Beech
BEE
Beech is a creamy white to pale brown. It is straight grained with a fine even texture commonly used in furniture, cabinet making, kitchenware, tool handles, workbenches. toys and chopping boards. Beech cuts well with hand tools and will sand to give a high finish.
Please note, the image is an example of what you could create with Beech wood.
Beech blanks are available in squares, rounds and...
Ebony
EBO
Ebony is a dense, hard and heavy wood. The black heart is usually very brittle. Because of its hardness and brittleness, Ebony can be very hard to work with both hand and machine tools. The wood has a fairly severe blunting effect on cutting edges. Gluing is rated as satisfactory to difficult, but the wood turns well and can be brought to a first-class finish.
Yellow Boxwood
YBOX
Color/Appearance:Â Heartwood ranges from light pink to golden brown. Pale gray sapwood is sharply demarcated from heartwood. Commonly seen in burl form. Please note, the image is an example of what you could create with Wild Mango wood.
Brown Ivory
BIV
The wood is red brown which is faintly pink tinged, occasionally with a blackish streak. The texture is medium to fine and even. It is a hard timber with an attractive grain but turns well and produces a good finish. It sandpapers well and takes varnishes and oils well. Tool must be kept sharp. Please note, the image is an example of what you could create with Brown Ivory wood. Also used for furniture.
Leadwood
LEAD
The heartwood is dark brown in colour with blackish streaks. The timber is hard, heavy and durable. It sandpapers well and takes varnishes and oils well to come up with a high lustrous finish. It needs sharp tools. It is difficult to use for furniture but is well suited to turning and carving and has even been used for machine bearing. The wood is so hard that Africans made blades for their hoes before...
Wild Mango
MAN
A stunning deep cream coloured wood with golden undertones that creates its own ambience. The heartwood has a colour yellow brown to nut brown with a subtle but attractive grain pattern. It sandpapers well and also takes varnish and oils well. It is used for furniture, flooring, turning and carving and often used for making African drums. Please note, the image is an example of what you could create...
Masasa
MAS
The heartwood is a uniform red/brown and clearly defined. Masasa is a hard timber that turns well, sandpapering and taking oils and varnish well. Tools must be sharp and used for furniture, railway sleepers and flooring. Please note, the image is an example of what you could create with Masasa.
Panga Panga
PAN
Panga Panga is extraordinary in its rarity as it is only found, in commercially viable quantities, in Mozambique. Its dark colours, with rich parenchyma bands brings a touch of exotic to finished pieces. The heartwood is extremely durable. It sandpapers well and takes varnish and oils well. It is used in furniture, turning, parquet flooring and carving. Please note, the image is an example of what...
Tamboti
TAM
The heartwood is light and dark chocolate brown. The wood is hard, heavy, durable, close-grained and resistant to termites. It sandpapers well and takes oils and varnish well finishing with a satin like lustre. When freshly worked it has a distinctive, sweetish smell. The wood is almost indestructible. Samples taken from the Great Zimbabwe, carbon dates to be between 1240 and 1530 years old, were...
Tanga Tanga
TAN
The timber is various shades of brown with attractive bands of lighter and darker brown throughout. It is lighter in weight and softer than many of the African timbers but turns really well albeit with some interlocking grain that requires finer cutting. Haven't tried this one with an oil finish but with sanding sealer and wax it come to a lustrous shine. Please note, the image is an example of what...
Umbilo
UMB
The heartwood is a rich warm to dark brown, sometimes with red streaks. A medium even texture, a very stable timber. It sandpapers well, and takes a varnish and oil finish well. Used in the production of handles and turns very well. Also used in furniture, cabinet making as a veneer, flooring and carving. Please note, the image is an example of what you could create with Umbilo wood.
Elm
ELM
This wood has a high resistance to shock loads and very low stiffness.Provided cutting edges are kept sharp, the wood works well with hand and machine tools. It has good gluing properties. When planing, sharp and thin cutting edges are required to avoid a woolly finish. It takes stain well and can be polished to a high finish.Please note, the image is an example of what you could create with Elm wood.Elm...
Goncalo Alves
GON
Goncalo Alves is a hard, dense and heavy wood, which is very tough. Cutting usually requires tungsten carbide-tipped blades.
Gluing can be tricky, but less so if a solvent is used to remove extractives. It turns well and can easily brought to a good polished finish.
Goncalo Alves woodturning blanks are available in round, square and spindle sizes where possible. All sizes listed are in inches...
Bubinga
BUB
Bubinga works well with both hand and machine tools, though irregular grain may pick up during planing or moulding, so a low cutting angle should be used. It has a moderate to severe blunting effect because it contains silica. There can be problems with gum exudation, and steam-bending qualities are poor. Gum pockets may make gluing difficult. It takes stain easily, an can be sanded and polished to...
Purpleheart
PUR
Purple Heart is hard, dense and heavy with high crushing, stiffness and bending strengths, a moderate steam-bending rating and medium resistance to shock loads.It is difficult to work by hand, and machining is moderately difficult. The blunting effect on cutters is moderate to severe. Slow feed rates and reduced cutting angle are advised. Blunt cutters will heat the wood and cause resin to exude.It...
Ash
ASH
Ash works well with both machine and hand tools, and has a moderate blunting effect on cutting edges. Provided the cutters are kept sharp, it planes well. Ash glues well, stains satisfactory and can be brought to a highly polished finish.
Please note, the image is an example of what you could create with Ash wood.
Ash wood blanks are available in squares, rounds and spindles. All sizes are listed...
