Throw out the life line...my wood is sinking

[samuraistuart]

A quick question to you wood whisperers...

A friend told me that Ironwood is so dense it will sink in water. Cool. I believe him. I "think" he told me it is the ONLY wood that will sink in water. True/false? Thanks!

 

[Willie71]

Ebony sinks (gaboon) and certain rose woods too. If the specific gravity is above 1.0, it won't float. I had a block of cocobolo that didn't float.

http://www.wood-database.com

 

[samuraistuart]

Thanks Warren. I may just be remembering his statement wrong.

 

[polish avenger]

I know this is overkill, but..... http://blog.mischel.com/2012/10/21/woods-that-sink/
-Mark

 

[John L]

lignum vitae sinks like....well..like a log.....

 

[samuraistuart]

Thanks Mark!!!

 

[Hengelo_77]

Guess where the name ironwood comes from?
Iron sinks as well

 

[PT Doc]

ipe is supposed to sink.

 

[jdm61]

A number of the dense woods won't float. Remember that for something to float, it has to weigh less than a volume of water that it displaces. That is why we were able to build concrete barges in WW1 and WW2 and why steel ships float. Cubic foot of fresh water weighs around 62 pounds and a gallon weighs a bit over 8. Think about what a gallon jug sized chunk of some of the members of the rosewood family like blackwood would weigh. I don't know if it floats or sinks, but it ain't light, thats for sure.

 

[Sprayman]

Natalie Wood sinks.

 

[jdm61]

Some of us are old enough to still groan at that joke.

Natalie Wood sinks.

 

[Nathan the Machinist]

For most folks, wood that sinks in water is very uncommon, but for knife makers (who use very dense wood) it is quite common.

Ironwood might be the only local wood that sinks.

 

[jdm61]

REAL Lignum Vitae is local, with some very small stands still remaining in the South Florida much like Cuban Mahogany, and VERY heavy, but we rarely, if ever see any of that stuff. What we saw for a while was "Argentine lignum vitae" or verawood, which is slightly lighter in weight and quite bit lighter in color than the real stuff. It has also been put on the CTIES list recently. The real lignum vote is thought to be the densest and heaviest wood in the world and was used for propshaft bearings on ships for years.

For most folks, wood that sinks in water is very uncommon, but for knife makers (who use very dense wood) it is quite common.

Ironwood might be the only local wood that sinks.

 

[Phillip Patton]

For most folks, wood that sinks in water is very uncommon, but for knife makers (who use very dense wood) it is quite common.

Ironwood might be the only local wood that sinks.

Osage orange varies in density. I've had some that floated and some that didn't.

 

[samuraistuart]

All really good info. Thanks guys