In my previous post I described some future woods and combinations I have lined up for my next set of kanteles. One of the difficult parts of instrument building is sourcing quality woods, and for a DIYer, quality exotic woods can cost a lot if you do not know where to look. Below are some places that I have ordered from, either regularly or a few times for some specialty pieces, and are some of the best sources I have found for my projects. There are always other places I have checked, and I will post a page sometime in the future dedicated to materials sources.
1.) D&D Hardwoods
http://www.dndhardwoodsonline.com/
- exotic/regular thin cut woods for soundboards, backboards, ponsi, accents, frames, and general projects
This place has to be one of my all time favorite sources for wood, period. D&D Hardwoods has an excellent selection of woods. And what makes them unique and stand out from other places is that they carry a huge variety of thin cut woods. Anywhere from 3/4" all the way down to 1/16" thick, which are perfect for many parts of my kantele, and other projects in general. The great thing too is they also carry these woods from 4" wide all the way up to 9" wide for some of more common woods. And can be ordered in increments from 1' to 4' long. This is my default go-to place for foods for soundboards, backboards, side accents, ponsi, and decorative headplates for my smaller sized kantele. And the other great thing is that there is no minimum order, which I have found very difficult to find elsewhere for such a great stock of small sized thin-cut lumber. I have ordered from them many times and I have never had a problem. Their service is phenomenal, and their shipping is very fast. And the woods are always excellent quality. The only thing, which isn't a problem at all for me, and that they state on their website, is that the edges along the long sides of the wood are rough cut. But the top, bottom, and ends are sanded flat and very well. All of my completed kantele so far have woods from here, with kanteles #001-#004 having the majority of woods from this source, which includes the soundboard, backboard, decorative headplate, and ponsi.
2.) Westpenn Hardwoods
https://www.westpennhardwoods.com/default.aspx
- exotic turning blanks for sides, frame, ponsi, and general projects
Also another one of my all-time favorite sources for woods. Westpenn hardwoods has an incredible array and supply of many, many exotic woods. Here you will find turning blanks for any project you can think of. Another place with excellent products, service, quality, prices, and shipping. I have ordered from here as well countless of times and have never been disappointed. The kanteles that use woods from here (or will use woods from here) include:
- kantele #002 and #003 for the tuning peg shelf - african mahogany
- kantele #004 for the frame - bubinga
- kantele #005 for the frame - cocobolo (previous post)
- kantele #006 for the frame - bocote (previous post)
- kantele #008 for the frame - east indian rosewood (previous post)
Now this place is excellent for exotic woods for kantele frames, but a little creativity and patience is needed. First off, these woods are sold as turning blanks. Sometimes they are offered kiln dried and ready to go, but most often are air dried or in the process of drying. I have never had a problem, but care should be taken sometimes. To use these woods for the sides, I buy a 1.5"x1.5" by either 24" long for my smaller kanteles or above 24" long for my larger kanteles, and get these ripped in half with a table saw to get two matching sets of 1.5" wide x 0.75" thick x whatever length I have chosen. This way you can use exceptionally beautiful, rare, and exotic woods for the frames. For the tuning peg shelf I buy a 1.5"x1.5"x12" or 18" long turning blank, and for the front part of the frame I usually get a 2"x2"x3" turning blank and cut to shape for my smaller kantele, or a wider piece for larger kanteles. If you do rip the pieces for the sides, there will probably be a little bit of warping later due to the natural processes of the wood. This again has not been too much of a problem for me, but can sometimes be tricky to deal with. However, if you are careful, you will end up with some beautiful and unique pieces of wood for the frame that would cost a fraction of the price anywhere else.
3.) The Walnut Place
http://www.thewalnutplace.com/
- specialty pieces of curly and figured walnut and other woods
I have only ordered from here once before, but the service and prices for what I got was excellent. If you want cheaper woods from here though you will need to check the discount lumber section, which is always the place I go when browsing for woods from here. This place can be a but more pricey than others on the list depending on what you are looking for, but has a beautiful selection of curly walnut for very good prices that is hard to find elsewhere. All of the other sources do not carry curly walnut, and I still think it is the best source for exceptional pieces of walnut that I have been able to find yet. The other really great thing about here was that I was able to get the woods cut to size for a very small fee. I ordered the curly claro walnut strips and the paradox walnut blocks for my kantele #007 (see previous post for details). I got a great deal on these pieces, and was even able to get the original board for the sides ripped and cut to size, which was a tremendous help. I definitely plan on ordering more wood here for future projects, as sources for curly walnut at these prices is hard to find. The owner, Robert Beauchamp, is extremely friendly and helpful, and was a pleasure to work with.
4.) Kettle Moraine Hardwoods
http://www.kmhardwoods.com/
- general and exotic pieces for small and large kantele
I have also only ordered from here once, but like The Walnut Place, I was provided with excellent service, great prices, and some beautiful boards. I got my two butternut boards, (which I haven't posted pictures of yet but will sometime in the future), from here. Butternut, as mentioned earlier, is becoming more scarce, especially for larger boards. One of the plus sides to KM Hardwoods is the custom cutting services for woods. While talking with them, they even sent me pictures of the pieces they had that fit my description of what I was looking for before I went ahead and purchased anything, which was a real plus, as not many places do this. The boards were in perfect condition and exactly what I was looking for. I will definitely be ordering from here again for larger width boards for larger kanteles and other projects.
5.) Kencraft Company
http://www.kencraftcompany.com/index.htm
- general and exotic pieces for small and large kantele
I have ordered from here a couple of times, and have been very happy with the results. This is yet another great source of custom cut lumber and thin boards of both domestic and exotic species of woods at great prices. Shipping and services are very good, and the several very large custom pieces I ordered from them were of excellent quality. Shipping might be a little bit slower from here due to how they schedule custom cutting and shipping, but I have not had problems with it. Like KM Hardwoods, this is a great source for larger custom pieces of wood at very good prices which is often quite difficult to find.
Extra Sources and Info:
1.) Kantele #001 Info: http://oertheeternalstrings.blogspot.com/2014/10/kantele-001.html
2.) Kantele #002 Info: http://oertheeternalstrings.blogspot.com/2014/11/kantele-002.html
3.) Kantele #003 Info: http://oertheeternalstrings.blogspot.com/2014/11/kantele-003.html
4.) Kantele #004 Info: http://oertheeternalstrings.blogspot.com/2015/01/kantele-004.html
5.) Future Wood Choices: http://oertheeternalstrings.blogspot.com/2015/01/some-future-kantele-wood-choices.html
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