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The grading of this wood is based upon the intensity of the flame, and the tightness of the grain, ranging from Grade 3A through Grade 5A. There are over 200 species of maple.
In Johnny's curved, checkered boxes, Maple is the light colored wood.
BBROSIMIUM RUBESCENS
This beautiful heavy wood is as red as blood and as smooth as silk.
It has been used principally as an accent wood for fancy box making as well as for billiard cue butts, drum sticks, xylophones and organ pipes.
Originating in Brazil, French Guiana and Suriname, other names for it are Satine Rouge, Conduru and Satinjout.
This wood is very resistant to bugs and decay, and its resistant properties contribute to possible allergic response to the dust. A dust mask must always be used while working with this wood.
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Other Names:
Central American Mahogany, British Honduras Mahogany, Costa Rican, Brazilian, Peruvian, Nicaraguan, etc. according to country of origin. Mechanical Properties Low bending strength, medium crush strength. Very low stiffness and resistanceto shock. Moderately good steam bending characteristics. Working Properties Works easily with hand and power tools. Takes glue, nails and screws well.
Stains and polishes to an excellent finish.
Durability:
Sapwood is susceptible to attack by power post beetle and common furniture beetle. Heartwood is durable and extremely resistant to preservative treatment.
Seasoning
Dries rapidly and well, without distortion, bu tension wood and presence of glutinous fibers can result in a high rate of shrinkage in kiln drying. Small movement.
Uses
High-class furniture and cabinetmaking, reproduction furniture, boat interiors, pianos, pattern making, carving, turning, moulds and dies, veneers.
Comments
Cuban or Spanish Mahogany Swietenia Mahogani, Jacq, which for 250 years was the most cherished cabinet wood in the world, has now become of more historical importance than commercial significance due to indiscriminate wastage.
CMany people refer to cocobolo as "rosewood", and rosewood has been the most popular name for this species of exotic hardwood. However, rosewood refers to more than 100 species of trees and shrubs, indigenous to various tropical locations in the world.
(Visit Costaricaart.com to learn more about this beautiful wood.
In this sense, "rosewood" is a very generic term.
The cocobolo we use, dalbergia retusa, is the most dense and strongest of all the rosewoods, and considered the most beautiful exotic wood due to it's colors and highly figured grain patterns. Cocobolo is the second most dense wood in the world, it has twice the density of walnut. For these reasons, it is the wood of choice for high quality handgun grips.
Rosewood is a generic term for a variety of wood species belonging to the Papilionatae family of trees. For the last 150 years, rosewood has been the word of choice to describe many of these exotic wood species. Cocobolo is very often referred to as "rosewood", as it belongs under this common grouping.
The word "cocobolo" originated in the 1800's in Panama to describe the species dalbergia retusa. It comes from the Spanish words "coco" meaning phantom and "bolo" meaning log. Several other closely related species have since adopted the use of the word cocobolo, notably Granadillo from Mexico and also Honduran Rosewood, but the original cocobolo is dalbergia retusa from Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua. The supply of cocobolo is very scarce.
Cocobolo is a member of the Rosewood family.
It grows in the drier uplands on the Pacific side of Mexico down toPanama. Extremely oily it will reject almost any finish except wax. It shines up to a nice luster with just buffing. Even an oil based varnishwill not stick well. Soaking glue joints in acetone before gluing isrecommended for a good bond.
The color of the finish can also be controlled by the additionof tint. Some pieces of cocobolo tend to be on the orange side and for userswanting a rich, burgundy, antique looking finish, the orange can be toned downtowards the redder appearance. This wood varies greatly in appearance from plain bright orange to dark burgundy with light brown stripes through it. An exhibition piece of cocobolo has a light brown to orange background with distinct black streaks through it. The streaks are very well defined. This is the most desirable.
Cocobolo is so rare, that very little of it reaches the world market. With respect to the environment, the government of Costa Rica requires that a permit be issued in order to cut down a Cocobolo tree. Most of the cocobolo available today is not cut from the natural rainforest, but rather from privately owned finca's on which cocobolo trees were planted 80 to 100 years ago. Cocobolo is a rare heavy hardwood (Delbergia retusa) grows in the west coast of central America. Purple, orange or rust in color with a pattern of veins with black streaks. Can be very nicely polished. nbsp; Other names: Grandillo (Mexico), Nicaraguan rosewood, Grandill. Expensive. Cocobolo is an extremely dense (it doesn't float!) hardwood from South America. The wood has a natural, oily finish. It requires no finish coat of varnish, shellac or any kind of sealer. Cocobolo does not soak up water readily, and therefore does not swell when wet. Nor does it change size appreciably due to variations in temperature.
NOTE: Johnny's Checkered Boxes: COCOBOLO is used only with solid boxes.
It will not hold varnish due to its natural oiliness.
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Average height is 100 feet, but the wood can grow to 130 feet with diameters of 2 to 5 feet and wide buttresses.
Properties: Dries well with with minimum degrade.
