When we first started woodturning, I was drawn to the exotic woods with their unusual coloring, patterns, unique scents, and names like cocobolo, bocote, pau ferro, etc. All of them fascinated me. As we began turning larger items and the bigger pieces of exotic wood became too expensive for us, we started using a lot of local wood and discovered that wood is just beautiful, whether it's local or exotic.
Many times the wood itself dictates the final design of the piece being turned. A single swirl in an unusual grain will draw the eye and you suddenly realize you cut a curve into the piece to follow and highlight that swirl although that wasn't the intended design when you started.
Here are a few of our favorite woods, but by no means all of them. Look in our website for a lot of others.
Cocobolo is my absolute favorite, with its smooth swirls of color.
Scientific Name: Dalbergia retusa
Other Names: Granadillo, Funera, Nambar, Nicaragua Rosewood
Geographical Origin: Central America, Mexico
General Characteristics: A true rosewood whose color varies from yellowish orange to deep-red or reddish brown with prominent black streaks and some mottling with exposure; fine texture with grain straight to interlocked; oily texture with low luster
Bocote is a great wood to turn and has very distinct lines and markings.
Scientific Name: Cordia gerascanthus
Other Names: Canalete, Anachuite, Baria, Cupane, Amapa asta, Louro pardo
Location: Mexico, West Indies, Central America, South America, northern Florida
General Characteristics: Heartwood is tobacco colored to reddish to dark brown with irregular black streaks; heartwood is clearly distinguishable from the grayish to yellowy sapwood; fine to medium oily texture with variable luster; grain is straight to variable.
Tulipwood is just plain beautiful with pink, rust, and purple lines running through it.
Scientific Name: Dalbergia decipularis
Other names: Brazilian Tulip Wood, Brazilian Pinkwood, Pau rosa, Bois de Rose, Jacaranda rosa
Location: Brazil
General Characteristics: A true rosewood with beautiful streaking with a range of colors from yellow, salmon pink, rose and violet; fine to medium texture with a medium to high luster.
Magnolia trees are all over the south, but we never imagined the wood was so pretty or nice to turn on a lathe.
Scientific name: magnolia virginiana
Location: east and southeast Asia , eastern North America, Central America, the West Indies, and some species in South America.
Characteristics: Cream colored heartwood, with gray and brown streaking. Tight grain and uniform texture.
John came across some majestic old magnolia trees being removed from a nearby yard. When he asked what was going to be done with the wood, the owner told him he could have all he wanted. Now our workshop is filled with magnolia logs and branches, just waiting to get on the lathes. Now that we don't use just exotics anymore, that is how we get much of the beautiful wood we work with. How cool is that?
