Michael T Shue Studios Wood Blog: February 2013

Friday, February 15, 2013

Olive (Olea Europaea)

Status: Secure and widely available.

Other Common Names:

Widely distributed around the Mediterranean, Caspian Sea, Northern Iran and Iraq and transplanted into California, members of the Oleaceae family (Olea) can grow to 25-50 feet in height and 3-5 feet in diameter. One of the most widely cultivated trees in the world for their fruit and oils.

Light brown with Medium to Dark brown veining. Figuring can be stunning in appearance.

Fine texture, machines well and turns beautifully.. Specific Gravity: .72-.99. Avg. Dry Weight: 62 pounds per cubic foot.

Smells like Olive Oil when cut/turned. Oil content can make it more difficult to apply a finish, but polishes wonderfully.

Used to make: Kitchen Items, Novelty items, High End Furniture.

Pruning is required to maintain the health of fruit producing trees. Many pieces in the woodturning world come from these prunings. There have been some questions of the authenticity of some sources of Holy Land Olive (some suggesting that pieces are imported into Israel to then be shipped to buyers).

Italian Olive Burl

Holy Land Olive

Olive

Olive Burl

Italian Olive

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Bocote (Cordia Sp.)

Status: Secure and widely available.

Other Common Names: Bacote

Found in Central and South America and small portions of Africa, members of the Boraginaceae family (Cordia) can grow to 65-100 feet in height and 3-5 feet in diameter.

Yellow brown and Dark brown alternating stripes representing the early and late wood.

Medium texture with small pores, machines well and turns beautifully, but can contain silica that will dull cutters. Specific Gravity: .74-.94. Avg. Dry Weight: 59 pounds per cubic foot.

Dill smell when cut/turned. Takes a finish easily.Sanding dust can cause allergic reactions.

Used to make Cabinetry, flooring, boatbuilding, musical instruments and furniture.

Bocote

Argentine Lignum Vitae (Bulnesia Sarmientoi)

Status: Conservation Dependent (Lower Risk) and available.

Other Common Names: Verawood

Found in Northern South America into Central America, this member of the Zygophyllaceae family (Bulnesia) grows to 40-50 feet in height and 1-2 feet in diameter.

Heartwood is Golden Olive to Dark Green when exposed to UV light.

Extremely Dense with feathery grain and fine texture, machines well and turns beautifully with natural lubricating properties. Specific Gravity: .1.01-1.19. Avg. Dry Weight: 74 pounds per cubic foot.

Citrus smell when cut/turned. Can be difficult to finish due to wax/oil content.

Used to make Pulley Wheel, Bearings, Tool Handles.

Argentine Lignum Vitae

Anigre (Aningeria Sp.)

Status: Secure and widely available.

Other Common Names: Aniegre

Found in Tropical Africa, this member of the Sapotaceae family (Aningeria) grows to 100-180 feet in height and 3-4 feet in diameter.

Light Yellowish Brown in color.

Moderately dense with fine grain, machines well and turns beautifully, but can dull tools as some pieces contain silica. Specific Gravity: .40-.51. Avg. Dry Weight: 32 pounds per cubic foot.

Takes a finish easily.

Used to make Cabinetry and furniture as well as boatbuilding.

Anigre

Ancient Kauri (Agathis Australis)

Status: Not Rated. Living trees are rated as Conservation Dependent (Lower Risk).

Other Common Names: Swamp Kauri

Found on New Zealand's North Island, this member of the Araucariaceae family (Agathis) grew up to 200 feet in height and 40 feet in diameter.

Pale Yellowish white to Golden Brown in color.

Not very dense with fine grain, machines well and turns beautifully Specific Gravity: .44-.55. Avg. Dry Weight: 34 pounds per cubic foot.

Takes a finish easily.

Used to make Boats, Musical Instruments, Cabinetry and furniture.

Excavated from swamplands in New Zealand, these trees grew for more than 2000 years before being buried . They then remained in a low oxygen environment preventing decay for 35,000-50,000 years.

