The acoustic features of old resonance wood in violins exhibit a superior quality when compared to those from new resonance wood. This study focuses on an assessment of the sound quality of two types of wood for musical instruments, spruce and maple (class A and D), before and after aging via thermal and UV exposure. The samples were characterized before and after UV aging in terms of color change (using a Chroma meter), surface morphology (using a MarSurf XT20 instrument), chemical changes (monitored by FTIR spectroscopy), and sound propagation speed (using an ultrasound device). After UV treatment, the wavier surface increased the area of exposure and degradation. Also, the color changes were found to be more accentuated in the case of spruce compared to sycamore maple. The FTIR results indicated more advanced aging processes for spruce when compared to maple under the same experimental conditions. This difference resulted mostly from the increased formation of carbonyl-containing chromophores via oxidative processes in spruce rather than in maple, which is in agreement with the color change findings. Exposure of both species to thermal and UV radiation led to an increase in sound propagation speed, both longitudinally and radially, and to a greater extent in wood quality class A when compared to quality class D.

The literature provides very little information about engraving or decorating wood using a laser beam. No study was found that considers the surface roughness of wood after such treatments. This paper therefore aimed to find the influence of varying the laser power output and scanning speed of a CO2 laser beam on the surface roughness and colour of beech wood (Fagus sylvatica) for aesthetic applications such as decorative drawing. Laser power outputs from 5.6 to 6.8 W were tested in combination with scanning speeds from 100 to 500 mm/s. The surface roughness was assessed with a robust filter and by following measuring and evaluation recommendations from previous research to reduce the bias from the wood anatomy. The surface roughness measured by a series of roughness parameters (Ra, Rq, Rt, Rk, Rpk, Rvk) and total colour difference DE increased with laser power and decreased with scanning speed. A good correlation was found between surface roughness and wood colour change. Such correlations can be useful for selecting the laser power-scanning speed combinations capable of giving the chosen colour change at a minimum surface roughness.