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Diospyros ebonasea, commonly known as Malaysian Blackwood or Malaysian Ebony, is a species of tree native to Southeast Asia. It is prized for its dense, dark heartwood, which is highly valued for its use in high-end woodworking, such as in musical instruments, fine furniture, and luxury items. With its distinctive color and durability, Malaysian Blackwood is cherished by artisans and craftsmen worldwide for its exceptional quality and beauty.

boxmaking, cabinetry, crafting, fine furniture, lutherie, musical Instruments, specialty items, turnings

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Common Uses

Maple - Soft Curly Roasted

“Roasting” Soft Curly Maple involves gradually heating the wood up to temperatures of greater than 160 degrees celcius in special heat chambers made of stainless steel under anoxic conditions. The heat removes organic compounds from the wood cells, changing both the physical and chemical make-up of the wood. The process is natural and chemical free. It darkens the wood to a beautiful rich chocolatey brown color whilst still showing the gorgeous grain and figure of the underlying wood.

The thermally modified wood is more dimensionally stable, but the process does reduce bending strength and make the wood a little more brittle. This makes it chip a little easier than the un-modified lumber. The brittleness makes it less suitable for intricate cabinetry, but it is still an excellent choice for less intricate items such as floors, tops, panels, cladding etc.

Extra care needs to be taken when finishing thermally modified wood, as the "bone dry" wood has a tendency to "suck in" much of what is given to it. Our in-house woodworking specialist has had excellent results with Osmo PolyX. He suggests a thicker finish will work better.

fine furniture, flooring, interior panelling, lutherie, musical Instruments, specialty items

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Common Uses

Maple - Birdseye Roasted

“Roasting” Birdseye Maple involves gradually heating the wood up to temperatures of greater than 160 degrees celcius in special heat chambers made of stainless steel under anoxic conditions. The heat removes organic compounds from the wood cells, changing both the physical and chemical make-up of the wood. The process is natural and chemical free. It darkens the wood to a beautiful rich chocolatey brown color whilst still showing the gorgeous grain and figure of the underlying wood.

bandings, crafting, fine furniture, flooring, knife handles, lutherie, musical Instruments, specialty items

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Common Uses

Chakte Viga

This vibrant Central American wood can features primary colors ranging from orange to golden brown (with gold, red and sometimes even green accent coloration). It is thought to be the closest relative to Brazilwood (famous for its use in stringed-instrument bows), and Chakte Viga shares many of the same acoustic properties. Grains are straight, but sometimes interlocked -- otherwise, this wood works easily, and finishes well. It has a fine texture and excellent natural luster. Sap is a pale off-white to pale yellow.

Chakte Viga is a wood that has been starting to emerge from relative obscurity over the last decade or so, being one of the lesser-known and -demanded woods from the tropical Central America region. We feel it has a huge untapped potential as a guitar tonewood, as well as in fine furniture production in the US. The wood has some very subtle aesthetics, sometimes exhibiting a 3D-like shimmering chatoyance after being finished with clear lacquer.

fine furniture, furniture, inlay, turnings

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Common Uses

Birch - Masur

Masur Birch (also known as Karelian Birch) is not a species in of itself, but rather a particular grain figure that occurs in various species of European Birch. The result is a beautiful marble like figure - a mix between burl and birdseye.The cause of this figure is uncertain. Some say that it comes from a tree's reaction to invasion by the larvae of the Agromyzia carbonara beetle, but the general opinion seems to be that it is hereditary, classifying the name of the variant as Betula pendula var. Carelica. Regardless of the exact origin of the figure, it provides us with stunning and unique looking lumber, just begging to be showcased in some fine woodworking. It is most commonly used in accent details, turned objects, knife handles and other small specialty items.Veneers of Masur Birch are rotary cut (like Birdseye Maple) to ensure the best figure is extracted for the veneer.

fine furniture, knife handles, specialty items, turnings, veneer

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Common Uses

Yellowwood

Yellowwood is an even-grained, lightweight South African wood that has been used historically for hundreds of years, and a variety of purposes. It was extensively used in railway sleepers, as well as in multiple phases of construction. Its tough, durable nature saw it used as an exterior wood in the region. (It is still very popular throughout Southern Africa for indoor carpentry and floors, as it is also dimensionally stable.) The heartwood is pale yellowish brown, and not easy to distinguish from the sapwood; reddish streaks are sometimes present (in the heart). Grains are typically straight, though occasionally wavy; its texture is fine and consistent, with a nice natural luster.