Ancient Kauri

One of the main excavation companies removed a large trunk section and carved an internal spiral staircase before building their headquarters around it.

Ancient Kauri Staricase at Ancient Kauri Kingdom in New Zealand

American Elm (Ulmus Ameicana)

Status: Secure and widely available.

Other Common Names: Water Elm

Found in Eastern and Midwest North America, this member of the Ulmaceae family (Ulmus) grows to about 100 feet in height and about 3 feet in diameter.

Both sapwood and heartwood are a light to golden brown.

Dense with moderate pores, interlocked grain causes some issues with machining. Specific Gravity: .46-.60. Avg. Dry Weight: 38 pounds per cubic foot.

Takes a finish easily.

Used to make boxes and furniture.

While Secure, Dutch Elm Disease will commonly infect this species and cause early death.

American Elm

Elm Burl

Spaulted American Elm

American Cherry (Prunus Serotina)

Status: Secure and widely available.

Other Common Names: Black Cherry

Found in Eastern North America, this member of the Rosaceae family (Prunus) grows to 50-100 feet in height and 3-5 feet in diameter.

Sapwood is a creamy white (sometimes used as a substitute for maple) while the heartwood is reddish and will darken to a deep reddish brown.

Moderately dense with fine grain, machines well and turns beautifully. Specific Gravity: .47-.59. Avg. Dry Weight: 37 pounds per cubic foot.

Mild but distinctive smell when cut/turned. Takes a finish easily.

Used to make Cabinetry and furniture, flooring.

Curly Cherry

American Cherry

Cherry Burl

Black Cherry

Soft Maple (Acer Saccharinum)

Status: Secure and widely available.

Other Common Names: Silver Maple

Found in Eastern North America, this member of the Sapindaceae family (Acer) grows to 50-80 feet in height and 2-3 feet in diameter.

Both Sapwood and Heartwood are a creamy white to light reddish with a fine grain.

Moderately Dense, machines well and turns beautifully Specific Gravity: .44-.56. Avg. Dry Weight: 33 pounds per cubic foot.

Takes a finish easily.

Used to make Cabinetry and furniture.

Ambrosia Maple - Formed when the ambrosia beetle larvae bore into soft maples and allow fungus colonies to spault the wood.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Narra [Amboyna Burl] (Pterocarpus Indicus)

Status: Vulnerable (Threatened) and widely available.

Other Common Names: Malay Padauk

Found in Southeast Asia, this member of the Fabaceae family (Pterocarpus) grows to 60-100 feet in height and 3-5 feet in diameter.

Sapwood is a creamy white while the heartwood is Golden Brown to Reddish Brown.

Dense with small pores, machines well and turns beautifully Specific Gravity: .54-.65. Avg. Dry Weight: 41 pounds per cubic foot.

Spicy smell when cut/turned. Takes a finish easily.Sanding dust can contaminate lighter woods if not careful.

Used to make Cabinetry and furniture.

Burl forms referred to as Amboyna are common. Used for interior of luxury Autos.

Amboyna Burl

Narra

African Blackwood (Dalbergia Melanoxylon)

Status: Near Threatened (Lower Risk) and widely available.

Other Common Names: Mpingo,

Found in Central/Southern African dry savanna regions, this member of the Fabaceae family (Dalbergia) grows to 25-40 feet in height and 2-3 feet in diameter.

Sapwood is a creamy white while the heartwood is very dark brown to nearly black and will darken with age and exposure.

Very dense as with most Rosewoods, it will dull cutting tools very quickly but turns beautifully. Specific Gravity: 1.08-1.31. Avg. Dry Weight: 82 pounds per cubic foot.

Very oily wood may make it difficult to apply a finish. Polishes well. Oils and dust can cause allergic reactions.

Highly sought after for tonal quality. Used to make Clarinets, Oboes, Highland Bag Pipes, etc.

Burl formations are very rare.

