Had the privilege of spending a day in the Otways with Murray, truly a master with the chainsaw and a hardworking and skillful operator. Murray knows his trees and his countryside intimately. The impact on the forest was minimal and measured. Only the oldest trees are harvested as i understand it. Blackwood has a relatively short-lived the life span- around 70 years after which it dies and often succumbs to insect attack making it unsuitable for harvesting. I will never forget that special day with one of Australia's outstanding craftsman. Sincerely, Barry Kerr, Luthier, Woodtoneguitars, Australia
All true Barry, great skill in dropping a tree and not damage any others. We are going to film again with his son and document the whole process from dropping, cutting up and carrying out. The forest is lucky to have him....
Would dispute the lifespan under the right conditions (which the Otways should be ideal). Trees on my brother-in-laws place adjoining Tarrabulga National Park are 180cm and 25m+, with remnant stumps from last century 3m+
Most of the Otways is national park so not sure where you went to cut tree down. Maybe private property. Hope so. If not how does someone get to lop a blackwood and take it home from the forest. Just send me a slab maybe 10 x10 inches 3mtrs long and l' ll keep quiet. l ll even turn a bowl out for you as a thank you mate .
Just my 2 cents for people complaining about the content of this Video: - If you watch to the end, you can see the end user of the timber is an established and reputable guitar manufacturer, do you really think they would source timber from someone who didn't possess a licence / have a knowledge in what they were doing? - Blackwood is a pretty expensive timber (at least for me on the west coast of Australia) so I highly doubt that what was taken from the tree in the video was all that was used from the tree. You saw the size of the trailer, obviously multiple trips would have been taken to recover the rest of it. Like Debra has already explained, this was just a video showing process, so not necessarily the final events that day (which most likely involved multiple trips back to the site, if not that day, in the following days).
Can’t believe Murray is still harvesting Blackwood from the Otways! Good on him for doing so. I met Murray in the 90s and bought half a trailer load of freshly sawn Blackwood billets which were originally destined for Maton guitars. I distinctly recall the cold morning we headed out - to a private property near the town of Forest, deep in the heart of the Blackwood country. It’s beautiful and green out there. Real rain forest environment. Trees are carefully selected before a chainsaw goes near them. The key is identifying trees with good colour, and better still fiddle back grain structure. I can attest to Murray’s harvesting techniques - minimal environmental damage as no heavy machinery is used, not even horses. Everything is hauled out on his poor shoulders. I reckon he’d have a bloody sore back each time he falls a tree. Blackwood typically grows in deep valleys and ravines so it is very hard work getting this timber out. Murray is well known to the instrument making industry here in Victoria - I know several guitar makers who use Murray’s Blackwood as the quality is super good. Good health to you Murray
G'day ricg, my grandfather was the forestry officer in Forrest in the 30/40s I'm running a Lucas Mill in North East Vic and my cousin is running one down in Tassie, he believed in selective harvesting.
Pretty nice guitar, but I must say that was the most aggressive fret levelling I have every seen! Most luthiers do fret levelling carefully and precisely but I guess this guy has probably done this hundreds maybe thousands of times so it probably works out okay for him.i myself would never recommend a beginner try it like that because it is very easy to remove to much material to quickly. DO NOT attempt yourself if your not a expert or experienced luthier. Enjoyed the video.and looks to be a pretty well built quality instrument.
I want some! We have black walnut , juglans nigra and silver leaf maple, white oak, persimmon, black locust ( pseudo acacia) here in central Oklahoma. For soundboards we have Eastern red cedar. When I get some dried I will start the Oklahoma sustainable wood series
You will have to look at the Maton site to see what timbers they use for the top, my interest for this video was showing the process from a raw resource to a musical instrument
thank you. roughly Murray air dries timber in a closed room for about 3 years in 2 inch planks, then machines movement out, and when Maton receives it they kiln dry for 3 months.
Master with a chainsaw, but even with kiln drying that wood could not have been ready in a short amount of time? Beautiful instruments and some serious workmanship going into them , thanks for sharing this video.
im only guessing but think took vedio cut then later on took vedio of make gutters. i got wood lay around 10 years or more. one point every time cut fire wood if nice wood i cut least few boards for cutting boards and boxes..
