It also supposedly came from Brazil in the 1940's
any Ideas what this wood may be?
- Thread starter pvwoodcrafts
- Start date
WAG IPE
I second the IPE
I'm mixed about it being ipe. For one thing, it's not impossible for ipe to have such very heavy and very uniform interlocked grain but it would be unusual. For another, the end grain is not uniformly spaced diffuse porous but rather in groups, more like eucalyptus. This too is not impossible for ipe but very rare.
EDIT: after another look, I find that it is not as unusual as I thought for ipe to have that end grain pattern
Another possibility is cumaru but that's not really a terrific match either.
@pvwoodcrafts is the wood oily to the touch? What's the density? Can you get a better end grain shot?
If it is ipe the sawdust if you sand it will be a mix of yellow, red, green. That's a sure test for ipe.
EDIT: after another look, I find that it is not as unusual as I thought for ipe to have that end grain pattern
Another possibility is cumaru but that's not really a terrific match either.
@pvwoodcrafts is the wood oily to the touch? What's the density? Can you get a better end grain shot?
If it is ipe the sawdust if you sand it will be a mix of yellow, red, green. That's a sure test for ipe.
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Brazilian Ebony. Chuck
Nope. Brazilian ebony is a true ebony, genus Swartzia. That end grain is not Swartzia.
EDIT: It could be Brazilian BROWN ebony, which is Caesalpinia pluviosa, although that end grain is not much better as a match for this mystery wood and I don't know whether brown ebony comes with heavy, regular interlocked grain but I doubt it.
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@pvwoodcrafts I think you're going to have to do the sanding to check for ipe, or if you have enough you could send me a sample to process.
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- #10
Its heavy and dense. Doesn't seem oily to me. Does seem to be splintery. I have some flatsawed too ,I'll snap a pic. Really reminds me of Brazilian cherry but color is all wrong
Your responses are good, the lapacho is a big thing in Ipe and the sanding will help there. Yes, it can have ribbon figure / interlocked grain.
As for your Chuck response, are you missing the word not? "Nope. Brazilian ebony is not a true ebony, genus Swartzia".
Bus time...
Yeah, but that strong?
Huh? Brazilian ebony IS Swartzia spp. specifically Swartzia panacoco or Swartzia panamensis. It is, as I stated, Brazilian BROWN ebony that is not Swartzia.
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Mike has told me in a PM that he did the sanding and it does NOT have to color variations of ipe, so I think that drives a nail in the coffin of ipe for this wood.
He's going to send me a sample.
He's going to send me a sample.
Also, the end grain is completely wrong for jatoba.
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- #15
Well I thought both boards were the same but after planing doesn't look like it. Second unknown has white flecks in it like some of my old mahogany has. Guess its silica
End grain still seems the same so it's possible they are still the same species. If you send samples of each, I can tell.
What about Leucaena shannonii, Frijolillo or Guaje, ribbon grained. I have a piece in the collection from Nicaragua. Or another from that genus.
Looking at those 2 boards, they might be different. The white specks remind me of latex pockets, like that found in many Shoreas. But both being Brazilian, I'll have to ponder...
Although that one is not on the site, I have pics of 8 samples and none of them show any sign of the heavy ribbon stripe (not even the one listed as "ribbon stripe") nor does the end grain look like this mystery wood (it's random diffuse porous, not patterned like this wood).
Some of them DO show interlocked grain. At least some of these must have come from you since I see pencil markings on several.
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OK, @pvwoodcrafts I've done the processing but have not yet done any analysis at all except to confirm your opinion that it is highly unlikely they are the same species. To that, I can add that they are quite possibly related species in the same genera.
Here are my standard 1/4" x 1/4" end grain cross sections: The piece with the interlocked grain / ribbon stripe is on the left. Clearly that one has moderate vasicentric parenchyma (the tissue around the pores) whereas the other one has very fat vasicentric parenchyma. Also the one on the left has skinnier rays and fewer pore multiples.
Just for grins, I did the high magnification version of each as well. Here are 3 of the first one and 3 of the second one. I didn't calculate exactly what magnification this is but obviously it's a lot higher than my normal 12X and it is shown here at 1/3rd of the full size of the images. This makes it much easier to see how much fatter the rays are in the second one.
SO ... different species, possibly related. Now I'll work on seeing if I can figure out what they each ARE.
Here are my standard 1/4" x 1/4" end grain cross sections: The piece with the interlocked grain / ribbon stripe is on the left. Clearly that one has moderate vasicentric parenchyma (the tissue around the pores) whereas the other one has very fat vasicentric parenchyma. Also the one on the left has skinnier rays and fewer pore multiples.
Just for grins, I did the high magnification version of each as well. Here are 3 of the first one and 3 of the second one. I didn't calculate exactly what magnification this is but obviously it's a lot higher than my normal 12X and it is shown here at 1/3rd of the full size of the images. This makes it much easier to see how much fatter the rays are in the second one.
SO ... different species, possibly related. Now I'll work on seeing if I can figure out what they each ARE.
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- #20
wow they are different