Anyone know what kind of wood this is? Its very heavy, dense and has a multi-colored tight grain. I have turned bowls out of this wood and found that it works good and takes finishes well. I have no idea where it came from as it was given to me by a neighbor here in So. California several years ago.
Replies
From where I'm sitting, with the sun glaring on the monitor, it looks like purple heart
PURPLEHEART....I agree.
gk
Except ... if it were purpleheart, wouldn't Jack have noticed - just as soon as he turned the first piece - that the newly exposed wood quickly turned purple?
Maybe cocobolo? (The second picture looks sorta coco-y - see below) Or ipe?
Clay
View Image
Definitely not Purpleheart. I admit my photos were not the best. It takes a real talent to capture the color and texture with the correct lighting angle. Looking at the photo in your post, the colors are somewhat similar but the grain pattern is different.
Bubinga? Slainte.
Jack,
Rosewood smells, funnily enough, sweet to work. Like a rose.
I've never worked Bubinga but apparently it smells terrible when first cut
For what it's worth, I'd put my money with either cocobolo or bubinga, maybe even genuine rosewood; one of the 'dalbergia' or similar species in any case. If I was to wager, I'd say stick with Sgian - he's covered a fair bit in the trade.
Does the wood have a scent when you work it?
Cheers,
eddie
edit: links to help you ID.
http://www.gilmerwood.com/rosewoods.htm
http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/archives/forestry/hough/index.html
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&client=REAL-tb&q=bubinga+characteristics
http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/#letterA
Edited 5/9/2004 8:00 am ET by eddie (aust)
In the few small projects I have made so far using this wood I have not noticed any peculiar smell when cutting or turning the stock. I know it is definitely not rosewood.
Edited 5/9/2004 2:05 pm ET by jack
I browsed through some of Eddie's suggested web sites and found some very good pictures. The pictures of Bubinga looked very similar in grain, pattern and color. (I just don"t detect any smell when I cut it.) Ipe is a distant second. Thanks for your help. My next question is what might be the best use of this wood? I have 2 pieces of 8/4 and 6/4 about 7-8 inches wide and 8-10 ft long. Book cases? Table? Turnings? Birdhouses?
Jack,
I'm real curious about your wood because I think I have several pieces of the same stuff. Mine turns real well but has a strong smell of sour milk(ie baby puke) when first cut...and then the smell goes away. It's very dense with pores like mahogany..its color is like old mahogany...a slight oilyness...but a rather weak grain contrast (growth rings)when flat sawn. Is that consistent with your sample?
I do have some purple heart and while the density is similar, my samples are browner and deep red...
could be ipe,brazialian hardwood use for decking,made some furniture (outdoor) from it.when cut does it create a greenish dust
Brazillian Cherry?
John
Jack, this is just a wild guess, but the figure of the wood in your photos resembles that of Indian laurel; Terminalia tomentosa. Some of your other clues also fit. This species has an average specific gravity of 0.73, which would put it about midway between our densest native hickories and the softer of the rosewoods (i.e., rather dense). Also, it is virtually without odor or taste when seasoned. The other interesting thing is that it and other members of this genus (AKA the "Indian almonds") are used for landscaping purposes in Southern California. It's a real "white knuckle" challenge to work with hand tools, but it machines well and is a good choice for turning projects.
I looked at some pictures of East Indian Laurel on the Web. Some of the pictures seemed to be similar in color and grain but the Bubinga still has the lead. Hard to believe that wood this bequtiful would be used for landscape work.
Jack, if it were bubinga, your nose would let you know. Species in the bubinga genus; Guibourtia, have a powerful scent.
---
As for my reference that Indial laurel is used as a landscaping species, I meant that it is planted as a cultivar...not that the wood is used for landscaping purposes. Actually, the wood of most of the species in the Terminalia genus have poor, or at best only moderate decay resistance.
Edited 5/11/2004 9:03 am ET by Jon Arno
Jon- Maybe my sense of smell is not up to par. Also, thanks for the further info on the use of Indian Laurel.
Thanks for chipping in here Jon, must admit it's one I've never heard of.
I'll see if there's some around - may be cheaper here than bubinga, and if it looks that close . . . .
