Hi David,
Southern California is a desert and I'm always jealous of my fellow Creekers in areas where great domestic hardwoods are readily available, you know "my neighbor cut down a 200 deal-year-old Walnut tree on his property and now I have 500 board feet of awesome lumber".
This may be my one and only "wood gloat"; there is a local lumber yard here caters to the high and and instrument maker market (tropical exotic hardwoods of South America). They have awesome stuff but it's usually way out of my price range, nonetheless I dropped a fair amount of change there over the years.
The wood for this project was 40-year-old Cuban mahogany the a bought in an estate sale from a cabinetmaker who had passed away. I have no idea if that's true, but it didn't stop me from buying it for way more than I would ever admit to the LOML. (what said on the creek stays in the Creek – I'm holding you guys to that!). All I know it was a dream to work with and if I ever win the lottery, all by as much as I find!
Best, Mike