chris, is this the lignum vitae you are talking about?
(this is a babelfish-translation from a german site)
angela
Kind Hardwood
botanischer name Guaiacum Spp.
Guaiacum guatemalense
botanische family Zygophyllaceae
Occurrence South America, Central America and west India.
From three species one wins, which from the southern Florida over of
the Bahamas until the Jamaica, Cuba and west India, from Mexico over
central America until Venezuela and Colombia to grow.
Protection of species agreement is subject to the commercial
monitoring after the which hanging toner. Retracting and extending
must be approved.
Appearance Height to 10 m, diameters to 0,5 m.
Blackbrown - yellowish touched, split pin dark-yellow, darkgreenish-
brown or almost black also closely wechseldrehwuechsigem fiber
direction and a fine, even texture. Pores small, absent-minded.
Increase zones not clearly.
Characteristics Darrdichte is on the average about 1200 kg/m³. Wood
dries slowly and heavily and is inclined to tearing. Works
moderately, had in all categories however outstanding values and a
very high pressure strength.
Processing The wood is very hard, inflexibly and much heavyworks on.
Unsuitable to bending to work on and cut very with difficulty by
machine. With difficulty to stick, however polish assumes well.
Wood preservation Extremely age-resistingly and resistant to wood
preservation treatment.
Use Because of its self-lubricating characteristics for maritime
purposes and hydraulic engineering, furthermore for car wheels,
guidance, castors, gear wheels, balls, schlaegel, hammers, tools,
textile industry
Specific gravity 1.20 - 1.40
Pressure strength 80 - 126 N/mm²
Bending strength 141 - 177 N/mm²
N. hardens Brinell
12% humidity H BII = 155 - 165, H BI = 90 N/mm²
German
* venezuelanisches Pockholz
English
* Lignum Vitae
* Verawood
French
* Gaieac
Netherlands
* Pokhout
* Vera Pok
********************************************
Am 07.02.2008 um 21:56 schrieb Chris Nogy:
The bearings are already prepared, Lignum Vitae (from my oldest
stock, 4 pieces that made up a shaft bearing in an old steamship.
This wood is pressure, oil and steam 'seasoned', and is tough and
stable. I made a roofing hammer head out of a piece, had to use
metal milling equipment to make the hammer head, and used it
through a whole season of building a large addition on my parents
house. It was an amazing hammer - it is now the property of a
close friend who still uses it to this day.
I have some new Lignum Vitae on the shelves for not-so-critical
projects, but this one gets only the very best.
Was Lignum Vitae a European wood available at that time? I thought
it was indigneous to the West Indes, so at that time (The late
1300s - early 1400s in Europe it probably would not have been
known. I was thinking perhaps oil soaked linden or ash, as both
were strong and common woods of the time, might have been used as
bearings. I will use Lignum Vitae because it maintains the spirit
of the build, and I think that it will start out similar to what
might have been used, only maintain that standard longer.
Again, I am not going for the experience of being a medieval owner
of a medieval instrument. I want the sound experience, and I want
to be able to maintain that experience over time without a lifetime
of mechanical maintenance.
Chris
