I was making some new jigs for the TS today and grabbed a narrow, knarly
board out of the stash . I got this board with a bunch of Jatoba I got last
spring and it was the little guy amongst a bunch of 16+ wide by 8/4 thick
stuff. This board was just 4/4 and 6" or so wide, but I thought it was
Jatoba as well. After scraping off the dirt and milling it down it became
apparent that it is not Jatoba. It's definitely not a North American
hardwood either. It's has a pretty rich red color, and somewhat like
Jatoba in feel/weight. However, it has a very strong smell of black
licorice, or anise or something. Maybe Eucalyptus??? If you've ever worked
with the stuff, the smell would be unmistakable. I can post a pic tomorrow
if needed. Thanks, --dave

In article , "Dave Jackson" wrote:
I was making some new jigs for the TS today and grabbed a narrow, knarly
board out of the stash . I got this board with a bunch of Jatoba I got last
spring and it was the little guy amongst a bunch of 16+ wide by 8/4 thick
stuff. This board was just 4/4 and 6" or so wide, but I thought it was
Jatoba as well. After scraping off the dirt and milling it down it became
apparent that it is not Jatoba. It's definitely not a North American
hardwood either. It's has a pretty rich red color, and somewhat like
Jatoba in feel/weight. However, it has a very strong smell of black
licorice, or anise or something. Maybe Eucalyptus??? If you've ever worked
with the stuff, the smell would be unmistakable. I can post a pic tomorrow
if needed. Thanks, --dave

Bloodwood?

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

In article ,
"Dave Jackson" wrote:

I got this board with a bunch of Jatoba I got last
spring and it was the little guy amongst a bunch of 16+ wide by 8/4 thick
stuff. This board was just 4/4 and 6" or so wide, but I thought it was
Jatoba as well. After scraping off the dirt and milling it down it became
apparent that it is not Jatoba. It's definitely not a North American
hardwood either. It's has a pretty rich red color, and somewhat like
Jatoba in feel/weight. However, it has a very strong smell of black
licorice, or anise or something.

Picture please.

It could be many things if the piece was combined with the stack at a
lumber dealer, for instance:

Makore
Bloodwood
Padauk
even Cocobolo
In my experience, all of these have a strong smell when milling.

Really hard to tell without *clear* and close-up pictures of the face
grain and end grain.
--
This Administration begs the question: WWJT?

_____
Owen Lowe
The Fly-by-Night Copper Company

It sounds like Courbaril (Jatoba) heartwood. The heartwood
is very different in color from the sapwood. The sapwood
is gray to white and the heartwood is red to orange or
brown. It may also have darker red streaks in it. The smell?
I've had 5 people describe 5 different smells. From anise
to anus.
Good luck
Pumis