Wood ID Please

[Jess Wetherhold]

A buddy said that he wanted me to turn a stool seat for him from KOA. This is what he brought me. Now I have never turned Koa but I am pretty sure this is something else. When cutting the blank round it had a funky potent smell too.
Any ideas? Me thinks it may be teak but who knows.

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[Hal Taft]

It's hard to be certain with a small picture and no smell, but it sure looks like teak, definitely not koa.

[Jess Wetherhold]

I am pretty certain it is teak but wanted to ask before I broke it to my friend who was convinced that it is koa.
Like I said, when cutting it round the odor was pretty stank. It was bitter and sort of sour but very strong smell.

[Curt Fuller]

I also think that is definitely is NOT Koa. But I can't tell you what else it would be.

[Jess Wetherhold]

Bud just told me that the guy who sold it to him was in his 80's and his eyesight was very bad. I think it was a guilt purchase but I was instructed to turn it anyway.
Thanks to those who confirmed my suspicions about the wood.
I'll post the stool when finished if anyone is interested.
Jess

[Dick Strauss]

Jess,
If we could see the end-grain, it might help. I would guess it could be elm of some sort. IIRC slippery/red elm has an acrid smell when it is turned.

[Jess Wetherhold]

Well, it did seem a bit oily when I turned it. The guy who sold the wood to my friend is insisting it is koa and will not refund the price difference. Any suggestions?
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[Kim Ford]

Jess;

Without having the wood in hand I'm not positive, but, I have worked with KOA, and from the end grain and the way it finished it looks to me like it could be KOA.

Either way it is a beautiful stool top.

Kim

[Don Orr]

I've turned a fair amount of Teak and it has no odor at all to me. I'm no expert on Koa but I don't think it's Teak either. The Teak I have used does not polish up as nice as yours. It's pretty coarse and oily and finish takes forever to dry in my experience.

For what it's worth just believe the seller and move on. Not worth the hassle if you ask me.

The seat came out very nice !

[Allen Neighbors]

I've never seen Koa... that I know of, anyway... but that does look like some Elm that I've turned. I love that stool top. You did well!!

[Jeff Nicol]

Jess, By the color and the grain it looks suspiciously like elm! Red elm or slippery elm is usually redder in color than what your stool top is. The grain, smell and varing color sure looks like american elm to me! But there are lots of woods out there that could look the same as another, I personally have never turned koa, but all the pictures I have seen on SMC and other places the color is much different. Good luck with the ID either way the stool looks like it will be a success!

Jeff

[Jess Wetherhold]

I just wanted to thank you guys for the praise. Glad you like the stool seat because I made 6 of them ;)
My friend did contact the guy who sold him the wood and he said he would issue a refund but then recanted the next day. As you say, doesn't matter, it looks just fine.
I very much enjoy seeing everyones work here so thanks again for chiming in on mine.
Jess

[Jess Wetherhold]

Something else:
This was 8/4 kiln dried lumber located in San Diego, CA. With that in mind do we still think it is elm? It was a bit oily and the finish is just sanded to 400, EEE and carnauba wax. It was about the weight of hard maple.
I would lay this to rest but my friend is really itching to know what he purchased.

[Dick Strauss]

Jess,
I don't think elm is oily at all so it very well may be koa. I've never turned or seen koa in person so I'm probably wrong with my guess of elm.

Your results speak for themselves...nicely done sir!:cool:

[Christopher Fletcher]

Those stools came out real nice, Jess! I hope your furniture guy is stoked!

[Cyril Griesbach]

Unless you stained it that brown color or the photo does not correctly represent the color it's not Koa.

[Jeff Nicol]

Jess, I went out and looked for some Koa wood products and furniture. By what I found it definitly could be koa! The sites I looked at said that it can be from light brown to dark reddish brown. We mostly see the Koa with the fancy curly grain so the plain grain just looks like what you have turned the stool tops out of. Here are some pics that show some different uses for the wood and color variations.

Jeff