Another little bit of koa

Ken Martin

Ken Martin

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Last December I made an appeal for a small piece of curly koa to complete a turkey call. Well, I find myself in the same position today. I just made a swap with a friend who has developed sensitivities to certain exotic woods and a piece of curly koa was included. It is enough for a paddle, or even a base, but not both.

So, I am looking for a small, thin piece of koa. The curlier the better. Minimum dimensions are 9” long by 2” wide and 1/2” thick.

I am able to resaw, so a piece that is close may work. A larger piece might net me another call or two.

Watcha got?
 
Ken @Ken Martin Here are a couple pieces for your consideration. The piece on the right is a little thinner (.42") the other is 1/2". Overall length is 21". Of course it's hard to capture the figure in a photo especially rough -sawn but I tried :unknown: I can try misting them and take more pictures if would like? The measurements on the tape are what I think will work for you using multiples of 2". :wonky: $57 shipped for the pair.

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  • #5
Hmmm… there’s a lot of unusable wood in those two pieces. However, they are curly, for the most part.
Could I get a look at the endgrain, especially of the one on the left? I need to see how the sapwood lays
 
Here you go. I didn’t realize sapwood is an issue. I can dig through some bins and find some pieces with less sapwood.

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  • #7
Yessir, sapwood generally doesn’t have good tone qualities. I may be building a turkey call, but it is still a rudimentary musical instrument and all those rules apply.
 
Ken, here’s two more for your consideration. Most of what I have, have a natural edge and sapwood unfortunately. Pictures are of dry wood and misted with water. 4 1/2” piece is $65 plus shipping and the 8 1/2” piece is $68 plus shipping.

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  • #13
I see the text now, with the prices.

I’m going to have to do some figuring on this to see if there’s any profit left in it for me. Good looking figure in the one on the right and I’m sure it’s worth every penny by market value, but I’ve kept my calls at $60 ea so that the common man can afford them. Prices on all kinds of wood has risen to the point that THIS common man may be forced to raise the price of his calls, though. I’ve got some thinking to do.
 
I have a lot of 1/2” quarter sawn Koa with no noticeable figure that I can sell for less but it’s still Koa if you know what I mean.
 
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