WOW #11 Indian Rosewood

R

RSB-Refugee

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Another rosewood, imagine that. Rosewoods are very attractive and this member is no exception. Indian Rosewood, known scientifically as dalbergia latifolia, is another member of the family, Leguminosae.

Indian Rosewood grows throughout the Indian peninsula scattered in the dry deciduous forests, but nowhere common. It attains its best growth in the Bombay region. When conditions are right, the trees can reach a height of 100 ft. The trees can have diameters of up to 5 ft, but more often 2.5 ft or less.

Indian Rosewood, heartwood varies in color from golden brown to dark purple brown with darker streaks giving an attractive figure. The sapwood is yellowish often with a purplish tinge and sharply demarcated. The grain is narrowly interlocked, with a moderately coarse texture. The raw wood is low in luster. Indian Rosewood is fragrant when freshly cut, but after seasoning, it is without distinctive odor or taste.

As always, I am looking forward to seeing your photos and hearing what everyone has to say about this wood.

Tracy
 
I am certainly not a wood expert, but have sought out woods that will make a one piece butt. As someone who is not an expert I assume East Indies Rosewood would fall in the Indian Rosewood family. I have built many cues with it through the years. Some with the points going into maple and others that were all East Indies rosewood. It balances out real nice as a one piece butt with no weight bolt. In a full splice into maple it usually takes a small weight bolt to bring it up to 19 ounce. The dust is a little toxic, but not as bad as Coco-Bolo. Use a mask when sanding or cutting. This has become my second favorite wood to load with Ivory, Ebony being my first choice. Be sure and seal it with either epoxy or a thin coat of finish before putting on your flow out coats as it is prone to breathing into the finish causing bubbles if you don't. Below is a link to a cue made out of solid East Indies Rosewood. If you click on my available cues link you will find a few more with East Indies butt sleeves and points.
http://www.hightowercues.com/index.php?page=cues9
Chris
www.cuesmith.com
www.internationalcuemakers.com
 
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cueman said:
I am certainly not a wood expert, but have sought out woods that will make a one piece butt. As someone who is not an expert I assume East Indies Rosewood would fall in the Indian Rosewood family. I have built many cues with it through the years. Some with the points going into maple and others that were all East Indies rosewood. It balances out real nice as a one piece butt with no weight bolt. In a full splice into maple it usually takes a small weight bolt to bring it up to 19 ounce. The dust is a little toxic, but not as bad as Coco-Bolo. Use a mask when sanding or cutting. This has become my second favorite wood to load with Ivory, Ebony being my first choice. Be sure and seal it with either epoxy or a thin coat of finish before putting on your flow out coats as it is prone to breathing into the finish causing bubbles if you don't. Below is a link to a cue made out of solid East Indies Rosewood. If you click on my available cues link you will find a few more with East Indies butt sleeves and points.
http://www.hightowercues.com/index.php?page=cues9
Chris
www.cuesmith.com
www.internationalcuemakers.com
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Thanks, Chris. I'll try to find out if ,the two woods are the same, or not. I like the crazy snakewood diamonds in that yellowheart cue.

Tracy
 
RSB-Refugee said:
Thanks, Chris. I'll try to find out if ,the two woods are the same, or not. I like the crazy snakewood diamonds in that yellowheart cue.

Tracy
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Thanks. That cue will be one of four in the Blue Book 3rd edition. Mentioning Yellowheart. Are there any other common used names for it you can find. Yellowheart sounds cowardly according to my son. He likes the sound of Goldenheart.
 
RSB-Refugee said:
Another rosewood, imagine that. Rosewoods are very attractive and this member is no exception. Indian Rosewood, known scientifically as dalbergia latifolia, is another member of the family, Leguminosae.

Indian Rosewood grows throughout the Indian peninsula scattered in the dry deciduous forests, but nowhere common. It attains its best growth in the Bombay region. When conditions are right, the trees can reach a height of 100 ft. The trees can have diameters of up to 5 ft, but more often 2.5 ft or less.

Indian Rosewood, heartwood varies in color from golden brown to dark purple brown with darker streaks giving an attractive figure. The sapwood is yellowish often with a purplish tinge and sharply demarcated. The grain is narrowly interlocked, with a moderately coarse texture. The raw wood is low in luster. Indian Rosewood is fragrant when freshly cut, but after seasoning, it is without distinctive odor or taste.

As always, I am looking forward to seeing your photos and hearing what everyone has to say about this wood.

Tracy
Click to expand...

here is a picture of my playing cue it has a rosewood handle.
 
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cueman said:
Thanks. That cue will be one of four in the Blue Book 3rd edition. Mentioning Yellowheart. Are there any other common used names for it you can find. Yellowheart sounds cowardly according to my son. He likes the sound of Goldenheart.
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Chris,
It does sound, a bit cowardly. ;)
You could say, Pau Amarello, or just Amarello, for other common names.

Tracy
 
cueman said:
I assume East Indies Rosewood would fall in the Indian Rosewood family.
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Indian Rosewood and East Indian, or Indies Rosewood, are all the same. Indian Rosewood is more common, but the East Indian variation is used a good bit also.

Tracy
 
I really like that ring design also, Nice Cue.


The first cue I built had a rosewood handle, and the wood does play very well. Like Chris mentioned already, There is something kind of coco-bolo-ish about It. It's got that perfumish smell when you cut into It. I'm not an expert on the wood either, but I like it, and would use more of It in the future.

Greg
 
Cue Crazy said:
There is something kind of coco-bolo-ish about It. It's got that perfumish smell when you cut into It.
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Both being dalbergia, sort of makes them cousins. I guess it makes sense, that they have some similar qualities. I think of dalbergia as the royal family of the wood world. They even have a king. ;) Stay tuned, for more stunning members, in the weeks to come.

Tracy
 
Here is a pic I found of some Indian Rosewood blanks. Notice the sapwood on the blank on the left. Does sapwood effect the resonance? Is it as stable as the heartwood?

East_Indian_Rosewood_Mini.jpg
 
RSB-Refugee said:
Both being dalbergia, sort of makes them cousins. I guess it makes sense, that they have some similar qualities. I think of dalbergia as the royal family of the wood world. They even have a king. ;) Stay tuned, for more stunning members, in the weeks to come.

Tracy
Click to expand...


Yep, I guess they are both considered rosewood, so does make since. Cocobolo seems somewhat waxier to me though, but other then that, they both share many simular qualities.

Looking forward to the others Tracy, keep up the good work, This index makes an excellent resource, I see It as being very valueble when considering, or trying out new woods. Also great for getting better acquainted with woods already being used.

Thanks, Greg
 
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