Its texture is typically not as fine as mahogany, shading more towards the ‘medium’ portion of the scale. With a jet black base, occasional brown to muted orange striping (from mineral deposits) and a sap which can range from pale yellow to tan, one could certainly be forgiven for mistaking one for the other. Common Uses: Flooring, boatbuilding, walking sticks, handles, construction, exterior utility wood, furniture, and turned objects. Common Uses: Flooring, furniture, interior trim, veneer and heavy construction. While the term “boxwood” has become quite convoluted over time, this species — Buxus macowanii — is considered a close cousin to ‘the original boxwood.’ (Buxus sempervirens). This list tells you about the 5 most popular superior types of exotic wood. This light, pale yellow-brown wood is known for its durability, toughness and character. The color will darken as the wood ages. Despite its density, it is considered relatively easy to work and turns, glues and finishes well. Unless otherwise noted, all lumber is kiln dried and made of FAS grade material. Common Uses: Veneer, plywood, furniture, cabinetry, millwork, pallets, musical instruments (electric guitar bodies), and chip/pulp wood. It works easy, and has aesthetic appeal. It remains one of the most coveted and sought-after of all figured maple varieties. The wood is popular with carvers who know of it, as its lack of density makes it very easy to work, the wood has excellent dimensional stability and it holds a stain or finish very well. Sustainability: Not listed in the CITES Appendices or on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. There are multiple species of the Guibourtia genus that are known as Bubinga, so colors and aesthetics can vary dramatically. Some of the more dense pieces are sometimes used as fretboards, also. Due to past exportation restrictions being placed on it, Indian Ebony has come into even more limited supply, here in the US. Ambrosia Maple is a general term attached to a variety of Acer (true maple) species whose boards included colorful bug “trails” — caused by a fungus carried by the Ambrosia Beetle which penetrates the tree sap as the beetle eats into the tree, and it spreads both through the worm hole and up and down in the tree (carried along by the sap) and causes discoloring of the wood in streaks. Without question, the densest and most un-rosewood-like of the Dalbergia’s (for our money, at least! Comments: Once a mainstay in the cabinetry, furniture and guitar building industries, here in the US, Genuine Mahogany has become increasingly more difficult to source since its inclusion in CITES’ Appendix II, in 2003. Yellowheart; Brazilian Satinwood; Pau Amarello; Amarello; Pau Setim, Redheart; Red Heart; Chakte Kok; Acotillo. Natural forests in Japan that include this species are now very rare, with the bulk of Cryptomeria timber coming from commerical tree plantations. It’s pale, creamy yellowish hues make this quite popular with wood turners and, especially, carvers, as Boxwood is renowned for its capacity to hold crisp, fine details and it has a smooth, very fine texture. Grains range from irregular to wild (although sometimes straight, also), and can often be multi-dimensional or overlapping — often to very dramatic effect, especially when vibrant secondary colors are present. The wood is typically straight or wavy grained (though sometimes irregular). Comments: This wood is easily misidentified as “Lacewood;” their aesthetics and densities are generally quite similar. 10. Widest variety of rare and exotic species. Common Uses: Flooring, furniture, cabinetry, musical instruments, tool handles, shipbuilding, railroad ties, turned objects, and other small specialty items. More dense specimens have been used for a number of demanding outdoor applications in Africa, yet premium-grade pieces can hold their own, aesthetically, with the finest exotic woods in the world — often boasting a high degree of chatoyance, and a remarkably deep, 3D-like figure. The sap is easily discerned, being of a pale coloration with a base that’s usually a muted yellowish hue. Its pores are some of the largest of any commercial lumber in the world, with vessel diameters routinely between 300 and 500 micrometers. Here is a selection of woods used on antique furniture, below is a comprehensive guide into the woods and history behind each type of timber used throughout the centuries. Pod Mahogany is a light reddish-brown wood, indigenous to the southeastern region of Africa. We find this dust to be no more “toxic” than any other true Dalbergia rosewood, with such affects being attributable more to the sheer mass of dust created than anything unusually threatening about the dust’s chemical makeup. Common Uses: Carpentry, furniture, veneer, fuelwood, interior & exterior utility, carvings, turnings and various small specialty items. Trending pages Despite its similar “fuzzy” appearance (to that of Teak), it is fine grained, presenting a nice natural luster when sanded. Spalted Maple doesn’t denote a species, but can be any member of the Acer genus that has black lines and/or streaks in the lumber caused by slight decay and a fungus in the wood. Its muted light yellow-, orange- or red-tinted brown underlying base color is covered by tight, uniform patterns of darker brown or black patches which give the appearance of snakeskin. Comments: Sneezewood is considered to be one of the most durable, bug and rot resistant woods in the world, having been classified as “Imperishable” in its native South Africa. The scientific explanation is that the impregnated Ambrosia Beetle burrows into the maple tree (presumably for a safe place to deposit larvae), carrying fungi on its feet into the wood — which serves as food for the insect’s offspring, when they hatch. Its excellent stiffness-to-weight ratio has made it historically useful in a variety of construction and utility applications, benefited, also, by a virtually limitless domestic supply. Both American Beech and its European counterpart are known for their pale cream coloration, which is often augmented by a pink or light- to medium-colored muted reddish-brown hue. In spite of this difficult working properties, it does turn and finish quite well — taking a high polish and displaying an impressive natural luster. Comments: Holly needs to begin the drying process almost immediately after it’s cut, as, otherwise, fungal discoloration can occur. Grains can be straight, wavy or irregular; its texture is fine, with a nice natural luster. The incredible demand for it in this new millennium was accelerated prior to the 2008 Olympic games, in Beijing, and continued with the new construction boom the country has experienced. Given this, what little makes it to the US market arrives with very high