Exotic Wood andiroba

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ANDIROBA

Carapa spp.

Carapa spp. (generally Carapa guianensis) of the family Meliaceae, the mahogany family

Also widely known as crabwood, this moderately heavy South/Central American wood is sometimes used as a mahogany substitute as it is in the mahogany family and is somewhat similar to the Swietenia mahoganies in both color and grain. It is inexpensive in its areas of growth and is widely used there for many purposes. It is susceptable to pin-hole borers and other wood eaters and many of the planks I've had have had heavy areas of holes, especially in and near the sapwood (check out the top edge of the upper plank in the first set of my pics directly below --- the enlargements show the holes quite clearly)

my samples:

two planks --- the other sides are shown directly below

the other sides of the two planks shown directly above

a closeup of the same two planks

small piece, and end grain, cut from the top left side of the top plank above --- I chose this section because it has some sapwood and when I sanded it down, I was surprized to find some very clean spalting that I had not seen when the plank was rough.

end grain closeup of the piece directly above

side grain closeup of the piece directly above

same plank as the pics above but this time dry and wet (with water) side by side to show how a finishing agent is likely to enhance the color of the wood