Is mahogany ever yellow ?

[PowerTool]

If not,any idea what timber this is ?

The second picture is from a glue-up,just incase you thought the growth rings were a little strange :wink:

Looks quite like mahogany,cuts very nicely,has a slight odour (but can't think of anything it reminds me of),is quite dusty,apparently comes from Brazil,and is very yellow.

Any ideas?

Andrew

 

[Philly]

Meranti?
It comes in various types (dark red, red, yellow, etc..)
Sounds like it,
Philly

 

[PowerTool]

Searching Google for yellow meranti,it looks very like it as well.

Thanks

Andrew

 

[Anonymous]

I often use the following website when wanting to know about timber species and details. the site prides itself on the accuracy of its photographic colours
http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/

 

[Philly]

No problem
Philly

 

[Paul.J]

Andrew.
It can also go that colour if it is left in the sun,which bleaches it.
Paul.J.

 

[Scrit]

It might be Pau Amarello (other name Yellowheart) which along with Brazilian Cedar I've been offered as a mahogany substitute for joinery work a few times in recent years. I doubt it is Meranti, doesn't that come from Malaya, Sarawak and Indonesia?

Scrit

 

[PowerTool]

:-k hmmm...yes it could be that as well.

The timber in question was salvaged from some dry-lined containers that bring silicon ore from Brazil to Dow Corning in Barry,so is very likely to be a native Brazilian timber.
I have a pau amarello bowl blank waiting to be used - might have to try that out and compare the two.

Thanks,

Andrew

 

[aldel]

Looks and sounds to be Idigbo.

To me the smell when cut reminds me of chinese take-aways or fish and chip shops.
A wine buff would describe it better.

Idigbo is grown in managed plantations and is now the modern replacement for mahogany in joinery work as it is cheap and easy to work.

aldel

 

[ByronBlack]

I would tend to agree with aldel - ive currently got a nice sized piece of idigbo which was bought as a mahogany substitute for a guitar blank and has all the properties you mention and the colour is very similar.

 

[Scrit]

Whilst I agree that Idigbo is yellow the stuff I've had is nowhere near as bright as the yellow in the photos. I'm also concerned about origin because Idigbo is native to Africa, not South America, and whilst there have been some Idigbo plantations created in Costa Rica and Guatamala, I can't find any reference to the timber being plantation grown in Brazil. A bit of web searching found that Pau Amarello is native to the State of Para (in Brazil) and that China and Brazil are the largest exporters of silicon ore in the world. So...... :wink:

Scrit

 

[Scott]

Whilst I agree that Idigbo is yellow the stuff I've had is nowhere near as bright as the yellow in the photos.

Looks a bit like artificial light in those photos. Can you confirm that Andrew? If so any chance of some daylight ones?

Looks like Idigbo to me but I hear the South America argument

 

[PowerTool]

Scott - yes,the pictures above were taken under artificial lights,so here's a daylight picture or two:-

I used it to make the seat for a chair for my grand-daughter - the other timber is the end grain of one of the legs (also from the same supply of reclaimed timber)

End grain of the sawn timber

And a pile of it in 8 foot lengths waiting to be de-nailed:-

Andrew

 

[tinfoil]

My vote is for Brazilian Cedar. I've just bought some and am in the process of making a set of four sliding Japanese (Shoji) screens with it.

Here are some pictures:



The Brazilian Cedar is 2nd from the left - next is a bit of Western Red Cedar then a bit of Oak for comparison. The first on the left is a bit of ordinary pine of course. Here it is being morticed:



It's quite light - not as light as Western Red and fairly close grained. It smells slightly sweeter than Western Red and not as pronounced - lovely though. It finishes well with a cabinet scraper except for a few areas of 'bastard' grain which I'm still scratching my head over!

 

[kafkaian]

The point is, are you going to make anything with this insurgent bois, whether it be idigbo, meranti or Brazilian cedar?

(Blimey, go away for a few days and this forum bulges with postage)

 

[PowerTool]

Oh yes

Just don't know what yet.. :-k (but when it was free,I tried not to accept it :^o ,but my opportunist streak got the better of me :lol: )

Andrew

 

[kafkaian]

Oh yes

Just don't know what yet.. :-k (but when it was free,I tried not to accept it :^o ,but my opportunist streak got the better of me :lol: )

Andrew

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: I like the :^o smiley. Geppetto would be proud