The wood sold as Bubinga is most commonly harvested in equatorial regions of Africa in countries such as Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Republic of Congo, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The range of Guibourtia <\/em>trees, however, can extend to the north and west as far as Ghana and to the south and east as far as Zimbabwe.<\/p>\n Equatorial Africa<\/p><\/div>\n Bubinga may also be sold as Kevazingo when it is in veneer form. I will refer to all of the commercial Guibourtia<\/em> spp<\/em>. sold as Bubinga as Bubinga for sake of simplicity.<\/p>\n Bubinga heartwood shows a range of colors from a slight pinkish red up to a much darker reddish brown that may have even darker purple or black streaks. The sapwood, which is clearly demarcated from the heartwood, is of a pale straw color.<\/p>\n Sanded Bubinga<\/p><\/div>\n In addition to a range of color possibilities, pieces of Bubinga frequently feature a variety of figure which includes: pommele, flamed, waterfall, quilted, and mottled.<\/p>\n The grain of Bubinga is often interlocked although it can be straight. The texture is uniformly fine to medium, in my experience quite fine is thoroughly sanded, with a moderate natural luster.<\/p>\n Depending on the exact species being sold as Bubinga, the wood is moderately durable to very durable in terms of rot resistance. Bubinga is also reported to be resistant to termite and marine borer attack.<\/p>\n Overall, Bubinga is easy to work with, although some species can have a high silica content which is likely to prematurely dull cutting edges. If, as is often the case, the piece you are working with has a high degree of figure and\/or interlocked grain, tearout is a concern especially when planing or using other surfacing machines.<\/p>\n Bubinga can be resistant to gluing due to its very high density and natural oils.<\/p>\n Bubinga turns exceptionally well and also takes a nice finish.<\/p>\n Sanded and Sealed Bubinga<\/p><\/div>\n When wet, Bubinga is reported to have a foul odor but this disappears as the wood dries. In working with kiln dried Bubinga I have only occasionally detected a whiff of a vinegar odor and I can imagine this would be very unpleasant if stronger in wet wood.<\/p>\n Up to very recently, Bubinga was a common wood sold by most every exotic wood dealer in the United States. This ready availability kept supplies high and prices relatively low. This, however, has changed with the listing of Bubinga in the CITES Appendix II, about which more will be explained further on. This action by CITES will not only severely limit Bubinga supplies entering the United States, it will effectively end the trade in Bubinga in the United States. I have noticed supplies dwindling quickly and prices increasing. If you have an interest in working with Bubinga, now is the time.<\/p>\n Generally speaking, and this will change as supply dries up, Bubinga should command no more than a moderate price in the marketplace. Having said that, if the piece in question feature high level of figure, such as waterfall, pommele, flamed etc., expect to pay top prices.<\/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 The biggest block of Bubinga currently offered by West Penn Hardwoods is an 8” x 8” x 2” for $33.12. They also have spindles and dimensional lumber available. If you were wondering what kind of prices a highly figured board of Bubinga commands, consider the 5\/4 slab of waterfall Bubinga offered for $3,815.<\/p>\n Bell Forest Products is offering a wide range of spindle and dowel sizes of Bubinga, but the largest turning blank they offer is 6” x 6” x 2” for $18.00<\/p>\n The only offering from WoodTurningz is a 6” x 6” x 2” for $11.95.<\/p>\n Amazon Exotic Hardwoods offers a range of spindle sizes and several bowl blank sizes with the largest being 8” x 8” x 4” for $67.50.<\/p>\n Exotic Woods USA is offering a good range of sizes ranging from various spindles to the largest bowl blank of the bunch, a 12” x 12” x 3” for $135.80.<\/p>\n Got Wood? is only selling spindles of 3” x 3” x 12” for $22.50 and they have one left. I bought out the round bowl blanks some months ago. Sorry about that.<\/p>\n Vendors not listed do not have any Bubinga offerings.<\/p>\n Woodfinder<\/a> is an excellent website that is dedicated to advertising wood dealers. In your search for Bubinga, 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 Bubinga is commonly used in applications such as veneers, inlays, fine furniture, cabinetry, turnings, and other specialty items. Bubinga may also be used as a substitute for more expensive true rosewoods of the Dalbergia genus, all of which are now also restricted from export.<\/p>\n Waterfall Bubinga Slab<\/p><\/div>\n Since Bubinga trees can grow so large, natural-edge slabs of the wood have also been used in tabletops and other specialized projects.<\/p>\n The three Guibourtia species yielding Bubinga ARE now listed as being endangered by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Appendix II<\/a> but it does not appear on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List<\/a>.<\/p>\n To the best of my knowledge, Bubinga is not subject to any additional special restrictions by any United States government agency but the CITES ruling will be enforced by United States authorities.<\/p>\n The Appendix II listing means that Bubinga can no longer be moved across international borders, and since Bubinga comes exclusively from areas outside of the United States, it is now illegal to import it and that includes finished items made from Bubinga. If you see Bubinga wood or items made from it offered from sale and export to the United States, proceed no further.<\/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 In addition to the usual hazards posed by wood dust, it is important to note that Bubinga has been reported to cause skin irritation and\/or skin lesions in some individuals. As always, caution is essential until you are certain you are not sensitive to Bubinga.<\/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 Bubinga.<\/p>\n I have greatly enjoyed my time working with Bubinga and I am a bit saddened that it will be much more difficult, if not impossible, to find and purchase in the future, but if you saw my existing wood stocks you’d understand why I don’t need another piece of wood.<\/p>\n Since I had been working with Hard Maple and Persimmon, both hard domestic woods, I thought I knew what it took to turn a hard wood. But, it turns out that Bubinga is literally twice as hard as Maple but close to the hardness of Persimmon. The best advice I can give is to have a large amount of patience when turning Bubinga to avoid catches and tears. With a sharp tool, Bubinga cuts very cleanly with the grain but it is a bit rough against the grain, but it sands out easily enough in my experience. By the time I have sanded my Bubinga down to 800 grit it is so glossy that it probably doesn’t need a finish, but a coat of Shellawax really brings out the figure.<\/p>\n Platter One Interior<\/p><\/div>\n If you have the patience for it and if you can find a piece you really like, and if you can locate a piece known to have high figure it is worth the additional price, then I would definitely recommend buying and working with Bubinga. If you are new to turning you might want to get some practice with easier woods first and consider Bubinga to be a goal wood you are working toward, but that doesn’t mean you can’t buy it and store it against the day you are ready.<\/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":" I have greatly enjoyed my time working with Bubinga and I am a bit saddened that it will be much more difficult, if not impossible, to find and purchase in the future, but if you saw my existing wood stocks you\u2019d understand why I don\u2019t need another piece of wood.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":175,"featured_media":2857,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[141,138,139,130],"tags":[144,154,168,171,181,183,188,200,217,221,240,247],"yoast_head":"\nGeneral Characteristics:<\/h2>\n
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