Cheers,
eddie
It looks like Brazilian Cherry (or Jutoba) to me. There has been a mass influx of this wood in the states lately.
Victor Addotta
Adotta- I found some pictures of a wood called Jatoba. The colors seemed to vary widely but some were virtually identical to what I have. If its not Bubinga (due to lack of smell) then Jatoba is now the leading candidate. Do you have any technical data on this wood or recommended uses?
Hello, I have seen this wood, often referred to as Brazilian Cherry, used as flooring material. I have not worked it much but it was hell on my planer and saw blades.
Victor AddottaAddotta
Jack, if the wood you have is jatoba, your nose should pick up a faint resinous odor. This species; Hymenaea courbaril, contains a copal-like gum that was once used for making varnish. Another clue resulting from this high gum content is that jatoba sort of self polishes when you rub it and develops a waxy luster. Basically, polishing it causes it to produce its own natural varnish on the surface. For this reason, it's an excellent wood for making tool handles.
Edited 5/12/2004 10:04 pm ET by Jon Arno
Jon- The wood does indeed seem to self-polish when I rub it. But surely there must be a better use of the wood than making tool handles.
Jack, jatoba makes outstanding flooring and it's a good general purpose cabinetwood for furniture that is destined to take some abuse, like tables and chairs. The primary downside is it is substantially denser than necessary for a lot of cabinetmaking applications, making it necessary to expend more effort in working with it. Blades need to be sharpened a little more often, also...But while you're recuperating from the ordeal, you can sit back and enjoy the beauty of the finished piece.
With its rich, natural dark cherry color, this wood is absolutely stunning. It's a reasonably good substitute for some of the lighter Asian rosewoods. Although, it's a little courser textured and not as dark or dense as the now very rare Brazilian rosewood, functionally it's still one of the better heavy-duty cabinetwoods. It turns well and even very slender spindles have good shock absoption properties (i.e., it's moderately elastic, as opposed to brittle)...Also, it has excellent decay resistance, if you want to use it for exterior projects.
Thanks for the insight into the kinds of projects which might be suitable.
Not to highjack, but how does jatoba compare to macaranduba ("Bolivian Cherry")? I have a bunch left over from a flooring project....
I will tell you the dust is the only wood dust that really bothers me. I get a tightness in the chest, and it feels as though it's hard to breathe, even though it's not. I wear a mask now.
Jon, You're not highjacking anything. This thread has been all over the lot...So, your introduction of macaranduba (also sometimes spelled massaranduba) is right on topic.
This timber is not closely related to jatoba, even though the trade sometimes dresses up their common names with the term "cherry". In fact, neither of these timbers has anything to do with true cherry, which is a member of the rose family; Rosaceae. Jatoba belongs to the legume family, Leguminosae, so it's more closely related to the rosewoods. On the other hand, macaranduba belongs to the Sapotaceae family. It's cut from members of the genus; Manilkara, and this genus (sometimes lumped in with the genus; Mimusops, which is mostly an Old World genus) is spread all over the New World tropics, from southern Florida to southern Brazil. The Sapotaceae family also produces a very tasty tropical fruit; sapodilla, or dilly fruit...in fact, one of macaranduba's other common names in parts of Central America is "wild dilly"...It's also sometimes known as beefwood or bullet wood in the West Indies.
Most of the species in this genus produce rather dense, fine textured woods that are typically reddish brown in color...which probably explains the "cherry" trade reference. I suspect the irritation you are experiencing when working with macaranduba relates to its sap. Species in this family produce a latex-like sap (balata) that bothers some people. Wear a dust mask and be sure to wash the dust off your skin after working with it. You don't want the irritation to develop into a serious allergy...and if the irritation steadily gets worse, it's probably a wood you should avoid completely.
Edited 5/14/2004 9:08 pm ET by Jon Arno
'scuse me? Everything I do for fun is bad for my ears, so you'll have to speak up! ;)
Sorry Jon, take another look at my last post. I got my fingers on the wrong keys and had to actually turn the computer off to blow away whatever it was that I had screwed up...So, I went back to the original post and (using the Edit feature) finished the message. Computers aren't my long suit.
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