New Guinea Rosewood Can I use it instead of Teak?

[expatri8]

Originally Posted by sailingfarmer

Ipe is in the Tabebula (sp.?) family....
... although I know many woods that would make Ipe look like cardboard....

Sailing Farmer please have mercy,
those of us not botanists could use a handful of clarification here...
[Experience is much more valuable than the ability to Google]


Wikipedia says:
"Tabebuia is distinguished from Handroanthus by wood that is not especially hard or heavy, and not abruptly divided into heartwood and sapwood."

From The Wood database:
"Common Name(s): Ipe, Brazilian Walnut, Lapacho

Scientific Name: Handroanthus spp. (formerly placed in the Tabebuia genus)

Distribution: Tropical Americas (Central and South America); also farmed commercially
Average Dried Weight: 69 lbs/ft3 (1,100 kg/m3)"


(I was always super-impressed by black walnut, but that was decades ago, on land)

[Sojurnr]

Is this the same wood which is known in Papua New Guinea as "kwila"? I've heard it called "New Guinea ironwood" before. Very, very hard and denser than water in most cases.

JK

[Ozwizz54]

Rosewood is perfect for boats though it is heavy and, as someone mentioned, it's tough on your tools. Don't leave it exposed to sunlight prior to finishing as you'll have a lot of trouble removing the grey weathering. A lot of the rosewood in Australia is out of the Solomon Islands. Same tree though.

It looks great in the interiors of boats. Better than teak in my opinion as it's a brighter colour with that strong redness and not as dark. Teak in large quantities can be quite heavy on the spirit.

David

[sailingfarmer]

Originally Posted by expatri8

Sailing Farmer please have mercy,
those of us not botanists could use a handful of clarification here...
[Experience is much more valuable than the ability to Google]


Wikipedia says:
"Tabebuia is distinguished from Handroanthus by wood that is not especially hard or heavy, and not abruptly divided into heartwood and sapwood."

From The Wood database:
"Common Name(s): Ipe, Brazilian Walnut, Lapacho

Scientific Name: Handroanthus spp. (formerly placed in the







Tabebuia genus)

Distribution: Tropical Americas (Central and South America); also farmed commercially
Average Dried Weight: 69 lbs/ft3 (1,100 kg/m3)"


(I was always super-impressed by black walnut, but that was decades ago, on land)

Listen Grasshopper....

Tabebuia is a family of trees...the one that they are referring to is the pink flowered variety which is about as tough as white oak... very similar actually...In Central America it is referred to as Roble. Tabebuia aurea (sp.?) and a few close close cousins have yellow flowered trees and the wood is INCREDIBLY DENSE< HARD AND HEAVY.

So if you want to cross swords with me on tree knowledge I guarantee that you will come up with the shorter stick (pun intended)

As far as Rosewood.... here are MANY varieties... some harder than others... my favorite wood in the world is Cocobolo which is "dalbergia retusa" it can sell for as much as $45 per board foot. In my opinion it has no equal. There are several other types of rosewood which tend to be less brilliant and colorful and not as dense.

Rose wood will turn DARK not grey with sun... it has a lot of oil in the wood and is hard to glue if you don't know what you are doing. Some woods like Black ironwood have a specific gravity much more than 1 which means the wood sinks.

If I had to choose a wood that was not Teak or Ipe' (tabebuia aurea) I would go for nispero (sapodilla) if I was going to use a wood for pilings or a dock where it is always submerged I think Greenheart would be my choice.

I see a lot of crappy info about wood in Google and many other places... and yes tabebuia has recently changed families... which happens quite a bit... I have also seen them change BACK as well... but everyone will go by tabebuia right now.

[StuM]

Originally Posted by Sojurnr

Is this the same wood which is known in Papua New Guinea as "kwila"? I've heard it called "New Guinea ironwood" before. Very, very hard and denser than water in most cases.

JK

No Kwila and Rosewood are not the same. Rosewood is lighter than Kwila but is tougher on tools.