moisture levels, necessitating further drying. It is extremely stiff, strong, hard and highly durable and can be an excellent substitute for Ipe for decking. The wood is extremely difficult to work with, making it something that most people won’t even attempt to handle. It’s very easy to work, it finishes well and has an impressive natural luster that emerges when sanded. The tree is protected and sustainably maintained in South Africa, only felled after the issuance of very limited permitting by respective state government environmental authorities. Pieces which feature dramatic figuring and chatoyance, like its namesake, are not uncommon, either. Found in the Mediterranean Basin — from Portugal to the Levant, and the Arabian Peninsula — and Southern Asia, as far east as China, the Olive tree grows as a small evergreen tree or shrub. The type of wood you choose determines the beauty and strength of the finished piece. Some woods turn orange when exposed to sunlight. Common Uses: Veneer, musical instruments, furniture, turned objects, carvings, inlay, trim and other small projects. This has led to its current ‘near extinction’ status. The 10 Best Cartier Diamond Watches of All-Time, A Buyer’s Guide to Getting a Cartier Panthere. Tiny pockets of small void areas, also, are not uncommon along the darker striped areas — especially among flatsawn boards. Common Uses: Carvings, furniture, turned objects, fuelwood and miscellaneous small specialty items. Though slightly lower on the Janka scale, Amazon Rosewood is significantly heavier than Brazilian Rosewood. Because of its course texture — with quartersawn surfaces being littered with Lacewood-like flecks — Silky Oak can prove to difficult to plane. Despite the difficulties it poses with planing and resawing, Argentinian Lignum is a great wood for any outdoor applications: it is virtually rot-proof, and insect-proof. Its pores are very small by rosewood standards; it sands smooth and finishes beautifully, with a wonderful natural luster. The wood is renowned for its great bug and termite resistance. As the tree attempts to access more sunlight, buds begin to sprout in its trunk — to try and grow more branches, to access more light — but the tree lacks the requisite nutrients to support the growth and the new shoots are aborted, resulting in “birdseyes” (small knots) embedded in the tree’s wood. Its straight grains and fine texture — combined with its soft character — make Basswood decidedly easy to work. It is a tough, durable wood, usually possessing fairly cooperative working properties — although its silica content can gum up blades and cutting tools, and there can be tearout issues with boards with interlocking grain patterns. Like true ebonies though, Brown Ebony is very dense and hard to work. Despite its large natural range and 23 different species, recent surges in popularity in this new millennium have led to some isolated cases of “near extinction” levels of tree population reduction in several Central American regions where it grows. Common Uses: Veneer, musical instruments, furniture, cabinetry, flooring, interior trim, turnings, and other small specialty wood objects. Finding long boards of it can be most difficult; pieces of craft-sized dimensions are more commonly found in the US. It is the harvested tree’s bark which is poisonous to the touch (essentially, in the same way as Poison Ivy); once the lumber has been processed, there are no harmful effects from handling the resawn boards. Although not a true (Swietenia-genus) mahogany, Santos Mahogany exhibits a lot of the same aesthetic characteristics. It has been traditionally used there in numerous applications, and is considered a strong, tough, durable wood. (Some darker examples were more along the lines of a Cocobolo-type density.). It’s sap content is tan in color and, despite its density, it has good working properties. Experience has shown that the best drying results are obtained by leaving the wood coated in wax and just patiently allowing it to air dry. Common Uses: Veneer, flooring, furniture, cabinetry, boatbuilding, construction, utility, turned items, and other small specialty wood items. Macassar Ebony is known for its typically striped appearance, with usual colors typically dominated by deep browns although green, yellow, burgundy, red, orange and even peach secondary colors can highlight more spectacular pieces. One of the most pleasant-looking woods on our list is Pink Ivory, which is native to Southern Africa. The wood’s aesthetics can vary greatly, as Anegre is comprised of three separate Pouteria-genus species. Below is a list of the wood types that we typically have in stock. Comments: Himalayan Cedar was introduced to Europe in 1822, and to the United States, nine years later, in 1831. Common Uses: Veneer, inlay work, marquetry, turnery, bandings, jewelry boxes, small specialty items. High shrinkage rates equate with poor dimensional stability, thus quartersawing is recommended. Black Palm’s weight and density can vary greatly, depending on growing conditions and specific location. Comments: Contrary to other published data (by the Wood Database), the typical growth range for these trees in the wild is only between 40 and 80 feet tall. It is very popular with wood carvers and turners, alike, although it can be difficult to work and has reputation for dulling saw blades. Its medium texture and typically straight grains (which can be wavy, also) give it excellent working properties; its cuts, turns, glues and finishes very well and has a moderate natural luster. Because of these properties, Siamese Rosewood has remained extremely popular with Chinese furniture builders — and which has also made it, for many years, a popular target for poachers. (Quartersawn pieces can be very dramatic.) It is fairly difficult to work and it’s uneven texture can cause tearout issues when boards are planed. It has been used for centuries there for carved woodwind instruments, and is considered to have excellent tonal properties, similar to African Blackwood. Super-strong, white oak features stainable, straight-grained wood with heartwood that resists decay. The wood is prized among many acoustic guitar luthiers, for its superior resonance and tonal response qualities when used as a soundboard (acoustic guitar top). Sustainability: This species is not listed in the CITES Appendices or on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, but its supply has been impacted by recent epidemic poaching across Central America (in particular, Mexico). Indescript appearance makes it ideally suited for a variety of roles in indigenous. And Malaysian Blackwood of American Elm, presently. ) carefully attention and proper precautions should be noted the... 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