Wood: pores?

[belbein]

Here's a question that has occurred to me since I've been building: When people talk about "pores," what do they mean? I know what grain is (duh) but "pores" eludes me.

The immediate context is French Polishing. "You'll know you'll be done with pumicing when the pores are filled." What does this look or feel like?

If there are pictures anywhere ...

[Shelagh Moore]

Perhaps a 3D representation like this one can help.

[Tavy]

The pores are the tiny holes you can see in the surface... they look like...well...pores

[Bluetickhound]

Hoadley's books on woods (I think one is called Understanding Wood and another is called Identifying Wood) are fantastic resources for the subject... Thanks be to John Hamlett for cluing me in on those books!!

[sunburst]

Pores are vessel elements. In some woods they are larger than in other woods, and until they are big enough for us to see and feel and have to fill with something to get a smooth finish, we ignore them. When people say spruce and maple don't have pores, that's what's going on; they're ignoring the pores because they are small enough to be, well, ignored, when it comes to applying finish.

[David Newton]

Someone with great respect and credibility in the "instrument player" world, like you John, should start a rumor on the forums, that open pores allow the great sound and tone of the wood to pour forth, and that filling pores stifles the instrument to death.
And it would be the truth, right?

[MikeEdgerton]

http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/person...grainterms.htm

Scroll down to Open Pores.

[belbein]

http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/person...grainterms.htm

Scroll down to Open Pores.

Thanks, Mike. This was EXACTLY what I needed. A great resource!

[belbein]

Richard, Mike, all: thank you for your answers. What an education! At least I won't ask THIS stupid question again! I very much appreciate y'all's taking time to answer.

[CedarSlayer]

Some folk say that softwood does not have pores. Don't believe them. On this site you can click on the black and white image to see that the wood we call spruce, is pores. Typically the pores run up and down on most sound boards, but since we carve, a lot of pores are exposed. Violin makers who debate and try to emulate the great violins have published reams of theories on how to seal off pores so that the varnish does not seep into the pores and ruin the quality of the sound board. Egg, resins, sugars, borax, ash, pond water, river water, glue, and a wide range of grits are only a few of the materials that have been mixed up and smeared on spruce to try and keep the pores from being filled up.

While I don't want to try and make a mandolin that sounds like a violin, it is worth looking at what other luthiers do. It is pretty apparent that the F5 evolved from a close examination of violin making methods.

Bob