Iron wood on Ratzenberger
woodburnbob
>Last night I saw another edition of John Ratzenberger's Made in America. One of the three sites visited was Gibson Bagpipes in Ohio (http://www.gibsonpipes.com).
I thought I heard Mr. Gibson say the wood used was Black African Iron Wood, which sinks in water. Then I thought I heard him say it was also called Bubinga. If that's what he said I'd think it was a gross error.
Anybody want to respond with a little treatise on the two woods?
Otherwise, it was a very informative show demonstrating the use of machinist lathes and procedures in the production of a precision musical instrument. The only handtool work I saw was applying a finish to the wood with a brush...which isn't to say each piece wasn't the direct result of some degree of hand-brain-eye coordination.