Help identifying wood

T

t_davis925

Joined
Feb 3, 2012
Messages
87
Just got this small .75" board in a bundle, and my guess is that it's East Indian Rosewood, but I'd like a confirmation. It's very dense and hard, hopefully this crappy webcam picture can help.

Photo_00001.jpg
 
Sand or cut it and see if it is lighter in a fresh surface. Some cocobola looks like rosewood....until it is sanded.
 
I'm 99% certain it isn't Cocobola, the grain is far too straight, and the color isn't even close. The picture washes it out, there's way too much red tint in it. I'll cut, sand, and oil a small piece and see if I can get a good scan of it.
 
Here are some scans, one with the endgrain pictured. The color is a little darker in reality, but this is pretty good. I cut and resanded a small piece to 320, and it looks the exact same.

sc0000.jpg

tdavis2.jpg
 
I love that picture... pretty sure that popped up on Memebase not too long ago. Never thought I'd ever actually see it pulled on me- well played.
 
I've got some Amazon Rosewood in my woodbox that looks very similar. The only way I can tell it from some of the cocobolo in that box though is I KNOW which is which. My vote would be for cocobolo too. Check this link. Scroll down and scroll and scroll. The guy is an admitted cocobolo addict and currently in a 12 step program, he's getting help. Cocobolo grain and color variations are endless and there are several varieties depending on the locale the wood comes from. Check this out :
http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/cocobolo.htm
 
After scrolling though all those pictures, the only one it resembles is Cocobolo with a heavy patina. This would explain it, but the color is the exact same after sawing and sanding, which makes that impossible.

For the record, it's not that I don't want it to be Cocobolo, quite the contrary in fact, but I want to know exactly what materials I'm using, especially if they end up in someone else's hands.
 
Yeah don't ya hate that. If that is it it is nice wood to work. Makes a good handle. I've been sealing with a couple light coats of CA and then finish sand so that the CA is basically just a grain sealer. Then buff with a clean buff. Nice stuff.
 
The colors with Cocobolo can go all over the spectrum.
When you cut and sand, is there a spicy scent?
With me and Cocobolo, when I cut it, it smells good.
When I sand it, it is an annoyance/irritant.

I think you would be safe just calling it Rosewood.
 
Just throwing this out there, but to me it looks like teak. I have worked with tons (literally) of teak in my hobbies and work and have seen many examples like you have there, but I don't have much experiance with many other woods. So take my opinion for what it is...

Btw, does anyone know of any scientific methods to identify a wood species? I have some that is controversial in another circle of collectors that I would like to have tested, if possible.



-Xander
 
The working scent was sort of flowery, not really spicy at all. Another thing, I am intensely allergic to poison oak/ivy/sumac, so if Cocobolo causes a skin reaction through the same chemical irritants, then it definitely is not my wood. I think just "Rosewood" is about as close as I'm going to get with my limited knowledge.
 
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