What wood is this?

[Carl Beckett]

Picked up an old table that they said 'might' be teak. I do not believe it is teak.

Some pics below.

Brown in color
Some of it has some ripple/tiger effect
With surfacing and oil it creates a nice finish
It is quite hard and dense.
Somewhat an oily feel but not as bad as some exotics are
Tough to cut - will barely go through the planer with super light cuts and even then needs a push
Hand plane similar - needs a sharp blade and some umpph behind it
The bandsaw seems like will wear a blade quickly - I had hoped to resaw but am second guessing that
The widebelt with a 36 grit belt is the most efficient so far.

I am trying to decide what to do with it - besides firewood. So far I have avoided the nails. Although I have a decent amount, it has a lot of cracks and checks and will need cut down to salvage the 'good' pieces. If it was easier to work there is plenty to get some useable pieces for, but it will take some work (and blade wear) to get it cut up.

I know its hard to tell from pics, but any body have guesses on what type of wood it is?
IMG_6523.jpgIMG_6526.jpgIMG_6527.jpgIMG_6519.jpg

[Edward Weber]

I doubt Teak, could be Ipe.

[Dave Sabo]

I doubt Teak, could be Ipe.

Why do you think it's not teak ?


Sure looks and sounds like it to me with the info at hand. I'd doubt it's IPE given the grain, thickness, color, and source.

[Carl Beckett]

I dont think the color match is ipe (more brown than black). But some similar attributes. And I did a tigerwood project once that has a lighter sapwood, so do not think its that either.

I havent worked with teak a lot, but what I have experience with was more straight grained and not as dense. More workable. But... there is always variation in wood.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

Thanks to the SMC moderators and other helpful contributors I have the Wood Database bookmarked and have learned to take a close look at the end grain. Here is a snip from the Teak page.
Teak | The Wood Database (Hardwood)
Screen Shot 2023-04-02 at 4.36.00 PM.jpg

[Mel Fulks]

Bottom left photo might be wool ,still on the loom !

[Edward Weber]

Why do you think it's not teak ?


Sure looks and sounds like it to me with the info at hand. I'd doubt it's IPE given the grain, thickness, color, and source.

I didn't think it looked enough like teak. the end grain didn't look correct and I personally haven't seen Teak the uniformly figured.
I put Ipe out as a suggestion just because of the overall look but the nail holes are a bit confusing.
Many tropicals can't be nailed unless green or pre=drilled.
Are there any other characteristics that you can share? does it have an odor, scent.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

Teak gets nailed and used for picnic tables, decks, and boardwalks (Coney Island). It looks a little like Walnut in a few of the mages. I sure can't tell what it is from here. I will look again when I find my glasses and get to the big monitor. I can see that it is very pretty!

[Edward Weber]

Teak is not a "hard" tropical wood IMO.
You don't usually have the machining difficulties the OP described with Teak, which makes me think it's a much harder (2k+ janka) species.
JMO

[Andrew Hughes]

It doesn’t look like teak to me. Teak has a distinct smell kinda nutty but strong and it’s not very hard.
My guess from thousands of miles away is Afromosia.
Good Luck

[Maurice Mcmurry]

I think Andrew Hughes Or John K Jordan first lead me to the Wood Database. Thank you both! Now to go look at Afromosia.

[Jim Morgan]

I remember when afromosia became unavailable: the Montreal Olympics cornered the market to construct the track in their velodrome.

How about etimoe? Not typically available as solid lunber, but harder than teak or afromosia and often has that striking curly figure.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

I remember when afromosia became unavailable: the Montreal Olympics cornered the market to construct the track in their velodrome.

How about etimoe? Not typically available as solid lunber, but harder than teak or afromosia and often has that striking curly figure.

This reminds me to look for a lost article that tells about the hand planing and smoothing of a Velodrome. A good candidate for Neander Heaven. I bet the job started to feel like purgatory by the end.

I looked at Apitong for a comparison. It has similarities