Ironwood?

[Ttrees]

Keen to see if an offcut will sink or not, I believe this is called a specific gravity test,
but will be happy to be clarified on the specifics involved, as I've ever needed to ID a timber.
I have some stuff which might be the same, but kinda grasping at straws as it might be afrormosia or canarywood for a start.
A lot denser than iroko, sipo/utile, khaya, and some of the common blonder common African timbers.
Don't go cutting it for us peasants though
Just saying it would be interesting should you decide to bump this thread in future.

Thanks for posting.
Tom

 

[davethebb]

It certainly doesn't look like hornbeam which generally has a very twisty grain. Incidentally, Hornbeam is known as ironwood as it is the only wood that burns with a hot enough flame temperature to smelt iron ore and is great in a wood-burning stove - this is how I know. Due to its hardness, it was also used for the gear teeth is mills etc.
Dave.

 

[DJT48]

Greenheart is also called ironwood sometimes, and comes in fairly large sections

https://www.wood-database.com/greenheart/

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ironwood

 

[Bojam]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ironwood

That list of species

 

[sawtooth-9]

I'm sure it isn't Lignum Vitae lignum vitae

It isn't Desert Ironwood either. desert ironwood

I'm certain the use of "Ironwood" is just another descriptor for "really hard heavy wood".There could be many possibilities as to what it actually is. If you were American you could send a sample to Forest Products Laboratory and they would identify it for free. There are private labs here that charge $50 to $100 per sample. You'll have to check around to see if any of your universities or horticultural societies identify wood if you want to take it that far.

I would just use it for whatever I thought it was best suited for and not worry about what it is. Boxes, laminated turnings, tools, intruder fish bat, etc.

Pete

Ironwood is a general term for heavy hardwoods here in Australia also.
Here, it depends on where it is grown.
I have some Northern Territory Ironwood about 1 1/2 inch square - its deep red with small "yellow" flecks and turns like metal with an incredible polished finish. This stuff is denser and harder than Lignum.
I have not been able to locate any more, but would use this instead of Lignum - even though it does not have the lubricating properties
Also have some true African black ebony, which is great in the right application, but rather brittle.
I have a small amount of Lignum, which I bought about 10 years ago, but you can't buy any more in Aus because of import bans

I'm sure it isn't Lignum Vitae lignum vitae

It isn't Desert Ironwood either. desert ironwood

I'm certain the use of "Ironwood" is just another descriptor for "really hard heavy wood".There could be many possibilities as to what it actually is. If you were American you could send a sample to Forest Products Laboratory and they would identify it for free. There are private labs here that charge $50 to $100 per sample. You'll have to check around to see if any of your universities or horticultural societies identify wood if you want to take it that far.

I would just use it for whatever I thought it was best suited for and not worry about what it is. Boxes, laminated turnings, tools, intruder fish bat, etc.

Pet

 

[sawtooth-9]

I'm sure it isn't Lignum Vitae lignum vitae

It isn't Desert Ironwood either. desert ironwood

I'm certain the use of "Ironwood" is just another descriptor for "really hard heavy wood".There could be many possibilities as to what it actually is. If you were American you could send a sample to Forest Products Laboratory and they would identify it for free. There are private labs here that charge $50 to $100 per sample. You'll have to check around to see if any of your universities or horticultural societies identify wood if you want to take it that far.

I would just use it for whatever I thought it was best suited for and not worry about what it is. Boxes, laminated turnings, tools, intruder fish bat, etc.

Pete

Australia has some really beautiful timbers.
In my projects post "Twisted" You will see hardwoods - Tiger Myrtle ( stunning figure ) River Red Gum and Blackbutt. I will be posting these pics shortly

 

[Keith 66]

I would also say Greenheart, it was used a lot for piles in wharves & other marine construction, It has been used in boatbuilding for keels & such like as it is extremely rot resistant. There was a big lot of it came out of Barrow docks a few years ago. It blunts tools very quickly!

 

[Torx]

Wear gloves when handling in case it is greenheart!

 

[dickm]

It certainly doesn't look like hornbeam which generally has a very twisty grain. Incidentally, Hornbeam is known as ironwood as it is the only wood that burns with a hot enough flame temperature to smelt iron ore and is great in a wood-burning stove - this is how I know. Due to its hardness, it was also used for the gear teeth is mills etc.
Dave.

Thanks for that bit of elucidation. I'd assumed it was just casually called ironwood because of its hardness. Now where can my big Stihl find one for the stove?

 

[hodsdonr]

It does, but that is quite a large board - that tree is small. That said, the one I pointed to is quite small also.

The tree Oleo Capensis grows up to 35m thats not small. It looks like Oleo Capensis, AKA Ironwood or Black Ironwood

https://knysnawoodworkers.co.za/art...-our-indigenous-trees/ironwood-olea-capensis/

 

[yetloh]

Common names are an absolute nightmare. When people migrated from one country (or continent) to another they looked at local species and often named it after something similar with which they were already familliar. Hence the use around the world of the same name for superficially similar but entirely unrelated species. All very understandable but highly confusing. Less innocently, less scrupulous parts of the timber trade has long had the habit of selling inferior species under the common names of familliar but expensive timber species. A prime example of this is some of the utter rubbish described as African mahogany.

I have no idea what species you board is but I can say with complete certainty that it is not hornbeam (Carpinus betulus). I have a board of this from the National Trust's Hatfield Forest; it is very heavy but almost as white as holly. I have yet to find a use for it but I'm sure its day will come.

Jim