holly

description:  A straight grained wood with a fine, uniform texture and almost no figure from grain pattern or color. The color is a chalky white to a light shade of gray.
working An easy wood to work with. Cuts clean and smooth with hand or power tools. Capable of a very smooth and hard surface. Flexible and strong, bends nicely.
uses Model building, fine carving. The fine texture makes the wood suitable for delicate fittings and carvings.

cocobolo

description This dense, heavy, durable hardwood is imported from Nicaragua and western Costa Rica. Approximate weight of the lumber is 68 pounds per cubic foot. Heartwood color varies greatly from light to deep red and the hues of the rainbow. Grain may be straight or interwoven, but the lumber is dimensionally very stable.
working Works well with hand or power tools and machines to a fine finish. Natural oils in the wood provide a beautiful waxy finish when hand rubbed, but make Cocobolo difficult to glue.
uses Accent furniture, turnings, knife and tool handles, brush backs and hand mirror frames, scientific instruments.

bloodwood

aliases Cardinalwood
description A dense, very hard South American wood of the same family as Capomo, Ojoche and Breadnut. Weighs 55 to 62 pounds per cubic foot. Blood-wood has a distinctive deep red to pinkish-red coloration which tends to remain bright upon exposure. Its grain pattern is normally plain, but with some lustrous pattern resembling fiddleback noted. Both flat cut and quartered grain patterns are cause of its extreme hardness and brittle nature, grain tends to tear with working.
uses Decorative items, game boards, turnings, inlay, marquetry.
working Turns and works with some difficulty, as it tends to be brittle. Sands to a smooth luster.

bocote

aliases Mexican Rosewood, Mayan Rosewood
description Bocote is native to Central and South America. Hard, heavy and strong, with a distinctive grain that is flowered to striped. The wood has a smooth texture and works well. Because the tree is small, available lumber is short and narrow. Good substitute for Brazilian Rosewood (Jacaranda) for small projects.
uses Accent wood for craft items, small turnings, general woodwork where limited size selection is not a concern.
working Easy to work or turn with power tools. Dense and somewhat oily, Bocote is somewhat difficult to glue. Sands to a high shine, finishes well with wax. Distinctive dill-like aroma.

ebony-macassar

I refuse to do a dense pedestal of 4cm high in such an endangered specie. However, I can veneer an MDF support in which we can insert a silver engraved plate

Another solution is to ebonize an Ash platform

LENGA ( Nothofagus pumilio )

This wood is light chestnut in color with yellow, pink and green lines through it. The grain is uniform and attractive. The wood is characterized by its light weight, easy to work whit, plane and glue. This is a very resistant wood to the humidity and outdoors, ideal for fine details in furniture or buildings. The lenga teaches up to 30 mts. in height. It grows in a variety of areas, and normally grows in shallow soil and requires low temperatures for its development. It grows in the Andes mountains range from the center of country to Cape Horn. Its is an endemic tree to the subantartic forests. Often used to make drawers.

maple

aliases Rock Maple, Sugar Maple
description Native to the northeastern U.S. and Canada. A strong, heavy wood (44+ pounds per cubic foot) with cream to reddish-brown heartwood. Often found in Birds Eye, burl, fiddleback, quilted and other figured grain patterns.
working Works well with hand and machine tools, although highly figured grain may tend to tear. Glues satisfactorily, somewhat difficult to stain, but sands and finishes well.
uses Furniture, cutting surfaces, paneling, kitchenware, flooring, molding, industrial applications where stability and toughness are required.

maple-curly

oak-english-brown

padauk

poplar

aliases Yellow Poplar, American Whitewood, Canarywood
description Poplar grows in the eastern half of the U.S. It is a medium strength, extremely stable hardwood weighing 28 to 31 pounds per cubic foot. Sapwood is white to canary yellow, while the well defined heartwood is brown to olive green. Because of its availability and workability, Poplar is used for a wide variety of applications, but is usually painted to cover its wide color variation.
working Machines and turns extremely well. Glues well. Holds detail well when carved or shaped.
uses Carving, pattern making, interior finish, moldings, casework, doors, furniture, shelving, musical instruments, toys, plywood core stock.

purpleheart

aliases Amaranth, Violetwood
description Purpleheart is native to Central and northern South America. Characterized by bright purple color, which is apparent after cutting but oxidizes into a deep brownish purple after exposure to air. A hard and heavy wood , producing a pleasing striped figure. Purpleheart is very durable and has good bending strength.
working Works fairly well, but blunts tools and burns if fed too fast. Turns well. Glues without difficulty. Spirit finishes will dull the purple color; lacquer or wax will preserve it.
uses Furniture, flooring and architectural accents, pool cues, turnings, marquetry, inlays.

rosewood-east-indian

description Long prized as a valuable hardwood, East Indian Rosewood is a strong, durable hardwood weigh-ing about 53 pounds per cubic foot. It is grown in an area stretching from southern India and Sri Lanka to Indonesia. Coloration varies from dark purple-brown to darker purple-black lines, making a beautiful flat sawn or ribbon figure. Very stable when properly dried.
working Somewhat difficult to work, dulls tools. Glues well. Sands to a high polish.
uses ments, tools and measuring devices, inlays.

 walnut-american

description Walnut is one of the most desirable woods available. Grown in the north central U.S. and southern Canada, this beautiful hardwood is tough, stable, and has good bending strength. Weight is about 40 pounds per cubic foot. Heartwood is rich and dark, turning a light brown in the drying process. Usually plain sawed, walnut produces a wide variety of figured wood, including burl, crotch, stump-wood, swirls, and fiddleback.
working Works, carves and turns well. Easy to glue. Sands smoothly and takes natural oil finish.
uses Furniture, turnery, carving, clock cases, gun-stocks, musical instruments, novelties.

tulipwood

description This beautiful, even grained Brazilian hardwood is distinct in its appearance from the other rosewoods. It is remarkable for its color: creamy yellow, with pink to reddish purple stripes. The colors fade somewhat on exposure, but the wood remains decorative. Tulipwood is as heavy as the denser rosewoods, weighing about 55 pounds per cwood emits a pleasing fragrance resembling the flower for which it is named.
working Tulipwood turns and works with some difficulty, as it tends to be brittle and splinters; sands to a soft luster.
uses Inlay, marquetry, game boards, small turnings and decorative items.

wenge

zebrawood

aliases Zebrano, Zingana
description Zebrawood is a coarse, stable, heavy African hardwood weighing about 47 pounds per cubic foot. Heartwood is a light yellow-gold with narrow veining or streaks of dark brown to almost black, giving a zebra-stripe appearance to quartered material. The grain is interlocked or wavy and produces alternating hard and soft grained material which makes the lumber difficult to work.
working Turns and works with difficulty, because of variation of grain hardness. Glues, sands and finishes well.
uses Accent furniture items, veneer, marquetry, small boxes and other decorative items.