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Goncalo Alves is known at least as commonly by its popular nickname, "Tigerwood" -- given for its orange-hued primary color, and the dark striped (black or dark brown) which often decorates its surface. Its great durability, impressive strength, stiffness and hardness, generally cooperative working properties (although it can be difficult to glue, due to a high natural oil content), large tree sizes -- which yield sizable boards -- and regular supply, are factors which contribute to making Goncalo Alves a very popular choice among Central & South American woods made available to domestic markets in the US.

Grains can be wavy, interlocked or sometimes straight; its texture is fine, with a good natural luster.

cabinetry, carving, flooring, furniture, lutherie, specialty items, turnings, veneer

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Imbuia

Although its nickname is "Brazilian Walnut," Imbuia bears little aesthetic resemblance to any members of the Juglans (true walnut) genus beyond its typical brownish colors. Grain patterns are generally wild and unpredictable, and occasional sap content can create a rather stunning contrast, with its rich, (typically) pale to medium muted golden hues. Although published data would leave on to surmise that it shares a very similar density with that of walnut (which it often does), Imbuia can be significantly more dense, at times, depending on growing conditions

boatbuilding, cabinetry, flooring, furniture, gun stocks, turnings, veneer

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Cedar - Himalayan

Himalayan Cedar is an important timber tree in Pakistan, Kashmir and north-western India. Its wood is noted for being strong and durable mostly utilized in construction, carpentry and furniture applications in its indigenous regions. The trees are also known for the fragrant essential oil they produce (distilled from wood chips and sawdust), which is used throughout Northeast Asia to protect livestock from mosquitos, gnats and other airborne pests and it also has anti-fungal properties. Heartwood ranges from a light tan to light brown with a reddish tint. Grains are typically straight; it is fine, even textured with a high natural luster. The wood is reputed to have excellent working properties, as well as an impressive strength-to-weight ratio.

carpentry, construction, furniture, joinery

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Cedar - Japanese

Japanese Cedar is the national tree of Japan, where it is highly-prized for the scented, strong, but lightweight timber it produces. It's significance extends beyond that, as its impact on Japanese culture is reflected by the fact that it is found planted at numerous sacred sites throughout the country. The wood is reddish-pink in color, straight-grained and medium textured; it glues, stains and finishes well. Its impressive strength-to-weight ratio and excellent working properties makes it ideal for all varieties of construction applications.

boatbuilding, carving, construction, furniture, turnings

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Cedrorana

This somewhat obscure, seldom-seen South American wood is typically a light to golden brown color; with large open pores, marked by prominent red vessel lines, decorating its grainy surface. It is difficult to differentiate the sapwood, as it is only slightly lighter in color and not clearly demarcated. Its pores are some of the largest of any commercial lumber in the world, with vessel diameters routinely between 300 and 500 micrometers. The dark contrast of the pores give the wood a very unique "veiny" look that is popular with some Latin American furniture craftsmen.

construction, furniture, turnings

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Cerejeira

Cerejira is an important wood in the dry portions of central and southern South America. It is noted for its beauty, durability, strength and stability, thus making this tough, versatile wood ideal for a wide variety of applications. Left undisturbed, trees can grow to towering dimensions -- producing valuable, coveted slabs which are renowned for their incredibly detailed, almost 3D-like crotch sections.

cabinetry, construction, furniture, veneer

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Cerejeira - Crotch

Cerejira is an important wood in the dry portions of central and southern South America. It is noted for its beauty, durability, strength and stability, thus making this tough, versatile wood ideal for a variety of applications. Left undisturbed, trees can grow to towering dimensions -- producing valuable, coveted slabs which are renowned for their incredibly detailed, 3D-like crotch sections.

cabinetry, construction, furniture, veneer

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Ebony - Amara

According to the only sources we could find willing to step up to the plate on this wood, Amara Ebony and Macassar Ebony are of the exact same species (Diospyros Celebica), with the difference put forth being that Amara is exclusive to Indonesia. Amara is known for its deep chocolate browns with pink striping; the difference in its coloration and that of typical Macassar Ebony being attributed to the soil conditions in Indonesia. Its grains are more likely to be wavy or irregular than straight, with a fine texture and nice natural luster.Our experience yields a broader perspective, as we have found the wood sometimes with greens and reds, more similar to Malaysian Blackwood, at times with darker and more muted hues¬† and devoid of any pink shades. Pieces which more resemble Macassar have also contained gold - orange hues, in addition to pinks. It's sap content is tan in color and, despite its density, it has good working properties.

carving, furniture, inlay, specialty items, turnings, veneer

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Ebony - Indian

Indian Ebony is a true ebony which has been commonly used as a substitute for Gabon Ebony, due to its similar aesthetics. With a jet black base, occasional brown to muted orange striping (from mineral deposits) and a sap which can range from pale yellow to tan, one could certainly be forgiven for mistaking one for the other. That said, Indian Ebony is an exotic wood in very short supply -- more so even than Gabon. Its grains are generally straight or irregular, and its texture is fine. It has a high natural oil content, which yields a high degree of luster.

