Gonçalo Alves

Geographical Distribution

The wood commonly referred to as Gonçalo Alves by exotic wood dealers is scientifically known as Astronium graveolens. However, to add to confusion, in some situations, wood from a closely related tree, Astronium fraxinifolium, may also be sold as Gonçalo Alves. The trees have some range overlap in Brazil, although it is worth noting that the range of Astronium graveolens, which stretches from the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico down through Central America, especially the Pacific coastal forests of Costa Rica, onwards south to Brazil, is considerably larger than that of its close relative. In contrast, A. fraxinifolium is mostly limited to Brazil, in areas including the Atlantic and Amazon rainforest environments, although some specimens have been reported from as far west as Bolivia. Some retailers note that A. fraxinifolium tends to be much more heavily striped than the closely related A. graveolens. However, other “authorities” claim the exact opposite.

To be sure that you are buying a piece that you really desire, it helps, as always, to be able to see in it person or in high resolution photographs, as opposed to common “stock” photos. Some wood retailers use the name “Jobillo” for very heavily striped and/or figured examples of wood which may come from either species noted above. Without access to DNA analysis, it may not be possible to know with absolute certainty which species you are working with, but if you are happy with the appearance and performance of the wood, it may not matter in the end.

To further complicate matters, the diverse range in which, especially A. graveolens, grows, dozens of common names have arisen. As might be guessed, Gonçalo Alves derives from the Portuguese. The most commonly cited alternative common names are Jobilo and Tigerwood, but there are literally dozens of other possibilities, the most common of which include, but certainly are not limited to: Aderno, Bois De Zebre, Bossona, Chibatao, Ciruelillo, Frijolillo, Gateado, Guarita, Guasango, Gusanero, Jobillo, Mura, Palo de Cera, Palo de Culebra, Ron Ron, Urunday-Para, Zebrawood, Zorro, and Zorrowood.

Many woodworkers will notice the overlap of the term “Zebrawood” most commonly associated with the African wood from Microberlinia brazzavillensis.

For the sake of clarity and ease, I will refer to this wood as Gonçalo Alves from here forward.

Gonçalo Alves (Jobilo) Bowl Front

Gonçalo Alves (Jobilo) Bowl Front

General Characteristics

The heartwood of Gonçalo Alves tends towards a medium to reddish brown color. This color is enhanced by the appearance of irregular streaks of darker brown to black. The more pronounced this striped appearance, the higher end, and the more expensive, you can expect pieces to be in the marketplace. As is unfortunately true with many colored tropical hardwoods, the color tends to darken with age. There are some methods that can be used in an attempt to slow this process, but it cannot be entirely halted by any means.

The grain of the Gonçalo Alves may be straight, but more often than not it is wavy and/or interlocked. As many woodworkers will know, this may present workability issues. The texture of Gonçalo Alves tends to be fine and uniform. The wood exhibits a good natural luster when finely sanded.

The endgrain of Gonçalo Alves is reported to be diffuse and porous, featuring medium pores in no specific arrangement. Growth rings tend to be indistinct.

Although I can’t imagine that it much matters for the most common uses of Gonçalo Alves, the wood’s resistance to rot is rated as very durable and weathering ability is reported to be excellent.

Working Characteristics

In general, most woodworkers find Gonçalo Alves to be relatively easy to work with despite the quite high density and hardness of the wood. As is almost always the case with any wood which exhibits irregular grain or high figure, there can be challenges in planing and other machining operations. As might be expected from of wood of this density, Gonçalo Alves can also have a moderate blunting effect on cutters. Frequent re-sharpening of tools is advised to ensure the best possible results, or, alternatively, the use of replaceable carbide cutters is also a reasonable option now available to many woodworkers.

Because Gonçalo Alves tends to be very resistant to absorbing moisture, it can be difficult to glue effectively. This tendency to not absorb water, however, can be useful in applications where objects made from Gonçalo Alves might come into contact with water, such as in the production of razors, razor stands, shaving brushes, and similar items.

Gonçalo Alves does turn quite well as might be expected from a wood of this density and hardness.

Gonçalo Alves also finishes quite well, although the natural coloration is usually such that nothing other than a protective clear finish is needed or wanted.

Gonçalo Alves is reported to have no characteristic or specific odor when being worked or cut.

Pricing

In general, Gonçalo Alves is widely available in a variety of widths and lengths as both lumber and veneer. Some vendors may also stock small blanks intended for pens, bowls, or other turned objects. The prices should be moderate for an imported hardwood.

I always recommend both West Penn Hardwoods and Bell Forest Products as excellent sources of both domestic and exotic hardwoods. I have had multiple dealings with both vendors and have always been very satisfied.