Vacuum kiln would dry it with little degradation or checking...those little pieces would only take a couple weeks to suck the water out at room temperature pulling 20+ inches of Hg. My question is where is this that its so tropical? The highway looks to be in the US...FL, AL or LA?
Which Blackwood is this cause I look at the maton website Just says Blackwood It looks similar to walnut or Queensland walnut I found tasmainian Blackwood which has a lighter colour than this tree
Hi Debra , may we get a piece for a special neck thru 10 string guitar i'm building, 60" x 5" x 5" so my log needs to be longer please and quarter sawn at the mill. those stumps your cutting are too short and stubby, it ruins it for necks.
oreg beer 1 year per inch thickness, if air dried. Kiln drying speeds that way up, maybe 1 inch per month. Looks like about 6x6 blocks so maybe 6 months for the lot
@@debrachant Thank you. Coincidentally I’ve had a tab to that website open for over a year. I’ve sent them dozens of emails but they’re just not answering…
lots - all blocks he cuts up onsite to measurement to book-match for backs and sides, and they are then cut to thickness (as in near start at Maton in video).
You're kidding, right? Of course he used as much as possible, else he wasted his time and effort. They make a lot of guitars and they will use every bit of that tree they can. That's how profitable businesses work.
Yea the trees seem to be selected to be in their prime as in wood quality, but close to their natural demise (as in if a few years the wood would deteriorate anyway and the tree would become sick/die). It's visible how the wood in the video has a big crack in the middle, that will be a rotting spot in the years to come, so him cutting it down didn't put a negative dent in the specie's population as it was already on the path to it's death.
Whats your point? Let them all fall naturally and decay. Or use it for things that can be enjoyed for generations. Nothing is ever wasted depending on how you look at it. Food tossed into a landfill feeds insects and microbes and continue virvke of life
btw Acacia melanoxylon is the botanical name. I am intrigued, 1974 model car with Victorian number plates. There are small portable mills to do this type of work, why a chain saw. Tas Blackwood does occur in Victoria and in fact a good way up the eastern sea board but logs like that are rare outside of Tasmania. The Maton factory looked much as it did when I got a tour in 1982; has it not changed? Both the billets and the guitar looked like Blackwood. There was no defect in the log? There was no seasoning process? I think on private land under some circumstance this may be a legal practice. These timbers can be purchased via normal commercial channels, that is from a timber yard. I know this from first hand experience. Something here just ain't right?
You may have got more money for that log to be sliced for veneer than you would for guitar backs and sides. How do you avoid end splitting in the drying process in all those short lengths. Most of the the Blackwood in Queensland is Sally Wattle, either broad or narrow leaf. I the 80s I sold trailer load after trailer load of it people who made kitchen doors. What an immoral waste of a finite resource. Why don't you offer other species, Myrtle or King Billy as sound boards? good luck, Craig.@@debrachant
always sad and confronting to see a tree cut down for furniture, instruments, building or firewood. you can be assured this tree has been selected with a lot of attention and care for the best tone wood and milled as efficiently as possible by a conservationist and artisan. turning that timber into a beautiful instrument by luthiers extends the life of the tree and the carbon is retained.
You'd have to assume that the section they took was only one of multiple, working their way up the tree until the thickness and/or grain dispersement was unusable.
@@thatellipsisguy8984 favored for tone & durability,some of the hardest wood on Earth,French clarinet maker uses it,can't think of the name right now but they had some issues with it exploding in the lathe while it was being made
I love guitars but I also love trees and wildlife, so there is somewhat of a personal moral dilemma for me. But I recognise that as long as the tree species' conservation status is secure, if the timber can be sourced by a reputable feller without damage to the forest ecosystem, and if the tree is checked for its habitat value (e.g. hollows for wildlife - although I don't think this particular species develops hollows) prior to felling, then one such tree can provide for alot of guitars without a negative impact on the forest ecosystem. The large scale removal of forest and native vegetation for agriculture, urban sprawl and other large industries such as woodchipping (heinous) is a far, far greater threat to the environment.
Yea the trees seem to be selected to be in their prime as in wood quality, but close to their natural demise (as in if a few years the wood would deteriorate anyway and the tree would become sick/die). It's visible how the wood in the video has a big crack in the middle, that will be a rotting spot in the years to come, so him cutting it down didn't put a negative dent in the specie's population as it was already on the path to it's death.
