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I bought 2 boards of this wood as African Teak. But, it defies most all of the characteristics of what I would expect from real teac. It's my understanding that most of the remaining teac logs are fairly small in size. These boards were 12' long, 10.5" wide and 2+" thick and perfectly quartered the entire width. This would indicate to me that it came from a fairly good size log. It's not heavy at all. It has been kiln dried and straight as an arrow. Resawing it was a breeze. It cut like butter. Sanding is very easy as well. I would put the working properties in a category similar to spruce. But, from my experience (which is little) and from what I've been told, teac is very hard and is supposed to dull tools very fast. I didn't find that to be the case with this wood. However, the one characteristic that does fit the bill is, it has a waxy feel to it. It also has a very unique and sweet smell with a very sharp tap tone. Regardless of what it is, I think it has great qualities for an instrument. So, it's kind of got me stumped. I tried to take a good close up photo of it so maybe someone could help me to clarify what it is if it's not African Teac. I've seen furniture and other things made from Asian Teac and this looks nothing like that. I know it's imported and not native to Brazil. So...anyone have any ideas ????

Hi Jeff,
Well, this wood looks very nice. The real test, as you know, would be to build a guitar with this beautiful wood.
I would be willing to build one for you as a test model. and go from there.
Question: if it turns out to be an acceptible product, do you have plans to market this wood for guitar manufacturing?

Please advise.. Thanks for the picture!!
Walter

Hi Walter...with my guitar building experience, I wouldn't hesitate to build a guitar with this wood. The tap tone is extraordinary. The downside is the wood is a little expensive..even in board form. But, when I tapped a piece I couldn't resist buying some. It has a soft flame effect throughout the board and very definitive stripes. Kind of a honey color and when I waxed the ends I was real impressed with the vision I had of a finished guitar. I do have plans to try and create a market for it but, I don't know if the market will bare the cost. We'll see. I'm just curious to find out what it really is and thought this was the best place to start. Maybe Bob will chime in and shed some light on the subject.

"Oldfieldia Africana, used in ship building." (you probably Googled the same thing as me.)

Evidently, a little known wood. If not for the waxy sheen, and the medullary rays, it looks like Zebrawood. Pretty stuff.

Dennis

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Dennis Leahy
Duluth, MN, USA
7th Sense Multimedia

Jeff, that looks just like a piece of Zebrawood here at my shop. I would jump in and say that it definitely is, except that the "waxy feel" you describe gives pause.
So--not sure, but it really is pretty, and well quartered. That will make a stunning guitar!

Steve

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

Jeff, is it sitting on some purpleheart?

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Ken Franklin
clumsy yet persistent
https://www.kenfranklinukulele.com

Jeff

I'm with Steve, I would say it looks like Zebra Wood.

I have a very nice set Steve sent me but as he said it feels almost like maple to the touch, but not waxy.

Dennis..I believe you're right. "Oldfieldia Africana" seems to fit the description except it's not as heavy a wood as they describe. These boards are fairly light in weight but, all the other properties seem to match. Due to the cost of this wood, I can't imagine using it in ship building. It would cost a fortune !! Anyway, thanks for the feedback. Ken...that's not purpleheart it's sitting on..it's Pau Ferro and BRW. I just cut a cubic meter of backs and sides and was waxing the ends. And had the Teac on top of the stack.

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Ooooh, Jeff, you could sell this picture for wallpaper.
(Except that now we all have access to it!)

That's a tempting pile of goodies there.
By the way, I've been wondering--how are you planning on exporting the Braz. rosewood? IS that the plan?

Steve

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

looks like african sheuda (spelling) to me. I have a set of it and it looks
VERY similar. The Shueda I have works and feels like walnut to me.

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John Mayes
http://www.mayesluthier.com

John I was going to say that too Shedua or Ovankol. I have sets that look very similar. Only problem is Shedua is not that expensive. So there's always one part of this puzzle missing. I once had some teak that looked similar and wasn't heavy either but it did feel waxy.

