What is swamp Kauri

The term "Swamp Kauri" tends to suggest that Kauri trees grew in swamp areas. This was not the case, but rather the reverse as Kauri could not stand 'wet feet'. Over millions of years there have been great geological changes in New Zealand, involving the ice age, earthquakes, eruptions severe gales, vast floods, catastrophic landslides even continental plate movements.
Forest trees were overwhelmed by the varying forces of nature. Kauri of all ages and sizes were swept from the forest hillsides ending up in the lowland swamps, eventually to be covered by river silt and subsequent landslides to remain in a state of preservation.

How old is Swamp Kauri

The story of the New Zealand Kauri began 150 million years ago when Gondwana Land began to break up. This left New Zealand isolated and free to evolve it's own vegetation. Today, Kauri forests are the descendants of a succession of Kauri forests s going back 65 millions years, as confirmed by fossil trees and gum found in archaeological excavations.
Northland farmers working their land for many years have unearthed immense logs, some bearing the typical scaly bark and leathery spear shaped bronze-green leaves still intact as they are cleared from the peat. In the sunlight of he twentieth century the leaves and bark disintegrate within minutes, but the wood is still preserved, only darkened a little with the passing of centuries.

Creating a body from a Kauri stump to make into a work of art.

Kauri guitar bodies are works of art and used exclusively on Langcaster guitars. We developed a special treatment to stop the solid wood body from cracking and it is coated with layers of epoxy, then several high gloss lacquer finishes are applied creating a hard high gloss surface .

The Kauri wood we used is carbon dated and identified to be over 35000 years old. This makes your guitar unique in the world and a collectors item .

The carbon dating has been done by The University of Waikato of New Zealand and the University of Groningen Holland

For the technically minded: at 12 percent moisture content
the density of kauri is 560 kg/m3; the modulus of rupture is
88 Mpa; the modulus of elasticity 9.1 Gpa. When drying from
green to 12 percent moisture content tangential shrinkage is
4.1 percent and radial shrinkage is 2.3 percent.

If you like the 35000 year old Kauri swamp root guitars you will be impressed with the magnificent tables and sculptures made by Jaap Tediek the best Kauri artist in New Zealand. To see his work and the sales price of his works see: Kauricraft.co.nz

For all guitar related questions contact Joh Lang