Designing a Plinth

Guess I have been lucky in that all five of my sources for wood still sell by the board foot (veneers excepted), even exotics. Of course, I have known three of them for over 40 years and my grandfather knew their father's before that. Most I find in 4/4 but sometimes 6/4. It has been a long while since I priced tropical LV, but the Argentinian is much less than what you all are paying for the tropical. I am paying $9.00 a foot.

I am not sure where you got the description for Mara but it is used in furniture in South America extensively. It is beautiful and I'd still be willing to give it a try for a plinth. This is a description I looked up. I was basing my description earlier on my recollections of working with the wood:

"Mara - golden-brown wood with dark streaks. Grain is highly variable. Works well and is very stable. Rare, but used for fine furniture building when a highly-figured wood is desired."

I, too, have used Quina but did not have the unfortunate experience with it that you did with the jewlery box. I understand what you are saying with respect to tearing out, though I would not go so far as to call it tearing out or think it in the same category in this sense as purpleheart. This is a description I found for Quina:

"Quina: A pinkish-red wood with an oily feel and incredible perfumed scent that lasts. Beautiful figure. Extremely durable, this wood is widely used for items like window and door frames, counter tops, cutting boards and flooring. Fine textured, provides excellent polish. Heartwood color is deep red, sometimes with purple highlights and high natural luster. Good in-use stability, but can be difficult to machine due to interlocked grain.”

I would very much like to drop by and view your collection. I don't have the room to keep a stock anymore and I'd love to have some of the fiddleback Koa for a guitar I will build someday. Any pieces big enough for a back, Even a two-piece? I'd like to see the douka, too. Madrone Burl. I knew a guy once in Oregon who had a wood stove and when I went there it was putting out some HEAT. Turns out he was burning Madrone.......

Get ahold of some Cebil and give it a try. It is actually the one I was leaning towards for my project.

I like your mention of inlays as I am the fifth generation of a long line of marquetry nuts! :-)

I take wood descriptions online with a grain of salt. I once bought some "exotic" african wood; turned out to be the local equavilent of cheap pine. Ended up using it for templates and cauls. I came across a description for eastern douglas fir on a foreign site one time. It went on to describe how popular it was in the US for making fine furniture. And, they were selling it for about $8.00/ft!!!! About the only furniture they make from fir is frames for chairs and sofas to be upholstered.

What I ment by tear out is the way that purple heart wants to splinter when you try to route it.

The Argentine LV looks better then the tropical stuff (in the pics), and you can't beat the price. Seems to polish up real nice.

Hey, another wood to consider for a plinth is jatoba, hard and dense and very beautiful.

Smotyka- No, I'm not looking to replicate the WT plinth. THe thought was to do simple straight non-parallel cuts on about a 2" thick piece of wood. Either triangular or a 4-sided piece with the right side being only about 4" deep- just enough to handle the arm and armrest.

I don't have any woodworking equipment to speak of, so the project needs to be simple. If need be, I can find a little time on a planer.

Alot of species have been mentioned on this thread, but I wonder which would have the best characteristics for a plinth considering resonance and other such technical issues. Maybe a sandwich of ebony and rosewood might be a good combination!

Jim

OK guys, I see this has taken off a little since I last checked in.

David, since I've done both wood and acrylic, I assure you it is true: Acrylic costs more. And it does not have the forgiving properties of wood. I like your wood list, some would look very interesting. Also, there is basically no Teres design directions. Just a set of dimensions that I chose not to follow too closely. I went bigger all the way around, and figured out my own shot loading pattern. Description follows....

Prpixel, a man after my own heart. I try and keep every little piece and scrap of exotic wood I can find. Veneer too. How else can you be with what wood costs these days? I agree that the pieces come in handy for inlays, accents, etc.... Luckily I don't have to worry about storage, because my shop has about 4000 square feet. Then my buddy Paul's shop has another 4000, and that's where the serious wood is. I may be the only person I know who has made cauls out of cocbolo. I had a cutoff from my plinth that worked perfect! You may be interested in my wood guy. Check out his site:

East Wake Hardwoods

Rodger has a great selection and is a hell of a guy. Last time I was there I spent 2 hours perusing. He has some estate cocbolo form the 1920's in 8/4 that is to die for. That's what I used in mine. Almost all of his wood (99%) is priced per board foot. I collect wood too.

Jim, when I did my plinth, I used several pices of cocobolo and one piece of ebony. I used 2 pieces of cocobolo for the bottom, about 2" thick glued on the indside edge. For the top there are 4 pieces (3cocobolo, 1 macassar ebony). The two outside pieces are solid cocobolo about 2" thick, glued to the two center pieces. THe ebony is about 3/4" with another piece of cocobolo under it. They were glued up first, the the outside pieces glued to them. Then the top and bottom were glued together. DO NOT USE SCREWS! EVER! The grains run in different directions on these two pieces to give it some added stability. Then came the veneer, which is a whole other story. The shot pattern is kinda, but not really random. I drilled 2" holes 2 1/2" deep, put EXACTLY The same amount of shot in each hole, and plugged then with teak. If you look at the pics, the teak has some really nice grain that is the same on all of the plugs. That little detail took two hours alone.

So, there you have it. Now, on to some materials issues. Jim, ebony & rosewood would both work and look very well. But remember, macassar ebony runs about $50 a board foot. This can make mistakes costly. Teres makes plinths out of rose wood, and I used Madura, a brazilian rosewood for my base. It is similar to cocobolo, but not quite as dense. I would have to say there is no "best" material. There is a lot of good, some great, but too many possibities for a best. Lead helps. I don't think anyone will disagree with that. Use #9. I got mine on the net.

Also, I have found that almost any wood will tear if you are not careful. Macassar ebony is exteremely hard, but tears very easily. I've worked several woods that I swore I'd never touch again. When it happens, I usually just put down the tools, go have a smoke, and give it a few minutes. If I can do this before I throw the piece across the shop, I can usually figure out what I was doing wrong, and fix it. BTW, with acrylic, no such luck. I won't admit to being a master of solid surface material, but I have done a shitload of countertops and sinks. Since my brand, Staron, is 100% acrylic I thought it would lend itself well to TT's. Right now, I need to overcome some issues that do not arise doing countertops. But it looks very promising so far.

On cones, I and others here still think Audiopoints are the way to go. I have them under my plinth and under the base. No matter how you build the plinth, these are very important for a non-suspende table. All you have to do is try the cone of your choice and you will definitely see what I mean!

Buscis2, if your tool of choice is a checkbook, email me!

And I'll say it again: The only affiliations I have are with me.

Jimbo, I have been sitting back with great interest reading this thread as it has progressed. There have been some great contributions. I was impressed by the workmanship entailed in Jphii's turntable.

Last evening, I stumbled across the website I have provided below. I have never seen such a complete and diverse offering in terms of wood selections and pricing. Maybe that it is simply due to my lack of knowledge and exposure in this subject. Although, I found the "Musical Grade Hardwoods" section particularly interesting.

Hopefully it will provide some additional info for everyone involved. Ed.

http://westpennhardwoods.com/default.htm