It saws well with slow feed and machines easily, although there can be some tearing. It finishes well and glues easily. The heartwood is very durable and very resistant to termite attack. African padauk has excellent strength properties. Padauk is the 'generic' name for a number of trees just as oak refers to a variety of similar species. Padauk species are known for yielding wood with vibrant colors, brightest when cut and darkening with age and exposure. Many believe that the most vibrant padauk - a vivid orange - comes from padauk grown in the Congo.
The wood's color can fade with exposure to the sun. Because padauk yields vibrant colors, it is agood choice as an accent wood and for use in inlay work and marquetry. Depending colors range from blood red to bright orange, brick red, or red with purplish streaks to a yellow-orange.Padauk is also known as a dye wood, meaning the wood is used to make dyes. Properties of the wood make it suitable for use in musical instruments.
Some of the wood is cut into decorative veneers and made into paneling. include high-class joinery, furniture and cabinetry, fancy turnery, carving and sculpting. It is also used for tool and knife handles and boat-building, paddles, oars, agricultural implements and billiard tables. In Italy padauk is a popular choice for flooring because of its high resistance to abrasion, its durability and strength. Padauk's stability also makes it a good choice for floors with built-in or under-floor heating. African padauk comes from central and tropical West Africa. It also goes by the commercial names camwood, corail and barwood. It has a spicy odor when cut and tends to get all over you.
I have many T-Shirts that are permanently stained red from the fine oily dust coming off the wood from the sander. Because of this, more than five years ago I promised my wife he would never use Padauk again, but Padauk is so beautiful - I just couldn't keep that promise...
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Purple Heart is a very dense, even textured hardwood from Central and South America.
Color is dull-brown when freshly cut, but changes rapidly to the vivid and well known purple color if exposed to sunlight for a few days.
The grain is typically straight and the texture is rather course and rot-resistant. Purple Heart is dangerous towork, like many of the very hard tropical woods due to a high silica content. The dust can be toxic for the unprotected woodworker. It is very hard, heavy, tough and strong.
Weight 57 to 76 lbs. per cu. ft.
Type: Hardwood.
Other Names:
Also known as amaranth, violetwood, coracy, pauroxo, pauferro, koroboreli, saka, nazareno, morado, and tananeo.
Sources:
Includes species in tropical regions of Central America and South America.
Appearance
Generally straight grained, sometimes interlocked, with a fine even texture. Creamy white sapwood and vibrant purple heartwood that turns to dark-purplish brown with exposure to light.
Physical Properties:
Very heavy, hard, strong, and stiff with good decay resistance and stability in service. Steam-bends moderately well.
Working Properties
Sometimes difficult to work due to hardness and a tendency to tear and split. Pre-drilling for screws and nails. Glues easily and polishes well with no staining required. Uses include inlay, marquetry, furniture, cabinets, flooring, turnery, carving, outdoor construction, and boat building, billiard cue butts, gym equipment and chemical vats, a few.
This wood has a wide variety of craft uses from the practical to the sublime. It is sliced for decorative veneers and used in cabinetry and furniture, sculpture, turnery and marquetry and has a variety of specialty uses that includes diving boards, skis or filter press frames. It is also used to make parquet and traditional flooring, tool handles and for shipbuilding.
The Tree: Leguminosae Family Includes 20 species of Peltogyne, has been called amaranth, violetwood, tananeo and saka depending on what country you are visiting. Found in Central and South America, this exotic wood is a worldwide favorite. Tall and large trees grow abundantly, sometimes reaching a diameter of five feet with clear knot free log lengths typical. In Mexico it is frequently used for exterior steps because it is very resistant to attack by fungi and dry-wood termites.
Wood Description
Purpleheart has a creamy white/gray sapwood but like its name suggests, the heartwood is a bright, striking purple when freshly cut, darkening into a deeper purple with age. It has a medium to fine texture with a luster that ranges from medium to high; its grain is usually straight but can be wavy or irregular. Purpleheart has high bending and crushing strength and stiffness with medium resistance to shock loads. A great feature when used as truck decking.
Weight:
50-70 lbs/cubic ft.: a very broad range of weight depending on origin of lumber.
Finishing:
Some finishing materials will dull the purple color of the wood, but generally it is very easy to finish. Using a coat of Armorall under your lacquer has been found to help in retaining its beautiful purple color. It waxes to a wonderful sheen. When the purple fades, it may be restored by putting the box in the oven at a low temperature for a short time. Be careful not to get it so hot that the finish is affected!
Machining:
Purpleheart has a moderate to severe blunting effect on tools; sharp, high speed steel knives therefore are recommended as are 15 degree cutting angles. It can be somewhat difficult to work with using either hand or machine tools. Some wood seems to be relatively soft textured and easy to cut and other wood has been so hard it burns all your tools, so there is a high degree of variability in cutting characteristics, depending on the piece of wood.
Watch carefully the grain direction when planing any wood that shows an interlocking grain. It has a habit of tearing out. It is rated moderate for steam bending. Pre-boring is always recommended for nailing. It does rate highly for turnery though and with sharp chisels can come to a beautiful sheen. Watch for burning while routing as it is common and difficult to remove the marks after the fact.
Learn more about this beautiful wood at Oakleywoods.com