MIGNAL":3h8h8hpi said:
It does not look like Indian Rosewood to my eyes. I've seen a lot of Indian Rosewood and it's extremely rare to see those sort of Orange hues.
Mignal, that's why it's impossible to positively identify timber from an internet photo, the original photograph almost certainly wasn't colour corrected and I doubt you're looking at it on a colour balanced monitor. So what you're looking at may bear very little resemblance to the original.
I've got four or five different rosewood boards in my workshop, a small piece of exquisite Rio Rosewood (Dalbergia Nigra) that was imported 40 or 50 years ago which is hands down the best rosewood I've ever seen, some older Indian (Dalbergia Latifolia), some Sonekeling (which is Indian but plantation grown and just not quite as good as the original), and what i think is Honduran (Dalbergia Stevenysonii) which isn't as attractive although it's remarkably heavy. They're all different in colour and texture but they're all genuine Rosewoods.
The stronger evidence that it's a special board is that a cabinet maker has had it for perhaps thirty years. Thirty years ago cabinet makers were spoilt for choice, they weren't even bothering with the Mexican stuff that we have to make do with today, so I hope he would have the good sense to only salt away something that was genuinely special even then.
Anyway, to the OP, here's some ideas,
1. Accurately weigh and measure it and calculate it's weight per cubic metre. The HMSO Handbook of Hardwoods (now sadly out of print) says both Rio and Indian Rosewood at 12% moisture content should weigh about 850Kg per cubic metre. Okay it's not a brilliant plan as there'll inevitably be a range of results, lots of other timbers will weigh about the same, and I don't know how you'd precisely measure the volume.
2. Get R. Bruce Hoadley's "Identifying Wood" from the library and see what you can find out. Still not brilliant as Hoadley is superb on temperate zone timbers but not great on tropicals.
3. Load the board into your car and go and see Bob at Timberline in Tonbridge in Kent. His is one of the few opinions I'd take as authorative when it comes to tropicals.
If all that sounds like too much trouble then PM me and I'll make you a very fair offer...but that only holds if I get it before Bob sees it!
Good luck.
