# More Help (x2)



## El Guapo

Local lumberyard had three species of mystery exotic hardwoods. The price was $7/bf, so I picked up a couple of pieces to see how it would look when turned, and it looks schamazing! Problem is, I don't know what they are. Here are pics from the first species:


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## El Guapo

Second species:

Would welcome any help! I'm thinking about using one of the more quartersawn boards for a guitar that Fret is building me!


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## Mike1950

I am sure it is WOOD!!!! Paul is one of the guys that ID's a lot of wood. Sand that end grain to 220- smooth- smooth and get a good pic.


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## El Guapo

Will do! After the bowl games tonight (even though O-State isn't doing squat!)...


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## Mike1950

NICE turn.


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## El Guapo

Thanks, Mike! It looked a lot better before I started using it as an ashtray for when I smoke my pipe inside (shout-out to La Guapa who just bought me a REALLY nice new pipe as a graduation present last month)!

Here are a few end grain pics (and one face grain). I am guessing that it is some kind of padauk. I have never sanded padauk, but I've turned and sanded Amboyna... it had the exact same smell. I originally thought it was two different species, but after sanding and looking at the end grain, I'm pretty sure it's the same species.


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## Cody Killgore

El Guapo said:


> Thanks, Mike! It looked a lot better before I started using it as an ashtray for when I smoke my pipe inside (shout-out to La Guapa who just bought me a REALLY nice new pipe as a graduation present last month)!
> 
> Here are a few end grain pics (and one face grain). I am guessing that it is some kind of padauk. I have never sanded padauk, but I've turned and sanded Amboyna... it had the exact same smell. I originally thought it was two different species, but after sanding and looking at the end grain, I'm pretty sure it's the same species.



Heeelllloooo toe shot!


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## El Guapo

That one wasn't intentional. But I sent you a really wonky piece from the top board in the photo(32) in the LFRB that is headed your way. Let me know when it arrives... I think you'll like some of those knife blanks!


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## Cody Killgore

Oh man! I'm gettin excited!


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## phinds

I really like your knuckle-buster bowl. Can't figure out what any of the woods are, and that's not helped by your just jumbling all the pics together instead of posting separate sets for each separate wood.


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## El Guapo

Paul, what would make it easier? Since they are all probably the same species, I was trying to give as many shots of pieces as I could. Better to just stick to one board? It sure smelled exactly like Amboyna when I was sanding, so I think it might be some kind of Pterocarpus species.


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## phinds

Oh ... they looked so different, and you mentioned 3 species, I just assume you were showing 3 different kinds of woods. Your end grain shots are pretty good but I'm drawing a blank. Are you really sure these are all the same wood? photo #30 in particular doesn't look like the others.


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## El Guapo

Sorry, I made this really confusing. They had what appeared to be three different species to me. I bought what I thought were two different, but when I hit them on the bench sander and then sanded to 220, they smelled the exact same (and the same as Amboyna smells), and I thought the end grain looked the same as well.


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## phinds

But surely photo 30 and photo 40 are not of the same species ?


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## Fret440

I see some similarities with santos rosewood and Honduran mahogany, but I don't think either is correct. Do you know what continent these are from?

Jacob


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## El Guapo

I'm almost positive. There is a lot of variety in the look, even on the same board. Here is the end grain of the knucklebuster:


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## phinds

Some of that end grain stuff looks nagging familiar, but I can't place it.


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## phinds

Fret440 said:


> I see some similarities with santos rosewood and Honduran mahogany, but I don't think either is correct. Do you know what continent these are from?
> 
> Jacob


 
Uh ... do you know what continent Honduras is on?


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## El Guapo

I'm going to be impressed if you can figure it out... the lumberyard had no idea what it was. $7/bf sounded right to me!


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## phinds

Well, send me a sample and I'll see what I can do.


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## El Guapo

I'd be happy to! PM me your address. What kind of woodworking do you do?


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## phinds

El Guapo said:


> I'd be happy to! PM me your address. What kind of woodworking do you do?


 
OOPS --- personal information posted by mistake

as shown in my signature: http://www.phinds.com/bowls/


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## Fret440

phinds said:


> Uh ... do you know what continent Honduras is on?


Of course. Just wondering if Guapo knows what country his boards came from.

Jacob


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## El Guapo

Fret440 said:


> Of course. Just wondering if Guapo knows what country his boards came from.
> 
> Jacob


No idea... lumberyard didnt give me anything to go on. Thoughts on using it for a fretboard or for the sides?


