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Thread: Mystery wood

  1. 10th October 2012, 03:06 PM #1
    cre8tivesoul's Avatar
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    Question Mystery wood

    Hi everyone

    I'm hoping some of you guys can give me a hand in identifying a mystery wood that's been given to me by a buddy of my husband. Hubby couldn't remember exactly the type of wood that was mentioned, but thinks his friend said "camphor laurel"... Now, I've worked with camphor laurel before and I can assure you this ain't it. There is no typical smell to it, the grain looks quite different, and it's hard... Boy is it hard! I've attached a few images so y'all can see. It seems to have series of little knots sprinkled throughout the weave, there is no distinct smell to it, and as I said... VERY hard. I'm thinking about using it as a soundboard for a small lap harp. It has an amazing ring to it when tapped. The chunk of wood that was handed to me was a tree trunk slab, so I assume it's local timber (I live in Brissy). This is just a piece I've cut out of it. Any clue as to what sort of wood this is? Thanks in advance.

    plank1.jpg

    plank2.jpg

    plank3.jpg
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  3. 10th October 2012, 03:17 PM #2
    conwood
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    could be African Mahogany- khaya senegalensis

    I acquired some here in Brisbane and looked like that which was milled in Brisbane.

    cheers
    conwood
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  4. 10th October 2012, 04:27 PM #3
    Karl1
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    Are those holes actually knots? From the photo they seem a suspiciously regular pattern, although I have no idea what might have caused them if they are not natural.

    Looks quite a decent piece of timber though, with a pleasingly subtle grain.
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  5. 10th October 2012, 05:01 PM #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by conwood View Post
    could be African Mahogany- khaya senegalensis

    I acquired some here in Brisbane and looked like that which was milled in Brisbane.

    cheers
    conwood
    It could be. The thing about it too is that even though it is so durn hard, it is quite surprisingly light!
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  6. 10th October 2012, 05:03 PM #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Karl1 View Post
    Are those holes actually knots? From the photo they seem a suspiciously regular pattern, although I have no idea what might have caused them if they are not natural.

    Looks quite a decent piece of timber though, with a pleasingly subtle grain.
    They are indeed tiny little knot holes. When I was sanding it back and I noticed these things appear, I was very surprised by the regularity of the pattern. I haven't the foggiest clue why this is so.
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  7. 10th October 2012, 05:09 PM #6
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    If you hadn't said it was very hard, I would have said it was a dead ringer for hoop pine. Some old growth stuff can be quite hard compared to plantation. Can you mark it with a thumb nail? I can just mark the old stuff I have.
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  8. 10th October 2012, 05:30 PM #7
    conwood
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    Quote Originally Posted by cre8tivesoul View Post
    It could be. The thing about it too is that even though it is so durn hard, it is quite surprisingly light!
    hard and light is correct..nice to work with too.

    I have some in my shed if you want to identify positively
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  9. 10th October 2012, 05:34 PM #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by mic-d View Post
    If you hadn't said it was very hard, I would have said it was a dead ringer for hoop pine. Some old growth stuff can be quite hard compared to plantation. Can you mark it with a thumb nail? I can just mark the old stuff I have.
    That's what has me quite stumped. I seriously thought this was hoop pine (the overall piece also contains large brown knots and swirling grain around it), but when I started sanding the piece, the sheer hardness of it made me do a double-take. I tried scaring it with my thumbnail and all I managed to get out of it is a smoothed out line... No engraving, no depression, nuthin'!!

    I forgot to also mentioned... Initially, the slab had aged to a deep golden yellow (darker than huon pine). The pictures are those of the wood "after" sanding off the aged surface.

    Bear in mind guys... I'm an amateur. I've only been doing woodworking for a few years. I'm learning as I go.
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  10. 10th October 2012, 05:44 PM #9
    Kidbee
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    I thought it looked like older hoop. That small knot is somewhat characteristic of hoop I have seen.
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  11. 11th October 2012, 10:10 AM #10
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    Thanks guys. I'm gonna treat it as hoop pine. I'm concerned that it might not have enough "give" to be used as a soundboard, but man!!! The "ping" that comes out of this thing when tapped with a knuckle is just awesome!
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  12. 13th October 2012, 09:40 AM #11
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    look up damar minyak its an imported "hoop pine"
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  13. 23rd October 2012, 07:15 AM #12
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    Hi,
    Looks like spotted gum to me.
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