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Teak's used in boatbuilding (decks and the like) and it really is quite pricey. So that's not something that's gonna stop most boatbuilders. As for Ovankol/Amazaque/Shedua, the test is simple: does it smell incredibly nasty, or not?Mattia Valente38666.7237152778

Mattia..this wood doesn't smell nasty at all. It's hard to describe but sort of a sweet odor. Not at all offensive but unique. It's a new one for me.

OK, not Shedua then. Because I've yet to meet someone who'd describe that smell as 'sweet' and 'not offensive'

It looks like Teak that has been plantation grown, most likely from Costa Rico or Mexico. Central American grown Teak is usually lighter in weight and density than Asian teak. Plantation grown teak oftens has much less oiliness.

Additionally one of the differences is that in a tree farm all of the trees are planted at a closer uniform distance to encourage faster growth yield so the growth rings are wider as opposed to forest grown teak which has tighter and less even rings.

Possibly Chlorophora excelsa, most commonly called Iroko, but also called
Nigerian or African teak. Waxy feel fits. It would have a yellow color when
freshly cut that quickly turns to light brown.

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

It doesn't look like the Iroko I've used, which was quite a bit less dramatic in terms of grain/background colour variation. Could be, though. Fairly waxy, dust is a pretty nasty irritant, yellowish when fresh, brown later, even browner after that.

The neck and the outer laminates on this are Iroko, FWIW:
Mattia Valente38669.677349537

Jeff,
here's a picture of an Ovangkol plank I bought a couple of months ago. Colour looks quite similar, isn't it?
Luigi

Howard..it does have a yellowish color when fresh cut and does, within a day or so, turn a light brown. And Luigi..it does look somewhat similar to your example but doesn't have as much color variance as your example and the grain is a little more defined in this wood. It could be that this is just quartered a little closer though. Mattia..when you sanded the Iroko...does the dust become airborn?? When this is sanded it doesn't make airborn dust. It tends to stick together and hasn't been an irritant at all. It's a real stumper for me. But, all the input is appreciated. I think I will call the supplier I bought it from tomorrow and ask where it was imported from. That might narrow it down somewhat. However, they were very sure of it being named African Teak. In portuguese "Teca". Here is a set I just finished sanding. You can see the difference in the color of the sides and back. The sides were sanded out a couple of days ago. The back was just sanded today.


Irregardless of what it is...it's has a great ring to it and all the right properties for building instruments.Brazilwood38669.7332523148

The dust doesn't go airborne, but clumps together, yeah. It does get all over everything by transfer, though, because it's mildly sticky, and despite precautions, I did have some unpleasant skin reactions to the stuff. I'd use it again, but I'd wear gloves/full body protection the entire time, since that's not worth the hassle. Also won't use it for electrics, because it's too darn heavy. Sounds nice enough, though.

Mattia...that's what is really puzzling me This wood is not heavy.

Hmm. Well, the Iroko I had was definitely heavy stuff, heavier than mahogany in any event. I just looked at densities, and apparently the lighest iroko weighs about the same as light mahogany, but can go quite a bit heavier (varies between 580 and 850 kg/m3, which is a pretty darn wide range). Guess I got 'unlucky'!

I've built some furniture out of Iroko, and just used it for a steel string neck. The planks I have are quite light, certainly no heavier than mahogany, and have a definite waxy feel. The stuff I have looks very similar to your picture, and the color change fits too.

                      Paul Harrrell

I just looked up Iroko in Constantines wood identification book and it says "Iroko, originating on the west coast of Africa, is also known as African or Nigerian Teak..."

Thanks Paul..I'm feeling fairly certain that's what I have. Do you happen to know the scientific name ? I don't have the book you are referring to and it would be better to have the name it gives. It should be great for necks...the stuff I bought was very long pieces and straight as an arrow. That's one of the good properties of teak from what I've read. It doesn't warp Was the stock you bought very expensive ?? Just curious. Regards and thanks again for everyone's help.