Another wood ID

[promhandicam]

I went off today to get the two lumps of ebony that I bought resawn to more manageable dimensions - here are two of the pieces, each approx 20cm x 4cm x 100cm:


The other lump yielded 3 pieces 15cm x 4cm x 150cm and are more uniformly coloured.

If I have time I'll go back to the workshop where I had the work done as they use a circular saw that looks decidedly homemade but can cut up to about 23cm deep - the kerf is about 6mm .

Whilst I was there, I noticed they had some pieces of very dark wood which they informed me were acacia. They weren't for sale but they indicated where I might get some.

Well, the long and short of it was that I ended up buying a couple of pieces and I've run them through the p/t tonight. I'd be interested to know if anyone can give a positive ID on them as the pictures i've seen of acacia are all much lighter than this and also I understood that acacia trees were fairly small. One of the pieces I bought was a board about 30cm x6cm square edge and about 2m long, so obviously from a fairly large tree. The wood is heavy and also when I cut it I ended up having to use a mask as the dust was very peppery.

here are a couple of pics:




Not that it really makes much difference knowing what they are but it would be nice to know. Cheers,

Steve

[colincott]

Hi Steve
Is it very hard?
If it is it looks like Palm or Wenge but not to sure which

The Wenge I have is a bit brown in colour as the Palm is more black, I hope that helps
Regards Colin

[dunbarhamlin]

I wondered that, though haven't used any wenge.
The only acacias I've used are Koa and Tasmanian Blackwood, which don't look like this.

Ouch! Find a big bandsaw - could have got a nice bookmatched back set out of that kerf (And another 2mm slice for the sides)

Lovely pieces - are they earmarked for a project, or just too good to pass up?

Steve

[jfc]

Thats Wenge .

So is this ......

[colincott]

Jason

it could be but if you look at the colour, like i use
Yours is more brown back ground and Steve's pic is more black.

I have a little Palm somewhere and will try to find it, so I can post a pic

[jfc]

The close up pic is like the sap wood of wenge . It looks the same as my guitar .

[promhandicam]

Thanks for your replies - I have to say I think that you are right when you say you think it is wenge - looking at the pictures here it seems to have a lot of similarities. Also it is said that wenge is an irritant. The only thing that doesn't quite fit is where it comes from - typically zaire or cameroon but not west africa. I'll have to go and check to see if the people I brought it from know where it came from. I'd still be interested to see a picture of Palm, Colin, - do you know where it originates from?

With regards to what I have planned for it - nothing yet. I'm just making the most of the opportunity of getting some exotic hardwood at silly prices. Once I have the wood back in the UK and find somewhere to live, if anyone here is interested in a few pieces for a special project I'd be happy to try and help - particularly if you have access to a decent size bandsaw and can help with resawing into thinner leaves.

Cheers, have a good weekend,

Steve

[promhandicam]

Played around this evening with an off cut of the wood that is probably wenge and tried to plane it. Absolutely impossible! Resorted to sanding which was relatively easy with the orbital sander. Then tried wiping with some teak oil and it went almost completely black. Turned it over and scrapped it, after sanding, and this brought out the figure really well. Even wiped with oil although a lot darker the figure still showed. It is going to certainly take some experimenting to find a suitable finish.


This is the sanded piece - unfinished on the left, oiled on the right (it is about 45mm wide)


This is the other side of the same piece but scrapped - unfinished on the left, oiled on the right.

I've also tried calculating the SG and according to my maths, the SG is around 1. Double checked by putting the piece in a bucket of water and although it doesn't sink to the bottom, it floats covered in water (if that makes sense I therefore doubt very much that it is palmwood which is much less dense.

Steve

[colincott]

Hi Steve and Jason

I have had a look at that site and I have to say that you where right jason it is wenge and not Palm as it looks very different but it is like wenge as it is a real pain to plane and sanding is much better

Regards Colin

[jfc]

Ahhhhhhhhhh just a lucky guess












No need to make a big deal of it


























































woooooooooooooooooooooohoooooooooooooooooooooooooooo I won the wood ID game wohoooooooooo ;D

[jake]

Panga panga is another Laurentii with a different range, and which looks similar (especially the feather-like markings on your first and second close-ups) but still at home the other side of Africa (I think).

Edit: It doesn't look like your first photo (second, after the ebony),though. But nor does wenge in my (limited) experience.

[promhandicam]

Jun 13, 2008 23:06:42 GMT jfc said:

woooooooooooooooooooooohoooooooooooooooooooooooooooo I won the wood ID game wohoooooooooo ;D

Well yes and no because all the people I've spoken to here say that it is acacia and comes from Togo. Wenge and Panga Panga, AFAIK, don't come from west africa. But Jase, if it makes you feel happy well call it wenge as that is certainly what it looks like.

Steve