808 Washington St (Rt. 53) Pembroke, MA 02359 (781) 826-3632 Wells Custom built from the rare quilted or "Turtleback" mahogany wood from "The Tree" crafted by Sylvan Wells, Luthier embedded mp3 is Peter Eldridge playing the "Tree" |
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"The Tree" |
In 1965, in the Honduras Chicibul jungle, a party of loggers discovered a large mahogany tree - over 100 ft. high and 10 ft. in diameter. The spiraled bark indicated that the wood might be highly figured. The tree was felled, however it fell into a ravine and was impossible to remove with the equipment on hand. It remained where it fell for the next 18 years. Rumors of the tree's existence remained and it was finally recovered and floated 70 miles downstream to a mill. When opened at the mill, the log was revealed to be the rarest of the figured mahoganies, technically known as "blistered" or "quilted". The exact cause of the grain pattern is not known, however it is believed to be due to a genetic defect. Most of the harvested wood from the tree went to high-end furniture makers, however some boards found their way to a limited number of luthiers and luthier supply shops. As of 1985, only about 1000 bd. ft. remained. A reward remains for the discovery of another tree like it. To date, none have been found anywhere on the planet. Luthier Sylvan Wells was commissioned to build a custom guitar a few years back. The customer stated he would supply the wood. When Sylvan discovered that the wood was from the rare "Tree" he was able to convince the customer to supply enough for two additional guitars. He is keeping one. Re-Tunes acquired the second, displayed here. |
