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Help Identifying Mystery Lumber

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2K views 14 replies 8 participants last post by  Laban 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
I recently had to go to Ohio because I had an uncle pass away. My aunt wanted me to go through his shop and take some woodworking things back with me. I came across these 3 pieces of lumber that I though I would make something special out because it was his. My aunt told me that many years ago my uncle had done some work for someone that worked in Indonesia. He had brought some lumber from Indonesia to use in his house. My uncle was allowed to keep the leftovers after he completed the job. Now it is possible that my aunt could have been confused due to the dealing with all of this and not thinking clearly but that is the back story I got. Here are some pictures of the wood lightly sanded and I hit part of them with some denatured alcohol just to bring the color out.

Solved - Asian/African Mahogany
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Still not a clue
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The first one seems to be about the density of maple. It is about 8/4×6"-7" wide
The second one is about 3/4" x 6"..it is very dense and heavy.
The last one I though may be walnut but it is about 9/4 board and about 6"-7" wide. It is very heavy though. It looked like walnut when the denatured alcohol hit it but I have never felt walnut that was that dense.

I will try to get some actual weights on the board, maybe it will help identify it

Added some more pictures of the 3rd board a pew posts into the thread showing the color a little better in some natural sunlight
 

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#4 ·
The weight diffrences are too drastic for them to all be Walnut. The 3/4 board weights more that the 8/4 board above it. It actually almost weighs more than my 8/4 board. The weights are all different
 
#5 · (Edited by Moderator)
The first piece of board, my first thought was Iroko (Mahogany) a.k.a. African Teak. I am 90% sure of that, both the end grain and face grain look almost spot on identical to what I used for my kitchen countertop.

The other 2 seem to be of a different species.

PS! If you want to test if it is Iroko, grab a piece of 80 grit paper and sand it a little without wearing a mask. This stuff is hyper irritable, everyone who came into my shop when I was doing the sanding were coughing like crazy. Even after a few swipes with a sanding pad you should feel it. I am not allergenic at all, but it took a couple of swipes and I started coughing (without a mask).

If you want I can post pics of the Iroko I have later when I get back home.
 
#8 ·
Okay I cut a piece off the end of the 3rd one and it does not have that chocolaty smell that walnut normally has. I took a few more pictures in some natural sun light that shows some of the reddish tones that it has to it that didn't show up in my first picture. Given the very sharp lines between between the sap wood and heartwood it looks similar to what you see in cocobolo. Is it possible that is what this is?
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#11 ·
None of the 3 are walnut but my guesses would run from African Teak to Asian Mahogany. They seem to be several difference species of wood. You will know if it is Iroko when you cut some. I get sneezing attacks and don't use it any more. Grain figures are nice. Should be good to work with and make some nice projects
 
#12 ·
Thanks for the link Dark. Helpful for sure!

Thanks for the info Wrangler. I am pretty sold on that first on being some form of an asian/african mahogany as well. The last one is the piece that I thought would be the easiest for someone to identify just because of its uniqueness but even looking through that database that was linked by Dark I'm still not having much luck. I am leaning towards Cocobolo. I have never seen larger pieces of cocobolo..actual never seen anything larger than pen blanks in person.
 
#15 ·
After looking at some more pictures online I think you have it right. I looked for some slab pieces that showed the sap wood with it and it looks dead on. Thanks Hammer!

Now to just get the middle picture solved and I am all set
 
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