New Wood - What is it??

Kinda looks like luan to me, pronounced loo-on I think, if it smells a little sweet when you cut it it probably is luan. is it really lightweight?

-- "That Government is Best that Governs The Least."-Jefferson

i was going to guess mahogany, but others would know better than me

Okay, I guess mahogany also.

-- My favorite piece is my last one, my best piece is my next one.

I was gonna say mahogany too, so “mohogany”

-- Rob (A) Waxahachie,TX

If its red and not brown as the photos show and is heavy and hard as a rock, could be santos mahogany. The ribbons in the grain kind of give it away.

-- Makin' Sawdust!!!

My guess is…Sawdustonmyshoulder is right.

-- Randy, Tupelo, MS ~ May I become more like the Master Carpenter every day.

If its real heavy its Brazilian cherry.

I have some pieces of flooring that looks just like that.

-- -** You are never to old to set another goal or to dream a new dream ****************** Dick, & Barb Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1

No, I did a staircase and flooring in it, in my own house. JATOBA (Brazilian Cherry). It should be pretty dense, and heavy.

-- Clamps are like dollars in the bank, you NEVER can have too many!

Looks like it could be sapele. I’ve been working with some of that and it resembles your pics.

-- Calgary Bill

Here’s some pictures of Jatoba (Brazilian Cherry).

-- -** You are never to old to set another goal or to dream a new dream ****************** Dick, & Barb Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1

You can tell if its Sapele by the smell….If it smells like cola when cut, you most likely have Sapele…

JC

-- Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known. -Carl Sagan

I was going to say Jatoba as well , especially the board on the far right in pic #2…..I posted a small dish in my projects here made from Jatoba ( Brazilian Cherry ) and before I turned it and applied finish it looked just like your boards. I just haven’t seen that much of it to say that the ribbon striped boards are a feature of the species or not.

-- You know you're getting old when you know the difference between you're (you are) and your (belonging to you) AND how to use them in a sentence .

Folks,

It is extremely dense and very, very heavy. I tried to run my 4 1/2 over it and the board said, “I don’t think so buddy!” I have to agree with Mr. Cain that it is Jatoba. Question is, besides flooring, what in the world would someone use it for?

-- Jeff, Indiana

Jatoba will kill tools, hard, heavy and, I think, very cool. From your description thats what it is although my local supplier has mostly straight grained stuff.

-- http://www.riverviewwoodworking.com

I don’t think its Jatoba I have some just like it and it came off of some pallets from the far east. I am working some of it now making a tool carrier. Its heaver that Jaoaba and some of it is kind of oily. I have one or two pieces in the stack that has a lacewood look to it. And its about as bad as purpleheart for splinters.

-- Richard http://www.PictureTrail.com/gallery/view?username=thewizz

I agree with Dusty and Dick – I’ve used Jatoba (brazilian cherry) before in keepsake boxes and it looks nearly identical to this…and very hard and heavy. Yes it’s somewhat hard on tools, but I actually kind of like it and have quite a few 4/4 and 8/4 planks of it on hand. It seems to darken with age. I’ve used honduran, brazilian, indian and caribbean rosewoods as well as cocobolo…this wood you have doesn’t look like the honduran I’ve had nor the other rosewoods I’ve used.

-- Martin, Kansas

The cherry has a bit more open grain, and the pieces I have come across have a little more contrast in the old/new wood. Although jatoba can have wild grain, Sapele is known for the huge variety and wildness.

I’ve built quite a few projects from it and if I had to put money down, I would go with Sapele….

JC

-- Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known. -Carl Sagan

jeff-

I have to agree with the Jatoba crowd. And just so you dont ruin any tools, I have issued a UPS call tag.
Please place the lumber in a neat stack right infront of your mailbox.

-- MISSION FURNITURE-My mission is to build furniture

It looks like Aframosia to me I looked at the piece I have and it looks very close.

-- Can't never could do anything, to try is to advance.

Are those white pores? If so, I’d guess Ipe, but Jatoba sounds like as good a guess as any from those pictures. You might try going down to your local high end deck store to see what they’ve got that’s similar.

-- Dan Lyke, Petaluma California, http://www.flutterby.net/User:DanLyke

could be cumaru

try this link and see if any of the photos match yours

-- work from your heart and your spirit will live forever

It does look like jatoba to me but it is difficult to tell from the picture. One suggestion I would have would be to wipe it down with mineral spirits and take a picture of it while it is wet. That should a clearer idea of what the finished wood would look like.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

If its unusually heavy theres a chance you have some Lyptus. The heaviest mahogany type wood i’ve ever experienced.

-- miles125, Alabama.."Architecture is frozen music""

I think it could be S U C U P I R A : JATOBA smells “sweet” when milling it, but SUCUPIRA stinks a bit like “dead fish”. What did it smelt like when milling? And the splinters of SUCUPIRA are even worst than those of JATOBA.
Nombre Comercial: SUCUPIRA
Nombre Botánico: Diplotropis Purpurea Amsh.
Accordingly too your description and to the photos, another possibility is D O U S S I É ( V I T A C O L A ).

-- Alejandro Moreno, CANARY ISLANDS

Looks like mahogany to me.

-- CJIII Future cabinetmaker

I users mahogany. It is one of my favorite. This looks to be the same color and grain.

-- Mateo

it sure looks like “CUMARU” to me. I purchased about 200 bd ft of it and built a front porch out of it and had enough left over to build a desktop, handrail to my upstairs shop and aboug 30 ft left over for another project.

CUMARU is also called Brazilian teak and is extremely heavy, practically no shrinkage, looks great when finished and will hold up outside untreated very well… like ipe, except nicer when finished.

-- Each and Every step of any project should be considered your masterpiece if you want the finished product to reflect the quality of your work. Greg Little

It’s a mahogany of sorts, probably santos. It’s very dense, and open grained like that. If it isn’t, at least we can all agree that it’s from the rain forests of central america, and it will require sharp blades.

-- Julian, Park Forest, IL

Id say Mahogany – scrape/plane it a bit – and smell it – it should have sweet smell to it.

-- When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

I think sapele a more well grained form of mahogony.Alistair

-- excuse my typing as I have a form of parkinsons disease

Is your lumber 1×6 with rounded edges as used in decking? That is PRIMARILY how cumaru is sold, but you can purchase it in different sizes…I also bought it in 4×4’s that were 12 ft long to use as posts.

-- Each and Every step of any project should be considered your masterpiece if you want the finished product to reflect the quality of your work. Greg Little