EXOTIC HARDWOOD LUMBER IN NAPLES, FLORIDA

Other Common Names: 
Congowood, Mozambique ebony, mpingo

Botanical Name:
Dalbergia melanoxylon

Family: 
Leguminosae

Mature Tree Height, Diameter: 
15-25 ft, rarely over 1 ft.

Weight @ 12% M/C:
83 lbs./ft.3

Working Properties: 
Difficult to plane and machine with tools. Excellent for turnery. Usually machined with metal-working equipment.

Growing Regions:
Sudan to Mozambique, Angola, and Nigeria to Senegal

General Characteristics:
Heartwood dark purplish brown with black streaking. Texture is fine and even. The grain is straight and wood is slightly oily.

Uses: 
Primarily used for woodwind instruments, guitars, turnery work, knife handles, walking sticks, carvings, and more.

Acceptable Substitutes:
Honduras Rosewood

Other Common Names: 
Anacahuite, Baria (Cuba), Siricote, Bocote, Cupane, Amapa asta (Mexico), Canalete (Colombia, Venezuela), Louro pardo (Brazil), Loro negro (Argentina)

Botanical Name: 
Cordia dodecandra

Family: 
Boraginaceae

Mature Tree Height, Diameter: 
From small to 100 ft , 1 ft

Weight @ 12% M/C: 
50-60 lbs./ft.3

Working Properties: 
Easy to work and takes a high polish.

Growing Regions: 
Mexico to Argentina

General Characteristics: 
Color reddish brown to dark brown with irregular blackish streaks; appears oily. Luster medium; hard and heavy, grain straight to roey. Texture medium.

Uses: 
Turnery, knife handles, furniture, cabinets.

Discussion: 
The standard references group all of the cordias together so there is much confusion — both Ziricote and Bocote (as they are commonly known in the US)
are cordias but they don’t look much alike. Ziricote, like Bocote, is frequently spectacularly figured. It turns well considering its density, but tends to create dust so it gets a little messy.

Other Common Names: 
Coyote, Guayacan

Botanical Name: 
Platymiscium spp.

Family: 
Leguminosae

Mature Tree Height, Diameter: 
80 ft , 2 – 3 1/2 ft

Weight @ 12% M/C: 
55 – 73 lbs./ft.3

Working Properties: 
Not difficult to work, finishes smoothly, and takes a high polish.

Growing Regions: 
Southern Mexico to the Brazilian Amazon region, and Trinidad.

General Characteristics: 
Granadillo comes in red, black or brown colors. The black is much like Morado — a dark brown, usually distinctly striped, grain straight, texture mostly medium to fine. The red is much like Honduras Rosewood, a reddish-brown, grain frequently irregular, prone to show figure, texture mostly medium to fine.

Uses: 
Cabinetry, turnery, musical instruments, billiard cues.

Acceptable Substitutes:

References: 
“Tropical Timbers of the World”, USDA Handbook #607,
Sept. 1984, p. 135

Discussion: 
Often used as a substitute for Honduras Rosewood it
has very similar properties. Even the fragrant odor

Botanical Name: 
Dalbergia retusa

Family:
Leguminosae

Mature Tree Height, Diameter: 
45-68 ft , 2 ft

Weight @ 12% M/C: 
62-76 lbs./ft.3

Working Properties:
Excellent machining characteristics, natural oils give good polish.

Growing Regions: 
Southwestern Mexico to Panama

General Characteristics: 
Deep rich orange red with black striping, texture fine, oily, grain straight to interlocked, fine dust may cause skin rash.

Uses: 
Handles, inlay work, brush backs, musical and scientific instruments, jewelry boxes, chessman and other specialty items.

Acceptable Substitutes: 
Various Rosewoods, Granadillo

Other Common Names: 
Black Walnut

Botanical Name: 
Juglans nigra

Family: 
Juglandaceae

Mature Tree Height, Diameter: 
100-120 ft (30-37 m) tall, 2-3 ft (.6-1 m) trunk diameter

Weight @ 12% M/C: 
38 lbs/ft3 (610 kg/m3)

Working Properties: 
Easy to work and takes a high polish.

