Lignum Vitae ????

[Curt Fuller]

I occasionally buy a grab bag box of exotic hardwoods from my local woodcraft store. Most of the time I have know idea what most of the wood is. In the recent box was a strip of wood about 1x1x14 inches with a distinct green color to it. When I cut the wood into segments for making ornaments it was a nice caramel color inside, very pretty wood. I glued some up and turned the ball portion of the ornaments and left them sitting on the workbench until I could finish the rest of the pieces (a couple days). Today I picked them up and the wood had turned back to the green color of the original strips. I've seen wood change color over time but never this drastic, this strange a color, or this fast. This wood was very heavy and also very oily, two characteristics I read about Lignum Vitae. Have any of you ever worked with Lignum Vitae and had any experience with it changing colors when exposed to air?

[Aaron Wingert]

I've turned quite a bit of lignum vitae, as well as Argentinian lignum vitae. True lignum vitae has very little green in it, and the Argentinian stuff has a lot of green. I have experienced what you're talking about with the Argentinian stuff, where it darkens within a day or so of being turned. The Argentinian stuff has a potent bitter smell to it that I'd liken to a mix of tobacco and WD40.

Perhaps a couple pics will help you identify what you've got:

This is genuine lignum vitae. Very oily. This call was just sanded and has no finish on it. Brown, no green.
http://i547.photobucket.com/albums/hh446/thekctermite/IMG_4244.jpg

These two are Argentine lignum vitae. The one at the top/left was turned a couple days prior to the one on the right. The one on the right is fresh off the lathe. You can see that the left one has darkened considerably. They're very green...Pics are poorly lit. No finish on either, just sanded. Very, very distinct smell.
http://i547.photobucket.com/albums/hh446/thekctermite/IMG_4487.jpg

[Reed Gray]

Vera Wood is another close cousin to Lignum. Very similar in color and character. More frequently found than Lignum,

robo hippy

[neil mackay]

I have worked with a fair bit of it, mainly old growth and aged. Its turns like plastic with a great finish, love the stuff, just don't like the price of it :eek:.

[David Woodruff]

Changes color fast, In a few hours., bright sunlight. Finish ? just wax polish will need re-waxing periodically. Huge blocks of lignnum were used for bearing blocks for ship propeller shafts in the steam days and maybe after due to its oily nature.

[Jake Helmboldt]

Curt, I turned a bowl from LV and it did exactly that; green blank to caramel brown when turned, and back to vibrant green after a couple days in the sunlight.

[Bernie Weishapl]

The argentinian lignum vitae that I turned did exactly what you described Curt. I turned a lidded box out of it for my Sis. The true LV I have did not do that and to me is more oily than the argentinian LV. I agree with others that the price for true LV will knock your socks off. I bought some to do some threading on lidded boxes.

[Curt Fuller]

Well then, mine must be the Argentine Lignum Vitae. I'll post a pic when I finish the ornaments. Thanks much for the info.

[Art Kelly]

I've seen wood change color over time but never this drastic...

Can't wait for the pix. Hope you did a "before" and "after."

Teak--not that any woodturner would know because it's brittle and not very interesting--makes a big color change in an hour or so. If you cut open a 4/4 teak plank (assuming you can afford one), it looks like yellow pine on the inside, but in an hour or two it looks like teak. It also eats tools.

(A yard foreman at Thompson Mahogany in Philly told me that they only mill teak on Friday, then send the tools out for sharpening.)

[Claude Arragon]

In Brazil they call it Palo Santo. I love this wood, fabulous to turn, wonderful smell all over the workshop.
I never put any finish on it as, very often, the finish prevents the wood from turning to a very nice green colour.

[Wally Dickerman]

Sounds to me like it's Verawood. Properties are very similar to lignum v. Both are very waxy to the point that tools need to be scraped clean quite often. Both woods are so dense that they won't float in water. The wood has a sort of herringbone grain pattern. You can get a mirror surface by careful use of a sharp scraper. Negative rake scraper is best. I have a chunk of verawood that's been in my wood stash for several years. I'll have to turn it one of these days.

On of the strange things about verawood...when turning, the wood is green in color. Wipe some oil on the wood with a rag and the rag turns bright blue.

Wally

[Pete Wade]

Love the stuff. I've made several pieces from it. I researched it and found a guy in Key West who is trying to revitalize the species here in the states. The wood used to be primarily for wooden bearings in boats. Due to it's oily nature and natural resistance to salt water. Very hard and very dense stuff. Again...love it!

[Allen Neighbors]

I second the, "I love the wood" statement. True Lignum Vitae comes from the West Indies, and the Northern coast of South America. Google it, and you can find some of the real stuff. It will be brown when finished turning, and will turn to a beautiful brownish green when exposed to UV for a while, and left unfinished. As for the prop shaft bearings... it was used in US Navy vessels until the mid to late 60's; I don't know about other ships, but I'd bet it was used long before the Navy came into being.
I bought a piece to use to make a pillow-block bearing, and then came across a couple of metal bearings, so I never used it for that. I did use it to repair an old tricycle's front fork ends, where the front axle rotates, for a grandson. It worked like a charm, and lasted through two years of his terrorizing it. It's hard as heck to carve! I've turned several pens from it, and they sell really well. I use a Power Pencil made from it for my shop pencil. Sandpaper is destroyed by it, but it shines beautifully. I love it!

[Curt Fuller]

Here's a pic of the color change..
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?p=1543067#post1543067

[Gary Conklin]

Also makes great bandsaw guide blocks!

[Bryan Morgan]

This stuff also smells great! I like working with it. Mine have never changed colors that I've noticed, but then I finish it fairly quickly too.