Hi Pete,

Not sure what it is, but at that weight it is definitely not bubinga. There are a jillion oddball species that end up in pallets, some quite nice. If it's not oily and looks good, put it on a boat. If you don't want to do that, send it to me and I will put it on a boat, in fact that is probably the safest thing to do .

There are many wood websites, but most work the other way around - if you have a name, they tell you what it is like. It is really tough to go the other way, plus there are usually at least a half dozen names for any given species in the lumber trade. Speaking of pallet skids, I have a few that are a nice dark reddish brown, but they are hard as a rock and sink in water. Wonderful boat wood . I tried cutting some really narrow strips for rub rails on a kayak a couple of years ago and they weighed 3 pounds!! Do make really tough paddle edges, though if you keep them under 1/4" wide.

I will keep an eye open as I peruse the wood sites and let you know if I see anything that looks like what you describe.

Grant

: A friend has some pallet skids from paper rolls shipped from southeast Asia.
: One of these species is very interesting. It is a dark reddish brown like
: mahogany, but very lightweight. One stick works out to 8.3 lb./cu. ft.
: Could this be the bubinga that was discussed recently? If so, is it good
: for anything boatwise or paddlewise? Does anybody have a URL for species
: identification? Thanks in advance to my fellow woodbutchers.