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Longhi
Longhi Lumber @ Rarewoods SA

Longhi is an African wood with similar working properties to its more well-known cousin, Anegre. Its color varies from a greyish-white to beige to pinkish-brown color, which slightly darkens with age and UV-ray exposure. Its generally light appearance makes sapwood difficult to distinguish. Its grains are typical straight (though occasionally interlocked) and its texture ranges between fine and medium-fine. It can sometimes possess mottled or subtle tiger-striped figuring.

The wood must be carefully dried, as it is susceptible to fungus. It is considered to be moderately durable, and moderately stable. Longhi has a solid strength-to-weight ratio, which makes it a popular choice for flooring and decking.

cabinetry, decking, flooring, furniture
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Purpleheart
Purpleheart Lumber @ Rarewoods SA
While renowned for its often deep, rich purple hues, Purpleheart is actually one of the toughest woods in the world. It is considered one of the stiffest, hardest woods -- boasting an impressive strength-to-weight ratio. It is also extremely water resistant, which, combined with its toughness, has seen it frequently used in outdoor decking and even as truckbed flooring. The wood is typically straight or wavy grained (though sometimes irregular). Its texture ranges from fine to medium, and it has a nice natural luster that emerges when fine sanded. The wood works and turns well, although sharp tools and blades are a necessity. It glues and finishes well, also.
boatbuilding, cabinetry, carving, decking, flooring, furniture, inlay, paneling, specialty items, turnings, veneer
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Rosewood - African
Rosewood - African Lumber @ Rarewoods SA
African Rosewood is a species from the same genus as Bubinga (Guibourtia), which has led to Bubinga often mistakenly being referred to as "African Rosewood." Though obviously not a true rosewood, it does often bear aesthetic similarities. The grain is generally straight but can be interlocked; its texture is moderately fine. The heartwood color ranges from pink to reddish-brown, with purple or red streaks / lines / highlights.

African Rosewood works well, although it can have a moderate blunting effect on tools. It glues and finishes well. It needs to be dried slowly and carefully, to prevent warping and cracking. It's a durable wood and is considered stable, once dried.
boatbuilding, decking, flooring, furniture, millwork, specialty items, turnings, veneer
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Ipe
Ipe Lumber @ Rarewoods SA
Ipe is known throughout its indigenous Central & South American regions as an extremely dense, durable wood, but also one that is quite difficult to work. The wood encompasses a variety of different species of the Handroanthus genus, so aesthetics and grains patterns can vary dramatically. The wood can have a deep chocolate brown color with reddish tint, or sometimes a greenish tint accented by traces of green, yellow, orange and/or red color. Often, its aesthetics are enhanced by rugged, dark contrasting striping.

Grains can be straight, irregular or interlocked; straight-grained pieces plane and turn well, although cutting tools and blades should always be at their very sharpest. Its texture can range from fine to medium, and it generally has a good natural luster.
construction, decking, flooring, handles, turnings, veneer
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Cedar - Alaskan
Cedar - Alaskan Lumber @ Rarewoods SA
Alaskan Cedar has been a wood historically embroiled in controversy with botanical and wood experts, as the wood has experienced its genus reclassified on six different occasions over the course of the last two centuries. Despite its relatively light weight and density, it is a very durable and quite versatile species -- having seen duty in numerous indoor and outdoor applications. The wood has also become a popular choice with luthiers, for acoustic guitar soundboards.
boatbuilding, boxmaking, carving, construction, decking, flooring, outdoor furniture
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Ash - Thermo
Ash - Thermo Lumber @ Rarewoods SA
Ash is an attractive and sustainable hardwood with a lively grain pattern but it is not durable enough to be used externally without treatment. Novawood’s market-leading thermal treatment fundamentally alters the structure of the timber to provide biological durability and ensure a long life span in harsh weather conditions.It's excellent dimensional stability, beautiful grain structure, attractive brown colour and technical features add value to outdoor spaces and ensure optimum results. Novawood Thermo Ash Decking is totally free of chemicals and is FSC-certified.
Please note that we also stock Novawood Thermo Ash in 50mm dressed timber for use as structural members, battens, handrails and other trim items.
decking, flooring, furniture
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Jarrah
Jarrah Lumber @ Rarewoods SA
This Eucalyptus species comes from West and S-W Australia. It is difficult to dry, machine and work with hand tools. It is very hard and heavy, but glues and polishes well. It is highly durable and as a result is commonly used for exterior applications in Australia. Jarrah burl is highly desired by woodturners for its rich, warm colour and beautiful grain.
countertops, decking, flooring, furniture, turnings
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Greenheart
Greenheart Lumber @ Rarewoods SA
With a specific gravity of 1.03, Greenheart sinks in water. It is one of the heaviest timbers around, difficult to work, and splinters are poisonous. However, it is very durable and one of the best woods for use in a marine environment. Its low acid content means it has a very low corrosive effect on nails, spikes or metal fastenings. It comes from the Northeastern part of South America and as its name suggests, can present with greenish hues.
boatbuilding, decking, fishing rods, marine construction, pool cues, turned objects
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Garapa
Garapa Lumber @ Rarewoods SA
Garapa is a hard-wearing and durable timber that starts out golden to yellowish brown and ages to a lovely grey with time. It comes from South America and is one of our most popular decking options. We have it in both decking and structural sizes. Despite its hardness and density, it is relatively easy to work and it glues and finishes well.
decking, flooring, pergolas
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Ekki
Ekki Lumber @ Rarewoods SA
Azobe is an extremely heavy and dense wood that comes from West Africa. It is a good load-bearing timber for outdoor use and excellent for marine applications. It can be difficult to work but is very durable and resistant to decay.
boatbuilding, bridges, construction, decking, flooring, marine construction, railway sleepers
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Balau
Balau Lumber @ Rarewoods SA
This hard and heavy timber comes from Malaysia. It is very dense with high bending and crushing strengths. The wood is moderately difficult to work with machines as the interlocked grains and toughness has a blunting effect on tools. It is best to pre-dill for screwing and gluing results are variable. Very durable and immune from insect or fungal attack.
decking, plywood, veneer
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Free shipping within South Africa on all orders over R1,000 placed through our online shop*
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    Volume Primer

    Our bulk packs are sold in units of volume. (1 pack = 0.1m3).
    Depending on thickness and length you select, you will get a different effective total width. Depending on the widths we select, you will also get a different number of pcs.

    For example, 0.1m3 of 2.45m lengths will get you the following +- TOTAL WIDTH and +- PCS (assuming an average piece width of 140mm) for each thickness:

    M3LENGTHTHICKNESSTOTAL WIDTH+- PCS
    0.12.4526mm1570mm9-12
    0.12.4538mm1075mm6-9
    0.12.4550mm816mm4-7

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