Wood ID Help

[Andy Hoyt]

Just posted some pics on my chapter's website for a friend who's a new turner. The first pic on the page is a gavel that he turned from a chunk that he was told was cocobolo. But it sure doesn't look like any cocbolo I've ever seen. Any thoughts as to what it might be?

http://www.mainewoodturners.org/html/dennis_curtis.html

[Mark Cothren]

Don't know about the handle... but the head looks a bit like Osage, eh?

Shoot, I can't even ID wood on the hoof... much less when it's finished...:D

[Andy Hoyt]

oops, i forgot to add this note from Dennis.


The stuff is very orange, fairly oily, and turns to a great polish without any finish.

[Corey Hallagan]

Could it possibly be Coco that is mostly sapwood? I have seen some pretty golden Coco for sale at Arizona Sil at times.

corey

[Brad Hart]

Don't know about the handle... but the head looks a bit like Osage, eh?

Shoot, I can't even ID wood on the hoof... much less when it's finished...:D

definately not osage orange or any other orangish tree in the locust family if it is oily like he says.

[Jim Dunn]

Brad I worked a mallet head from osage orange and it's as oily as all get out. I had a hard time getting danish oil in as the oil in it wanted to seep out. My 02.

[Mark Cothren]

definately not osage orange or any other orangish tree in the locust family if it is oily like he says.

Was only a guess... since we now know what it ain't, then what it is...:confused:

[Corey Hallagan]

Note that the acorn nuts on the page also say made of cocobolo. Same lighter colored.

Corey

[Andy Hoyt]

More from Dennis:

Andy,

Thanks. The acorns are also turned from the same stuff (scraps). Interestingly, when I won the Ebay auction, the seller emailed me and said he discovered a bad crack in the piece, and gave me the option of getting a different piece, and selling me the cracked one for half price. I took the offer, and the two pieces do not appear to be the same wood. The original, cracked piece is a darker, more purple wood that may be cocobolo.

I could bring in the pieces next meeting and get a group opinion. Dennis

Jim Ketron thinks it might be canarywood. Hmmmm?

http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/canary.htm

[Jim King]

Andy: We have a wood called Orange Agate that we export a lot to the States and I have heard of people reselling it as Cocobolo. It can cetainly have the grain and color of the gavel you posted.

[Curt Fuller]

I've turned quite a bit of cocobolo but never anything that light colored. All the rest of the description looks and sounds like cocobolo though. It looks a little like an overexposed picture of cocobolo.

There are so many woods and variations within each species that it would be hard to pin it down for sure.

[Paul Downes]

Looks like Panamanian cocobola. That wood often has that honey color. Basicly a lighter version of the mexican variety.

[Michael Stafford]

Looks like Panamanian cocobola. That wood often has that honey color. Basicly a lighter version of the mexican variety.

I think that Paul has it right. I have some Panamanian cocobolo that has a lot of yellow in it and it is certainly more orange than purple, although there are occasional purplish streaks. If you go to Gilmer Woods web site on occasion they will have Panamanian cocobolo and it really looks like the head of this gavel. JMHO.