So proud to play a Maton guitar that went through this all process and helped the income of many workers 🤟🏼 #matonguitars
Had the privilege of spending a day in the Otways with Murray, truly a master with the chainsaw and a hardworking and skillful operator. Murray knows his trees and his countryside intimately. The impact on the forest was minimal and measured. Only the oldest trees are harvested as i understand it. Blackwood has a relatively short-lived the life span- around 70 years after which it dies and often succumbs to insect attack making it unsuitable for harvesting. I will never forget that special day with one of Australia's outstanding craftsman. Sincerely, Barry Kerr, Luthier, Woodtoneguitars, Australia
All true Barry, great skill in dropping a tree and not damage any others. We are going to film again with his son and document the whole process from dropping, cutting up and carrying out. The forest is lucky to have him....
Would dispute the lifespan under the right conditions (which the Otways should be ideal). Trees on my brother-in-laws place adjoining Tarrabulga National Park are 180cm and 25m+, with remnant stumps from last century 3m+
Most of the Otways is national park so not sure where you went to cut tree down. Maybe private property. Hope so. If not how does someone get to lop a blackwood and take it home from the forest. Just send me a slab maybe 10 x10 inches 3mtrs long and l' ll keep quiet. l ll even turn a bowl out for you as a thank you mate .
That would make an awesome body for a naturally finished Stratocaster...
nice HX or maybe HZ kingswood station wagon with 253 V8... pull that trailer load no problem
Just my 2 cents for people complaining about the content of this Video:
- If you watch to the end, you can see the end user of the timber is an established and reputable guitar manufacturer, do you really think they would source timber from someone who didn't possess a licence / have a knowledge in what they were doing?
- Blackwood is a pretty expensive timber (at least for me on the west coast of Australia) so I highly doubt that what was taken from the tree in the video was all that was used from the tree. You saw the size of the trailer, obviously multiple trips would have been taken to recover the rest of it. Like Debra has already explained, this was just a video showing process, so not necessarily the final events that day (which most likely involved multiple trips back to the site, if not that day, in the following days).
Exactly!
Spot on. Shouldn't be hard to understand
That man could do open heart surgery with that chainsaw, a master at his craft, and those guitars are just beautiful.
Can’t believe Murray is still harvesting Blackwood from the Otways! Good on him for doing so. I met Murray in the 90s and bought half a trailer load of freshly sawn Blackwood billets which were originally destined for Maton guitars. I distinctly recall the cold morning we headed out - to a private property near the town of Forest, deep in the heart of the Blackwood country. It’s beautiful and green out there. Real rain forest environment. Trees are carefully selected before a chainsaw goes near them. The key is identifying trees with good colour, and better still fiddle back grain structure.
I can attest to Murray’s harvesting techniques - minimal environmental damage as no heavy machinery is used, not even horses. Everything is hauled out on his poor shoulders. I reckon he’d have a bloody sore back each time he falls a tree. Blackwood typically grows in deep valleys and ravines so it is very hard work getting this timber out.
Murray is well known to the instrument making industry here in Victoria - I know several guitar makers who use Murray’s Blackwood as the quality is super good.
Good health to you Murray
and yes he has a sore back but we all suffer something from what we love...
G'day ricg, my grandfather was the forestry officer in Forrest in the 30/40s I'm running a Lucas Mill in North East Vic and my cousin is running one down in Tassie, he believed in selective harvesting.
Man, you have that saw tuned great! SCREAMIN'!
Beautiful craftsmanship, love attention to detail, awesome skill with chainsaw also. Oh and beautiful guitars by the way.
Skills. And just beautiful wood
Nice wood love how well the dude with the chainsaw milled it on site
Wonderful film, thx.
Best video for in depth action by far!!!!!
This guy is a beast! I love this video.
I love the smell of 2 cycle gas/oil mix in the morning. It's the sound of victory!
Great video great looking guitars
Love the PPE !
Wow ! That wood looks like it cuts like Iron and as heavy too !
It's amazing dirt and water can turn into that.
Interestingly enough, the tree is mostly made of air and water.
Love it...
