Suriname ironwood cracking

[Asher Langton]

I've had a small piece of "Suriname ironwood" (Bocoa prouacensis, apparently?) sitting around the shop for a while, something I picked up at Woodcraft I think. The wood seemed dry and stable and as far as I can tell was not sealed with wax or anything. I turned the blank last night into a bottle stopper, finished with a bit of BLO, and when I checked on it this morning it was riddled with cracks. The reviews on Woodcraft's website show several complaints about similar cracking:

Woodcraft Woodshop - Surinam Ironwood - 2" x 2" x 12"

Surinam Ironwood (Swartzia spp.) is a delicious chocolate brown wood with excellent figure and wild darker stripes. Common uses include small decorative items, tool handles, bottle stoppers, salt & pepper mills, knife scale, and pen blanks.

www.woodcraft.com

Has anyone else had problems with this wood? I don't know if it's just inherently unstable or if the heat from sanding was the problem. It's a shame because this wood is beautiful.

 

[Michael Anderson]

I’ve turned it a couple of times, but only as of recently. I did notice some minor cracks in my blank (also got it from Woodcraft) that seemed to be worsened when sanding. I’m not sure that would be any different than other dense species though.

 

[Richard Coers]

Wood like that dries about as fast as a piece of stone. The heat of sanding is the second reason for the cracking. "The wood seemed like it was dry" are the last words spoken before the wood starts to crack!

 

[robo hippy]

If it is 'sealed' in wax, then for sure it is not 'dry'. Kind of like Lignum Vitae, I don't think it ever dries completely.... Not sure of the iron wood I have in my stash. I think most of it is 'desert ironwood'

robo hippy

 

[Michael Anderson]

Turned a bit of this timber again tonight. Previously I had turned two solid eggs, so of course they were prone to cracking (and/or the existing cracks enlarging). Tonight, I turned a small calabash bowl about 1.25” diameter. No problems with cracks, as the walls are thin and I only sanded lightly at 320/440. Beautiful timber, well worth the potential issues.