Koa!

[profchris]

I'm building another ukulele, and have just worked the top and back to near final thickness (these will be not much more than 1.5mm at the end).

I thought you might like to see the koa, from Hawaii, as the grain patterns and colours can be quite dramatic. These are just planed surfaces with some White Spirit splashed on, very close to the final look under a shellac finish.

Front:

Back:

Both are near-perfect vertical grain, not slab-sawn. By koa standards, these are not especially highly figured.

And if anyone is worrying, the knots lie well outside the waist of the instrument!

 

[marcros]

I had some pen blanks and I agree that it is a spectacular timber.

 

[bob543]

Koa is a very nice wood but quite expensive in the UK. I `m currently building a couple of acoustics, with unusual choice of top wood and unusual figure.

 

[woodbloke66]

SWIMBO has a jewellery box in Koa and we also have a canoe paddle in the same wood hanging in the lounge...it just about fitted into one of the rear overhead lockers on a 747 :lol: - Rob