Pretty nice guitar, but I must say that was the most aggressive fret levelling I have every seen! Most luthiers do fret levelling carefully and precisely but I guess this guy has probably done this hundreds maybe thousands of times so it probably works out okay for him.i myself would never recommend a beginner try it like that because it is very easy to remove to much material to quickly. DO NOT attempt yourself if your not a expert or experienced luthier. Enjoyed the video.and looks to be a pretty well built quality instrument.
I want some! We have black walnut , juglans nigra and silver leaf maple, white oak, persimmon, black locust ( pseudo acacia) here in central Oklahoma. For soundboards we have Eastern red cedar. When I get some dried I will start the Oklahoma sustainable wood series
otwaytonewoods.com.au/species
Love it
Nice work sir,..
Love watching a MASTER with a chainsaw !! This guy knows his wood ! AWESOME video !
Thank you
How long does the wood have to sit for the moisture to get out of it, before you start using it to make a guitar?
3 months at the factory, but Murray has his own stacked that air dries
Sweet...
Where abouts in Vic was this? Otways?
Yes
Thanks, I thought it might have been. It DID look more like Tasmania!
I knew it WASN'T The Dandenongs!
Love this australian wood
Do you own thís big tree ....Sir ?
Wtf he is good in saw, hats off 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Watching you cut off the sapwood made me cry…
That should be enough for the neck. What are you making the top from?
You will have to look at the Maton site to see what timbers they use for the top, my interest for this video was showing the process from a raw resource to a musical instrument
Chestnut
What happened to the rest of the tree?
useable timber carried out and heads decompose back into the forest
Hi Debra. How long does it take to dry this wood for use. Great video
thank you. roughly Murray air dries timber in a closed room for about 3 years in 2 inch planks, then machines movement out, and when Maton receives it they kiln dry for 3 months.
he also has wood air dried for longer you can buy from him if interested www.otwaytonewoods.com.au/
Master with a chainsaw, but even with kiln drying that wood could not have been ready in a short amount of time? Beautiful instruments and some serious workmanship going into them , thanks for sharing this video.
thank you.... the tree dropped in the film is not the same as made into the instrument, but Maton use blackwood Murray Kidman cuts.
im only guessing but think took vedio cut then later on took vedio of make gutters. i got wood lay around 10 years or more. one point every time cut fire wood if nice wood i cut least few boards for cutting boards and boxes..
A MASTER NOT NO HEMET AND YOU NEVER STAY AT THE STUMP AND THE PILLOW HAAAAAAAAAAA
Vacuum kiln would dry it with little degradation or checking...those little pieces would only take a couple weeks to suck the water out at room temperature pulling 20+ inches of Hg. My question is where is this that its so tropical? The highway looks to be in the US...FL, AL or LA?
AUSTRALIA!
cool vid...somewhat cathartic. isn't this the brand guitar that Tommy Emanuel uses?
Yes
I'm sorry for my ignorance I hope anybody can tell me what kind of wood is that besides Blackwood once again thank you very much guys God bless you
otwaytonewoods.com.au/species
Si cortas un árbol deberías sembrar (plantar,etc) 10 más
agree
Which Blackwood is this cause I look at the maton website
Just says Blackwood
It looks similar to walnut or Queensland walnut I found tasmainian Blackwood which has a lighter colour than this tree
www.otwaytonewoods.com.au/
Que madeira linda ,qual nome?
'Blackwood' en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acacia_melanoxylon
Hi Debra , may we get a piece for a special neck thru 10 string guitar i'm building, 60" x 5" x 5" so my log needs to be longer please and quarter sawn at the mill. those stumps your cutting are too short and stubby, it ruins it for necks.
otwaytonewoods.com.au/home This is the business website for contact
The tree lives on.
Where did u filmed it, country
Victoria, Australia.
LOL!
Acacia Melenoxylon
Wrong thread?
How much for the big block of wood
You will have to discuss it with the business otwaytonewoods.com.au/home
How old is the tree? It is important the guitars so made from the wood bring back life.
