Lignum Vitae for coring?

[JC]

A friend gave me a 1" thick board that he had no idea what it was. After slicing a piece off and turning it and figuring out it's density I think it's Lignum Vitae based on appearance also.

My question is I have heard this wood is very stable but has gluing concerns. I would like to try it to core a walnut and a koa forearm due to it's weight but wonder if it would lead to trouble down the road? A 15 inch dowel @ .625" weighs almost an ounce more than purple heart which is what I'm after to go with this light wood.

Thoughts?

Thanks,

JC

PS here's a photo of it in case I'm mistaken about the genus. It weights 73 lbs per square foot. You can't see it in the photo very well but it has streaks of red and green in it.

 

[JoeyInCali]

They turn green eventually.
They sound dull to me as well.
The bottom piece looks like it's twisted to me.

 

[JC]

They turn green eventually.
They sound dull to me as well.
The bottom piece looks like it's twisted to me.

You mean the final hit sounds dull? Am I better off to use a lighter wood with a bolt in the A joint to make up the weight? This board has been sitting on my work bench for two years and my friend said he had it for at least 15 and it's not green. When is eventually?

There was some tension in the wood when I sliced it up. That piece though isn't twisted, it's just the camera angle.

Thanks,

JC

 

[JoeyInCali]

You mean the final hit sounds dull? Am I better off to use a lighter wood with a bolt in the A joint to make up the weight? This board has been sitting on my work bench for two years and my friend said he had it for at least 15 and it's not green. When is eventually?

There was some tension in the wood when I sliced it up. That piece though isn't twisted, it's just the camera angle.

Thanks,

JC

I'd get a .700" gun drill and stick with purpleheart or other rosewood.
Countersink the bottom 3" at .825".

 

[MVPCues]

You mean the final hit sounds dull? Am I better off to use a lighter wood with a bolt in the A joint to make up the weight? This board has been sitting on my work bench for two years and my friend said he had it for at least 15 and it's not green. When is eventually?

There was some tension in the wood when I sliced it up. That piece though isn't twisted, it's just the camera angle.

Thanks,

JC

By twisted, Joey meant the grain. It does not look straight grained to me. Looks banana or spiraled to me.

I'm not convinced it is lignum vitae, but I recognize you said the colors are not showing up in the pic. I would personally not use lignum vitae as a core. It was used in times past for under water bearings because of its oily nature. It may not be a problem at all as a core, but it is reported as having gluing issues. If I wanted something very dense, I would use straight grained coco every single time if my only other option was lignum vitae. I just don't see any advantages of it.

 

[CuesDirectly]

It looks like Brown Ebony.

Lignum Vitae has a smell that you will never forget, it's like some old cologne. Cut a piece in the shop and the shop will smell like it for days, put a sliver in your pocket and you can smell for days as well.

 

[Russell Cues]

If it is indeed lignum, I wouldn't use it for.a core, the stuff likes to move. I built one front out of it, never again. You want something a lot more stable. What Joey said, Purpleheart.

 

[JC]

It looks like Brown Ebony.

Lignum Vitae has a smell that you will never forget, it's like some old cologne. Cut a piece in the shop and the shop will smell like it for days, put a sliver in your pocket and you can smell for days as well.

Thanks for the information. Here is a better photo of the wood after I cut it up on my bandsaw into squares. You can really see the red and green in it. It has an extremely mild sweet smell to it on the fresh cut. It doesn't seem oily. I am an extreme wood novice and appreciate the help. This board was given to me and I have not seen wood like it before in my limited experience. I like the weight of it is why I was thinking of using it for cores.

JC

 

[JC]

If it is indeed lignum, I wouldn't use it for.a core, the stuff likes to move. I built one front out of it, never again. You want something a lot more stable. What Joey said, Purpleheart.

I"m thinking it's not lignum now. the board was at least 15 years old that I know of and straight as an arrow @ 40 inches long. I have a lot of PH but since I own this wood already for free I was wondering if it's good for anything at all. I will see what those two dowels I turned look like in six months I guess.

JC

 

[SpiderWeb]

They use it for bearings for the shaft that runs fising boats.

 

[pescadoman]

They use it for bearings for the shaft that runs fising boats.

What fishing boats? All the ones I've been around used a rubber type material....

 

[deanosdino]

lignum vitea

I bought some blanks several years ago intending to use them for a cue later. I still have the blanks, however the 1.5" square blanks are considerably warped now. I definitely would not use as a core. I thought about using for points but now I don't know about that either. Lignum is very dense and will add quite a bit of weight if you use it.

 

[MVPCues]

What fishing boats? All the ones I've been around used a rubber type material....

They have been used in the industrial field, such as hydroelectric plants. I don't know how much use they have seen in small residential boats. Probably none, unless very old. They were probably used some in large and very old commercial fishing boats for longer life of parts.

http://www.hydroworld.com/articles/hr/print/volume-32/issue-4/cover-story/bearings---seals--wood-makes-a-comeback-for-hydroelectric-turbin.html

I have made some claves from lignum vitae. The same oil that coats the bearings mentioned in that article seals the wood nicely when polishing. I also used lignum vitae for some bearing housings in my spray lathe. I still have some 4/4 material.

I'm pretty sure OP's pictured material is not lignum, but wood ID from pictures on the internet is often problematic.

 

[JC]

They have been used in the industrial field, such as hydroelectric plants. I don't know how much use they have seen in small residential boats. Probably none, unless very old. They were probably used some in large and very old commercial fishing boats for longer life of parts.

http://www.hydroworld.com/articles/hr/print/volume-32/issue-4/cover-story/bearings---seals--wood-makes-a-comeback-for-hydroelectric-turbin.html

I have made some claves from lignum vitae. The same oil that coats the bearings mentioned in that article seals the wood nicely when polishing. I also used lignum vitae for some bearing housings in my spray lathe. I still have some 4/4 material.

I'm pretty sure OP's pictured material is not lignum, but wood ID from pictures on the internet is often problematic.

Based on what cues directly said about the smell I'm thinking it probably is lignum. I turned a 30 inch piece round on my saw machine last night late and when I came into the shop this morning the place had an odor like a moldy bowling shoe and it's 3000 square feet. Funny it's not that strong when you smell the fresh cut wood but there's no mistaking the musty smell today. I will not be using it in cues just in case. Thanks for the advice everyone.

JC