Outdoor Table

I haven’t carved it before but Epi falls in the other areas it’s very heavy brownish tan it is even fire rated.

-- W James Brokenbourgh Custom furniture maker http://artisticwoodstudio.com/

Teak is used extensively in the South East Asian area and is heavily carved,, so that should not be a problem.
Here in Australia Teak is expensive. The only problem I see with using teak is that it is an oily timber and may dry out too much in the Arizona climate. Afraid I can not help with regards other timber that would be suitable.. here in Aussie maybe but not stateside.

-- Drink twice... and don't bother to cut... @ larrysworkshop.wordpress.com For lovers of all things timber...

what about some of that wild and twisted juniper..ive never worked it but have seen some beautiful tables come from it…it would blend into the dessert motif pretty well i would think…..seems to me that teak would be to refined looking…can you get it to be rustic enough…....i know what ever you pick and do will be great…you always do a good job keith…..hope you got that band saw running…congrats on getting it back up and runnin…......grizzman

-- GRIZZMAN ...[''''']

Honduran mahogany is KING of the hardwoods

and carves beautifully holding great detail …

it is also weather and insect resistant

I don’t think teak would be much fun at all to carve

-- keeping myself entertained

Mesquite

It’s local to the area, beautiful brown color, shrinks evenly in all directions, very stable, decay and insect resistant and can withstand radical moisture changes

-- Sam

Thanks guys. It seems as though Mesquite is prone to Termite damage. Teak is good but liable to insect attack too. Ipe is the front runner so far. If I had more information on the following that would be helpfull:
Peroba, White
Opepe
Niove
Louro Preto
Jarrah
Indain Laurel
Red River Gum
Etimoe
Brazilwood
Afrormosia
Yew

I would be interested in information on availability, price comparison, workability as far as machining and carving, etc.

-- ~ Inspiring those who inspire me ~

I have worked a bit with Peroba red and white and also Ipe. Ipe is VERY hard and dense. It can be carved but will be hell on your chisels. Peroba has very interesting grains. It has a tendency to crack heavily within the coarse grain. We use it for decks and framing in Brazil. I built a fairly large deck with it many years ago and it still looks good. Only one small section has needed repair. Some very nice country furniture is also made from it. Peroba Red is prefered for exterior use. Peroba can be carved. It is now almost depleted. Most of it comes from old factories and buildings.
Ipe is extremely durable. It is just a very hard wood. Seems the darker it is the more durable.

-- Oldworld, Fair Oaks, Ca

I can say that teak is beautiful, but if you plan to use it, factor in replacing all the blades in your shop. I built a teak garden bench and afterwards, had to put new sharps on my TS, jointer and rotate the blades on my planer. There is an alot of silica in teak. Here in KY, we call ipe bull wood, cause its so d#@n hard and difficult to work. What about bleaching mahogany and taking it to tan from there?

-- http://www.niceashplanes.com/ http://www.efcabineture.com/

Ipe would be no fun at all to carve unless of course you have a carving machine

-- keeping myself entertained

try wikipedia to look up the hardwoods… bet the information you are seeking is there

-- keeping myself entertained

I’m sure you already have this web site but may be others don’t, this is one of the most complete photo and information site on wood that I’ve ever seen.

http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/

An Epi source
http://www.ipedepot.com/picelist01.htm?gclid=CNO-jKPG25wCFc5U2godwQ-6Zg

-- W James Brokenbourgh Custom furniture maker http://artisticwoodstudio.com/

I would go with the cedar as well. A few aussie woods like huon pine (particularly incredible rare wood, has no visible grain & beautiful carving material), red gum, jarrah, tallow wood etc but they would be expensive imports.

-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python