Another "what is this wood"

[Mike Thomas]

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I was browsing in a woodpile outside a friend's shed, and amongst the usual Tassie timber was this stuff, grey and weathered, but with a very nice ringing tap to it. I put it through the thickness sander so I could see what it really looked like, and didn't expect this result. I have no idea what it is, but I'm pretty sure it's not Tasmanian, and probably not even an Australian native. I'd appreciate an identification. The colour in the picture, at least on my computer, is pretty accurate.

[DarwinStrings]

Hmmm first guess is PNG rosewood or Narra.... Pterocarpus indicus.

Jim

Life is good when you are amongst the wood

Edit...Does it have pores that you could get your foot stuck in?

[Kim]

It looks somewhat like Suren to me or T. ciliata formerly known as T. australis or Australian Red Cedar.

Cheers

Kim

[DarwinStrings]

Hmmm,maybe so Kim but isn't that usually back sawn. Now that you mention it, it does look like it and I do have some quarter sawn boards of it but cabinet makers seem to like the "Cathederal" look so the most I have seen of it is back sawn.

Jim

[Allen]

If the color on my monitor is a good representation, it looks like New Guinea Rosewood to me.

[Puff]

Wouldn't the smell and weight of the two top candidates be different?

[TimS]

what is the density of the wood?

[Puff]

Half my point indeed

[Mike Thomas]

Thanks for your responses gentlemen. Jim and Allen are probably right. I hadn't thought of New Guinea Rosewood because the bits I have seen in the past have been yellower, not the intense orange/red of my sample, but a bit of a google search following your suggestion has turned up pictures that look like mine. It is quite heavy Tim, density close to Blackwood I would say, and close grained. It planes to a very fine, shiny finish. Sorry Puff, my sense of smell has deserted me over the last few days, so I can't say what it smells like.

Kim I don't think it is Australian Red Cedar/Surian. It is heavier and tighter grained than the Surian I have come in contact with, which admittedly has been low quality stuff.

[Puff]

Reckon if you can't smell it it ain't cedar

[Kim]

reckon if its dense it aint cedar, I would go with NGR as well if it is similar to blackwood in weight.

[liam_fnq]

I'd say NGR too, although it is a little more "brick" coloured that the NGR I usually see, which is more of a "golden honey". That said I have seen very red stuff too, which is usually denser and harder than the golden honey stuff. There is something about that grain pattern and those pores that looks exactly like every bit of NGR I've seen. NGR usually has a very nice ring to it. I'd say in the ballpark with blackwood weight wise too.

enjoy.

[TimS]

Padauk

[Mike Thomas]

That's a very confident identification, Tim, and coming from you it carries considerable weight. I understand that New Guinea Rosewood and Padauk are related (both are pterocarpus I think). What is it that characterises and differentiates the two?

And I have happily been calling it New Guinea Rosewood all day

[DarwinStrings]

Come on now Tim, no prizes for such a broad guess. You will need to narrow that down a bit

Jim

Edit...

I understand that New Guinea Rosewood and Padauk are related (both are pterocarpus I think).

That's right Mike and I have seen NGR referred to as padauk as well.

[TimS]

Jeez! A man gets cut down for making a stab in the dark! I will have some NG Rosewood arriving in a few days so I can make a comparison. That being said, the absense of leaf and flower might demand a bit of DNA work. Any botanists handy!

[Peter T]

I like it better when we get clues which we can google. This is just too hard this way!

[Paul B]

Don't look like any NGR I ever saw (tho I been looking for some like that). I'm with Tim: Padauk.

[Bob Connor]

Padauk is not that heavy. Certainly not as heavy as Blackwood so my money's on Narra.

[TimS]

Padauk density can vary from 550 - 670kg/cube metre

[blazemite]

im probably way off the mark but i reckon it looks a little like mulga, looked very similar colour, its heavy, has very small pores.....

[Bob Connor]

Still doesn't strike me as being Padauk,

Padauk has pores the size of the Grand Canyon usually.

[DarwinStrings]

Okay now I have my books out, but not to answer Mike's question. I have a second guessing game going on to try and work out which "padauk" you mob are talking about.

Jim

[TimS]

Here is a web image of Padauk. Doesn't have any scale reference.

Pterocarpus soyauxii

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[DarwinStrings]

Ahhh the African one, that pic is looking alot like Mike's. I thought that it may have been the Burma one cause I found this pic listed as P. macrocarpa

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Jim