I think about 80 years
Thsts what i need
Few of does blocks
To build my one pcs
acoustic guitar.
how long takes to dry that wood ?? ... 1 year ?? .... 2 ??
oreg beer
1 year per inch thickness, if air dried. Kiln drying speeds that way up, maybe 1 inch per month. Looks like about 6x6 blocks so maybe 6 months for the lot
great . thanks
is there any way you could put me in touch with this man
otwaytonewoods.com.au/
thank you
What license that allowed you to cut live trees? Are you in Tas or Vic?
it is a Victorian licence, the only one, to choose from an allocated lot for instrument making
Wow
Where is this at ?
Victoria, Australia
i like your busness
Minimal destruction and very satisfying 👍
Savage man
Is this the Australian Blackwood (Tasmanian Blackwood)?
Blackwood in Victoria, Australia
What kind of tree or name?
Acacia melanoxylon
Wow beautifully AWSOME,,,,,
Where?
Victoria Australia
Can anyone say who the supplier is that one may purchase some blackwood?
hello Halcyon Guitars, this is the website www.otwaytonewoods.com.au/
@@debrachant Thank you. Coincidentally I’ve had a tab to that website open for over a year. I’ve sent them dozens of emails but they’re just not answering…
i've sent a message, see if get a response after xmas
I never saw a Grenadill-tree this big!
Hello Tjerk www.otwaytonewoods.com.au/pages/species-2
Madeira Verde !!!
And how many guitars does he get out of a tree? Just asking for a friend.
lots - all blocks he cuts up onsite to measurement to book-match for backs and sides, and they are then cut to thickness (as in near start at Maton in video).
nice walnut wood
My only question is, did he make use of the entire tree? Or, did he only use the small amount of wood that we saw him carry out of the woods?
You're kidding, right? Of course he used as much as possible, else he wasted his time and effort. They make a lot of guitars and they will use every bit of that tree they can. That's how profitable businesses work.
it would be boring watching them carry it all out - very hard work!
debra chant
I'd better check guitars made from this fellow and his wood. Where are they sold and what name are they named?
He sells the timber to Maton
Amazing how people DON'T read!
There's nothing quite like the feel of a STIHL chainsaw!!
They'll cut through any kind of wood like a hot knife through butter!
...operated with skill
Nice Chainsaw
This is Australia so I would imagine that the cutting of a tree like this is carefully monitored . But who is around to notice ?
trees are allocated by the Department of Conservation, so they know
Plus the Australian Blackwood grows wildly and fast, no one really cares when they get cut down
A guy like this isnt doing ANY harm to the species. Its the otganized Chinese rosewood poachers thst are destroying the land.
Yea the trees seem to be selected to be in their prime as in wood quality, but close to their natural demise (as in if a few years the wood would deteriorate anyway and the tree would become sick/die). It's visible how the wood in the video has a big crack in the middle, that will be a rotting spot in the years to come, so him cutting it down didn't put a negative dent in the specie's population as it was already on the path to it's death.
Is this in Melbourne?
outside of Melbourne, in Victoria
Takes a long, long time for a tree to grow. Looooonnnnngggg time.
Whats your point? Let them all fall naturally and decay. Or use it for things that can be enjoyed for generations. Nothing is ever wasted depending on how you look at it. Food tossed into a landfill feeds insects and microbes and continue virvke of life
U just watched a wrong channel i guess
Is this Acacia Melanoxylon
?
otwaytonewoods.com.au/
Sawed and Aussie blackwood the other day, looks pretty much the same from what i can see
That guy id good with a chain saw
getting the blackwood with the kingswood haha good stuff
Dude has mad skills with a chainsaw.How long has he been in the bush?
his working life - a respectful master of the craft supplying instrument makers with quality timber that plays beautiful music
btw Acacia melanoxylon is the botanical name. I am intrigued, 1974 model car with Victorian number plates. There are small portable mills to do this type of work, why a chain saw. Tas Blackwood does occur in Victoria and in fact a good way up the eastern sea board but logs like that are rare outside of Tasmania. The Maton factory looked much as it did when I got a tour in 1982; has it not changed? Both the billets and the guitar looked like Blackwood. There was no defect in the log? There was no seasoning process? I think on private land under some circumstance this may be a legal practice. These timbers can be purchased via normal commercial channels, that is from a timber yard. I know this from first hand experience. Something here just ain't right?
otwaytonewoods.com.au/species
You may have got more money for that log to be sliced for veneer than you would for guitar backs and sides. How do you avoid end splitting in the drying process in all those short lengths. Most of the the Blackwood in Queensland is Sally Wattle, either broad or narrow leaf. I the 80s I sold trailer load after trailer load of it people who made kitchen doors. What an immoral waste of a finite resource. Why don't you offer other species, Myrtle or King Billy as sound boards? good luck, Craig.@@debrachant
You'll notice Murray taps the tree when he first walks into the bush, checking the resonance before he cuts.