Growing Regions: 
Eastern United States

General Characteristics: 
Heartwood can range from a lighter pale brown to a dark chocolate brown with darker brown streaks. Color can sometimes have a grey, purple, or reddish cast. Sapwood is pale yellow-gray to nearly white. Figured grain patterns such as curl, crotch, and burl are also seen.

Uses: 
Turnery, knife handles, furniture, cabinets. 

Discussion: 
Black Walnut, also known as American Walnut, and walnut is one of the finest North American lumber species. Along with mahogany and cherry, walnut set the standard for early American furniture. The walnut tree is hearty, shade tolerant species that can grow to be quite large both in width and in height.

Common Name(s):
Black Cherry, Cherry, American Cherry

Scientific Name:
Prunus serotina

Distribution:
Eastern North America

Tree Size:
50-100 ft (15-30 m) tall, 3-5 ft (1-1.5 m) trunk diameter

Average Dried Weight:
35 lbs/ft3 (560 kg/m3)

Color/Appearance:
Heartwood is a light pinkish brown when freshly cut, darkening to a medium reddish brown with time and upon exposure to light. Sapwood is a pale yellowish color.

Grain/Texture:
The grain is usually straight and easy to work—with the exception of figured pieces with curly grain patterns. Has a fine, even texture with moderate natural luster.

Workability:
Cherry is known as being one of the best all-around woods for workability. It is stable, straight-grained, and machines well. The only difficulties typically arise if the wood is being stained, as it can sometimes give blotchy results—using a sanding sealer prior to staining, or using a gel-based stain is recommended. Sapwood is common, and may contribute to a high wastage factor.

Common Uses:
Cabinetry, fine furniture, flooring, interior millwork, veneer, turned objects, and small specialty wood items.

Comments:
Black Cherry develops a rich reddish-brown patina as it ages that’s frequently imitated with wood stains on other hardwoods such as Yellow Poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera). This aging process can be accelerated by exposing the wood (in a judicious manner) to direct sunlight.

Related Species:
Apricot (Prunus armeniaca)
Plum (Prunus domestica)
Sweet Cherry (Prunus avium)

Common Name:
Sugar Pine

Scientific Name:
Peinus lambertiana

Distribution:
Mountainous regions of Pacific coast of United States

Tree Size:
130-200 ft (40-60 m) tall, 3-5 ft (1-1.5 m) trunk diameter

Average Dried Weight:
25 lbs/ft3 (400 kg/m3)

Color/Appearance:
Heartwood is a light brown, sometimes with a slightly reddish hue. Sapwood is a pale yellow to nearly white. Flatsawn surfaces frequently exhibit small brown streaks from the conspicuous resin canals present in the tree.

Grain/Texture:
Grain is straight with an even, medium to coarse texture.

Endgrain:
Very large resin canals, numerous and evenly distributed, mostly solitary; earlywood to latewood transition gradual, color contrast low; tracheid diameter medium-large to very large.

Workability:
Sugar Pine is easy to work with both hand and machine tools. Glues and finishes well.

Common Uses:
Crates, boxes, interior millwork, construction lumber, and musical instruments (piano keys).

Comments:
Sugar Pine is the largest of all species of pine, attaining heights of over 200 feet; it’s sheer size, coupled with its thick and massive branches, have lead some botanists to also describe it as the most majestic species of pine as well. The wood of Sugar Pine is classified as white pine: this group is sometimes called soft pine, in contrast to the harder yellow pines found in the eastern United States. (The other two primary soft pine species are Eastern White Pine and Western White Pine.) Sugar Pine is significantly lighter and weaker than the species of Southern Yellow Pine, though it has excellent dimensional stability, and is frequently used in the production of patterns/templates and applications where stability is important.

Botanical Name:
Swietenia macrophylla

Family:
Meliaceae

Mature Tree Height, Diameter:
to 150 ft , to 7 ft

Weight @ 12% M/C:
52 lbs./ft.3

Working Properties:
Easy to work with hand and machine tools, chipped grain common with figured material, easy to finish, takes an excellent polish.

