Question on Castello/South American Boxwood

[rdsaplala]

Hi to all,

 

I'd like to inquire for some feedback on the hardness of Castello Boxwood compared to True European Boxwood, Walnut and Swiss Pear. If you were to score each from 1 to 10, with 1 being the softest and 10 being the hardest, what score would you give to each? Thanks in advance for the help.

[WackoWolf]

David,

 

    Thank you for the information. I never knew about how wood was rated, see I learn something new again from MSW. I am always learning something new every day.

[hopeful]

Dave,

 

Where is hard maple on the scale?

 

Tks.

Hopeful aka David

[WackoWolf]

Now that is a good question, since as far as I know it is suppose to be a hard wood. Anyone got an answer to this question?

[Pete38]

The Janka scales I have seen have it rated at 1450, this is in relationship to  White Oak at 1360 and bamboo at 1380

 

Hope this answers you question

[michael mott]

Dave thanks for you comments regarding the types of wood used, I happen to agree with your sentiments. I am inclines to look at the colour , Grain texture and workability for a given task. I am also not able to spend large sums of money for wood. It is amazing how much good wood is thrown away in old "cheap" or unwanted furniture. some of the maple in my boat came from the dump in the form of a broken piece of maple furniture. or some old flooring.

 

All the clear fir on my decking was collected from trimmings that a local finishing carpenter/furniture maker was tossing after cutting the interior trim for a local house being built.

 

I am not suggesting not to use the model suppliers of specific woods, they offer a very valuable service and are the only means that some people have to obtain wood for their models. I am very lucky that I have the tools and the time to find and re saw the wood that I am using. The small amount of English boxwood, and Ebony that I do have I purchased from a wood supplier many years ago and I save even the smallest scraps.

 

Just my 2 cents worth.

 

Michael 

[Geoff Matson]

Dave Thanks for your information on this thread.

[WackoWolf]

Daves,

 

    Thank you for the post you made. I feel that you brought up some very good point, and I think I agree with all of them. Thanks for the list that you made.

[rdsaplala]

Thanks very much, Dave, for that very informative discussion, I'm currently just learning the ropes on choosing what wood I should use to replace my kit's stock timber, as well as for my first scratchbuild. The valuable details and insights you've provided are a big help and I will keep them in mind when I choose my timber 

[michael mott]

I'm currently just learning the ropes on choosing what wood I should use to replace my kit's stock timber,

 

This seem to be a common theme... So if the need is to replace stock timber, then that leaves a lot of the money for the kit in somebodies pocket for not supplying the quality material in the first place. given the cost of some of these kits I am surprised.

 

Michael

[WackoWolf]

Michael.

 

    I agree with what you said. But it does seem that a good amount of the kits people end up replacing the wood that comes with the kit. And it is always the planking strips. That is why a lot of people change over to scratch building, and then some of them never gets finished because the person did the change over to soon, If the company's would change to a better grade of wood they would sell more kits, but at the same time they probably would charge more for the kits ( which most are over price as it is ). So the builder is in a no win place a good amount of the time. It is to bad that it is like this. The hobby loser's because of this. The company's don't really care as long as they are making money.

[rdsaplala]

Very nice insights, Micheal and Joe, I think kits would indeed benefit from using better quality wood, however, as stated, this would entail a higher price.

I think an excellent solution to this is the move made by Chris Watton's Online-Hobbies in the past, where in they sold some of their Victory Models' line of kits in packages that contain only the precut timber and fittings. These packages were cheaper than the regular kits as they didn't have any planking timber and left the choice of wood to the builder. If I remember correctly, they sold fairly well and my last visit to their site showed that all these packages were already out of stock. I wish more manufacturers would try out this strategy.

[Richard Griffith]

Tlhank you Dave and others for this information, especially for the hardness info. 

 

Prior posts regarding its use as a modelling material hit the nail on the head, that is, the color and workability and tight grain are most important for our uses, unless the client requires certain woods, or the restoration requires same or similar. 

 

Some of my favorite woods include yellow birch (I live in Connecticut, USA), soft maple, local cherry, black walnut, basswood pear and apple.  I have some of the exotics for special uses.  These include the woods noted above, plus purple heart, redheart, padauk, wenge, bubinga, yellow heart (gotta have a heart), and a few others.  Cost is definitely a factor for most of us. 

 

My most favorite is flowering dogwwood (Cornus florida) which grows in the USA and Canada.  It is white to pinkish brown, very compact, interlocked grain with a fine, uniform texture. Dry weight 51 lbs/ft3 (820kg/m3), specific gravity .82, I don't know the Janka hardness number.  This is a hard and heavy wood, with high bending and compression strenght.  In spite of its hardness, it saws, turns and planes well, glues easily and can be brought to a glossy finish.  I harvest this whenever and whereever I find it.  I cut it into 18" logs, soak the ends in parafin, and wait several years for it to air dry.  I saw the larger logs in half lengthwise to speed up the air drying although I lose some wood due to checking.  A buddy gave me a billet he had cut in 1984 which I use while the newer stuff drys out.  Soon, very soon.

 

Duffer