Violin Top - Log 378 - Engelmann Spruce
Engelmann Spruce, most well known for its excellent tone quality, is an amazingly strong, light and flexible wood and has exceptional stiffness-to-weight ratio. It also has beautiful uniform colour, usually a cream to almost white. Tight and straight grain, with a fine and even texture. Specific gravity 0.41, Janka Hardness 390, picea engelmannii.
This log contains light figuring across the top and grain ranges between fine and very fine. It has a particularly high density compared to many of our Engelmann tops at .41-.43 specific gravity.
End grain photo shows the variation in grain width, the very fine grain is .5mm while the wider grain is just over 1mm some tops contain slightly more even grain.
Split Violin block can be re-sawn to make one book matched top. Average split billet measurements:
120 mm wide
55mm thick at spine
400 mm long.
Split Viola block can be re-sawn to make one book matched top. Average split billet measurements:
150 mm wide
60 mm thick at spine
450 mm long.
Engelmann Spruce Tonewood
Grading of tone wood is very subjective to the eye and experience of the grader, however, when split into billets the quality of the wood is revealed visually in the straightness of split. Split billets are our premium grade of top and eliminate things like knot shadow and run out. The grain width, spacing and hardness of lines may vary from tree to tree and even from piece to piece in some trees.
