Wood Identification

African mahogany ?

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Jim, you might be right on the first one. How can I tell for sure?

-- Russ

I agree with Jim, Buy the pictures, it seems to have to much of a red hue for walnut:

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Am I right about the second one being cocobolo?

-- Russ

The second set doesn’t look exactly like cocobolo – but very hard to tell from a picture. The reason I do not think it is cocobolo is that the grain is too straight and narrow…..cocobolo has a more scattered grain feature (usually). The best way to tell for sure is that cocobolo is a very oily wood…if you sand it till dull…and leave overnight…when you see it again…it should be back to the original shade (the excess oil will come to the surface and the surface will have a sheen again).

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The second one looks like more mahogany to me. Cocobolo has almost no pores and that piece looks like it has an open pore structure. They could both be African Mahogany AKA Sapele especially because it looks like the grain is interlocking in parts and the color seems consistent.

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Nice Wood !!

-- Pat - Worker of Wood, Collector of Tools, Father of one

My bet would be mahogany for all 4 pics.

-- Safety first because someone needs you.

Looks like Mahogany grain to me, but what type is the question. Phillipine, Honduras, African? How heavy is the wood? If it’s kind of splintery and light weight it may be Phillipine, or what they used to refer to as Luan. Smoother feel after coming off the planer, Honduran or African.

I don’t see any pictures of anything that might be walnut.

Here’s a site you can look at to help ID wood species in Exotics.

Wood Identification Help

-- Michael Murphy, Woodland, CA.

I picked up a couple of strips of Cocobolo last weekend and it was much darker than that. I know color can vary, but my guess is that the second wood isn’t Cocobolo. And like Reggie said, it is very oily. You can feel it and see it. Has a little smell too.

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top does look like mahogany. I used to make light boxes out of Honduras Mahogany, and this looks just like it.

The bottom one looks nothing like cocobolo to me and I have some right here next to me.

(no offense) but is there a chance of getting a clearer and not so close-up picture of both?

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Mahogony. Just from different trees that is why it has a different color. Cocobolo has very verigated colors. More stripes and different colors.

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Brazilian Cherry or Ipe ? If there are small white flecks

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Here are some more pictures of specimen 2. The one laying on top is the milled piece the others are rough. Thank you all for your help here.

-- Russ

Could this be Honduran Rosewood. Seems to look very similar. Again being a noob I’m not positive.

-- Russ