Thread: Timber for paper weight?

Lignum Vitae.

something heavy. red ironbark is good...

Second the ironbark. It is good and heavy and polishes up quite nice. Lignum Vitae like Rustynail says would be good if you already have some but its quite rare now and likely costs a bit more than an arm and leg.
Regards
John

Welcome to the forum.

African Ebony is the heaviest and hardest timber I’ve ever used. Trend Timbers at Mulgrave have it.

I agree that darker woods would look good with a silver inlay. Consider ...

Ebony or better an inland acacia eg Gidgee, Western Myall etc (moderate pricing, though if figured can be pricey)
or maybe Red Ironwood / Cooktown Ironwood (inexpensive)
or figured Red Gum (readily available & very inexpensive)
or dark figured Blackwood (rel. inexpensive, ex Tassie is best imo)

There are both expensive and inexpensive darker Australian woods & exotics available from dealers and from members here.
LOTS of choice and that choice is yours. These are a few (more below)

Euge

A few more dark Australian woods you can consider for a Paper Weight

Burdekin Plum or Black Walnut (moderate price, easy to work, maybe not as dense as you'd like*)
Black Bean (as above* )
Inland Boree (very dark brown, oily, )
Purple Gidgee (pricey, but pretty)
Inland Rosewood (dark red, very hard to work, pricier)
Inland Ironwood (dark chocolate brown, moderate price)

* You can always drill into ends of the Toblerone-shape and fill it with lead shot

Originally Posted by ausmomo

Hi all,
Just seeking some advice about what timbers might be good for my project.
It's a paper weight. Similar size to a toblerone or a straightened banana. About 20cm x 5cm x 5cm.
Darker the better.
I'm going to inlay some silver in it. Not sure what design yet.
If you know someone who might also supplier such timber too that would be awesome.
Thanks

HI: I just cut some Bloodwood both on a CNC Router and on my Tablesaw. It is not only heavy, but heavy as well. And the color is a very rich Red/Brown or Red/Black and my piece still has a luster on it without a coating.

Luck on your Project!!

Originally Posted by ausmomo

Hi all,
Just seeking some advice about what timbers might be good for my project.
It's a paper weight. Similar size to a toblerone or a straightened banana. About 20cm x 5cm x 5cm.
Darker the better.
I'm going to inlay some silver in it. Not sure what design yet.
If you know someone who might also supplier such timber too that would be awesome.

well ...

almost any of the darker "gums" or "acacias" or "ebonies" will meet your requirements.

how many "paper weights" are you looking at making ?? 0ne or two or hundreds?

At 200 x 50 x 50 you could source "just a few" from almost any hardwood firewood pile for free.

If it's hundreds that you're after then a commercial supplier would be desirable. And if it's "hundreds" how picky are you in regards to the consistency of the colour ?

as to weight ...
200 x 50 x 50 and toberlone shape is equivalent to around 150 grams (about 5 oz) if the timber's specific gravity (SG) is 600 kg/cu.m and 300 grams (10-1/2 oz) if the SG is 1200 kg/cu.m.


I have a piece of Rosewood and two pieces of Purpleheart here in Canada that I could laminate to the size you are after -- the only issue would be the cost of postage would make my Rosewood or purple heart pieces far too expensive for you.

Another LOW COST option for you to consider...

Eucalypt woods (with high tannin contents) incl. figured Red Gum, readily available from posts, firewood etc is very inexpensive in small sizes, can be ebonised (ie blackened) with ferric chloride (used for etching circuit boards etc) or an iron solution that you can make yourself from steel wool and vinegar.

This alternative would add more interest for you in the project and for the receiver. Weight can be added if you wish. This is actually a nature-identical procedure. It would look great with silver inlay IMO! Test the procedure first.

Euge