Under the name “Gonçalo Alves” West Penn Hardwoods is only offering dimensional lumber. However, and this is an example of where knowing some other common names comes in handy, under the name “Jobilo” a much wider range of options is available, including bowl blanks, pen blanks, knife handle blanks, and additional dimensional lumber. At this time, West Penn Hardwoods is offering a small bowl blank size of 6”x6”x3” for slightly under $30.

At this time, Bell Forest Products is only offering spindle turning sizes of “Gonçalo Alves” ranging from pen blanks to a 2”x2”x18” piece for $17.00.

Certainly there are many other exotic hardwood dealers to be found and I would encourage anyone to shop around extensively before buying.

Woodfinder is an excellent website that is dedicated to advertising exotic wood dealers. In your search for Gonçalo Alves, this can be an invaluable resource provided you use multiple search terms to capture all the possible listings. I can’t speak to the quality of any of the listed dealers, but Woodfinder does have the advantage of allowing searches to be performed based on location which might allow an interested buyer to visit a listed wood dealer near their home in person to hand pick nice pieces at a comfortable price.

Uses

Gonçalo Alves finds uses in many of the same applications that are common for other imported hardwoods of good color and/or figure. These uses included, but are not limited to: flooring, veneers, furniture, cabinetry, carving, turned objects, and other small wood specialty objects including pool cues, archery bows, and knife handles.

In its native areas, Gonçalo Alves may also find applications in utility work such as mine shaft timbers, tool handles, and other construction applications. Thread bobbins are a rather unique use of this wood, although such uses have mostly been replaced with modern plastics. These uses employ the density, hardness, durability, good weathering, and resistance to insect attack characteristic of the wood. Such uses tend to diminish once a vibrant export market is opened as the prices obtained will invariably be much more advantageous than those obtained for domestic utility functions.

Sustainability

Gonçalo Alves is not listed with the Convention in International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Appendices nor is it listed with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

I realize that many, if not most, wood workers do not have endangered species lists memorized, therefore I think it worthwhile and important to do even a small amount of research before purchasing any lumber, domestic as well as imported, to be certain of the potential impact you are having, even in a small way, on threatened or endangered populations. This information is easy to come by and takes only minutes to locate through any Internet search engine, including those you can access on your phone as you are standing in the lumber yard or store. Unfortunately, you simply cannot count on a vendor to tell you a product they are selling is endangered.

Health Hazards

Gonçalo Alves has only rarely been reported to cause severe allergic reactions, but it has been reported to be a sensitizer. Most often the reaction symptoms are no worse that simple eye and skin irritation.

Appropriate protective equipment is recommended, as always, when working with this, or any other, wood, unless you have worked with the wood before and are certain you are not sensitive to it. Standard precautions should always be taken to reduce excessive exposure to wood dust.

Complete information about health hazards associated with a wide variety of exotic hardwoods is available from The Wood Database. Additional information about how to best use a dust collection system and personal protective equipment, such as respirators, can also be found through this excellent and comprehensive resource.

Fortunately, I experienced no negative side effects when working with Gonçalo Alves.

My Personal Experiences

The piece of Gonçalo Alves that I worked with was sold to me under the name “Jobilo” through a large commercial specialty wood hobbyist retailer several years ago. This particular piece had been selected by my father-in-law as the wood he would like me to make him a bowl with. It took a while to complete the project, because I had put the wood away to allow it to dry completely before attempting to work with it. I had never before worked with this wood, under any name, so I was completely unsure of what to expect.

The first thing I noticed immediately was that the wood was clearly quite hard and quite dense. This meant that the cuts that I could achieve were amazingly smooth even with zero sanding effort. Hogging cuts did results in some torn end grain fibers, but very light cuts cleaned those up easily, leaving very smooth and lustrous surfaces. Only light sanding was required to achieve a very nice surface finish.

The coloration of the piece I worked with was quite attractive. About half of the piece appears to be sapwood with a dramatic and sudden transition to heartwood obvious in the change of coloration. This appearance was not readily apparent as the blank was covered in a coating of protective wax when purchased, obscuring its actual beauty.

The wood turned wonderfully and I was quite pleased with the outcome of working with this small piece. I opted for a simple shellac finish as a means to easily seal the sanded surface while also providing a reasonable level of luster in a single coat finish.

I was so pleased with the workability and appearance of Gonçalo Alves that I immediately added it to my rather short list of woods that I consider to be “wish woods,” meaning those woods that, based on experience, I would very much wish to work with again. I would encourage any wood turner to try a piece of Gonçalo Alves to see if they are as enamored with it as I have proven to be. I would be surprised if other users did not come away from the experience excited to be able to work with Gonçalo Alves again in the future.

As always, I wish all my readers a great experience in whatever their wood working interests happen to be, and to those who like working with lathes especially, do a good turn today!