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## Fret440

Would look great as sides. It could work as a fretboard pending it's hard enough. Does it work like maple or walnut? Harder? Softer? Walnut can be a little soft for steel string and bass guitars if care isn't taken during finishing. Woods like cocobolo and ziricote can make great fretboards. I even like Texas Ebony for them. Texas Ebony bends satisfactorily enough that if I could find some pieces clear enough to make sides out of, I would.

Jacob


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## El Guapo

Paul, I just sent you a SFRB of the wood. I hope that the pieces are large enough that you can use them in your segmented bowls if you choose. I really appreciate your help IDing the wood!


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## phinds

El Guapo said:


> Paul, I just sent you a SFRB of the wood. I hope that the pieces are large enough that you can use them in your segmented bowls if you choose. I really appreciate your help IDing the wood!


 
I look forward to getting it and I'll do what I can on the ID.


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## phinds

Andrew, I just got the box. That's some nice looking wood.

You did a good job in cleaning up the end grain, but I'll clean it up even further before doing pics for the site.

My first thought from the face grain was Brazilian tulipwood, but the end grain ruled that out. Yours is a rosewood for sure, and so is Brazilian tulipwood, but tulipwood has more variety in the size of the pores. SO ... I poked around among the rosewoods and found that your wood is identical in every respect to a piece of Amazon rosewood that you can see on my site page for that wood. It's marked as having been given to me by Jim Glynn.

I'll look at it further after I've fine sanded the end grain, but you did such a good job that I can definitely tell with my 10x loupe that it is a rosewood and I have no reason to doubt that it's Amazon rosewood.

Fine sanding may have to wait a while. My "shop" (garage) is so cold that I don't think my fluorescent lights will even turn on


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## El Guapo

Thanks, Paul! After comparing with the pics on your site, I think you've got to be right! I've also got several boards with really gnarly portions that almost look like burl. Not sure what causes them... I'll post a pic of what I'm talking about and maybe you can tell me what causes it.


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## El Guapo

Do you know what the particular species was that Jim Glynn provided? Looks like there are several species that go under then name Amazon Rosewood. Regardless of what it is called, it finishes beautifully.


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## phinds

Sorry, no I don't. All the rosewoods finish marvelously well because they are low-porosity, high-density woods. Most of them will take a shine like glass before you even put any finishing agent on them.


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## phinds

Just for grins I took a closeup of your piece and compared it to the Amazon rosewood sample and here are .75" square sections of each. I know that when I do further fine sanding on the end grain of your sample, all I'm going to do bascially is slightly enhance the thin lines that go from upper left to lower right.

Pretty nice match, huh?





your sample on the left, mine on the right

Reactions: Like 1


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## El Guapo

Dang!!! I'd say you figured it out! What is a proper way to say thank you?

Reactions: Like 1


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## phinds

El Guapo said:


> Dang!!! I'd say you figured it out! What is a proper way to say thank you?


 
I'd say you just did.

Reactions: Like 1


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## El Guapo

Well thank you very much, Paul! And if I ever post something that catches your eye, let me know!


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## phinds

Did the final end grain sanding and as I expected, all it did was bring out the fine-grain detail a bit better. This one is my sample on the left, yours on the right.

Reactions: Like 1


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## El Guapo

I'd say they are identical! So Amazon Rosewood it is, huh? Thanks again, Paul!


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## phinds

Yeah, the only caveat is that I'm basing that on a piece that was given to me by a guy who said the vendor sold it to him as Amazon rosewood. I have no reason to think it's NOT Amazon rosewood, but since I don't have a sample piece with a more solid provenance, I would not bet 100% on it.


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## El Guapo

phinds said:


> Yeah, the only caveat is that I'm basing that on a piece that was given to me by a guy who said the vendor sold it to him as Amazon rosewood. I have no reason to think it's NOT Amazon rosewood, but since I don't have a sample piece with a more solid provenance, I would not bet 100% on it.


Paul, I've been doing some digging on Hobbit House and I want your opinion on two other possibilities. What do you think about Granadillo and Macacauba? Are you sure it is a species of dalbergia or could it be some kind of platymiscium?


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## phinds

That's a good catch. On the one hand, I couldn't rule either one of them out but on the other hand I don't trust the provenance of my samples of those woods any more than I do of the Amazon rosewood. Maybe this weekend I'll poke around on some reference sites.

One of the best, SOMETIMES, is the LUNA micro site at NCSU: http://images.lib.ncsu.edu/luna/ser...archA=QuickSearchA&q=="Modern Wood" dalbergia

Replace the "dalbergia" in the upper right search box to check out other genera or individual species

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## El Guapo

Thanks, Paul!


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