: 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.

I'm afraid you have the wrong site if you're thinking there are any "Wood-butchers" around here. In this neck of the woods, a Wood butcher is a carpenter, where anything within a 1/2" is close enough. Just stick another couple nails in it and it will hold. The quality of work here, even if not "heirloom" quality, hardly qualifies as Wood-Butchering. Just a passing thought. Folks in or from the cabinet/furniture industry don't take too kindly to being compared to carpenters. No offense to carpenters, as there are a few good ones out there, but we're talking two completely different styles of work. Just a passing thought.

Second, if it came from South-East Asia, be real careful when you cut it. We had some fun over there, and about every tree you find will have about twenty to thirty poinds of Lead in it.

If your wood looks good, has some good figure, try a finish on it, see if it sticks, looks good and just use it.

Rehd