Exotic Lumber

African Padauk can have a vivid blood red to purple brown coloring, with straight interlocking grain. It is most often used in furniture, flooring, turning projects, small crafts, tool handles and musical instruments. It is also a good option for outdoor use.

Bocote can have a wide variance of color, being a deep brown to having golden brown, tan grain. It’s grain can often swirl or wave, creating a wild appearance. It is very hard and dense, making working with it a slight challenege. However, it is a great option when looking for tool handles or small crafts.

Canarywood is a Central and South American hardwood. Color in the heartwood will typically have stripes of yellow, pink, orange and deep red and the prettiest of boards will include all of these colors. Canarywood is a great alternative for those looking for Brazilian Tulipwood.

Osage Orange is a native of South America, as well as the southwestern states. It has a bright yellow coloring which will darken toward a medium tan with age. It is a great option for turning and handles as well as musical instruments and hunting bows.

Purpleheart is possibly the most recognizable of the exotic species due to its pronounced coloring. Its color will be close to an eggplant purple, however it will fade toward a brownish-gray with purple hues. Purpleheart can be used in nearly any woodworking project inclduing high moisture areas.

Sapele is a favorite at Lumber and Craft due to its coloring, workability and how it can be used in a variety of projects. Sapele can vary from golden to a deep-reddish brown. It works very easily with its straight grain. It is a good choice when looking for outdoor or high moisture area lumber material.

Teak has a golden to medium brown coloring which will darken with age. It is a very tough wood which is rot resistant. Because of that, it is a great option in marine environments, such as boats and marinas. Many of our customers have sought out teak as a shower niche material.

Wenge can have a medium-brown (sometimes a reddish or yellow hue) coloring with the grain being near black. Unlike many exotics, Wenge tends to lighten (not darken) with age and exposure to sunlight. It can be difficult to work with due to its density and it tendency to splinter.

Yellowheart tends to have a pale to golden yellow hue, which will darken slightly with UV exposure. Because it is typically very straight-grained, it is quite easy to work with (whether using handtools or machinery).

Zebrawood is another easily recognizable exotic species due to its lighter brown coloring that features deep brown grain. Depending on how the lumber was milled, the grain can be uniform or chaotic and wavy. It works quite easily but can be quite splintery due to its open pores.

All woodgrain images are courtesy of our friends at wood-database.com.

We encourage you to check them out when researching different species, both domestic and exotic. They also have an expansive collection of articles on a variety of woodworking topics