It also is a less dense and hard ebony, having a Janka Hardness rating slightly over 20% less than Gabon (2430 lbf vs. 3080). It is a very popular wood with turners, as it turns and finishes beautifully, and has good working properties. Indian Ebony is also regularly employed as an acoustic guitar fretboard, although supplies to the US luthier industry is sometimes sporadic.

carving, furniture, inlay, turnings

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Elm - Red

Once a great American utility-wood stable, obtaining long boards of American Elm, presently, can prove to be a most difficult task. Elm's heartwood colors range from a muted tan, to light to medium reddish brown. Its sapwood is easy to distinguish, being considerably paler in color. Recommended applications are those of a utilitarian nature, and preferably indoors; the wood has proven itself to be decidedly "non-durable," and is known to possess poor dimensional stability. Its grains are typically interlocked and its texture is coarse. Although it glues, stains and finishes well, its diffult grains and texture makes resawing a difficult chore, with tearout not uncommon.

boxmaking, furniture, veneer

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Beech - American

Both American Beech and its European counterpart are known for their pale cream coloration, which is often augmented by a pink or light- to medium-colored muted reddish-brown hue. Its medium texture and typically straight grains and sometimes wavy, give it excellent working properties. American Beech cuts, turns, glues and finishes very well and has a moderate natural luster.Flat-sawn pieces usually have very plain-looking aesthetics; the bulk of which is used for utility purposes. Conversely, quartersawn pieces typically exhibit a silvery fleck pattern -- which lends the wood well to furniture and musical instrument applications, with more exquisite examples often finding their way to veneer mills.

flooring, furniture, specialty items, turnings, veneer

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Beech - European

Like American Beech, this wood features pale cream coloration, also often augmented by a pink or muted light reddish-brown hue. It's large supply across the continent and typically modest price range makes it one of the most popular and commercially important hardwoods in Europe. Its straight grains and medium texture give comparable working and steam-bending properties to its American first cousin and it machines, turns, glues and finishes with ease.

boatbuilding, cabinetry, flooring, furniture, musical Instruments, turnings, veneer

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Berlinia

Known in the US, primarily as either "Ebiara" or, its nickname, "Red Zebrawood," Berlinia's heartwood can range anywhere from a pale yellow to a (more typical) muted reddish-brown. Darker colored stripes in patterns (which can be symmetrical or irregular) are how the comparisons to Zebrano are drawn, although they are related: each of their respective genera are part of the Detarieae tribe, in the subfamily, Caesalpinioideae.Grains are general straight or interlocked. Although its texture is medium to coarse, it has a high degree of natural luster and can display figure and chatoyance. It works well -- cutting, turning, gluing and finishing smoothly -- although tear-out with interlocked grains is not uncommon.

cabinetry, furniture, specialty items, turnings, veneer

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Blackwood - Knysna

Blackwood - Acacia Lumber @ Rarewoods SA

A close cousin to Hawaii's coveted Koa, Australian Blackwood is growing in popularity as it becomes more known in both guitar and furniture-building circles. Its name is misleading, as there are no black hues ever seen in its grains. Highly-figured lumber is not uncommon, nor are pieces with a shimmering chatoyance, reminiscent of Koa. Hardwood colors can range from a light golden brown to various dark shades of brown; streak and highlights of various differing colors is not uncommon. Sap colors can range from tan to a dull light gray, and is clearly demarcated. Its grains can range from straight to wavy to interlocked, and its texture is typically fine, with an impressive natural luster.Other than the occasional tear-out, issues associated with lumber with interlocking grains, the wood is very easily worked. It turns, glues, and finishes well. Australian Blackwood also bends easily, which combined with its toughness and durability,¬† has made it an historically popular wood in Australia for boat building.

boatbuilding, cabinetry, furniture, gun stocks, specialty items, turnings, veneer

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Bloodwood

Also known as "Satine," Bloodwood is an exotic South American import that continues to grow in popularity here in the states. It's dark, savory red tones, untypically do not fade, mute or darken much over time. It is known for its "satiny," highly-chatoyant finish. While the heartwood typically is comprised of red hues, it is known to have variances ranging from oranges to pale yellows, interspersed. It's impressive density makes it ideal for an electric guitar fretboard or an acoustic guitar back and sides; wood turners love it, as well, for its fabulous, unique aesthetics and very reasonable price.

