Popular Woodworking 2000-02 № 113, страница 65

Wood Types

Continued from page 76

merged, bacteria eat away at "hemicellu-lose" and starchy matter in the wood, creating wood ideal for instrument makers.

"It's pretty obvious that you can put a log deep in the water, or in sea water, and it stays healthy for many, many years — easily 100 years," Nagyvary says. "Apparently you extract a number of gooey substances. If you remove them, the wood becomes lighter and drier so it resonates better."

But submerged lumber isn't only for instrument makers. Woodworkers such as Bob Bickel use salvaged timber to make furniture. He owns The Suites, an antique reproduction shop in Houston, Texas.

"The virgin growth gives us a better grain consistency," Bickel says. "In some instances, we get some of the most beautiful grain quality and grain pattern because of the tightness of the grain and growth rings."

In fact, furniture catalogs such as Sundance, which is owned by Robert Redford, are beginning to feature furniture made with submerged lumber. Redford's catalog,

and many like it, are promoting the wood as a way to get beautiful furniture using rare wood that is ecologically responsible.

How to Get Some

The price of TRI's reclaimed virgin timber is about two to three times the cost of regu

lar hardwood. Pilot says prices range as high as $25 for a board foot of highly figured maple to as low as $2.50 for eastern white pine. Superior's sales department can be reached at 715-685-9663, and TRI's can be reached at 715-746-2067. Both companies ship orders as small as a few board feet. pw

10 Popular Woodworking February 2000