Help with species ID

[Rick Lindstrom]

The house I bought a couple of years ago had a small but very nice stash of hardwood left in the attic. I asked the previous owner about it and he said that it had belonged to his father, who was a wood worker, but that he had no interest in it and it was mine. I'm ready to build the OM I've been wanting, so I dragged everything down to get a good look at it in the daylight. It's mostly domestic hardwood, with some very nice pieces of cherry that will form the basis for the OM.

There was also something I suspected to be Honduras mahogany, but when I picked it up, I realized that it was far too heavy, and when I got it into some good light knew that it was some other exotic. I weighed a board, did the numbers and came up with roughly 60 lb. per cubic foot. The board rings like a bell if you hold the right way and strike it. I have no idea what it is, so I've taken some photos to post here hoping that someone with more experience than me will be able to ID it. There are two photos each of the face and the edge of the board, one dry and the second wiped with water to bring out the color and grain a little.

I looked at a list with some photos, and I'm thinking maybe bloodwood or bubinga, as the weight is about correct. Anyone have and idea what it is?

[sunburst]

Could be anything. There are so many exotics that look a lot like mahogany, that... it could be anything.

[Nevin]

I agree it could be hard to tell. I doubt it is blood wood from the color. There are a few diferent species of Bubinga. Could just be a heavy piece of mahogany.

[Rick Lindstrom]

I'm pretty sure it's not mahogany. I've worked a lot of that in my day, and I've never seen mahogany this dense. You can leave an impression in most mahogany with your fingernail, but this wood is far too hard to do that easily. I've been browsing the internet looking at exotic lumber identification sites, and John is right, or partly right anyway. It obviously couldn't be "anything" (balsa comes to mind, for instance), but there are a lot of things that appear very similar and are about the right weight. Granadillo is one, and I'd be happy if it were that because I'd be set for a great fingerboard.

An interesting site I ran across that has really good photos of about a bazillion varieties of exotic hardwoods is this:

http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/person...pics/index.htm

My only complaint is that the physical properties of the woods are not given, but I think the guy's mission is to provide excellent photos of species, and he does that for sure.

One thing I know for sure is that the man who left the lumber in the attic was a hobby wood worker, and the lumber must have been available at retail in the US at some point. That lets out a lot of the weirder non-commercial species.

[Lefty Luthier]

My guess based on the wet color and hardness is Padauk. If so, it will make some very nice fingerboards but for a back, it might have to be thinned too much to get near a desired resonant frequency.

[Rick Lindstrom]

My guess based on the wet color and hardness is Padauk. If so, it will make some very nice fingerboards but for a back, it might have to be thinned too much to get near a desired resonant frequency.

Padauk is definitely one of my suspects. Compare to photos on this page-

http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/person...ics/padauk.htm

Padauk is given as about 47 lb. per cubic foot, and the stuff I have is a bit heavier than that.

[John Arnold]

One possibility is macacauba (Platymiscium pinnatum)
I have sawn some of it, and the tap tone is incredible.
http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-...ods/macacauba/

http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/person.../macacauba.htm

[Dobe]

Teak ? Just throwin' one out there. I've got a little that's surprisingly heavy.

[Marty Jacobson]

This doesn't seem to have any of the hallmarks of bloodwood or bubinga. I've worked with both of those quite a bit. There are thousands of species of exotic woods it could be, but I don't think it's anything that easily recognizable. If I had to guess, I'd say it's South American, but I wouldn't guess any more granularly than that. I do know someone you could send a sample to and get a more informed guess, though.

[almeriastrings]

Could be Red Meranti (Dipterocarpaceae sp.)

It is very variable....

Frequently used for doors, door frames, moldings, balustrades, etc.