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Thread: Snake Skin Wood???
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10th April 2005, 06:25 PM #1New Member
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Snake Skin Wood???
I have been given a beautiful piece of wood that I was told is Snake Skin Wood or Snake Wood from South Africa. The wood is quite heavy (dry) and is dark in colour and as the name suggests has a distinctive snake skin look to it. I was wondering if anybody knew of this wood and could tell me more about it. I have to turn it up for the owner (it will be a bowl from 1/2 sawn piece) and would like to know how it turns. (Yer…round and round, I know that already)
Last edited by Treeboy; 10th April 2005 at 08:03 PM.
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10th April 2005 06:25 PM # ADSGoogle Adsense Advertisement
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10th April 2005, 06:58 PM #2Hewer of wood
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Done the googling yet on this one Treeboy?
The b*gger about common names is that they're, er, common. Eg. Silky Oak is used for over 10 distinct species.
Suggest you post some pics.Cheers, Ern
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10th April 2005, 07:38 PM #3
doesn't Terry Gordon (HNT Gordon Classic Planes) use this timber for his collector series of planes?
He probably reads this forum (doesn't everybody?) and he may be able to comment on its working properties .... other than just bl**dy hard!
Fletty
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10th April 2005, 07:50 PM #4
yup, checked my own advice (becoming a more common act as I approach seniority!) and his web page www.hntgordon.com.au shows a beautiful set of snakewood planes, some of which have turned knobs.
Fletty
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10th April 2005, 08:01 PM #5New Member
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Photo's
Hey thanks guys. Proof the forum really does work. Attached a couple of photo's anyway. I did do the Google thing and came up with more things made with Snake Skin than I care to know about? Some people are just downright wierd.
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10th April 2005, 08:16 PM #6
Try doing a google using Snakewood.
Cheers
Barry
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12th April 2005, 02:39 PM #7
Treeboy
Snake wood is not from South Africa. I was born there and spent over 50 years there, woodworking as a hobby. I think the owner has mixed South Africa up with South America, where snakewood comes from. It has become a very common problem where other woods from Africa also gets called South African. Africa is huge and the timber species are very different throughout, from the dry dessert north, through the very tropical middle down to the drier south.
Google search popped up a few pages about Snakewood.
Have a good one
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12th April 2005, 05:37 PM #8
Treeboy , re : snakewood , ' Piratinera guianensis ' hails from the Amazon & and is also found at Trinidad and the Guianas.
From my own experience , very hard , brittle & and it's splinters are very needle like and sharp , it will polish very well and make sure your tools are sharp , touch them up every couple of minutes .It is pretty rare and expensive , I have never seen any planks or blocks of it , only bits and pieces fro time to time .
Veebull
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13th April 2005, 12:27 AM #9
We have a wood known as snake wood up in Carnarvon twisty mongrel stuff {no idea of the latin term} but once one has cleaned the surface bark and VERY fine prickly stuff between the bark and actual timber away... its beautiful often used by the local woodworkers for tall lampshades and such Ive used it for walking canes... the timber doesnt get very large probably no more than 5in around at most... has an amazing blending of colors from pale yellow to mustard to pink and then red within a 2-3ft length but as I say very twisty stuff and those bloody prickles HURT like hell and you have the devils own time finding them and gettin them out of yer skin! :mad:
Believe me there IS life beyond marriage!!! Relax breathe and smile learn to laugh again from the heart so it reaches the eyes!!
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11th August 2005, 10:38 PM #10
Snakewood I believe is the heaviest wood in the world, South American definately, and very pretty. I think a log yeilds less than 20% of actual snake pattern. I would like some if anybody has any???
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12th August 2005, 09:25 AM #11
Snakewood: Piratinera guianenesis ( a native of Sth America , in particular Surinam ), common names ;Cacique carey , Palo de oro,Burokoro,Tibicusi,Letterhout,Bois d'ammourette,Gateado.Found in the Guianas,Trinidad,Amazon region , rare to occasional tree up to 80ft ,trunk diameters of 12-20 inches.
A strong hardwood that splits easily and heartwood very brittle , shrinkage very high .Turns and polishes well , watch the splinters,usually very fine & and SHARP! Not the worlds hardest wood ( 2nd on the list ), it is quite hard with a specific gravity .80-1.35,Once used for violin bows , cutlery handles , walking sticks , inlay etc .
I have had the odd bit from time to time but have rarely had a piece big enough to do something decent with .
Saw a couple of bits at Lazarides a few months back but the pieces were just splits of rubbish which could be used for fancy inlays and thats about all .
Of the worlds hardwoods , the species called 'IRONWOODS' are the hardest with Lignum Vitae rated as the highest at 1.37 spec/grav , snakewood at 1.35 , ebony at 1.12 , African Blackwood 1.11, Brazil Ironwood 1.15 .
Veebull
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12th August 2005, 11:50 AM #12Senior Member
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Surinam snakewood is one of the most beautiful and expensive hardwoods in the world . Very rare and hard to get hold of . The stuff from Australia is named after the appearance of the small tree(bush) , which is snakelike in appearance but the wood itself is rarely like the real thing.
The real stuff is from Surinam in South America as mentioned earlier. Turns and polishes like glass on the lathe but shatters like glass if your not careful enough so use very sharp tools. I've got a 100 odd year old antique snooker cue with an all snakewood butt . It's a protected species these days so it's quite rare and heaps expensive .
My favourite wood by a country mile.
Bazz
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12th August 2005, 12:09 PM #13
Bazz , whats the biggest piece of snakewood that you've seen ? I would like to get a piece about 40mm sq by about 100mm lg , I have only seen poor off cuts(split pieces)up here .
Veebull
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12th August 2005, 04:39 PM #14
Hi Veebull,
I hope you have just won lotto .If it is the Snakewood from Surinam it is one of the most exspensive woods you can buy .Several years ago I was quoted $2 a cubic inch. Best of luck,
RonIf in doubt panic
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9th April 2006, 08:17 AM #15New Member
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from where we can buy snakewood?