However, due to the commercial scarcity of some woods, resorting to auction sites such as Ebay or Etsy may be the only way to obtain some desirable domestic, or in some cases exotic imported, species that are not routinely commercially harvested. The potential risks of buying in these marketplaces have to be balanced against the desire to work with a specific species of wood. That is inherently an individual decision.
I also 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
Although severe reactions are rare, Makore has been reported to cause eye, throat, and skin irritation. Appropriate protective equipment is therefore recommended, as always, when working with this, or any other, exotic wood, unless you have worked with the species before and are certain you are not sensitive to it. However, given the general potential for uncertainty about identification, it is possible that one sample might be quite different from another even if labeled the same, and caution is almost always rewarded.
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.
I definitely experienced the eye and throat irritation, but also intense nasal sensitivity when working with Makore. An N95 mask was essential to being able to complete the sanding process.
My Personal Experiences
My original experience of Makore was limited to one pen blank of questionable quality and at that time I wasn’t overly impressed with Makore. I have now turned a 13″ x 2″ platter and a 15″ x 2″ platter as well, plus I have a 16″ blanks on deck for tomorrow, so I have a much greater experience and sense of Makore.
Makore #1 Interior
Unlike the pen blank sold to me as Makore, these platter blanks demonstrate the moderate reported hardness of Makore which places it in the range of oak. The Makore cuts cleanly and easily plus is requires only minimal sanding along the cross grain sections. And I really understate the situation when I say “mimimal.” Sanding was over from start to finish in maybe 5 minutes. It was amazing. I would almost call the finish of the bare wood when finely sanded a satinwood. When a final finish is applied Makore takes it quite well with no streaking or blotches.
Makore #2 Side View
The color I reported for the pen blank also doesn’t foot with the Makore I am working with now which makes me question the identification of that original pen blank. As noted above, the heartwood is a light reddish brown or maybe better described as milky coffee. While the color isn’t astounding and there are certainly more colorful woods, these blanks do have a wonderful curly ribbon figure that is highly chatoyant under the right light with movement.