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Mystery Slab Wood I’ve Had for Almost Fifty Years

P

Phak1

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Upstate New York
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Phil
Back in the late seventies, my sister was working with a lumberjack who had two slabs—supposedly from Africa, that he didn't have space for. I stored them in my garage for a few years, and when he eventually came back for them, he generously offered me one. I’ve moved twice since then, always keeping that slab dry and safe, but I’ve never quite known what to do with it.

It’s a beast of a piece: about 60” long, 24” wide, and 4” thick. It has a live edge on the bottom, and given the dimensions, I estimate it was sliced from a tree at least 40” in diameter. The most interesting part is that it appears to have been cut with a two-man bow saw—the marks aren't uniform like a bandsaw or circular like a saw blade. It’s incredibly heavy—denser than any wood of its size I’ve ever encountered—and has a deep dark orange/red/brown color. Because it’s still rough-cut, it’s been hard to identify the grain or pores. I wet the wood to show it’s color.

I’m hoping that with your expertise, I might finally be able to put a name to this piece of wood. Whether I eventually find the perfect project for it or decide to sell it, I’m just happy to finally solve the mystery.

Thanks in advance,
Phil
 

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Don't have a clue. Good looking wood, good story, but the best thing in the pictures are the Arizona plates. ........... Nubs
 
Beautiful slab! Hard to tell for sure. I was thinking Padauk, but Mike is probably right. Chuck
 
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  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #6
Didn’t think of a chainsaw. Must have been one heck of a saw though! Now that you said it, you’re probably right. When I get a chance, I’ll sand a couple of sections and repost.
 
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Phak1 said:
Didn’t think of a chainsaw. Must have been one heck of a saw though! Now that you said it, you’re probably right. When I get a chance, I’ll sand a couple of sections and repost.
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bowsaw would be smoother. The science ID guys will insist on sanded face and end grain- of course they are not just guessing like some of us.. Nice chunk of lumber.
 
Personally, I would turn 3 large bowls from it. Keep one and give each of my two daughters one.
 
Phak1 said:
Back in the late seventies, my sister was working with a lumberjack who had two slabs—supposedly from Africa, that he didn't have space for. I stored them in my garage for a few years, and when he eventually came back for them, he generously offered me one. I’ve moved twice since then, always keeping that slab dry and safe, but I’ve never quite known what to do with it.

It’s a beast of a piece: about 60” long, 24” wide, and 4” thick. It has a live edge on the bottom, and given the dimensions, I estimate it was sliced from a tree at least 40” in diameter. The most interesting part is that it appears to have been cut with a two-man bow saw—the marks aren't uniform like a bandsaw or circular like a saw blade. It’s incredibly heavy—denser than any wood of its size I’ve ever encountered—and has a deep dark orange/red/brown color. Because it’s still rough-cut, it’s been hard to identify the grain or pores. I wet the wood to show it’s color.

I’m hoping that with your expertise, I might finally be able to put a name to this piece of wood. Whether I eventually find the perfect project for it or decide to sell it, I’m just happy to finally solve the mystery.

Thanks in advance,
Phil
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Thats a nice slab! We'd need more info to give you a better stab at an ID.. sanded, close up endgrain, ideally also with a scale.. density, fluoroesence etc etc is even better. Whatever it is, its really pretty!
 
Mopane was my first thought and bubinga my next. Yes, cleaned up end grain would help along with volume and weight stats.

Upstate as in real upstate or just outside the city? I travel i81 to the syracuse area every month and could stop in if not to far off the beaten path.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #12
Upstate as in a hour and ten minutes north of Albany. About two and a half hours east of Syracuse in the Adirondack Park.
 
Phak1 said:
Upstate as in a hour and ten minutes north of Albany. About two and a half hours east of Syracuse in the Adirondack Park.
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Thanks Phil. I don't get over Gore or Blue Mt. way much any more, nor Saranac. Still planning a Placid trip, just waiting for other half to finally agree.

Look forward to those next set of pictures and any new numbers you have. Have a great day.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #14
I was able to cut a small piece from the endgrain and plane a small section of the face. The slab is really heavy a 74.6 lbs. and dry as I run a dehumidifier in my shop. The slab is in my shop where my truck is being restored so I didn’t want to raise any sanding dust so I improvised. The plane struggled to smooth it down. It is the densest wood I’ve ever worked with. The first photo is a small slice I cut off of the end so I could sand it on my belt sander. The next photo is a small section I planed on the face. The third is a closer view of the face. I hope this is enough to identify, but if it isn’t I'll pull the slab outside where I can use my belt sander on it.

Thank in advance!
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Looking like Mike might of had it with a bubinga.

I can't see anything helpful in your end grain. Here is one from Paul's site that matches. The rest he has seem to lack the white lines that look like latex.

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Mr. Peet said:
Looking like Mike might of had it with a bubinga.

I can't see anything helpful in your end grain. Here is one from Paul's site that matches. The rest he his seem to lack the white lines that look like latex.

View attachment 290701
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Bubinga is a name for many different guibortia species so it is likely that only very few of them have these latex deposits.

I'm interested to see what you make of it.
 
daniscool said:
Bubinga is a name for many different guibortia species so it is likely that only very few of them have these latex deposits.

I'm interested to see what you make of it.
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Guibourtia, yes, lots of species and on at least 2 continents. Phil will focus on the African species first being that is where his history claimed it to be. He might also be happy stopping at "bubinga".
 
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