11:30...I did that to the neck of my Martin D 28, scary but it played a lot better for it.
I wish I could have been there. Ya, another wood nut.
+zippy
I'm afraid a couple of days of that and my poor back would be shot. I'd be crawling around on the floor looking for the painkillers...
mate the bucking holden
Is it legal ?!
Murray has a licence
debra chant 😂
did anyone notice that the tree did not go where he had notched it but to the right of that!
dutched the undercut, steered it off
Kinda sad to see that giant ancient tree get cut down like that
always sad and confronting to see a tree cut down for furniture, instruments, building or firewood. you can be assured this tree has been selected with a lot of attention and care for the best tone wood and milled as efficiently as possible by a conservationist and artisan. turning that timber into a beautiful instrument by luthiers extends the life of the tree and the carbon is retained.
@@debrachant milled as efficiently as possible with a chainsaw 🤣😭
Tasmanian Blackwood?
No Victorian otwaytonewoods.com.au/home
Might want to join the Plumbers Union with all that crack in your video..lol
It was hard to avoid!
Rip trees...
I'm here because of my Maton's
Uma madeira como essa ainda demora mais de 10 anos para ficar estavel.
showing process in film, not same timber as cut tree.... of course has to be dried and cured before make instrument
I thought it a movie about tree fellers, instead it was only one
Ambientalistas fazem a festa. Hahaha
lol - that tree had enough wood for about 50,000 guitars.
Agreed! It seems a ridiculous waste of material. Surely they could add to the description above what happens to the remainder of the tree?
You'd have to assume that the section they took was only one of multiple, working their way up the tree until the thickness and/or grain dispersement was unusable.
No, just 600 guitar
And a drum set
Don Vanco l
Now you want to see blackwood?check out Mpingo wood from Africa
What’s the tone of mpingo like? Blackwood has a proven history as a tonewood.
@@thatellipsisguy8984 favored for tone & durability,some of the hardest wood on Earth,French clarinet maker uses it,can't think of the name right now but they had some issues with it exploding in the lathe while it was being made
Kevin Kendall 'sounds' great then (sorry/not sorry!).
Best wood for a bonfire.
And what scientific name of blackwood?
A master with the chainsaw!.... otwaytonewoods.com.au/home
I feel sad...
Madness
which species' name? because "blackwood" is a generic name, please
www.otwaytonewoods.com.au
I HEAR NO BIRDS SINGING IN THIS WOOD!ROCKN ROLLY!
Too deep in the gully
And he didn't quarter saw the log and yet he got straight grains.
I love guitars but I also love trees and wildlife, so there is somewhat of a personal moral dilemma for me. But I recognise that as long as the tree species' conservation status is secure, if the timber can be sourced by a reputable feller without damage to the forest ecosystem, and if the tree is checked for its habitat value (e.g. hollows for wildlife - although I don't think this particular species develops hollows) prior to felling, then one such tree can provide for alot of guitars without a negative impact on the forest ecosystem. The large scale removal of forest and native vegetation for agriculture, urban sprawl and other large industries such as woodchipping (heinous) is a far, far greater threat to the environment.
I agree...otwaytonewoods.com.au/home
Yea the trees seem to be selected to be in their prime as in wood quality, but close to their natural demise (as in if a few years the wood would deteriorate anyway and the tree would become sick/die). It's visible how the wood in the video has a big crack in the middle, that will be a rotting spot in the years to come, so him cutting it down didn't put a negative dent in the specie's population as it was already on the path to it's death.
Tree huggers please see Oregon, Washington, and California for what happens when you stop logging. Hint fire 🔥
Oh Stfu. Are u serious right now.
Necesito una guitarra :3 , pero la pobreza ustedes saben :c
I guessed was Australia with the Kingwoods
Spot on....
Who permits you to kill a tree?
He has a permit and allocated certain trees to choose from