[Jacko]

Hi Hoohaa I have a duckboard that constantly goes under when at sea and I used Kwila it is now over ten years old and still like the day I made it. This timber is used everywhere as decking in houses so easily found at hardware stores throughout Aust.
Good luck with your project

[atoll]

Originally Posted by sailingfarmer

Rose wood will turn DARK not grey with sun... it has a lot of oil in the wood and is hard to glue if you don't know what you are doing. Some woods like Black ironwood have a specific gravity much more than 1 which means the wood sinks.

this is true of the wood used on the land and not exposed to salt water,but if constantly exposed to salt water it turns grey

[Wolverine6300]

I have a Gozzard 44 and that what they used in the interior. Looks Great!

[zeehag]

i willbe and am using ipe. aka huanacaxtle, aka perota wood here in mexico--has same characteristics as teak, and is gorgeous. hollow box construction, ipe is similar in weght to my original 40 yr old thai cedar spars. beautiful stuff, poisonous to work with

[Jim Cate]

I'm a bit confused by too many informal names for timbers. The entire interior of our boat is done in what was called New Guinea Rosewood. This timber does not meet the descriptions upthread for timbers of the same name, for it is fairly light in weight (most certainly floats in water), not terribly hard, glues very well indeed and has aged beautifully in the below decks environment. The builder, who has used it in other boats, never mentioned it being hard on tools, and my limited work with it agrees.

And for what it's worth, the builder did not use it for any exterior work, but paid a much higher price for teak. I've never asked him specifically why, but assumed that it was his belief that the Rosewood wasn't so good for exterior exposure.

So, all the divergent opinions expressed upthread add to my confusion!!

Jim

[atoll]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

I'm a bit confused by too many informal names for timbers. The entire interior of our boat is done in what was called New Guinea Rosewood. This timber does not meet the descriptions upthread for timbers of the same name, for it is fairly light in weight (most certainly floats in water), not terribly hard, glues very well indeed and has aged beautifully in the below decks environment. The builder, who has used it in other boats, never mentioned it being hard on tools, and my limited work with it agrees.

And for what it's worth, the builder did not use it for any exterior work, but paid a much higher price for teak. I've never asked him specifically why, but assumed that it was his belief that the Rosewood wasn't so good for exterior exposure.

So, all the divergent opinions expressed upthread add to my confusion!!

Jim

it sounds like what you are describing is red mahogany,that is light,similar colour,but not very rot resistant

[42Possibilities]

A couple of years ago I went to a speciality lumber store (Kingston Ontario) looking for teak to make some ladder treads and bowsprit decking. The vendor didn't have any but suggested "Iroko" would be a good alternative and was less expensive. I made up the pieces and treated them with Cetol. It looks pretty good to me. I found a photo that shows part of the bowsprit...

Not sure of the availability of Iroko in Sydney

[GuerrillaCamper]

Use what ever you want instead of Teak. Just do your homework. I'm mid-way through building a new companionway door (hinged w/ mortised lock) for my boat. I picked up about 150 ft of 5/4" x 6" Ipe last month. This stuff is bullet proof. Has the same fire resistance rating as concrete and steel.

Good luck!

Janka Wood Hardness Scale

[goat]

Originally Posted by sailingfarmer

If your "rosewood" is in the true rosewood family "Dalbergia" it should be BETTER than teak. It should also be heavier. Nispero (Sapodilla in the Bahamas) is what is used in Central America for water based uses.... it is tougher than teak and Ipe combined. There is wood out there that you can scratch a diamond with and can use as an anchor... teak is just the commercial variety that everyone knows about....

I used to be in the tropical hardwood business in Panama... I love tropical woods and living in Central America is like being a kid in a candy store if you are a wood nut like I am....

I, for one, would love to know the name of a wood than can scratch a diamond.

Sent from my SGH-I257M using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[jkindredpdx]

There was a conversation in 2014 Natural Alternatives To Teak [Sitemap] - Cruisers & Sailing Forums ... google Richard Jagels, he commonly compares woods in his writing.