Jay works with dozens of domestic and exotic woods when constructing custom guitars and ukuleles. But what is torrefied wood? The term torrefied wood refers to wood that has undergone a drying process.
From Peter Schu with Dana Bourgeois:
“Every acoustic guitar top must be dry, stiff and lightweight. For centuries, luthiers chased this holy trinity of adjectives with various methods of carving, bracing, and drying with air or kilns. In the past decade, however, a growing cohort of builders has applied the benefits of a technique used in charcoal manufacturing and the treatment of oak wood flooring to supercharge the pursuit of dry-stiff-light. That process is called torrefaction. The result – torrefied wood – is sometimes also referred to as roasted or tempered …” Read the entire article: Are Torrefied Tops the New Industry Standard? via REVERB
From Mark Dalton:
“Some of you may have already had a precursory introduction to the process and perceived benefits of wood torrefaction (also sometimes called “thermo-curing”) in relation to guitar building. Over the past couple of years, our suppliers first offered us top woods treated with the process, but we’re now seeing a limited selection of back and side woods as well. I consider the process to be one of the only real breakthroughs in guitar-building materials in my 20-year (and counting) career.” Read the entire article: Acoustic Soundboard: Torrefied Woods—Don’t be Afraid via Premier Guitar
From Colonial Tonewoods:
“Thermal curing also known as “torrefication”, “roasting” or “baking” is a drying technique which accelerates the natural aging process of wood. Once the curing process is complete, the appearance of the wood has changed- it has a golden brown coloration commonly see on many vintage instruments … Read more
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See all of the tonewoods available. Custom Guitar Tonewoods, Custom Ukulele Tonewoods
See all options including choices in Soundboards, Custom Guitar Options, Custom Ukulele Options
Jay shares a bit about the custom instrument process …