Anyone worked with Afromosia ?

[Rick Fisher]

I bought a small pile of Afromosia and wondered if anyone had any experience with it ?

I planned on building a chest of drawers out of it. Right now its basically a stack of 8/4 slabs..

Anyone with any pic's of projects .. ?

[joe milana]

Rick, I used quite a bit of it back in the 80's for boat trim & swim platforms when teak became hard to come by for me. African teak is what it was called, and hard to tell from the real teak once oiled. Held up really well for those that maintained it. I'd say it's like working with hard maple. Some wood was reactionary, some stable as can be. Couldn't tell by the grain pattern. I don't have pictures any more, but found several using Google images.

[Bruce Kohl]

Rick -
I built a conference table and chairs out of afrormosia about fifteen years ago. It comes from West Africa, and once finished looks just like teak. However, it is cheaper (at least it was then) than teak, easier to work and is not as abrasive to tools as is teak. Afrormosia is very durable and resistent to weather, so it is also good in outdoor applications. Overall, a very fine wood to work with. Unfortunately I couldn't easily find pictures of the conference table and chairs. Good luck with it.

[Shawn Pixley]

I built a gate to my house from it. Strong, stable, and weathers well It is a bit abrasive due to the high silica content. It finishes well. I wiped joints with naphtha prior to gluing.

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The third picture is a progress picture prior to finishing. I recommend it. But you will be sharpening your tool a lot. It is also a bit of an irritant, so you may need protection if it affects you. It didn't bother me.

[Rick Fisher]

Thanks for the responses.. The blunting part is okay.. I don't mind ..

I want to build a " retro " style chest of drawers.. By retro I mean early 60's look.. Who knows how it will really unfold.. lol

[Shawn Pixley]

I can really see the Afromosa grain working with a danish modern piece. Sent pic's!