Relationship among extractive, lignin and holocellulose contents with performance index of seven wood species used for bows of string instruments

Eduardo Luiz Longui (1) , Iris Brémaud (2, 3) , Francides Gomes da Silva Junior (4) , Daniel Romeu Lombardi (5) , Edenise Segala Alves (6)

1 Instituto Florestal
2 LMGC - Laboratoire de Mécanique et Génie Civil
3 MAB - Mécanique de l'Arbre et du Bois
4 Departamento de Ciencias Florestais
5 Arcos Lombardi
6 Instituto de Botânica

In this paper we investigate the influence of extractives, lignin and holocellulose contents on performance index (PI) of seven woods used or tested for violin bows. Woods with higher values of this index (PI = √MOE/ρ, where MOE is modulus of elasticity and ρ is density) have a higher bending stiffness at a given mass, which can be related to bow wood quality. Extractive content was negatively correlated with PI in Caesalpinia echinata, Handroanthus sp. and Astronium lecointei. In C. echinata holocellulose was positively correlated with PI. These results need to be further explored with more samples and by testing additional wood properties. Although the chemical constituents could provide an indication of quality, it is not possible to establish appropriate woods for bows solely by examining their chemical constituents.

Mots clés: Caesalpinia echinata; elastic properties; sound velocity; specific gravity; wood chemistry

Domaines: Matériaux

Eduardo Luiz Longui, Iris Brémaud, Francides Gomes da Silva Junior, Daniel Romeu Lombardi, Edenise Segala Alves. Relationship among extractive, lignin and holocellulose contents with performance index of seven wood species used for bows of string instruments. IAWA Journal, 2012, 33 (2), pp.141-149. ⟨10.1163/22941932-90000085⟩. ⟨hal-00808970⟩