Help name this wood

[Stigmorgan]

Can any of you amazing people help me identify this wood please, it was originally a children's skittle /bowling pin, is hard but sands easily with even coarse 40g mesh producing fine reddish dust and once you get up to 400g the wood starts to shine, here's a few pics at various sanding stages and a pic of the dust. I'm going to be selling a few pieces at my school fair on Saturday and don't want to over or under value it

 

[MARK.B.]

Beech

 

[thetyreman]

very hard to tell but I'm going to guess padauk.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Some type of mahogany? I'd expect padauk to be rdarker/redder, at least the stuff I've got is (there's more than one padauk, of course).

 

[Ttrees]

Unusual cracking, case hardening?
It appears like iroko to me, but I'm not familiar enough with turning the stuff to be
able to tell, be easy to tell with facegrain planed up if it was.

I'm only judging from the circular portion with the large crack.
Not seen any case hardening in any iroko, but I only have experience with recycled timbers which that kinda thing would be selected out before I ever laid eyes on it.

 

[Fred48]

I've used afromosia many years ago. Looks similar to that but not certain

 

[Stigmorgan]

Don't think its iroko, the dust is bone dry and the iroko I've turned before has always had a slight oily texture to the dust, here's some pics of the finished surfaces if it helps.

 

[raffo]

Some type of mahogany? I'd expect padauk to be rdarker/redder, at least the stuff I've got is (there's more than one padauk, of course).

I also think it's some type of mahogany look-alike.

 

[D_W]

satinwood or something. It looks a little like avodire, but more reddish in color and maybe tighter grain.

Density would help if you can get a piece regular enough in shape to get a specific gravity.

Too on the old woods that are oily - as they age the oils change (not sure if they oxidize or what). I have some cocobolo that's from 1970 that is just a dream to work with. It's dry as a bone and has none of the fuzzy oily quality of new cocobolo. Wasted an extremely old huge billet of bois de rose in 2010 because I didn't know what it was, too - peppery smelling and also dry and wonderful to work. Great color, but like other reddish woods, turned brown fairly quickly and would need to be sanded or scraped to be red again.

Looked like red rosewood, but not the kind of cheap looking red of bloodwood or padauk or the gaudy tone of purpleheart - but to the point, it was very dry. If those were pins, they must be old.

 

[spanner48]

This is an old piece, and from the UK; so I'd go for something less exotic: Apple or Cherry

 

[Owd Jockey]

I don't think its Iroko. At the moment i'm turning a lot of Cherry and that would be my guess

 

[XTiffy]

I would go with Spanner48 and Owd Jockey. Probably cherry. Aformosia is splintery as a Teak substitute, As there are hundreds of Mahogany variations that is still a possible. Not satinwood /rosewood /padauk far too exotic and wrong colour and very rarely available in the size that would be needed. Cherry is a wonderful turning timber, commonly used in Treen. Though initially pale in colour darkens by exposure to light to a lovely warm brown.

 

[cmoops2]

Jarrah ? (does the dust have a distinctive aroma ?)

 

[Deadeye]

My guess cherry.
What's the prize?

 

[XTiffy]

Bearing in mind the originator of the question mentioned its original form ie Skittle, you would have expected beech but it isn't! I can't see that any turner would have used anything than a native hardwood and Cherry fits the bill. That is if the original was a UK made item.

 

[Owd Jockey]

This is a simple small Cherry bowl I turned a coupIe of days ago.

 

[Yorkieguy]

I'd agree - almost certainly cherry.

Some pics of a square edged bowl I turned in cherry. (Sorry - the side view is out of focus).

David.

 

[Ttrees]

Perhaps @Stigmorgan could have posted this other picture of the iroko piece
or whatever it is..... would be instantly identifiable as so if he had a before shot.

 

[D_W]

what is the botanical name of this English cherry? There are black and sweet and sour cherry types (prunus this or that) here, but none of them have pores like that. the pores remind me a little bit of persimmon and some much harder woods that have those small but diffuse pores.

The high density of those woods also creates opportunities for spectacular cracks, too.

 

[Ttrees]

what is the botanical name of this English cherry? There are black and sweet and sour cherry types (prunus this or that) here, but none of them have pores like that. the pores remind me a little bit of persimmon and some much harder woods that have those small but diffuse pores.

The high density of those woods also creates opportunities for spectacular cracks, too.

I think it might be called Milicia excelsa