boxmaking, fine furniture

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Common Uses

Zebrawood

Zebrawood is a tough, durable, visually striking West African wood whose heartwood base color -- which can range from tan to a dull pale yellow, to a muted off-white / almost gray hue, depending on specific region and conditions of growth -- is decorated by dark brown striping of varying degrees (ranging to almost black), hence its name. The striping is typically long and fairly uniform when the wood is quartersawn, but wavy and erratic when flatsawn.¬† Sapwood is easily distinguishable (by its lack of striping, naturally) and is usually a light, pale white color.Its coarse, open-poured texture combined with its wavy and/or interlocked grain patterns can make planing a challenge. (as well as finishing, if filling all surface pores is requisite.) For any sort of resawing or surfacing, blades and cutting tools should be at their sharpest to minimize tear-out.¬† The wood glues well and usually possesses a pleasant, moderate to high luster, which can make for impressive finishing.While flatsawn lumber can yield some quite dramatic aesthetic results, quartersawn lumber provides maximum (and sometimes much needed) stability. The species is known to be difficult to dry, with pieces sometimes warping during the kiln drying process. Tiny pockets of small void areas, also, are not uncommon along the darker striped areas -- especially among flatsawn boards.Zebrawood's trademark aesthetics have made it very popular with veneer mills around the world. However, great care is required when handling, to avoid it cracking.¬† The wood's popularity keeps it in steady demand, which makes it moderately expensive in spite of a generally steady supply in the US.¬† While its demand is based almost exclusively on its aesthetic appeal, Zebrawood is a strong, stiff lumber, once dry.

fine furniture, handles, turnings, veneer

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Common Uses

Satinwood - East Indian

East Indian (or Ceylon) Satinwood is a truly exquisite tropical hardwood. Its heartwood ranges from light to medium golden yellow, typically. Sapwood generally is white/off white and paler than the heartwood, though not always clearly demarcated. Premium-grade examples can be seen with a mottled or rippled grain pattern -- resembling ripples in satin fabric, and, thus, lending to its name "Satinwood;" such examples may possess a chatoyance ranging from subtle to the dramatic.Grains can be straight, but are more typically interlocked. Although -- due to its density, hardness and generally interlocked grains -- it can be difficult to work, it turns, glues and finishes superbly; featuring a smooth, luxurious texture and a shimmering natural luster.In comparison with other exotic woods, Ceylon Satinwood has remained in short supply to the US market. Its exportation from the region remains restricted. That said, this is actually of little concern to the tree farmers of East India, as the wood is highly coveted throughout the Indian Plate portion of Southern Asia.Finding long boards of it can be quite difficult and pieces of craft-sized dimensions are more commonly found in the US. Other than the supply issue, a root cause for this is the fact that trees reach full maturity at a height of only 40 to 50 feet, with miniscule trunk diameters of just 1 to 1-1/2 feet. Long boards are always in short supply and sell at a premium, when found.

fine furniture, inlay, specialty items, turnings, veneer

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Common Uses

Snakewood

Snakewood stands out as one of the most aesthetically unique exotic woods in the world. Its muted light yellow-, orange- or red-tinted brown underlying base color is covered by tight, uniform patterns of darker brown or black patches which give the appearance of snakeskin. The wood is straight-grained with a fine texture. The wood is extremely dense, so much so that it can be brittle and splinter, or even shatter, when re-sawn; cutting edges should be at there sharpest whenever working Snakewood. In spite of this difficult working properties, it does turn and finish quite well -- taking a high polish and displaying an impressive natural luster.

Because of its relatively slender profile -- marked by a thin, narrow trunk -- thick boards are never seen. Snakewood can be commonly found in the form of small logs or half-logs.

fine furniture, specialty items, turnings

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Common Uses

Stinkwood

Black Stinkwood has long been popular for use in fine furniture building in South Africa (where it is indigenous), due to its fine, tight, typically straight grains and a resolute durability that is often compared to Teak. It's heartwood color can vary from almost black to dark brown, to more medium brown tones with a reddish tint; the sap is easily distinguished by its contrasting pale yellow coloration. Despite its inherent density, Stinkwood possesses very cooperative working properties. It has beautiful finishing characteristics and a rich natural luster.

cabinetry, fine furniture, gun stocks, joinery, specialty items

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Common Uses

Panga Panga

Panga Panga is the first cousin to Africa's more popular and well-known exotic, Wenge (with both trees being of the Millettia genus) -- sharing a similar large pored, course texture, and presenting some of the same challenges when working. It is generally a bit lighter colored, with heartwood ranging from the lighter to darkers sides of medium brown, with dark brown to black streaks and/or highlighted grain lines. Darker examples can be easily confused with Wenge, and they have been known to turn almost black as they age.

fine furniture, flooring, paneling, specialty items, trim, turnings, veneer

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Common Uses

Redheart

Redheart is a unique Central / South American hardwood characterized by a reddish base color -- ranging from dull to bright pink, pinkish-red or red -- with streaks and highlights diverse in color, from darker red tones, to yellows, oranges and even occasional purples. Grains range from irregular to wild (although sometimes straight, also), and can often be multi-dimensional or overlapping -- often to very dramatic effect, especially when vibrant secondary colors are present.

Its texture is fine and smooth, although it does not possess much natural luster. It works, turns, glues and finishes well, as would be expected with a wood of its moderate density.

Despite Redheart's rather moderate weight, hardness and density, the wood can burn easily when resawn, if blades and cutting tools are not sharp. Such burning produces a black tar-like resin which adheres to the wood's surface and requires patient sanding.<br><br>With its sometimes stunning aesthetic qualities, Redheart has been a popular turning wood; it is starting to appear more frequently in custom electric guitar building (necks, fretboards, etc.), also.

fine furniture, inlay, specialty items, turnings, veneer