carving, furniture, inlay, knife handles, lutherie, trim, turnings

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Boire

Boire is known throughout Africa to be a tough, durable wood, despite it's Maple-like density. It is reputed to remain smooth under friction, which makes it ideally suited for its primary use in flooring. The sapwood of Boire is pale brown in color; its heartwood is typically medium brown to bronze, with dark streaks (and sometimes other hues, such as oranges and yellows, intermingled). The species has interlocked grain, and fine and uniform in texture. Other than the tear-out commonly associated with interlocking grains, the wood has good working properties.

cabinetry, construction, flooring, furniture, gun stocks, joinery, veneer

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Afrormosia

Native to West Africa, Afrormosia is a handsome, rot and bug resistant, extremely durable wood has been used as a substitute for Teak (Tectona grandis), thus earning its nickname, "African Teak". While having a similar look, it also has working and mechanical properties that mimic Teak, whilst having none of its oiliness. (Afrormosia has a well-established track record for holding up in the most extreme conditions, proving the comparisons well justified.) Its heartwood color can be a muted tan, muted gold or any of a series of light- to medium-colored browns (from very muted to slightly, in hue), highlight by darker stripes, of varying degrees and coloration, which can run the length of its typically straight or wavy (though sometimes interlocked). Despite its similar "fuzzy" appearance (to that of Teak), it is fine grained, presenting a superb natural luster when sanded. Over time, the wood will darken, rendering an appearance often more like that of Black Walnut than of Teak. Despite being considerably harder than Teak, Afrormosia is generally very workable, offering crisp joints and it turns, glues and finishes very well.

boatbuilding, cabinetry, flooring, furniture, turnings, veneer

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Avodire

Avodire is native to West Africa and is sometimes utilized as a Mahogany substitute (which is appropriate, since both are in the Meliaceae family), with similar aesthetics and cooperative working properties. Typical colors range from a pale yellow to cream, and a variety of figured grain patterns are commonly found including wavy, mottled and ripple, typically accompanied by dramatic levels of chatoyance - which makes it very popular with veneer manufacturers. It's sapwood can be difficult to differentiate from the heartwood. While its grain patterns can be straight, wavy, irregular or interlocked, its texture is fine and it has an impressive natural luster which has led to it being called African Satinwood.

cabinetry, furniture, veneer

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Ash - Thermo

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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Tiama

furniture, joinery, shopfitting

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Teak - Plantation

Lighter in weight than old growth timber, and less dense. Also likely to have knots. Not as strong as old growth, but should be as durable.

furniture, shower grates

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Rosewood - Brazilian

With its outstanding strength-to-weight ratio, density, stability and resonance, it is easy to see why Brazilian Rosewood became the wood synonymous with "rosewood" in the world of both acoustic and electric guitar building, in the last century. It is also renowned for its use in fine furniture, cabinetry, as veneer and paneling, and more. Its wide popularity and huge demand led to its eventual placement on CITES Appendix I, back in early 1992. Not only is it illegal to import or export the wood from one country to another, but it is also illegal export finished products containing the legendary Dalbergia.The wood is typically a dark chocolate brown, although it can possess varying degrees of reddish or purplish tint, as well as having a variety of secondary colors sometimes woven in to its grains. Grain patterns can run the gamut -- from straight, to interlocked, wavy or irregular -- with a medium texture that can be quite porous. Brazilian Rosewood is generally considered a cooperative working wood, although its density requires sharp tools and blades. It finishes well and has a nice natural luster, although -- with its high natural oil content -- it can be difficult to glue.

cabinetry, flooring, furniture, musical Instruments, specialty items, turned objects, veneer

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Pine - South African

SA Pine is actually not indigenous to South Africa, but was introduced many years ago. It is grown in plantations all over and is one of our most cost effective timbers available. It has low bending and stiffness properties, while crushing strength and resistance to shock loads is low. There is a low blunting effect on cutting edges. The timber takes nails well and gluing is satisfactory. The surfaces, when polished, will provide a good finish.

cabinetry, construction, furniture, joinery, veneer

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Pear - Hard

Hard Pear is a dense hard timber that grows in the Knysna area. It is available in limited quantities and dimensions, but makes highly desirable furniture. Some planks display wonderful ripple patterning. Takes a very smooth finish.

cabinetry, furniture, tool handles

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Oak - French

countertops, flooring, furniture

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Obeche

Obeche comes from Tropical West Africa. Its bending, crushing, stiffness and resistance to load classifications are very low. However, it is very easy to work with hand or machine tools, with only a slight blunting effect on edges. An excellent finish requires only a light filling.

carving, furniture, plywood

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Olive - Tropical

Moderate blunting effect on tools. The timber nails, screws and glues without difficulty and can be stained and polished to an excellent finish.

