Thread: Kingwood availibility

Originally Posted by Brettles

good evening all!

so I done a silly thing tonight and asked my wife for assistance picking out a wood for my turntable plinth project.
we went through a few sites and settled on Kingwood!
gorgeous pieces of wood but I'm having trouble finding any suppliers of this, can find a few places that do pen blanks but nothing bigger.

anyone know of any places within a reasonable distance of Newcastle? (wouldnt go much further than Sydney)


so many other questions I have lined up too but ill try not to flood the page with my uninformed youth!

cheers!

Why not consider Black Bean,Blackwood,Qld Walnut...Kingwood(Dalbergia cearensis),like most Dalbergia's,is beautifull BUT they are exotic and more often than not sourced illegally ...Aussie woods are just as pretty and often a lot more affordable,as well as being available in the sizes that we want.Buy the local stuff is my advice...just as good,if not better than the imported stuff.Some woodies tend to romanticize with the thought that if its exotic,then its better ...MM

Originally Posted by MAPLEMAN

Why not consider Black Bean,Blackwood,Qld Walnut...Kingwood(Dalbergia cearensis),like most Dalbergia's,is beautifull BUT they are exotic and more often than not sourced illegally ...Aussie woods are just as pretty and often a lot more affordable,as well as being available in the sizes that we want.Buy the local stuff is my advice...just as good,if not better than the imported stuff.Some woodies tend to romanticize with the thought that if its exotic,then its better ...MM

Ill have a look at them
I'm not one to want it just because I cant get it,
Kingwood was just one we both saw and loved the colour and grain of

Originally Posted by Brettles

Ill have a look at them
I'm not one to want it just because I cant get it,
Kingwood was just one we both saw and loved the colour and grain of

Hi Brettles...you'll be amazed at the range of local timbers available.The species that i have mentioned are but a few that have tasty grain not dissimilar to Kingwood...good luck in finding something suitable and well done for 'looking outside the square'...MM

Kingwood was very highly prized particularly in the 18th century in France and other parts of europe.
most of which was in veneer form.
I doubt it is readilly available especially in the solid.

I don't think historically it has been used much in solid form on furniture except perhaps for legs on French Louis furniture.It was primarily used as veneers, more often than not as crossbanding and inlay along with Tulipwood and Rosewoods.

Originally Posted by Brettles

good evening all!

so I done a silly thing tonight and asked my wife for assistance picking out a wood for my turntable plinth project.
we went through a few sites and settled on Kingwood!
gorgeous pieces of wood but I'm having trouble finding any suppliers of this, can find a few places that do pen blanks but nothing bigger.

anyone know of any places within a reasonable distance of Newcastle? (wouldnt go much further than Sydney)


so many other questions I have lined up too but ill try not to flood the page with my uninformed youth!

cheers!

Would suggest some nice burl that you like. kingswood-not the car WILL cost (But tis nice)-Random burl can be had cheaply occasionaly , with some verrrrry pretty bits. Kingswood will never come cheap.
Sydney would probbably be you're closest sourse at a guess if you actually want kingswood.

I've used a bit of kingwood but it's seriously difficult to get hold of. You might be able to source some in guitar fingerboard blank sizes from the USA, at probably around $40 per 60mm wide blank, 8mm or less thick. Personally I avoid Dalbergias now because of the environmental impact and potential import/export issues.

If you want something of similar density mulga and gidgee are good options. I haven't used much mulga but gidgee is very stable stuff, especially for a wood of that density. Red gum can get quite interesting too, or maybe padauk might work?

Brazilian kingwood is pretty much impossible to get in useable sizes these days, but mexican kingwood (a close relative in the dalbergia family) can still be bought in the states and imported legally.

Personally i'd stick with an Australian timber as even Mexican kingwood is insanely heavy, extremely expensive (my two 60" x 3"x 1"boards cost me about $150 each) and worst of all is insanely pricey to ship back here ('cheap' shipping was over $300 for the pair of them).

Also, do be aware that many of the true rosewoods tend to be sold completely covered in wax much like ebony and other extremely dense exotics, so its hard to judge colours on individual boards, and moisture levels can still be quite high, leading to crazy warping and checking once you remove the wax.