Comaru or Tiger wood - where to buy in Illinois, please help!

[Dale Murray]

I am at my wits end trying to locate some of this material.

I want to build some lounge patio furniture using Comaru or Tiger wood and it is seemingly impossible to find in the greater Chicago area.

I need roughly 8 5/4 x 6" boards.

One place can get it but it is grooved on both faces.

Anybody out there know of a supplier within 80 miles of Chicago that stocks either of these species?

[Earl McLain]

Don't know what stock they may have, but Johnson's Workbench in South Bend, IN (http://theworkbench.com/exotics.php) would be a good bet. They might have to have some sent down from their main store in Michigan, but that usually only takes a day or two. Material is usually quite nice. May be worth a call. (the bakery across the road from them makes great sticky rolls--you'll work it off with the Cumaru!!)
earl

[Dale Murray]

Thanks for the info.

I just found a place in Chicago, Heidler Hardwoods, that has Ipe for $4.85 a linear foor (5/4 x 6).

The guy I spoke with said they do not carry comaru because it does not hold up in our area.

[Darcy Warner]

It's Cumaru

[Dale Murray]

It's Cumaru

Annoyingly, I have had spell check correct me in both directions on my laptop. Arg!

[Alex Zeller]

I have a Tigerwood deck that's about 8 years old now and other than turning grey (as all wood does) it's held up just fine. I face screwed it with wood plugs (thousands of holes). I can't believe that Chicago has any worse conditions than in Vermont. It's a lot nicer to work with and was cheaper than Ipe. Ipe is heavy and very hard on blades and bits. Cumaru is more like oak, still all there but not as bad. I don't think I would want to make a patio furniture out of Ipe that I would be moving. I bought most of what I needed on line from Advantage lumber. When I needed a few extra pieces for the top railings they sent them UPS.

[Stan Calow]

I used to work in a building that was clad inside and out with untreated cumaru. It's at least 12+ years old and seems to be holding up. I picked up some scraps from repair work, and made a few things. Its really splintery, and some pieces twist like crazy.

[Don Jarvie]

I have some tiger wood that my supplier in new hampersire sells. I would look online and see who will ship.

[Dale Murray]

I initially planned on buying from advantage and found shipping 8 8' long boards is $14 cheaper than the boards themselves.
Wood: $183.74
Shipping: $169.80

I can Ipe locally for less than this.

Personally, I would prefer Cumaru over Ipe but it feels like a knife in the ribs to pay that much for shipping.

As for weight, I am making a simple lounging sofa thing that I can break down into four pieces for storage.

[Darcy Warner]

Just call Johnson's in South Bend. They have most of these in the rough or you can get s4s stuff. I get Ipe porch flooring from them, no one has been able to touch their price.

[Dale Murray]

Ill give them a try.

Update:
When I looked at their site earlier I looked at exotics and did not see Cumaru. Now I see it is listed under decking and will definitely contact them tomorrow.

[Alex Zeller]

The shipping might have been high because of the length. UPS doesn't like lengths of 8' or more. The problem I have with local sources is that they all carry decking and being as solid as these woods are 5/4 is overkill so they sell 4/4.

[Earl McLain]

Ill give them a try.

Update:
When I looked at their site earlier I looked at exotics and did not see Cumaru. Now I see it is listed under decking and will definitely contact them tomorrow.

Check that exotic list again. 5/4 Cumaru is listed (just above Cocobolo for some reason?) at $9.78/bf for 1-100, then $7.51/bf at 100+ bf. The good news is that the 100 bf pricing from them is usually available for combined rough purchases, so 50 bf of Cumaru and 50 bf of wormy maple or beech would price about the same as just the 50 bf of Cumaru alone--kind of a bonus project.
earl

[Dale Murray]

Good lord, I am even a bigger idiot than I imagined. I did not see the slider next to exotics. I have a big computer display at the office and since it only populated a few inches of it with available woods I figured that is all they had - I thought it was strangly limited too.

I need to slow down a bit when I hit websites. Jeez.

If I find 3/4" stock is strong enough I just might double my haul to 130 linear feet and build a couple more pieces - we have a 30x16 patio so I have a lot of room to fill.

[John C Cox]

Dumb question - I didn't think Cumaru was known as "Tiger wood"... I could be wrong. But Dr. Google says "Tiger wood" is another name for African Walnut.. A completely different wood....

Cumaru is a South American wood - generally known as Brown Ebony or sometimes Brazilian Teak... It's massively heavy and hard.... Color wise - similar to teak... And since South America doesn't have many native tigers - it would surprise me to find out it's called "Tiger wood"....

[Dale Murray]

Definitely a different wood.

Ipe, Cumaru, and Tiger wood are all very popular for decks.

I think Cumaru is prettier than Ipe, and I really like Tiger as well, thus my title for the thread.

[John C Cox]

Ah - OK. That makes sense now.... But I bet everybody thought the same thing I did... That you were looking for Cumaru aka Tiger wood... And Tiger wood is not Cumaru..

Now it is clear you are actually looking for a good source of Tiger Wood and/or a good source for Cumaru...

[Alex Zeller]

Cumaru is almost identical to Ipe when it comes to working with it, how long it'll last, physical properties. It was my original choice for decking because it tends to be a little lighter in color and has streaks that highlight the grain. Tiger wood has a reddish hue to it and lots of blacks that highlight the grain. Unfortunately these woods are dense, Ipe and Cumaru being worse, and have a natural oil so they don't take finishes very well. They look real nice but being outside they turn grey and hide just how nice they look. For a chair you might have better luck. I would try something oil based like Marine Spar varnish. If you can find it I think you'll find tigerwood, being less dense, might take a finish better.

[Jon Nuckles]

Ah - OK. That makes sense now.... But I bet everybody thought the same thing I did... That you were looking for Cumaru aka Tiger wood... And Tiger wood is not Cumaru..

Now it is clear you are actually looking for a good source of Tiger Wood and/or a good source for Cumaru...

His original post said he was looking for a supplier that stocks “either of these species” so he was pretty clear.

[Jim Barstow]

Warning!!!

We used cumaru for our deck since ipe wasn't available at the time. It has held up phenomenally but it has a drawback: a huge amount of seasonal shrinkage. The gaps between the board vary between large and nothing from rainy winter to hot summer. Neither redwood nor ipe moves like this. If you are using it for furniture be very careful with wood movement.

[Dale Murray]

I contacted Johnsons Workbench and they were supposed to email me pricing and availability, still waiting. I can find a couple other projects to keep me occupied while waiting for material if I have to.

Having owned a ski boat with a teak swim platform I am away of the endless battle against greying wood. I am going to avoid varnish if I can. I will try loads of oil a few times a year if needed.

As for materials:
Ipe is least desired but would use.
Cumaru is more desirable.
Tiger is most desirable if I can find it.

Fortunately, I do not believe wood movement will be in an issue with this one. No glue, not complex joints. Basic screw together furniture. This will be somewhat like futon construction without the ability to lay it down as a futon.

Last year I made a vanity using marine grade curly teak and solid teak edging. Sadly I have yet to take a decent photo of it.

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[Dale Murray]

Ultimately I ended up with Ipe. I found 5/4 6" wide boards for about $4.80 a linear foot. I could have made the drive to get the other wood but 4 hours driving on a Saturday cured me of that desire.

Thanks for all the help.

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