Okay, I guess I'll share. Still being relatively new to bodhran playing, I find my
Tipper preferences have changed over time, going from thicker, knobbier tippers to narrower, heavier ones in the past year. I've been milling tippers over the past year and a half and have been experimenting with different woods and lengths (and learning as I go along what seems to work and what doesn’t). Some of these tippers appear below in rough order of age. The longest one is about 11 inches or about 28 cm.
1 & 2 - Made of ash - Very light with a pronounced wood grain.
3 - Plum wood - Reasonably dense, producing a deep sound.
4 - Ironwood - Very dense wood. I wish I had made the ends smaller. They produce too much inertia when playing.
5 - Maple – Fairly light, but too small to do much with it.
6 & 7 - Lilac wood - Surprisingly dense. I use #7 a lot and find it produces a fuller sound like a bulkier tipper. The polyurethane finish makes it slippery, but it brings out the purple grain. It’s great for more nimble playing.
8 - Aspen - Way too light, so it doesn’t produce much volume, but it mills easily.
9, 10 & 11 - Oak - I find the oak wood grain doesn't lend itself to a smooth finish, even with a lot of sanding. It can be a bit light for playing. #10 is just a modified wooden dowel from the local home improvement store. It’s not bad for a 25 cent piece of wood, and isn’t missed if lost.
12 - Rosewood - The one piece of wood I had was about an inch shorter than I would have liked, but it produced a smooth finish and has good weight.
13 & 14 - Bubinga – I found this in a local woodworking store. It’s similar to cocobolo in appearance and density, so it’s quite heavy. One advantage it has over cocobolo is that it doesn't produce skin irritation for which cocobolo is known. It’s my current favorite.
I plan to experiment more with lilac and bubinga in the spring once I can get back into the garage to work on the wood lathe. To date, I’ve been using a polyurethane, wood stain, or Danish oil finish, but will try to use progressively finer sandpapers to produce a naturally polished finish.
Cheers,
Dietmar
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