Azobe new to me

[Gerald Lawrence]

Had a opportunity presented to me at the last demo we did at the MS AG Museum. A volunteer whom I had talked to the month before brought me some wood and two pieces are Azobe.
For those who do not know (and I was one) it is a tropical wood from Africa and is used commonly as RR crossties. This wood is very hard at Janka 3220 just right at Ebony and dulls tools quickly. It has some open pore structure from which air would not remove the dust.. Sanded well but was a time consuming process. I gave up and buffed with Tripoli and Carnuba. This seemed to darken the pores and brought out a high shine.

 

[John Torchick]

Was in your area this past summer and went to the AG center. Interesting.
Our grandson played for the MS Braves. Don't know where he will be this season.

 

[Mike Johnson]

That would most likely work well for making boxes with threaded lids considering the density of the wood.

 

[John Torchick]

Oops! Forgot! Never seen that before. Interesting color/grain. My complements on the turning.

 

[Don Wattenhofer]

What is the grain orientation on your piece and what are the dimensions?
If it is big enough it would make a good utensil cup and if it were turned as an end grain piece it may have a whole different appearance.

 

[Gerald Lawrence]

What is the grain orientation on your piece and what are the dimensions?
If it is big enough it would make a good utensil cup and if it were turned as an end grain piece it may have a whole different appearance.

This is turnerd side grain as was too small for end grain orientation. It is 3.5 inches tall. I have more that will be larger but not that much.

 

[Emiliano Achaval]

Had a opportunity presented to me at the last demo we did at the MS AG Museum. A volunteer whom I had talked to the month before brought me some wood and two pieces are Azobe.
For those who do not know (and I was one) it is a tropical wood from Africa and is used commonly as RR crossties. This wood is very hard at Janka 3220 just right at Ebony and dulls tools quickly. It has some open pore structure from which air would not remove the dust.. Sanded well but was a time consuming process. I gave up and buffed with Tripoli and Carnuba. This seemed to darken the pores and brought out a high shine.View attachment 31315

Almost looks like palm...