Wood Identification

[bphaynes]

I just finished up a step stool for my brother and sister in law. The top two steps are from a piece of lumber I got from my grandfather earlier this year when he had to close down his shop. I don't think it was a fresh piece and probably sitting around for a number of years due to his decline and inability to do as many projects as he wanted. At first I thought it Brazilian Cherry (Jatoba) and I wanted to use it because my sister in law is from Brazil, but after putting the finish on I realize it's a lot more red than I thought. Now I'm wondering if this could be Bubinga or Padauk. I took a picture of the underside of the stool where you can see some sap wood that is a dull yellow color. It's fairly open grained, very dense and heavy and oily. I put four coats of General Finishes Arm-R-Seal on, which is a wiping varnish that does contain BLO, but no stain or dye. Any thoughts?

 

[John Jimenez]

Teak? Maybe Padauk? That’s a tough one.

 

[JNCarr]

Dont know what the wood is, but the stool is beautiful!

 

[Oka]

If I had to render a guess it looks like Santos or possibly Robusta. Got the wrong grain for Paduk -to me

Could be Gonclavos alva (tigerwood), however it would have to have been stained to get it to look that way.

I included a pix the thin strip is Santos and the wider piece is Robusta but it is a crotch piece. Both are same hardness or harder than Hickory.
So, it it is really hard then, I would look down the wood path of similar hard/hard woods

 

[Jobone]

Could be Hormigo/Macacauba/Granadillo, which may be reddish.

Doesn’t look like Pau Rosa, Bubinga, Padauk, Pau Brazil or some rosewoods to me.

Photos of Hormigo

 

[bphaynes]

Thanks guys. I guess there's really no way to know completely. I read that Jatoba can turn darker brown/red through aging and I think this wood was in my grandfather's shop for a few years. I don't think he usually handled much exotics like the ones mentioned here. I know he used a good bit of mahogany (not sure what species exactly) and what he called Brazilian Cherry. I might ask him and see if he has any idea.

 

[JRedding]

Without unfinished end grain, it is hard to tell. I previously worked with Jatoba (Brazilian Cherry) a fair amount and it does have a wide variation in color - from tan to deep reddish/brown - that tends to a darker brown and can even start to look a little muddy depending on the starting color. It’s also very dense/heavy and dulls blades quickly. Not sure why, and hard to tell without a pic of unfinished end grain, but that doesn’t look like Jatoba to me. Let us know if you figure it out

 

[FredP]

Looks like Brazilian cherry to me.

 

[bphaynes]

I managed to find some off cuts pre finish in case that helps. The 3rd and 4th pictures have a piece with end grain where I glued two boards together. You can see the sap wood clearly

 

[JRedding]

Based on those pics, have to change my initial thought and agree with FredP that it’s Jatoba / Brazilian Cherry.