African Blackwood with Sapwood

African Blackwood Burl

Cocobolo (Dalbergia Retusa)

Status: Vulnerable (Threatened) but widely available from tree farms.

Other common names: Cocobola

Found in Central American rain forests, this member of the Fabaceae family (Dalbergia) grows to 45-60 feet in height and up to 3 foot in diameter.

Sapwood is creamy white while the heartwood is a combination of reds, oranges,blacks and purples that will darken with age and exposure. Colors vary depending on growing conditions and soil.

Very dense as with most Rosewoods, it will dull cutting tools very quickly but turns wonderfully. Specific Gravity: .89-1.07, Avg. Dry Weight 67 pounds per cubic foot.

Very oily wood may make it difficult to apply a finish. Oils and dust can cause allergic reactions.

Highly sought after for tonal quality. Used in Guitars, Pool Cues, Gun and Knife grips, jewelry boxes, luxury pens,etc.

The burl formations are exceptionally rare.

Mexican Cocobolo

Honduras Cocobolo

Cocobolo Burl

Mexican Cocobolo Burl with Lacquer finish

Bog Woods

Bog woods are found all over the world in many different types of environments. Peat Bogs, Swamp Bogs, River Bottoms, and Dry Lake Beds are just some of the places these woods are found. One thing they have in common is they are all OLD. Below are the types that I have been able to find.

Ancient Kauri - Agathis Australis (Approx 35,000 years old)

Celtic Irish Bog Oak - Quercus Robur (Approx 5,000 years old)

Crib Beech - Fagus Grandifolia (Approx 200 years old)

Crib Chestnut - Castanea Dentata (Approx 200 years old)

Crib Hickory - Carya Sp. (Approx 200 years old)

Celtic Irish Bog Oak - Quercus Robur (Approx 5,000 years old)

Crib Poplar - Populus Alba (Approx 200 years old)

Crib White Oak - Quercus Alba (Approx 200 years old)

Crib Red Oak - Quercus Rubra (Approx 200 years old)

West Virginia Bog Hickory - Carya Sp. (Approx 10, 000 years old)

West Virginia Bog Oak - Quercus Alba (Approx 10,000 years old)

Padauks (Pterocarpus)

Commonly called Padauks (or Padouk), these species tend to be found in Africa and Asia. Wood is generally Reddish or Golden in color and have a decidedly spicy scent when cut.

Narra - Pterocarpus Indicus

Dragon's Blood Amboyna Burl - Pterocarpus Macrocarpus

African Padauk - Pterocarpus Soyauxii

Zitan - Pterocarpus Santalinus

Amboyna Burl - Pterocarpus Indicus

Welcome to the MTSS Wood Blog

Welcome to the Michael T. Shue Wood Blog.

I am Mike and as you can see I've already gotten busy moving the information from my soon to be defunct website RussianwolfStudios.com to this new blog. I hope to be able to more easily edit and update this blog over the site format.

The amount of information I was able to put together in the past had the habit of making the web pages ungainly, so I intend to make an entry for every type of wood I have in my collection as well as some general categories (Burls, Bog Woods, etc.).

Anyway I hope you enjoy.

Mike

Rosewoods (Dalbergia)

A list and description of the different varieties of Dalbergia that I use in the shop. All the Traditional Rosewoods are of the Dalbergia family. I use the word "Traditional" Rosewood instead of the generally used "True" Rosewood because the only disqualifier from being a "True" Rosewood that I've been able to corner is that "Traditionally" some woods were not referred to as "True" Rosewoods such as African Blackwood. As far as I can tell is has all the characteristics of the "True" Rosewoods except that it was never called a "True" Rosewood by the "Powers that Be", whomever they are or were. I'm not sure how a new variety of Dalbergia could become a "True" Rosewood given that it would not have the "Tradition" behind it. So, I will refrain from using the "Traditional" term of "True" Rosewood, opting to call them "Traditional" Rosewoods.