I need a little help to identify a piece of wood.

[Gunsmith Fiamma]

Hello my friends,
i need a little help: today, was cleaning the shelfs of the workshop where I work and a little slab of wood came out (was covered with 1/2 centimeter of dust )

At first i thought it was a clay floor tile, since is heavy, like very very heavy and is hard (if not more hard) as ebony.
I cleaned it and put some mineral oil on it, to reveal the grain.
At a first glance it looks like Teak and the weight may confirm it, but I ask for your guidance.
I will try to cut it in blanks and turn a pen out of it, but I'm scared at how hard is it.

Thanks for your help
Francesco

 

[Twister]

is it oily ?

can u trim a mm off the end and show grain

Steve

 

[Gunsmith Fiamma]

is it oily ?

No mate, not in the slightest.

can u trim a mm off the end and show grain

Here you are


Thanks
Francesco

Steve

 

[Jim]

I can't tell you Francesco, but hopefully some more knowledgeable wood guru will be along to help you ..

 

[Neil Lawton]

From the end grain shot it's obviously an offcut of ribbed decking timber. It looks a little like Iroko, but if it's not oily, it can't be.
The most likely candidate is this. Balau, also known as Shorea albida - Species

 

[paulm]

I would say some sort of teak, is it very brittle?

 

[Bill Mooney]

Does it have a peppery smell when you cut it? If it does it could be Keruing.

 

[Gunsmith Fiamma]

From the end grain shot it's obviously an offcut of ribbed decking timber. It looks a little like Iroko, but if it's not oily, it can't be.
The most likely candidate is this. Balau, also known as Shorea albida - Species

Mate,
I confused the term "oily" for something else..... and I'm sorry for this. (Some english terms, are very difficult to translate in Italian language)
Yes it is in fact very oily and looking at it with my magnifying glass, it have the exact pattern as Iroko.
Looking on some website, of decking timber supplier, it have the same size and cuts.
And I wonder: How, in the name of god, a piece of decking timber have found it's way on a gunsmithing workshop shelf?
Asking my employer, its there from 1991......
Now i'm more prone to cut it in to blanks and try to turn a pen out of it.
It's 19mm thick so it can be turned in almost all the common kits.
Thats because I said, in my presentation post, that I like to salvage woods

Thanks a lot to everyone for helping me.
Francesco

 

[wm460]

Don't know where your decking comes from but in Aust ours is from southeast Asia and is Murbu.

https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&...D8WnNyD_oQvzYseRQ&sig2=vjUOra4ayZCnK45-JiSBng

https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&...JQrp7Z07LzbPrYTyA&sig2=3FCalEKoIQk75qRk-Ua8gA

 

[Indie Shed]

And I wonder: How, in the name of god, a piece of decking timber have found it's way on a gunsmithing workshop shelf?
Asking my employer, its there from 1991......
Now i'm more prone to cut it in to blanks and try to turn a pen out of it.
It's 19mm thick so it can be turned in almost all the common kits.

Francesco

Go for it Franceso, what is the worst that can happen?! Look forward to seeing how it turns out!

 

[lignaterrae]

Coming rather late to this but definitely not Iroko. If the colour reproduction of the photo is correct - brown rather than pink/red - then that rules out Balau.
It looks rather like Ipe which is being seen in decking quite a bit these days.

 

[Twister]

i was guessing massaranduba

Steve

 

[Gunsmith Fiamma]

Coming rather late to this but definitely not Iroko. If the colour reproduction of the photo is correct - brown rather than pink/red - then that rules out Balau.
It looks rather like Ipe which is being seen in decking quite a bit these days.

As you can guess, I'm not a wood expert.
Today I trimmed the sides and its more paler inside, maybe was somewhat stained over time (it was on the shelf from 1991 and god knows what they did before putting it there) and looking at it with my magnifying glass, and confronting it with the images I found on Iroko | The Wood Database - Lumber Identification (Hardwoods), its almost identical.
I have some Red Meranti (that is Balau) and it looks totaly different.
After I will turn it, maybe will become more clear.
Thanks for your post mate
- Francesco

 

[Penpal]

Reckon some would make a neat platter or plate Francesco.

Peter.

 

[Gunsmith Fiamma]

Reckon some would make a neat platter or plate Francesco.

Peter.

Indeed mate, if only it was bigger..... in total, the useable part is 60x20x290 mm, so in total will be 6 standard blanks if i cut it with a bandsaw. 9 blanks for single barrel pens.
I will turn A fancy/slilmline and i will post the result.
It's not that I like this wood, the only fact is that i never turned something so hard and so heavy as this one.
Here in Italy whe have this old saying "Impara l'arte e mettila da parte" That can be roughly translated in " Learn your craft and store it for later".
Thanks for your post "bruw" (learned this word today from an Australian customer and dear friend, that live here in Italy ).

-Francesco