Isolation blocks - wood

[slwiser]

Thought of the week.

I went to a Woodcrafter store and found some interesting pen blanks that would work as isolation blocks.

They are 0.75" sq by 5" long in a variety of woods. I got 10 bloodwood blanks for 13.99$. This is a lot cheaper than other blocks. These have a nice red color as well that can be finished in desired.

www.woodcraft.com/search/search.aspx?query=wood+black+pen+

for example.

[mrarroyo]

Tung oil as a finish would cool!

Pure Tung Oil provides a hard and tough surface finish that is absolutely waterproof; impervious to dust, alcohol, acetone, fruit and vegetable acids; and it doesn't darken with age like Linseed and other vegetable oils. All of these benefits come at a price - pure Tung Oil takes forever to dry, it doesn't penetrate the wood surface very well, and it is expensive when compared to other drying oils. Tung Oil is a "reactive" finish, commonly called a "drying" oil, in that it will dry and harden when exposed to air.
Everyone asks me about Tung Oil, but nobody wants to use it because Tung Oil is not a fast finish. It takes a lot of time. But, it is a simple and forgiving finish, and when done properly, its beauty is unmatched. Sometimes we try too hard to avoid the slow and simple things in our modern high-tech lives.
I have used the stuff for years and I can share what I have learned. Other oils are commonly used in finishes because they are less expensive. Linseed, Soybean, Walnut, Sunflower, Orange, and other fruit, nut and vegetable oils are oils that make suitable finishes for wood. Linseed and Soybean Oil are most often used in commercial finishes. Although neither are a natural "drying oil", the addition of metallic drying agents make them suitable for finishing.

[aurum]

Ebony is regarded as the best wood for isolation due to the hardness & resonate properties. I believe maple also has a good reputation in your part of the world

[slwiser]

Here is a link that describes the various woods and their properties:

Bloodwood specifically: www.woodworkerssource.net/Merchant3/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=WS&Category_Code=Bloodwood

[rowuk]

It is interesting to me that no other industry uses wood as an acoustical isolation material. Recording studios avoid any type of "hard" material as soundwaves travel through them. Musical instruments are built out of wood specifically for its wide band resonant properties. Clarinets and oboes are made of grenadilla wood (as hard as ebony). Recorders are made of ebony, olive and many other types. Violins, violas, celli and string basses are made from woods in the pine family. The story is always the same: a hard wood for projection, a soft wood to form the sound. I seriously doubt the "isolation properties" at audio frequencies EXCEPT perhaps for LDF or MDF.