Growing Regions:
Southern Mexico to the Amazon

General Characteristics:
Reddish brown deepening with age, luster high, texture fine to coarse, grain straight to roey.

Uses:
Fine furniture and cabinetry, interior trim paneling, boat building, fancy veneers, musical instruments, patterns, turnery, and carving.

Acceptable Substitutes:
Spanish Cedar, Andiroba

Discussion:
Since the discovery of the New World mahogany has become the king of cabinet woods. The wood combines beauty, stability, ease of working, and durability to a higher extent than any other wood. Mahogany is photosensitive like cherry and, over the years, develops the unsurpassed deep, glowing red color one sees in museum furniture. Mahogany sometimes shows figure such as quilted and fiddleback which are among the most desired of all woods. The mahogany tree is very vigorous, relatively fast growing, and widespread from Mexico into southern South America. It is in no way endangered

Other Common Names: 
White Mahogany, Palo blanco, Prima vera, Cortez blanco, Duranga, San Juan

Botanical Name: 
Cybistax donnell-smithii

Family: 
Bignoniaceae

Mature Tree Height, Diameter: 
100 ft , 2-3 ft

Weight @ 12% M/C: 
30 lbs./ft.3

Working Properties: 
The wood is easy to work in all operations even though there may be considerable grain variation; finishes smoothly and acquires an attractive polish.

Growing Regions:
Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Colombia, and Venezuela.

General Characteristics:
Color yellowish white to light yellowish brown often with darker streaks. Luster high. Odor and taste not distinct (see discussion).
Light and soft but firm. Grain usually roey producing a conspicuous ribbon figure. Texture medium.

Uses: 
Furniture, cabinets, decorative veneers, and interior tr

Discussion: 
This is a very attractive wood from several different aspects.  The Primavera we import is plantation grown –usually to shade young coffee plants, and is harvested whenit has served its purpose. So, use of Primavera is ecologically friendly. Primavera is one of the most beautiful of the light colored woods — it has the deep, inner glow of Mahogany, and is frequently highly figured. Properly sanded and finished, it can be spectacular. Now the negative side — some people find the smell of the wood during machining is not to their liking — somewhat like Cottonwood. Once the machining is complete, though, there is no noticeable odor. In the United States, around the turn of the century,
Primavera was in favor for use as a decorative millworkwood in high-quality construction. We have seen examples and cannot understand why its use has not continued — possibly supply problems

Botanical Name: 
Metopium brownei

Mature Tree Height, Diameter:
50 ft , ft

Weight @ 12% M/C: 
53 lbs./ft.3

Working Properties: 
Not easy to work but is capable of a high polish.

Growing Regions: 
Caribbean, Mexico and Central America

General Characteristics: 
Hearty variegated brown and red with a greenish tinge and
golden lush, texture rather fine to medium, grain variable.

Uses: 
Furniture, cabinetry, millwork, tool handles, turnery.

Discussion: 
Very attractive often highly figured wood.

Common Name:
Sassafras

Scientific Name:
Sassafras albidum

Distribution:
Eastern United States

Tree Size:
50-65 ft (15-20 m) tall, 2-3 ft (.6-1.0 m) trunk diameter

Average Dried Weight:
31 lbs/ft3 (495 kg/m3)

Specific Gravity (Basic, 12% MC):
 .42 /.50

Color/Appearance:
Heartwood is a medium to light brown, sometimes with an orange or olive hue. Color tends to darken with age. Sapwood is a paler yellowish brown, though it isn’t always clearly demarcated from the heartwood. Overall, Sassafras bears a strong resemblance to ash (Fraxinus spp.) and chestnut (Castanea spp.).

Grain/Texture:
Grain is straight, with a coarse uneven texture.

Endgrain:
Ring-porous; large earlywood pores 3-6 rows wide, small latewood pores solitary and radial multiples of 2-4; tyloses common; growth rings distinct; narrow rays may be barely visible without lens, spacing normal; parenchyma around latewood pores vasicentric, winged, lozenge, and confluent.