flooring, furniture, veneer

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Oak - Local grown English

This oak has a very good steam bending classification, but is liable to blue stain if in contact with iron compounds. Moderate to severe blunting effect on cutting edges. The wood takes waxing, fuming and polishing very well.

boatbuilding, cabinetry, cooperage, flooring, furniture, veneer

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Ofram

Ofram has been an historically important wood in Africa, sue, in part, to its universal popularity. Although its population was considered threaten, from overexpolitation in the first half of the 20th century, a concerted effort was made -- a most successful one -- to preserve the species and expand its natural range, through numerous regional and national efforts made from the '50's through the '70's, all over West and Central Africa.Ofram has a characteristic light base color, ranging from a pale yellow to a light golden brown, to a pale tan -- and sometimes muted to the point of having a greyish appearance. It often has dark brown or black overlapping highlights (as well as lighter colored patches, occasionally, ranging from yellow to orange), which is what distinguishes White Ofram (also called "Korina") from Black Ofram (same wood / same species; just differing aesthetics). Its sap is only slightly lighter in color than its heart and can sometimes be difficult to discern.Despite its medium to coarse texture and a small silica content, its typically straight grains (those sometimes irregular or interlocked) and modest hardness and density make it generally quite easy to work. Its glues and finishes well (with a moderate natural luster); its base color takes on a more golden tone under a clear lacquer finish. It is considered neither a tough or durable wood, so such finishing is recommended.

furniture, laminates, musical Instruments, table tennis paddles, trim, turnings, veneer

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Lenga

Lenga comes from the Southern Andes, Chile and Argentina. It is similar in many respects to American Cherry, it is easily worked and finished, albeit slightly lighter in colour.

boxes, furniture, specialty wood items, trim, veneer

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Kossipo

furniture, joinery, shopfitting

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Keruing

This hard and heavy timber comes from Southeast Asia. It is high in bending and crushing strength. Heavy resin exudation can be a visual problem, but actually aids in preserving the timber. As a result it is excellent as an outdoor utility timber.

flooring, furniture, outdoor utilities

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Jarrah

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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Cypress - Local

Locally grown version of a species endemic to the central coast of California that is cultivated throughout the world. The timber is strong in relation to its weight. The wood works without difficulty with hand and machine tools with only a slight blunting effect on cutting edges. It can be knotty. It nails, screws and glues well, and gives satisfactory results with finishing treatments.

boatbuilding, cabinetry, furniture, trunks

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Cottonwood

Locally grown version of a species which is originally native to Canada and the USA. It is not particularly dense but still tough, with low bending strength and stiffness, and medium resistance to shock loads. It works easily with both hand and machine tools. The wood can be nailed, screwed, stained and polished well. It can be prone to some movement, especially if it gets wet. In many cases it presents with quite an attractive sheen. We stock boards, slabs and beams in this well-priced locally sourced timber.

food containers, furniture, joinery

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Cherry - European

Sweet Cherry is one of the premier European furniture timbers. In theory it grows all over Europe and Great Britain, but can at times be difficult to source. It is easy to machine and work with but can be a bit difficult to stain, as results can be a bit blotchy. It bends well with steam and turns and carves well.

carving, furniture, specialty wood items, trim, turned objects, veneer

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Cedar - Malawian

Also called Mlanje Cedar. Identical to our own Clanwilliam Cedar from the Cedarberg, and also under threat. Not allowed to be harvested except under strict control. We are lucky to have obtained our legally sawn stock some years ago. A lovely timber to work with, but difficult to finish, due to the natural oils it contains. A feature of the planks is the names scratched on in charcoal by the workers who carry the planks down the mountain. Planks are cut just the right dimensions for one man to carry unassisted, and they obviously have an immense pride in their work. We are privileged to be able to offer this wood, while stocks last.

furniture, panelling, turnings

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Camphor

For its weight, Camphor exhibits extremely good strength properties. It has low stiffness and resistance to shock loads, and medium crushing strength. The wood works easily with both hand and machine tools. It nails, screws and glues satisfactorily, stains easily and can be brought to a very good finish. A very durable wood. The heartwood is light in colour, but often with rather attractive darker streaks running through it.

cabinetry, flooring, furniture, joinery, panelling

M3	LENGTH	THICKNESS	TOTAL WIDTH	+- PCS
0.1	2.45	26mm	1570mm	9-12
0.1	2.45	38mm	1075mm	6-9
0.1	2.45	50mm	816mm	4-7

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Orders placed after the 5th of December 2024 via our online shop that require machining will only be fulfilled next year. No orders can be processed from 18th December to 6th January during our annual shutdown.

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