Pink ivory or something that looks like rose gold

[2feathers Creative Making]

I would offer to look, but it might be a year or two before I actually get to it and that won't help you right now.
I am in process of helping the inlaws build, helping them move, (they sold their current house last weekend), and prepping my place for winter which includes putting a workshop together. Just about got the front closed up, then it will need a floor before I can really get busy.

However, I might recommend dogwood as an alternative pink, come to think of it.

 

[DLJeffs]

What about canary wood? I bought 10 boards from Dave at Green Valley a couple months ago ( @gvwp ) and some of them have nice pinkish color. Maybe more grain than you want, more like tulip wood.

 

[Cloud of Sawdust Farms]

Wouldn't have thought of honey locust as being pinkish. I usually see it yellow to tan. Do you happen to have an example piece you can show?

I do, but I'll have to dig for it. I'll post it when I can. Also, I'm not sure how stable the color is over the long term.

 

[Big Ry]

What about canary wood? I bought 10 boards from Dave at Green Valley a couple months ago ( @gvwp ) and some of them have nice pinkish color. Maybe more grain than you want, more like tulip wood.

I have some that's rainbow colored, but the bulk is definitely yellow

 

[Mr. Peet]

Pink Ivory is not native. It does great as a show board, not as an every day use item. It browns out and looks like Brown ivory in just a year or so.

When you say rose gold, I think jewelry rose gold which is more of an amber than pink. Tigerwood and Pernambuco come to mind. If you go toward yellow gold, Bonsamdua / Movingui, yellow-wood, even Yellow heart. And as others said, one of the Canary woods. Pink Koa. Taun is pink. Several acacias and eucalyptus species would work. European buckthorn would look great, but easier to find others.

 

[Firewood Potter]

I mostly turn local woods. The only pink wood I know of around here is dogwood and I would rate it s pale pink.

 

[Big Ry]

Pink Ivory is not native. It does great as a show board, not as an every day use item. It browns out and looks like Brown ivory in just a year or so.

When you say rose gold, I think jewelry rose gold which is more of an amber than pink. Tigerwood and Pernambuco come to mind. If you go toward yellow gold, Bonsamdua / Movingui, yellow-wood, even Yellow heart. And as others said, one of the Canary woods. Pink Koa. Taun is pink. Several acacias and eucalyptus species would work. European buckthorn would look great, but easier to find others.

Yeah replicating rose gold is tough. Noting is really that copper pink color in real life. I was figuring that i could get some species that are all close (some pink, some golden, some brown), then arrange them in a pattern that reads "rose gold". Contrasted with some gaboon and a really light wood, it might really fit the theme well. Tulipwood was a good suggestion that I'm looking into. I know pink ivory browns. So far none of mine has, but I'm not going to assume its somehow special. I guess maybe I'm hoping it's somewhat like purpleheart, in that there are some species under that common name that retain color longer than others. I have purpleheart that has not browned at all in a year (with no finish on it). Plus, with pink ivory, you also often see yellows and oranges that would probably work well with this project. I think tiger wood might be too dark and yellow heart too bright. I have some Lemonaballi on the way from GVWP, so i can see if that is a good yellow to use for this when it arrives. It's a practically unheardof species from my research. I can barely find any info on it. Dave gave me the botanical name, and i could only find a couple mentions of it in Dr. Google. I'll look into those other species you noted too. Thanks

 

[Big Ry]

I mostly turn local woods. The only pink wood I know of around here is dogwood and I would rate it s pale pink.

I'll look into it. Google images don't really show it as being very pink, but I'll see if i can find some that is.

 

[Firewood Potter]

I will try and make a pic tomorrow of a carver's mallet I turned about 6mos ago that hasn’t been coated with anything.

 

[Karl_TN]

Pics on Hobbit House shows Pear wood can come in many different shades. Although, I suspect most rose or pink colored wood is going to age toward a brownish tint over time.

