NEW FEATURE: Ilustrated Glossary of Woodworking terms Click here -> GLOSSARY

open main page here with limited thumbnails            open main page here with ALL thumbnails



BULLETWOOD

Manilkara bidentata
Manilkara bidentata 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 really is. 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.

---

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


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


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

---

web pics:


planks


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


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.