Workability:
Easy to work with both hand and machine tools. Sassafras also has good dimensional stability once dry. Glues, stains, and finishes well.

Common Uses:
Utility lumber, fence posts, boatbuilding, and furniture

Other Common Names: 
Hard Maple, Sugar Maple, Rock Maple

Botanical Name: 
Acer saccharum

Family: 
Sapindaceae

Mature Tree Height, Diameter: 
80-115 ft (25-35 m) tall, 2-3 ft (.6-1.0 m) trunk diameter

Weight @ 12% M/C: 
44 lbs/ft³ (705 kg/m³)

Working Properties: 
Fairly easy to work with both hand and machine tools, though slightly more difficult than Soft Maple due to Hard Maple’s higher density. Maple has a tendency to burn when being machined with high-speed cutters such as in a router. Turns, glues, and finishes well, though blotches can occur when staining, and a pre-conditioner, gel stain, or toner may be necessary to get an even color.

Growing Regions: 
Northeastern North America

General Characteristics: 
Grain is generally straight, but may be wavy and typically has a fine, even texture. Color ranges from nearly white, to an off-white cream color, sometimes with a reddish or golden hue.

Uses: 
Fine Furniture, Cabinetry, Architecural Millwork, Guitar Building / Instrument making, Wood Turning, Gunstocks, Automotive / Aircraft Interior, Inlaying, Box Making, Flooring, and Venee

Other Common Names: 
Catalox, Mexican Royal Ebony

Botanical Name:
Swartzia spp. (S. cubensis)

Mature Tree Height, Diameter: 
100-130 ft tall, 2-4 ft trunk diameter

Weight @ 12% M/C: 
72 lbs/ft³

Grain/Texture:
Grain is usually straight, but can also be irregular or interlocked. With a fine even texture and good natural luster.

Endgrain:
Diffuse-porous; medium to large pores, very few to few; solitary and radial multiples of 2-3; mineral/gum deposits occasionally present; parenchyma winged, confluent, and banded; narrow rays, fairly close spacing.

Workability:
Katalox is typically considered difficult to work on account of its high density. The wood has a moderate to high blunting effect on cutters, and if there is interlocked grain present, tearout can occur during planing. Can be troublesome to glue because of its high density and natural oils present.

Common Uses:
Inlays, fine furniture and cabinetry, parquet flooring, guitars, turnings, and other small specialty items.

Comments:
Katalox has exceptional strength properties, and is among the very stiffest and strongest woods available worldwide. Its dark color makes it a popular substitute for ebony, and the wood is sometimes called Mexican Royal Ebony, though it is not a true ebony in the Diospyros genus.

Common Name(s):
Chakte Viga, Paela, Aripin

Scientific Name:
Coulteria platyloba (=Caesalpinia)

Distribution:
Tropical areas of Mexico and Central America

Tree Size:
20-30 ft (6-9 m) tall, 1-2 ft (.3-.6 m) trunk diameter

Average Dried Weight:
58 lbs/ft3 (935 kg/m3)

Specific Gravity (Basic, 12% MC):
.78 / .93

Color/Appearance:
Heartwood bright orange to golden brown. Sapwood pale white to yellow.

Grain/Texture:
Grain is usually straight, though sometimes interlocked. Has a fine, even texture with a good natural luster. Diffuse-porous; small pores in no specific arrangement; solitary and radial/clustered multiples of 2-4; growth rings indistinct; rays not visible without lens; parenchyma vasicentric, confluent, and banded.

Workability:
Despite its high density, Chakte Viga generally responds well to most machining operations, though interlocked grain can result in tearout. Turns, glues, and finishes well.

Common Uses:
Inlays, furniture, flooring, and turned objects.

Comments:
Perhaps the closest relative to the more-famous Brazilwood (used for violin bows), Chakte Viga shares many of the same excellent acoustic properties. With great color, a smooth texture, and a unique iridescent quality that seems to shimmer under the proper wood finish, Chakte Viga has an almost subliminal cache