If you really want pink ivory then consider piecing something together using pen blanks like these from Woodturningz:

https://www.woodturningz.com/Pink-Ivory-Pen-Blank

 

[daniscool]

When looking for expensive wood in not so big sizes one can normally afford to pay shipping from further away.
So here is my take:
All pink shades in wood will fade.
it just won’t last. That being said you are looking for species that have a rose golden Color.
Some American native options:
Honey locust
Lilac (not native but domesticated)
Plum (not native but domesticated)
Pear (not native but domesticated) (also only pink if steamed)
Swiss pear sorbus spp. (most is from Europe but there are Native American sorbus species) (this is also only pink if steamed but most sorbus lumber is steamed)

Exotic species:
Pink ivory (very expensive but likely has the best overall Color all around)
Tulipwood dalbergia decipularis/frutescens
(Also very expensive but this time with some Color variation and contrast)

you should be able to find most of these online. Just avoid cook woods. They will rip you off and their pics look better than their wood.

 

[trc65]

Rather than trying to find a piece of wood that is pink, and will probably darken or fade with time, why not spend your time working on a dye mixture that will give you the tint you want?

Assuming the ultimate goal is color, and not the rarity/cost of the wood, I would pick up some Transtint dyes, a color wheel to help with mixing decisions and start making samples. Assuming you choose to go this route, be sure to test your anticipated finish as well as that can affect final color.

 

[Mr. Peet]

Yeah replicating rose gold is tough. Noting is really that copper pink color in real life. I was figuring that i could get some species that are all close (some pink, some golden, some brown), then arrange them in a pattern that reads "rose gold". Contrasted with some gaboon and a really light wood, it might really fit the theme well. Tulipwood was a good suggestion that I'm looking into. I know pink ivory browns. So far none of mine has, but I'm not going to assume its somehow special. I guess maybe I'm hoping it's somewhat like purpleheart, in that there are some species under that common name that retain color longer than others. I have purpleheart that has not browned at all in a year (with no finish on it). Plus, with pink ivory, you also often see yellows and oranges that would probably work well with this project. I think tiger wood might be too dark and yellow heart too bright. I have some Lemonaballi on the way from GVWP, so i can see if that is a good yellow to use for this when it arrives. It's a practically unheardof species from my research. I can barely find any info on it. Dave gave me the botanical name, and i could only find a couple mentions of it in Dr. Google. I'll look into those other species you noted too. Thanks

Tell us more about Lemonballi. The only species I know with that common name is Dacryodes excelsa. What species name were you given?

 

[Big Ry]

When looking for expensive wood in not so big sizes one can normally afford to pay shipping from further away.
So here is my take:
All pink shades in wood will fade.
it just won’t last. That being said you are looking for species that have a rose golden Color.
Some American native options:
Honey locust
Lilac (not native but domesticated)
Plum (not native but domesticated)
Pear (not native but domesticated) (also only pink if steamed)
Swiss pear sorbus spp. (most is from Europe but there are Native American sorbus species) (this is also only pink if steamed but most sorbus lumber is steamed)

Exotic species:
Pink ivory (very expensive but likely has the best overall Color all around)
Tulipwood dalbergia decipularis/frutescens
(Also very expensive but this time with some Color variation and contrast)

you should be able to find most of these online. Just avoid cook woods. They will rip you off and their pics look better than their wood.

I know plum also fades, and I'm reading that lilac does too. It seems unavoidable. I have a board of Swiss pear in my shop. It's like a creamy tan, and it's darkened in the nearly 9mo I've had it. I wouldn't characterize it as pink or rose gold though. I've never found any other pear species. I'm looking into the other species. I already have some pink ivory, but it's all pretty small pieces..i still think it has the best overall appearance for a project like this, not just color but also grain and color shifting...i think it lends better to a rose gold theme than stark contrasting grain. Oh and 8 know to stay away from Cooks. I rail on their edited photos fairly regularly lol Their wood quality isn't even good anyway in my experience.

 

[Big Ry]

Rather than trying to find a piece of wood that is pink, and will probably darken or fade with time, why not spend your time working on a dye mixture that will give you the tint you want?

Assuming the ultimate goal is color, and not the rarity/cost of the wood, I would pick up some Transtint dyes, a color wheel to help with mixing decisions and start making samples. Assuming you choose to go this route, be sure to test your anticipated finish as well as that can affect final color.

