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Thread: Ai-Besi - Moluccan ironwood ???
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8th March 2008, 10:55 PM #1
Ai-Besi - Moluccan ironwood ???
Hey all,
Hoping I can get some answers in relation to timbers I'm hoping to use to make a very large "picture" frame with.
Its for a display, so I'm trying to get a very good outcome.
I'm buying some Ai-Besi/Moluccan ironwood/Intsia bijuga next week. It also gets tagged with merbau/kwila name, but I'm not sure if this is more of a trade name that covers many species??
Also some Ai-Naa/Burmese Rosewood/Pterocarpus indicus... which may also be called New Guinea Rosewood ??
The Ai-Besi is black with leached tannin, and it will be the first time I've used it.
Considering the very limited choice in the shops for finishing products, I'll be trying to plane it smooth and then get some sort of home brew Danish Oil into it, in the vain hope that the tannins will get sealed in.
Is this a vain hope? Will the tanins leach out and stuff the finish?
It will take 6 weeks to get some treating agent sent over from Aus.... a little outside my time frame.
The Ai-Naa has a fantastic grain... has anyone used it and be able to comment on its workability? It is not like the NG Rosewood that I've handled before... the grain is extremely varigated... with very light blonde bands contrasting with bands of deep rose colours. Smells like roses as well.
Thanks for your time...
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10th March 2008, 10:52 PM #2New Member
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As far as I can make out, the differences in Merbau/Kwila/Moluccan Ironwood are region/climate related, with the more southern (less tropical) wood a little softer. The stuff I get is Indonesian and called Merbau, but I don't know yet how the dark stains will act over time on indoor furniture.
Does your wood have the golden flecks?
One thing that makes working with gummy/resinous/whatever woods more pleasant is to do any heavy sanding with the kind of sandpaper that is made for stripping paint. It's usually white, and is as much like cloth as paper.
Sounds like you scored on the Pterocarpus. There are regional differences, and subspecies etc. but I haven't seen the kind you describe in Europe or the USA, in person. The "legendary" kinds are like you describe, and the plum-black one from some region in India. My experiences with other kinds of "padauk"s, were kind of ho-hum, the one that was really very nice to work quickly turned dark muddy brown.
-Cameron Bobro
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10th March 2008, 11:14 PM #3
Hi Clinton1, Is your picture frame living indoors or out? Indoors I wouldn't think the tannins would be an issue. Outdoors you could try bees wax before rubbing in your homebrew Danish oil. It may block up the veins.
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13th March 2008, 10:42 PM #4
Cameron - thanks for that.. good tip on the cloth backed sandpaper. I have not bought any of it yet, waiting till I get the time to go into town. It will be interesting and I'll post some pics of both species.
Claw - The frame will be inside, although with the wet season there is a lot of condensation on the walls and things go a bit soggy generally inside the buildings.
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