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Thread: Polyscias murrayi - Pencil Cedar
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30th September 2023, 10:45 AM #1Senior Member
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Polyscias murrayi - Pencil Cedar
G’day,
i have a number of pencil cedar boards, being polyscias Murrayi.
im wanting to know if anyone has data about this timber in particular its general Janka hardness, and movement rates etc.
wood database doesn’t list it. I search here only showed up one thread without those particulars. I don’t have access to the Keith Bootle book and was hoping it might be in there.
please let me know if you have any details about this timber.
cheers,
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30th September 2023, 03:01 PM #2SENIOR MEMBER
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Interestingly, Bootle lists Polyscias murrayi as a synonym for Basswood, White.
GD about 610 kg/m3 ADD about 400 kg/m3
Shrinkage 3% radial, 6% tangential
The entries listed under Pencil cedar are
Cedar, Pencil - Palaquium spp
Cedar Pencil, Virginian - Juniperus Virginiana L.
Cairns Pencil Cedar (Silkwood, Red) Palaquium galactoxylum.
Hope this helps, Jeff
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30th September 2023, 05:50 PM #3
The perenial problem of timber common names arises yet again.
I know Palaquium amboinense as pencil cedar.
Bootles calls Polyscias murrayi white Basswood, but wikipedia says it is also called pencil cedar. Here is bootles summary of Polyscias murrayi:
Bootles - Basswood.jpg
Please note the change in the Latin name => Tieghemopanax murrayi.
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1st October 2023, 12:57 AM #4Senior Member
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Thanks for the feedback. I really appreciate the information.
if I could brother you for one last question, there is the potential for it to be Polyscias Elegans which I think is commonly known as Celery Wood or Black Bass Wood.
I’m hazard a guess they would be close in data being from the same family and distribution.
I’m looking to make an electric guitar body out of the timber.I think it would suit a solid colour as the grain isn’t particularly striking. However, it’s super light and has a decent tap tone. It’ll be a blessing for anyone hating on heavy old guitars.
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1st October 2023, 03:59 PM #5
Here is Bootles entry for T elegans, which he calls silver basswood:
Bootle - T Elagensis.jpg
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2nd October 2023, 01:01 PM #6Senior Member
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Thank you very much.
i really appreciate the information.
maybe it’s time to buy a few books.
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2nd October 2023, 05:48 PM #7GOLD MEMBER
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Basswood is way to soft for an electric guitar body. You will be flat out trying to get the screws to hold in the timber. Pick something denser and lighten by design would be my approach.
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13th October 2023, 09:36 AM #8Senior Member
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Polyscias elegans timber
I grow trees on my farm and have sawn up some Polyscias elegans. P e is much more common than P murrayi. The wood superficially looks like hoop pine, uniformly white and of moderate density and hardness but does suffer a little from the lyctus borer. To say that it cannot take screws I believe is quite wrong. To me it seems a quite legitimate species of wood but in very limited supply. Whether it is good for guitar backs is something totally different. I do have a couple of boards here if anyone is interested.
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13th October 2023, 04:37 PM #9GOLD MEMBER
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Bob, I thought the same as you until I tried inserting short, small gauge screws. The holding power was pathetic.
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