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BULLETWOOD

Manilkara spp.
Manilkara bidentata, M. elata, M. huberi, and M. littoralis (syn Mimusops littoralis) of the family Sapotaceae

See also sapodilla, which is a closely related wood.

This is a very hard, heavy, strong wood.

All of my samples on this page were sold to me as massaranduba which is another common name for this wood.

Once I had sanded a piece, I realized that this wood acquires a patina that makes it appear to be a darker, but richer, red than it is when fresh. The wood, as you will see from the more detailed pics I did of cut off pieces is a deep rich pink when first exposed.

The vendor I bought these planks from pointed out that this wood is very similar to sapodilla, except, he says, this wood keeps the red color much better than sapodilla, which turns dull brown with exposure. As you will see from my exposure series on this wood, that does NOT seem to be the case. That is, this wood, dispite his statement to the contrary, ALSO turns brown on exposure, although this wood's brown is a slightly rich, very slightly reddish brown.

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my samples:




bulletwood exposure series. The top pic is raw and the lower pic is at one month. Only the right part of the plank has been exposed to sunlight. To see the whole series, click here: bulletwood exposure series


plank


closeup of the plank directly above --- the web pics of this plank can be seen down below


plank


closeup of the plank directly above


plank, cut from the larger one directly above and sanded for the pic, and an end grain shot. Note how the sanding has removed some of the patina and dulled the color of the surface and also note how much brigher the freshly exposed inside is.


end grain closeup of the piece directly above


END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above --- this was taken many years after the pics above and the "raw steak" pink color is long gone


plank


closeup of the plank directly above


plank


closeup of the plank directly above


plank


closeup of the plank directly above


plank, cut from the larger one directly above and sanded for the pic, and an end grain shot. Note how the sanding has removed some of the patina and dulled the color of the surface and also note how much brigher the freshly exposed inside is.


end grain closeup of the piece directly above


END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above --- this was taken many years after the pics above and the "raw steak" pink color is long gone


plank with heavy patina --- actual color is slightly more red and less orange than what you see here

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web pics:


plank listed as massaranduba / Manilkara spp. and with wet and dry sections


planks


planks listed as massaranduba, another common name for the same wood


plank listed as massaranduba / Manilkara elata


planks listed as bulletwood / Manilkara littoralis


plank listed as massaranduba and with a yellow color that I find unbelievable


these identical pics are from the same vendor, who listed both of them as massaranduba, with one of them specified as Manilkara bidentata and the other as Manilkara huberi.


web pic of a plank that I bought --- the first one at the top of the page --- you can see the match in my closeup, although the orientation is different. The rich red of this pic is non-existent in the wood itself.


bowl by Steve Earis