American Black Walnut
BWAL
The heartwood ranges in colour from light pinkish-brown to dark brown with pink, greyish-green, purple-black or black streaks. The grain is interlocked and irregular, and sometimes wavy, with a medium, even texture and is fairly lustrous.Please note, the image is an example of what you could create with American Black Walnut wood.American Black Walnut blanks are available in squares and rounds. All...
Cherry
CHE
The heartwood is a rich reddish-brown initially, but it ages to a darker colour, losing some of its reddish tint.It is generally straight grained with a fairly fine and even texture. The sapwood is clearly differentiated from the heartwood and is paler.Please note, the image is an example of what you could create with Cherry wood.Cherry blanks are available in squares and rounds. All sizes are listed...
Maple
MAP
The heartwood is creamy white when freshly cut but ages to a light tan. The grain is usually straight but can be wavy or curly, and has a smooth, fine texture. The wood has a high natural lustre, especially on quartered surfaces. The sapwood is not normally distinct from the heartwood.
Maple woodturning blanks are available in round, square and spindle sizes where possible. All sizes listed are...
Oak
OAK
White Oak is a hard and heavy wood. It has medium crushing and bending strength, and low stiffness. The wood has exceptional resistance to wear. It has moderate blunting effect on cutting edges, but generally works well though this depends on the precise species used. This wood planes, turns, bores, sands, mortises, stains and polishes well.Please note, the image is an example of what you could create...
Pear
PEAR
The heartwood ranges from pale flesh tones to a light pinkish-brown which may be enhanced by steaming, and has fine pores and rays. The grain is usually straight and the wood has a characteristically fine, even and smooth texture.
Pear wood blanks are available in squares and rounds. All sizes listed are in inches unless stated otherwise.
Please note, the image is an example of what you could...
Sycamore
SYC
This wood works easily with machine and hand tools, with a moderate blunting effect. Very sharp tools are advised for a clean finish. It turns, glues, sands and paints well, carves easily and polishes very well.
Please note, the image is an example of what you could create with Sycamore wood.
Sycamore wood blanks are available in squares, rounds and spindles. All sizes are listed in inches unless...
North American Tulipwood
TUL
Tulipwood is a heavy, hard dense wood that can be difficult to work, and can be splintery. The wood has a severe blunting effect on cutting edges, and a reducing planing angle is advised for quartered stock and irregular grain. Pre-boring is recommended for nailing and screwing, but it glues well. Tulipwood can be brought to a very highly polished finish.Please note, the image is an example of what...
Wenge
WEN
Wenge is a heavy and dense wood which is highly resistant to abrasion. It has a high resistance to shock loads and high bending strength, low stiffness, medium crushing strength and a low steam-bending rating. The wood works well with both machine and hand tools, and has a moderate to medium blunting effect on cutting-edges. Gluing and polishing can be difficult because of the resin cells in the wood....
Padauk
PAD
Padauk is a heavy, dense and resistant to wear. It has a high crushing strength, low stiffness and resistance to shock loads, and medium bending strength. It works well with hand tools, but the interlocking grain has a moderate blunting effect. The wood turns, saws, glues, screws and sands well, and can be brought to a good polish.Please note, the image is an example of what you could create with Padauk...
Chestnut
CHES
Colour/Appearance: Heartwood is a light to medium brown, darkening to a reddish brown with age. Narrow sapwood is well-defined and is pale white to light brown. Wormy Chestnut is also seen, which is chestnut that has been damaged by insects, leaving holes and other discoloration in the wood.
Grain/Texture: Grain is straight to spiral or interlocked. With a coarse, uneven texture.
Endgrain: Ring-porous;...
African Blackwood
AFB
African Blackwood is very strong and tough in all categories, but is not normally used for steam bending due to its weight and density. It has a severe blunting effect in tools, Tungsten-carbide-tipped tools are required for conversion. It can be difficult to work but turns well. Pre-boring is necessary for nailing and screwing, and screw threads can be tapped into it almost as well as in metal. It...
Olive
OLV
Olive is hard, strong and heavy.
All olive is Italian, with some exceptions. Please check the dropdown list to see the species and sizes available.
All Spanish Olive sizes are freshly sawn. All other Olive sizes are part-seasoned.
Tip: Part-turn the timber and keep in a bag with its shavings for a period of time before finishing.
Some sizes are available in Venetian Olive. This timber is...
Zebrano
ZEB
Zebrano is a hard, dense and heavy wood with high strength properties and very high stiffness. It is not suitable for steam bending. It works well with hand tools and in most machining operations. Planing can be tricky, since interlocked grain can tear badly, so sanding is advised for a final finish. Gluing is satisfactory if care is taken. Please note, the image is an example of what you could create...
Red Coolibah
COOLIBAH
Heartwood ranges from orangish pink to a much darker reddish brown. Thin sapwood is grayish white. Nearly always seen in burl form. Less-common coolibah species have darker grayish brown to nearly black heartwood.
Grain is generally interlocked, with a fine texture.
Please note, the image is an example of what you could create with this wood.
Sizes are listed in inches unless stated otherwise.
Banksia Nut
BAN
Banksia nuts grow in Australia, often producing cones that are large enough for turning.
These are called 'Banksia Grandees' and are named after Sir Joseph Banks, 1743-1820, who sailed with Captain Cook on the 'Endeavour' in 1768. These particularly large seed pods have a very limited range in Western Australia. They usually grow on an underbrush tree in Jarrah forests and can take...