh Stfu. Are u serious right now.

[@darellmoncada]

Necesito una guitarra :3 , pero la pobreza ustedes saben :c

[@patbassman8251]

That guy id good with a chain saw

[@joshwairau183]

I guessed was Australia with the Kingwoods

[@debrachant]

Spot on....

[@danielagustin5819]

Rip trees...

[@luciousbrun5437]

I've got a heart that cares about other people, and that takes courage and guts. If u wanna fight just say so.

[@pook6212]

So you show your caring by offering to fight? Yep, makes perfect sense.

[@OTTO149x]

+lucious brun Wrong! You are a flaming Glad Bag of virtue signaling who enjoys basking in his own superiority but is too intellectually lazy to really find anything out for real...

[@luciousbrun5437]

How is it that you see fighting and caring as unrelated and opposite ? Is it cuz uve no guts to fight for anything u care about ? If that is so then u care about nothing at all.

[@exercisemyrights]

see my name? iv killed 34,000 trees in 16 years.. fight me..

[@luciousbrun5437]

Ur a sad and pitiful thing.

[@tirancm]

If you were in sri lanka.. you would arrested and you will be highly punished in court.. cutting these trees are highly restricted here

[@debrachant]

obviously Sri Lanka's forest has been devastated/mismanaged so much that they have needed to go to such extremes to preserve what is left. these trees are chosen under licence for their acoustic value, one tree, not clear felled for wood chips as exists elsewhere in the state.

[@MemoUlloah]

In Mexico it's totally illegal to do that. And if you cut one of those, you should re-plant like other 10 before doing it.

[@drone-age9173]

Well in Mexico its also legal to transport Meth over the border, so...Shut-UP

[@MemoUlloah]

So wrong dude, it's totally illegal.

[@drone-age9173]

The cartels run that dump and they do as they wish. Be serious.

[@MemoUlloah]

As you said, the cartels, not the normal people dude. Don't be silly to think all mexicans are drug dealers, don't believe all you see on TV. Cartels exists all over the world, specially in the USA, and one of the most violent by the way are in that country. I know you're trying to make fun of my country and being sarcastic. It's not funny dude. I suggest you to be more careful with what you say and read more and watch less TV. And by the way, you're talking about the most protected and powerful border, even physically. Even the sky has surveillance. Have you ever wondered why if it is so, the drug of this bad "mexicans cartels" crosses the border? You be serious dude.

[@johnbrady1211]

Unless you bribe the right people...

[@jaimeduncan6167]

Beautiful says the dude, I will add : but know is dying , just to get a guitar of a different color. I was thinking they will use fallen wood, or wood from a standing dead tree