wood info

[DennisStrickland]

anyone tell me about bubinga wood .is it hard? need oil etc.thanks

 

[Phillip Dobson]

It's nice stuff. Not super hard, but it takes a good polish and the figure can be incredible. It's available in huge planks, so it's popular with furniture makers.

Here's what Gilmer Wood has to say about it:

"Called by some woodworkers African Rosewood, Bubinga is a deep, lustrous, brownish-red color with a fine, darker striping. The figure makes the wood doubly beautiful. It is very hard and heavy and takes a glassy, smooth finish."

Note: it is not a true rosewood.

 

[Phillip Dobson]

Oh yeah, oil will improve the appearance.

 

[DennisStrickland]

txs. phillip this was a new wood to me .bought a g.e.c. #23 and wondered what it was.classy looking stuff

 

[PB Wilson]

Bubinga is pretty stuff. It's got a depth to it that can be stunning. It's hard enough to make me not like using a handplane on it. Some of the beautiful figure can be a bear to plane.

 

[PayetteRucker]

I think Paduak is my alltime favorite for scales and pens and that sorta stuff. A natural wax finish on Paduak makes you wonder how a natural material could look like that.

 

[Slidetechnik]

It is a pretty dense wood. It can also be toxic, so wear respiratory protection.

 

[Phillip Dobson]

I think Paduak is my alltime favorite for scales and pens and that sorta stuff. A natural wax finish on Paduak makes you wonder how a natural material could look like that.

Be aware that Padauk and Bubinga are not the same thing. Both are from Africa, and are reddish, but that's about it (both are very nice, too). Padauk is a pterocarpus and Bubinga is a guibourtia.