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Fit & Finish Fit and Finish = the difference in "good art" and "fine art." Join in, as we discuss the fine art of finish and embellishment.

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  #1  
Old 10-09-2012, 09:10 PM
metal99 metal99 is offline
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Wood identification help please!

Not sure where I should actually post this thread but I hope it's ok here.

I got a carving that was apparently done in Mexico. I was told it was "ironwood" but that just isn't enough for me. I would like to actually know what type of wood it actually is because "ironwood" is used for quite a few hard dense woods.

This stuff is really heavy and as hard as a rock. You can't damage it with your fingernail at all. I cut it up into scales with the bandsaw and it really changed the look of the wood. It was purchased in Mexico 20+ years ago for ten dollars. I sure hope the pictures are good enough for somebody to help me identify this stuff.

Thanks for looking!



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  #2  
Old 10-09-2012, 09:40 PM
Doug Lester Doug Lester is offline
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Yes, I would say that it's Desert Ironwood. It's not really a tree; it's actually a legume that grows like a bush. The price of it is starting to go up because the harvest is restricted over much of it's range with a lot of illegal harvesting going on.

Doug


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Old 10-09-2012, 09:57 PM
metal99 metal99 is offline
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Thanks Doug, can the desert ironwood vary quite a bit in colors? I have some Arizona desert ironwood and its quite a bit darker but still shares the same amber hues.
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  #4  
Old 10-10-2012, 04:47 AM
fguido fguido is offline
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I beleave this wood is "Jacarand? da Bahia", I have a bit this wood and your picture is similar of mine.
This wood in the past (30 years ago) was popular in Brazil, but today is rare. I use this wood to turn pen and pencils. Outher wood similar this your wood is the "Muraicatiara" very popular in Brazil.

See in link the pictures about I talk.
http://www.google.com.br/imgres?imgu...ed=0CBgQ9QEwAg


Regards

Last edited by fguido; 10-10-2012 at 04:49 AM. Reason: Make corretion
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  #5  
Old 10-10-2012, 04:50 AM
fguido fguido is offline
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See for "Jacarand?" in this link

http://www.google.com.br/imgres?imgu...ed=0CBgQ9QEwAg
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  #6  
Old 10-10-2012, 01:28 PM
Doug Lester Doug Lester is offline
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Yes, it can vary some in color. Just go to Jantz's online catalog and check out the various grades of Desert Ironwood that they show there.

The second view that you posted does look a bit like the Jacaranda but the first picture, along with the description of the wood, looks more like Desert Iron Wood. Be aware when working from just the pictures that all you will be getting is best opinions. Something on the order of scientific wild @ss guesses. If there is a supplier of exotic hardwoods near you, you might consider taking it in and having them look at it.

Doug


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Old 10-10-2012, 08:46 PM
metal99 metal99 is offline
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There are a couple places that sell exotic woods here. I should take a piece in and see what they say. I was working with some cocobolo today and the smell is almost identical to this "mystery" wood carving I have.
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Old 10-12-2012, 07:16 AM
bob levine bob levine is offline
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Ironwood is very dense and hard. Average weight per cu. ft. os 84 lbs. colors vary greatly as does pattern. Shows curls and long varied colored lines. beautiful stuff. Splinters will infect overnight and push to the surface for removal from hands and fingers.
Bob Levine, mentor for Tenn. Knifemakers Guild

Last edited by bob levine; 10-12-2012 at 07:17 AM. Reason: spelling
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  #9  
Old 10-12-2012, 11:04 AM
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Gary Mulkey Gary Mulkey is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by metal99 View Post
There are a couple places that sell exotic woods here. I should take a piece in and see what they say. I was working with some cocobolo today and the smell is almost identical to this "mystery" wood carving I have.
Sometimes your nose can tell you more than your eyes can. The cut on this one has the look of cocobolo and that may be what your mystery wood is. If you have worked with ironwood you will recognize the smell which is quite different than the smell of cocobolo.

Gary


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  #10  
Old 10-13-2012, 07:39 PM
metal99 metal99 is offline
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It is completely different on the inside then it is on the outside. On the outside it looks just like my Arizona desert ironwood but the inside is to me like a cross between cocobolo and kingwood. The smell is nowhere close to my AD ironwood and almost identical to cocobolo. It's just missing a lot of the red tones and near black streaks that cocobolo has.

I have been around wood natural, stabilized and exotic since I was a child. My dad has close to 100 different types of wood from all over the world And nothing come close to the color of the inside of this carving. The outside of that carving is so close to ironwood but that must have something to do with the finish and aging. I'm still going to take some to the wood shops and see what they say.

I am totally sure it's stable enought for handles but I want to be able to tell the customers what it is.
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  #11  
Old 10-14-2012, 01:12 PM
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R. Yates R. Yates is offline
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Legume Vita it is an extremely hard wood and may be what you have .

Sam
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Old 10-14-2012, 01:57 PM
Doug Lester Doug Lester is offline
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I've had a few sticks of Legnum Vitae but I've never seen anything with that much contrast. You could try putting it in water and see if it floats. If it does, it's not legnum vitae but there are a few other woods that are denser than water too.

Doug


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Old 10-14-2012, 02:16 PM
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R. Yates R. Yates is offline
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Lignum vitae is hard and durable, and is also the densest wood traded; it will easily sink in water.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lignum_vitae

Sam
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  #14  
Old 10-21-2012, 12:30 PM
metal99 metal99 is offline
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It's definatly not Lignum vitae, a friend of mine bought 2 slabs of that stuff in Jamaica and its got a
Lot more green in it.

I bought a board foot of cocobolo on Friday ($70!!!) and its the same as this carving. Almost exactly the same. The cocobolo scales that I bought a while ago are darker and have more red in them. Must be the conditions it grew in?
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  #15  
Old 10-21-2012, 03:14 PM
Doug Lester Doug Lester is offline
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Not to argue against the cocobolo ID, but be aware that there are two types of Lignum Vitae, New World and African, that are from unrelated trees. The New World variety is of a single species while the African variety is from species within the same genus. I believe the New World species falls under the CITES treaties and was used for drive shaft bushings on US submarines as late as the mid 1960's. I don't think that you will see that greenish tint that you were talking about in the African species.

Doug


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