{"id":2716,"date":"2019-11-08T21:01:15","date_gmt":"2019-11-09T02:01:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.woodturningpens.com\/?p=2716"},"modified":"2019-11-08T21:01:15","modified_gmt":"2019-11-09T02:01:15","slug":"afromosia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.woodturningpens.com\/afromosia\/","title":{"rendered":"Afromosia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Geographic Distribution<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The wood commonly known as Afromosia (Afrormosia and African Teak are synonyms) is known to botanists as Pericopsis elata<\/em>.  P. elata <\/em>is native to moist, semi-deciduous forests in Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Ghana, and Nigeria.<\/p>\n

For the sake of simplicity I will refer to P. elata<\/em> from here forward simply as Afromosia<\/p>\n

General Characteristics<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The heartwood or Afromosia is typically a striped yellowish brown.  On occasion the heartwood may have reddish or olive hues present.  As is often true of colorful exotic hardwoods, this color will darken with age.  Ultraviolet blocking finishes can help delay, but not entirely prevent this effect.  The narrow sapwood, when present, is pale yellow and clearly demarcated.<\/p>\n

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Afromosia Bowl<\/p><\/div>\n

The grain on most Afromosia is straight, however, on occasion it may be interlocked.<\/p>\n

Afromosia has an overall fine and uniform texture and displays a good natural luster when finely sanded.<\/p>\n

Afromosia is rated as very durable in its resistance to decay.  Afromosia is also highly resistant to termites and other wood boring insects.<\/p>\n

Along with Iroko, Afromosia is sometimes sold as African Teak.  While not at all closely related to the true Teak, Afromosia does have excellent weathering resistance in outdoor applications and has been used with success as a Teak substitute.<\/p>\n

Working Characteristics<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Afrormosia is reported to be easy to work with both hand and machine powered tools.  That said, as is almost always the case with any species of wood, surfacing boards with interlocking grain may cause tearout. This excellent resource provides guidance on working with interlocked grain<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Due to mineral content, Afromosia tends to have a slight blunting effect on cutting edges so frequent sharpening is essential when working with Afromosia.  Afromosia may develop dark stains if allowed contact with iron objects in damp conditions.  This is an effect similar to that seen in many other woods.<\/p>\n

Afrormosia turns, glues, stains, and finishes well.<\/p>\n

Afrormosia has a distinct sweet and spicy odor while being freshly worked.<\/p>\n

 <\/strong>Pricing and Availability<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Trade in Afromosia is currently tightly controlled due to its inclusion in CITES, however it is usually available as lumber in good sizes. In part due to the limitations on trade, expec prices to be medium to high for an imported African hardwood.<\/p>\n

In this blog, I almost always recommend several vendors with whom I have done considerable business and in whom I have great confidence.  These vendors are: West Penn Hardwoods<\/a>, Bell Forest Products<\/a>, NC Wood<\/a>, WoodTurningz<\/a>, Amazon Exotic Hardwoods<\/a>, Griffin Exotic Wood<\/a>, Exotic Woods USA<\/a>, Got Wood?<\/a>, and Wood Turning Blanks 4U<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Of these find vendors only Got Wood? is currently selling Afromosia.  They have Afromosia available in both spindle and bowl blank sizes.  The bowl blanks are small at 5” x 2” and there is only one left $6.25.  Spindles are 2” square by 6” and 12” at $3.00 and $6.00 respectively.<\/p>\n

Woodfinder<\/a> is an excellent website that is dedicated to advertising wood dealers.  In your search for Afromosia, 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 in person to hand pick pieces at a comfortable price.<\/p>\n

A significant problem with using Woodfinder is that many vendors are listed for woods that, upon further investigation, they do not offer.  I don’t know if perhaps once they did and they didn’t update their listings or if some vendors use a standardized list of woods that include most everything conceivable with the idea that once you land on their page you will find something you want to buy even if you didn’t know it beforehand.  It happens to me all the time!<\/p>\n

Uses<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Afromosia is most commonly used in boat building, veneers, flooring, and furniture.  It also makes an excellent turning wood if you can source the material.<\/p>\n

Sustainability<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Afromosia is listed as being endangered by the Convention in International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Appendix II<\/a> and it does appear on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List<\/a>.  These listings have placed strict controls on trade in Afromosia and this may well account for its scarcity with United States vendors at this time.<\/p>\n

To the best of my knowledge, Afromosia is not subject to any additional special restrictions by any United States government agency.<\/p>\n

I realize that inherent in working with wood is the killing of a part of the natural world that may be slow to return and if I become deeply concerned about this fact, I will have to find a new hobby.  I hope that such a time does not come to pass or at least not any time soon.  In part because I am concerned about legally and responsibly obtained wood, I am reluctant to buy from sellers outside of well-established and known vendors.  I am highly unlikely, for example, to purchase any wood from auction sites, such as Ebay, because of uncertain sourcing and documentation, as well as the potential, even likelihood, of material being misidentified in order to achieve a higher selling price.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Health Hazards<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Although severe reactions are quite uncommon, Afrormosia has been reported as a sensitizer. The most common reactions include eye, skin, and respiratory irritation. Afrormosia has also been known to cause nervous system effects, asthma-like symptoms, as well as splinters having an increased chance of getting infected, therefore, caution is essential until you are certain you are not sensitive to Afromosia.<\/p>\n

It is important to remember that although many people may, or may not, be sensitive to any given wood, the only experience that truly counts is your own, so use reported side effects as guidance but not as a substitute for cautious and safe practices.<\/p>\n

Appropriate protective equipment is therefore always recommended when working with this, or any other, wood, exotic or domestic, unless you have worked with the species before and are certain you are not sensitive to it.<\/p>\n

Complete information about health hazards<\/a> associated with a wide variety of exotic hardwoods is available from The Wood Database<\/a>.  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<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, I experienced no negative side effects when working with Afromosia.<\/p>\n

My Personal Experiences                        <\/strong><\/h2>\n

I sourced my 9” x 2” bowl blank from Got Wood? along with some other interesting blanks.  The wood arrived kiln dried to about 5%.  This meant it was ready to turn and finish without having to employ green turning techniques.<\/p>\n

I found the wood to be attractive with heavy stripes before any work was done.  The wood was obviously hard and dense, heavy for its size.<\/p>\n

As is often the case with hard woods, the Afromosia cut cleanly except for the cross-grain areas which were fairly fuzzy.  Fortunately, the cross grain areas sanded out relatively easily although I was worried about it on the interior sidewalls.<\/p>\n

Afromosia does indeed have a delightfully sweet and spicy scent when cut.<\/p>\n

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American Beauty Lathe<\/p><\/div>\n

All of the work on the Afromosia was done on my Robust American Beauty lathe<\/a> using Easy Wood Tools<\/a> cutters.  Sanding was with Gold and Green Wave discs from Packard Woodworks<\/a>.  Nova chucks and jaws<\/a> were used for holding the piece while working.  The Afromosia bowl was beautifully finished using ShellaWax<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As always, I wish all my readers a great experience in whatever your wood working interests happen to be and to those who like working with lathes especially, do a good turn today!<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Along with Iroko, Afromosia is sometimes sold as African Teak. While not at all closely related to the true Teak, Afromosia does have excellent weathering resistance in outdoor applications and has been used with success as a Teak substitute.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":175,"featured_media":2717,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[135,128,136,137,129,138,139,130],"tags":[144,154,168,171,181,183,188,200,217,230,239,240,241,247],"yoast_head":"\nAfromosia - Wood Turning Pens ..<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Afromosia is a wood recently classified as endangered which makes it difficult to find for sale. 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