Exotic Wood rosewood, east indian

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ROSEWOOD, EAST INDIAN

Dalbergia latifolia
Dalbergia latifolia of the family Leguminosae

Also called Indian rosewood and shisham, this true rosewood is darker than most rosewoods but quite attractive and more readily available, and less expensive, than its better known cousin Brazilian rosewood. It is hard and heavy and works and polishes well. Its combination of beauty and tonal qualities make it popular for guitar sides and backs.

my samples --- colors are accurate throughout and you'll see some very similar colors and grain pattern in the web pics below.

plank and end grain

end grain closeup of the piece directly above

this piece is from the same plank as the sample above, but it is oiled.

sample plank and end grain

end grain closeup of the piece directly above

a bunch of guitar backs from the stock of a luthier relative of mine, Jarad Lindsey, who built his first guitar at 14 (and it's beautiful) using similar planks for the side and back.

both sides of a sample plank of East Indian rosewood --- the very dull color of this piece would be somewhat enhanced by finer sanding, and greatly enhanced by a finishing agent.

end grain and end grain closeup of the sample plank directly above

both sides of a plank contributed to the site by Daniel Duelen, whom I thank for this and other contributions.

closeup of one face of the plank above

side view of the plank above

various end grain views, and an end grain closeup, of the piece directly above. The last pic and the closeup were taken at a different time and the color correction added a slight orangish tinge that is not present in the wood.

veneer

this piece of veneer was in my "mystery woods" section for a long time but was finally identified by a correspondent as an East Indian Rosewood burl veneer

NOTE: the following bright-colored pieces, including the guitar set, were contributed to the site by a generous fellow named Liem in Indonesia. They are much brighter in color than I am accustomed to in D. latifolia and Liem tells me that they are significantly different in physical characteristics than what he is accustomed to in Dalbergia latifolia, a species that he is very familiar with, BUT ... they have been positively identified by the USDA Wood Lab as being that species. My thanks for the contribution.

a batch of small, thin, planks

closeup of two of the pieces above

small slab and end grain shot

two contiguous sides of a small plank that was cut from the top of the slightly larger one directly above and moderately-fine sanded --- it is the sanding that accounts for the the darker color all of the visible surfaces.

end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above

a spectacular guitar-back set

the sides of the guitar set

Rikus Veuger from Bandung, Indonesia sent me a HUGE cache of pics of beautifully figured
E.I. rosewood that are just staggering in their beauty and variety. These represent a select few
from a large logging operation and Rikus did a very nice job of photography. Below are a few of the
pics, and to see the full set, click here: Rikus ei rosewood. My thanks to Rikus for the marvelous pics.