I generally try to avoid dyes and tints, because there's something rewarding about utilizing the natural color of a species of wood to fit a theme. I primarily work with exotic wood as it is, so my lumber rack is pretty colorful. It's just that certain colors can be difficult to find naturally occurring. I also am hoping to stick to an easier finish that tends to be less durable than poly or epoxy. Given the rose gold theme, this might finally be a good opportunity to use Rubio monocoat. I don't want a dye or stain to wash out when cleaning the board, which is a possibility with any finish that doesn't seal the wood.

If i were to do anything with colorants, I'd most likely utilize epoxy. I work a fair bit with resin, and i have every dye, paste, and mica color imaginable. I'm pretty sure i even have a mica powder called "Rose Gold". So that's potentially an avenue for me to better fit the theme. I just generally consider resin to be "cheap", so i try not to use it on nicer projects like this.

I suppose another possibility that I've seen done would simply be to pour molten copper. I've seen it done, but I'm not sure that i have the tools necessary for both melting & handling the copper or for milling the finished surface. That might be asking a bit much of the blades in my DeWalt planer lol

 

[Big Ry]

Tell us more about Lemonballi. The only species I know with that common name is Dacryodes excelsa. What species name were you given?

This is what David told me:

Yes. Paripiballi. Paripiballi is a heavy, hard, and durable wood that comes from the Chrysophyllum pomiferum tree, a species native to the Guiana Shield and Amazon region of South America. The timber is known by various names, including Haimara-kushi in Guyana and Abiurana in Brazil.

Hes got some of this stuff on his ebay store, which is where i first discovered it. I messaged him to see if i could just buy direct. Doesn't sound like he has very much of it either. I think he said it was just 1 time that it came in on a pallet or 1 time that he was offered to buy it or something along those lines. Unfortunately the biggest dimensions he has are with the thins he sells, which are only 12" long. I bought his biggest block too, which was 10x10x5. It's all B grade.

 

[daniscool]

This is what David told me:

Hes got some of this stuff on his ebay store, which is where i first discovered it. I messaged him to see if i could just buy direct. Doesn't sound like he has very much of it either. I think he said it was just 1 time that it came in on a pallet or 1 time that he was offered to buy it or something along those lines. Unfortunately the biggest dimensions he has are with the thins he sells, which are only 12" long. I bought his biggest block too, which was 10x10x5. It's all B grade.

Pics?

 

[Big Ry]

Pics?

I havent received the pieces yet, so I only have David's ebay photos.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/256276586287

 

[Mr. Peet]

This is what David told me:

Hes got some of this stuff on his ebay store, which is where i first discovered it. I messaged him to see if i could just buy direct. Doesn't sound like he has very much of it either. I think he said it was just 1 time that it came in on a pallet or 1 time that he was offered to buy it or something along those lines. Unfortunately the biggest dimensions he has are with the thins he sells, which are only 12" long. I bought his biggest block too, which was 10x10x5. It's all B grade.

Thanks Ryan,

You had 'lemonballi' in your post. Limonaballi is a common Guyana name for Chrysophyllum pomiferum, along with a few others. The difference in a few letters can change a lot. I see the name is misleading directly from the ebay post, so not your bad. Myself and a few other friends have bought from GVW, independently, and had samples tested by the USDA Forest Service for ID confirmation. Needless to say, many did not match the purchase names. So enjoy the wood for its looks and not so much on what it might be.

 

[Big Ry]

Thanks Ryan,

You had 'lemonballi' in your post. Limonaballi is a common Guyana name for Chrysophyllum pomiferum, along with a few others. The difference in a few letters can change a lot. I see the name is misleading directly from the ebay post, so not your bad. Myself and a few other friends have bought from GVW, independently, and had samples tested by the USDA Forest Service for ID confirmation. Needless to say, many did not match the purchase names. So enjoy the wood for its looks and not so much on what it might be.

Oh that's not good. I thought GVWP was well liked around here. I did buy the wood for its color though. It definitely did not look like yellow heart to me, and I don't know of any other species that is that uniformly yellow. That is primarily why I bought it.