Strange Wood

[garypeck]

Dear All..... i have been talking about these strange wood to a few forummers here..... but i could never explain in words why they are "strange"

A picture paints a thousand words.....

In the first pic, is a 1 cm thick wood.......

I have placed a torch light under the blank...... under normal circumstances, the light should not be able to penetrate the blank...... but in this case, this wood allows the light to pass...... have you seen any wood with such properties?? This wood is pretty "gummy" when turned...... will shine with light polishing.....

Grows from pale yellow (when cut) to dark red in months..... sometimes weeks......

Please input your thoughts.....

Regards.....

Gary

 

[VisExp]

That's pretty amazing. I've seen turnings from Norfolk Pine that will transmit light, although they were turned thinner than that piece.

 

[Monty]

Where is the wood from? If it's local from Singapore than I have no clue whatsoever.

 

[Borg_B_Borg]

What you see is probably the same phenomenon that a piece of paper may appear somewhat opaque when it's dry, but will become much more translucent or even almost transparent when its fibers are wetted with oil. Based on your mention that it's pretty gummy when turned, it tells me the wood is saturated with tree resin which acts in the same way as the oil on the paper. This along with the fact that it's only 1 cm thick helps it conduct light.

Someone else can probably explain it as the fact that the resin saturated wood fibers conduct light waves better than hollow wood fibers because the saturated cells and fibers act like solid optical fibers, whereas hollow fibers conduct light waves very poorly because the light waves get scattered around inside the hollow cells and fibers and become lost before they reach from one end to the other end. Anyway I am just guessing.

Steve

 

[markgum]

looks pretty kewl, but I have no idea. hope to see a pen soon or maybe some blanks up for grabs..

 

[garypeck]

Where is the wood from? If it's local from Singapore than I have no clue whatsoever.

Nah..... this is definitely not from Singapore..... over here we havent got such woods ...... in fact, all woods are being imported.... the only kind of wood we have here are like Rambutan, Mango, and Rain Trees.....

 

[garypeck]

What you see is probably the same phenomenon that a piece of paper may appear somewhat opaque when it's dry, but will become much more translucent or even almost transparent when its fibers are wetted with oil. Based on your mention that it's pretty gummy when turned, it tells me the wood is saturated with tree resin which acts in the same way as the oil on the paper. This along with the fact that it's only 1 cm thick helps it conduct light.

Someone else can probably explain it as the fact that the resin saturated wood fibers conduct light waves better than hollow wood fibers because the saturated cells and fibers act like solid optical fibers, whereas hollow fibers conduct light waves very poorly because the light waves get scattered around inside the hollow cells and fibers and become lost before they reach from one end to the other end. Anyway I am just guessing.

Steve

Hi Steve, i guess we could use science to explain that phenomenon..... however, i think there are a few other gummy woods around...... and should it follow that theory of paper and oil, than i guess..... we should see many other woods with such properties..... this is only my 2 cents worth......

but at the moment, i guess your theory is the only plausible one......

 

[garypeck]

looks pretty kewl, but I have no idea. hope to see a pen soon or maybe some blanks up for grabs..

Hi Mark,

Some of the forumers have already gotten some of these blanks off me...... we'll see when they start posting pictures of it......

Im only a newbie pen turner .....started only about 2 months ago.... but i have been collecting woods for a long time..... just kinda like the feel of woods..... hahahaha

Attached are another 2 exotic ones...... notice the smaller blank??? It has brown grains running straight down the stem....... looks like a segmented blank...... but i assure you its not.....

 

[Lulanrt]

Hi Gary,
I have not read anything about the transparency of woods but I have read a lot about woods that fluoresce under a black light. I have ran across some heart pine that was saturated with pitch and you could shine a light throw it which goes alone with what Steve is saying. But the wood did not display the color yours does. Anyway very nice wood!!!!!
Travis

 

[garypeck]

Hi Gary,
I have not read anything about the transparency of woods but I have read a lot about woods that fluoresce under a black light. I have ran across some heart pine that was saturated with pitch and you could shine a light throw it which goes alone with what Steve is saying. But the wood did not display the color yours does. Anyway very nice wood!!!!!
Travis

Hi Travis,

You're the recipient of one such blank

Should be with you this few days...... sent it last week.....

 

[garypeck]

here's another very exotic one......they are from the same blanks..... before "processed" and after....

 

[Rarest wood]

Grows from pale yellow (when cut) to dark red in months..... sometimes weeks......

Please input your thoughts.....

Regards.....

Gary

There are a few timbers which go from the fresh cut colour to purple black or dark brown Tzutan is a fresh bright orange when first machined, overtime however it aquires a purple/ even black colour and aquires a smoothe surface like jade. Bois de rose (Dalbergia maritima / lovelli /normandi is a beetroot red colour on fesh cutting but quickly goes purple black too. African Padauk is also bright orange on fresh cutting but goes a nice warm brown over time. Cocobolo again is very brash at first but quickly matures down to more subdued shades. All the timbers i've mentioned have Dye principles within the cells.The dye principles can be dissolved in either water or alchohol or both.which can create problems when choosing a finish for these timbers. When these dye principles are allowed contact to the air and light, Oxygen and the light spectrum (especialy the ultra violet part of the light spectrum) react with the dye stuff. They photo-oxidise more quickly than the lignin or material which makes up the cell walls photo oxidises. when we see the surface of an old piece of furniture change colour over time we say its patinated.but perhaps we are seeing in your sample is likely a photo-oxydised dye reaction.

What ever timber you have is very interesting indeed. The other piece of timber which seems to be in bundles may be a vine or liana? I have seen similar samples before they are very pretty they look similar to palm tree.

 

[garypeck]

There are a few timbers which go from the fresh cut colour to purple black or dark brown Tzutan is a fresh bright orange when first machined, overtime however it aquires a purple/ even black colour and aquires a smoothe surface like jade. Bois de rose (Dalbergia maritima / lovelli /normandi is a beetroot red colour on fesh cutting but quickly goes purple black too. African Padauk is also bright orange on fresh cutting but goes a nice warm brown over time. Cocobolo again is very brash at first but quickly matures down to more subdued shades. All the timbers i've mentioned have Dye principles within the cells.The dye principles can be dissolved in either water or alchohol or both.which can create problems when choosing a finish for these timbers. When these dye principles are allowed contact to the air and light, Oxygen and the light spectrum (especialy the ultra violet part of the light spectrum) react with the dye stuff. They photo-oxidise more quickly than the lignin or material which makes up the cell walls photo oxidises. when we see the surface of an old piece of furniture change colour over time we say its patinated.but perhaps we are seeing in your sample is likely a photo-oxydised dye reaction.

What ever timber you have is very interesting indeed. The other piece of timber which seems to be in bundles may be a vine or liana? I have seen similar samples before they are very pretty they look similar to palm tree.

Hi Dave,

Im not too sure if this particular pale yellow/ red wood has dye principles..... i have submerged them in water before (left them in my fish tanks as drift wood)..... no colouring came out..... havent tried alcohol..... but i think it would be interesting to try it one day......

The other timber could possibly be some sort of vine or liana...... these are actually found underwater..... or rather in the sea..... not too sure what these are either.....