The Forestry Forum
General Forestry => Tree, Plant and Wood I.D. => Topic started by: cypresskayaksllc on May 19, 2011, 10:41:37 AM
Power just went out so this is my second attempt at writing this. Heres the story (a little shorter than before perhaps). I met a guy who had some lumber in his shop. It looked interesting so I inquired. He said a lumberyard had went out of business and he got it from there. He didnt know what kind of wood it was but he said it was from the Amazon. eh eh. Dont know the guy sos I cant vouch. The wood is very light color with no distinguishing character, at least not in my opinion. Its weight seems to be moderate. Not real heavy. The detail that I thought might be more helpful is that it has fibrous grain. Check out the pictures to see what Im trying to describe.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/24392/3366/2011-05-18_08-17-51_677.jpg)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/24392/3366/2011-05-17_19-18-27_616.jpg)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/24392/3366/2011-05-17_19-18-38_240.jpg)
From what I see, looks like Phillipine mahogany.
that sounds right. is it a valuable wood? I read on wiki that its american name is lauan the same stuff I see at lowes.
It is hard to ID wood from a photo. The top photo looks like Cumala which is also called Banak or Virola in the States . I am assuming the bottom two photos are not color correct but the porus grain pattern also looks like Cumala. It is used extensivly for moldings and trim in North America. A lot goes to Mexico also and they make furniture out of it and stain it and sell the furniture as Mahogany.
The price landed in Houston is about $0.95 US per bf for FAS.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/14293/1298/Cumala.jpg)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/14293/1298/CUMALA.jpg)
Looks like the stuff that was used a lot in the 70's for remodeling old houses. Used in doors and trims, was cheaper than hardwood and not as heavy. No strength to it much. When you wanted to take it off it would split all to heck, so a one time use is all it was good for. Virola board as Jim said.