{"id":1181,"date":"2011-05-14T13:29:42","date_gmt":"2011-05-14T18:29:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/?p=1181"},"modified":"2011-05-14T13:31:52","modified_gmt":"2011-05-14T18:31:52","slug":"different-wood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/2011\/05\/14\/different-wood\/","title":{"rendered":"Different wood"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Wood comes from trees<\/strong>, simple enough, but sometimes the trees or logs have a surprising history<\/strong> or the wood has been processed to dramatically alter its properties<\/strong>. Surfing the internet for wood sources is much more fun than cruising the TV menu, so here\u2019s a resource list that I hope you\u2019ll find interesting and perhaps will inspire a new project. Following the list are several resources for general information about wood. Enjoy!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ancientwood, Ltd<\/a> unearths 50,000 year old, enormous kauri<\/strong> logs in New Zealand, then processes them into workable honey-colored lumber with an exotic, opalescent appearance. Greener Logs<\/a> retrieves sunken exotic tropical timber<\/strong> from waters in Central America and sells this old-growth<\/strong> lumber, including big-leaf mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) via Greener Lumber<\/a>, located in Missouri.<\/p>\n

Blue Moon Exotic Wood<\/a> in Ithaca, New York operates an exotic woods plantation in Palau in the South Pacific where they sustainably harvest Cuban mahogany (Swietenia mahogani).<\/strong> I once got my hands on a small chunk of this species and still recall its remarkable working properties, sometimes described as like slicing cold butter. It is, of course, expensive, but I don\u2019t think I can much longer resist giving this stuff a try when the right project comes around. Another source for Cuban mahogany, among other species, is Urban Forest Recycling<\/a> who salvages removed trees in the Florida Keys.<\/p>\n

Northwest Timber<\/a> in Oregon buys and mills salvaged logs, notably my favorites Claro walnut<\/strong> and Western big-leaf maple<\/strong>. I really think Lewis gets his wood from heaven<\/strong> and you might agree after perusing his online store!<\/p>\n

You can buy directly online from the above dealers and from Pure Timber (below).<\/p>\n

Normal wood is subjected to special processing<\/strong> by the following companies to produce amazing new possibilities for the woodworker. Pure Timber<\/a> in Washington puts\u00a0solid wood of many species through an amazing proprietary process that yields wood so flexible it can be tied into a knot<\/strong>. The shape stabilizes after it dries. You can buy lumber ready to bend to your imagination. Seasonwood<\/a> in Canada offers a special heat treatment<\/strong> which produces a controlled darkening of any species of wood. The process also makes the wood much more stable. WoodSure<\/a> in Oregon infuses wood with acrylic resin<\/strong> to produce dimensionally stable, super-durable wood. With the addition of dyes, they can also produce dramatic figure effects.<\/p>\n

To explore innovative materials<\/strong> that you might want to incorporate into your projects, take a look at the Inventables<\/a> website, especially the “wood”<\/a> section. You can order samples of the materials from them.<\/p>\n

For general information about wood and specific species:<\/strong><\/p>\n