# Can anybody identify this wood please?



## doctorx (Dec 31, 2011)




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## mdntrdr (Dec 22, 2009)

Mahogany??? :huh:


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## phinds (Mar 25, 2009)

Looks like some of the Shorea species I've seen ("Philippine mahogany") but can't be sure. Can you get a well-focused end grain shot and preferably a closeup as well?


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

Looks like Virola plywood.










 







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## phinds (Mar 25, 2009)

cabinetman said:


> Looks like Virola plywood.


I agree.


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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

Yea it looks like ply wood to also. Type of wood, don't know


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## doctorx (Dec 31, 2011)

*new photos as requested*

Hi
I have three photos which might help, It's solid wood and not ply as you can see. It has a slight rubbery smell when machined although clearly, it's not rubberwood which has a coarser more open grain and is a different colour. The planks were salvaged from old church pews seats which I used for kitchen bench tops. I have changed my kitchen and recycled the tops again for other purposes. I was thinking of making a solid guitar body from some of the timber but I need to identify the timber first. It seems to have the same mass as mahogany maybe a bit heavier.
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy113/sausage1953/close.jpg
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy113/sausage1953/end.jpg
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy113/sausage1953/side.jpg


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

doctorx said:


> Hi
> I have three photos which might help, It's solid wood and not ply as you can see. It has a slight rubbery smell when machined although clearly, it's not rubberwood which has a coarser more open grain and is a different colour. The planks were salvaged from old church pews seats which I used for kitchen bench tops. I have changed my kitchen and recycled the tops again for other purposes. I was thinking of making a solid guitar body from some of the timber but I need to identify the timber first. It seems to have the same mass as mahogany maybe a bit heavier.
> http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy113/sausage1953/close.jpg
> http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy113/sausage1953/end.jpg
> http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy113/sausage1953/side.jpg


It would have been nice to have the photos in the first post. The first post picture shows a flitch seam, which appears to be on plywood. The species still looks like a white Virola, or Philippine Mahogany.










 







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## phinds (Mar 25, 2009)

The end grain shot, unfortunately, is not particuarly helpful ... it shows no hint of what the pores look like.

If it's about the same weight as mahogany then virola is less likely since it's lighter than manhogay.

I'm still betting on Shorea spp. but a good end grain shot would be helpful.


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## Carvel Loafer (Dec 31, 2011)

phinds said:


> Looks like some of the Shorea species I've seen ("Philippine mahogany") but can't be sure.


I'm going with what "phinds" suggested, Shorea, or as is commonly refered to as Philippine mahogany. If I'm correct, on the wood I've seen it used a lot on interior pre hung door jambs and made into veneers for the same doors. Some call it lauan.


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## Robocop52 (Jul 25, 2011)

When we stopped getting the real good Brazilian mahogany here in Ireland they started importing this and called it meranty (spelling may not be right) a much softer and lighter class of mahogany. Looks like that to me anyway.

Gus


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## phinds (Mar 25, 2009)

Robocop52 said:


> When we stopped getting the real good Brazilian mahogany here in Ireland they started importing this and called it meranty (spelling may not be right) a much softer and lighter class of mahogany. Looks like that to me anyway.
> 
> Gus


Yes, meranti is Shorea spp. (aka lauan or luan, aka Philippine mahogany) which is what we've been suggesting.


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## doctorx (Dec 31, 2011)

Here is a better endgrain photo. So there seems to be consensus that it is Shorea or Philippine mahogany (meranti) :thumbsup:.BTW Has anybody used this timber and can confirm it has a vaguely rubber smell when machined?

Half way done on this link:
"slab and end grain --- this was sent to me for identification and I'm sure it's something from the light red meranti group, which (along with ALL of the meranti's) I'm going to merge into this page at some point.." 

http://hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/mahogany, philippine.htm

Thanks to all for your valued help!:smile:


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## phinds (Mar 25, 2009)

Very nice end grain shot. Thanks.

Yes, this is completely consistent with Shorea spp. and inparticular that section of Shorea spp. that is sold as Philippine mahogany

Meranti is actually a group of Shorea spp. that is usually somewhat (and often VERY) different from the Shorea spp. that are sold as Philippine mahogany. that's why I current have separate pages for them, BUT except for the "dark red" meranti group, I find them genearlly impossible to put into one category or the other, thus my thought that I might at some point merge the pages.

EDIT: and by the way, generally "meranti" is NOT synonymous with "Philippine mahogany" but "luan / lauan" is.


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## wentzwood (Jan 4, 2012)

I would say philippine mahogany very soft wood but very nice rich dark wood when finished and aged. tom wentzwood


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## phinds (Mar 25, 2009)

wentzwood said:


> I would say philippine mahogany very soft wood but very nice rich dark wood when finished and aged. tom wentzwood


I'd be very interested in seeing pics of such a wood. All of the Philippine mahogany I've ever seen pretty much looks rather poor when raw and hardly better with finishing/aging. It's never very dark and I've NEVER seen any that looks rich.


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