A lost ancient forest now sitting on the bottom of Lake Superior may become a unique source of rare wood for musical instruments, particularly violins.
But the violins will play only if enough large logs can be found.The company recovering the logs says there may be millions of them just waiting to be harvested. But others familiar with the lake are skeptical, saying there may be far fewer than that.
How much success Superior Water-Logged Lumber Co. enjoys will hinge on who is right.
"We expect this to revolutionize the musical instrumentmaking industry," said Scott Mitchen, a professional underwater treasure hunter and president of Superior Water-Logged Lumber.
His company recovers logs from Lake Superior and elsewhere that sank after becoming waterlogged while they were being floated to sawmills during the lumbering era, which began in the early 1800s and peaked from the 1870s to the 1890s.
The "Jurassic Park of wood," as Mitchen describes the sunken logs, includes birch, oak, maple, ash, pine and hemlock. The recovered logs are kiln-dried and cut.
So far, a maple log large enough to provide the wood for a complete violin has not been found. Many maple logs would be necessary to establish a credible wood supply for the instruments.
So far, two acoustical instruments have been manufactured - a guitar made from red birch, which will be given to singer Johnny Cash next month, and a dulcimer.
Maple logs must be at least a yard in diameter, said Joseph Nagyvary, a biochemist at Texas A&M University who studies and makes violins. Nagyvary has examined samples of maple recovered from Lake Superior and thinks the water-soaked wood could produce musical instruments of similar quality to the famous violins of Antonio Stradivari.
"The important practical issue is how many logs are down there. The company may be too optimistic about the number of maples," Nagyvary said.
The wood from water-soaked, old growth maples is similar to the wood used by Stradivari to make his violins nearly 400 years ago, according to Nagyvary. The instruments were made from wood that had been soaked for long periods.
In a biochemical analysis of maple wood recovered from Lake Superior, Nagyvary found strong similarities between it and the wood used by Stradivari, he said.
"These results make me hopeful that a major improvement in violinmaking could be achieved if this quality wood could be found in large enough size," Nagyvary said in a letter to the company.
"Perhaps we could compete with the excellence of Stradivari on even footing with this kind of wood if the grain remains tight over a 6-inch stretch. This is, of course, very good news for your company, but it all turns on the success of finding enough maple logs which are large enough," he wrote.
Instrumentmaker Chris Hinton, who works at Superior Water-Logged Lumber, said the instruments' unique sound results from the bacterial removal of gums and resins in the cells of the wood while under water.
"The recovered maple is specifically suited to violins. You don't find wood like this anymore," Hinton said.
Acoustical musical instruments are one of the uses that have been found for the treasured wood.
Leick Furniture Inc., in Sheboygan, Wis., is using recovered oak to create a limited edition of antique-appearing "Ashland curio cabinets," which will be sold through Porter's of Racine. The cost: $2,500.
The success of the company will depend on both the number of logs in the lake and finding more uses for the lumber. So far, Superior Water-Logged Lumber has yet to make a profit, Mitchen said. Stock in its parent company, Enviro-Recovery Inc., has been available over the counter for two months, selling in the $3.50 range.
But Mitchen said one or two good contracts to supply wood will get the firm into the black.
Superior Water-Logged, based in Ashland, has 25 employees.
During the logging boom of the last century, when Wisconsin led the nation in timber production by clear-cutting massive virgin forests, logs were lost when they sank. Often, because of the low water temperatures, the logs did not rot.
Nobody knows how many logs sank into the depths of Lake Superior, the other Great Lakes, inland lakes or rivers. And estimates depend on whom you ask.
Tony Kopp, who uses sonar to find logs for Superior Water-Logged Lumber, estimates "millions and millions."