Jamaican Ironwood - Woodworking Talk

Ken Johnson · 02-14-2011, 07:25 PM

I just got back from Jamaica and saw a lot of items there crafted from Ironwood. It is super dark and heavy and thought it would be great for making pens. However I can't find it anywhere. If anyone can tell me where I can find this or Jamaican Cedar I would really appreciate it.

phinds · 02-14-2011, 07:39 PM

Hm ... never heard of that one, and in checking my database, I find that there are at least 5 completely unrelated species that have Jamaican ironwood as one of their common names, and of course they all also have dozens of OTHER common names, so how you might figure out what this would is called in the US, if it is even sold her, I wouldn't have a clue. Good luck.

krugiodendron ferreum
sloanea jamaicensis
gordonia haematoxylon
sloanea spp.
turpinia spp.

Logger · 02-15-2011, 09:37 AM

Not sure where you can find that rich dark colorerd wood, my wife and I have been going to jamaica for years, i thought i would share this pic i took over ten years ago , pics not the best as it was taken with a disposable camera and then scaned. Its kinda of hard to see but under the canopy theres a small wooden table with a 4ft. dia. blade sticking out of it, a wooden fence bolted at about a inch. The guys pushed the logs threw by hand from what my buddy said, a couple years later we saw a woodmizer setup in this same village. I will be going down in may for a couple weeks.

mdntrdr · 02-15-2011, 10:38 AM

A sawmill in jamaica pic

Thanks for the explanation.

At first glance, I thought that was Darens yard.

Oh no he dint!

Looks like I better get to work...... I haven't been making to many usefull posts lately.

TexasTimbers · 02-15-2011, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mdntrdr

A sawmill in jamaica pic

At first glance, I thought that was Darens yard.

But no, because that yard is too orderly.

.

**Daren** · 02-15-2011, 01:54 PM

Truth be told...Daren would love a yard in Jamaica...The times I have been I found the people very friendly, the food fantastic !, the rum tasty, the coffee awesome, the local herbs and spices very good...Yep old Daren up in the mountains doin' his thing.

.

Runge · 04-26-2011, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ken Johnson

I just got back from Jamaica and saw a lot of items there crafted from Ironwood. It is super dark and heavy and thought it would be great for making pens. However I can't find it anywhere. If anyone can tell me where I can find this or Jamaican Cedar I would really appreciate it.

The densest timbers in Jamaica are probably

Guaiacum officinale
Krugiodendron ferreum
Sloanea jamaicensis
Brya ebenus

Brya ebenus is the darkest of these. Try
http://www.Gilmerwood.com

Also, the next time you go, please track down a bit of Sloanea jamaicensis for me. It grows near Manchioneal and near Inverness. You can easily spot the tree by it's buttressed trunk - similar to this Sloanea species:

http://www.cavehill.uwi.edu/fpas/bcs...anea-root1.jpg

If you want to look into what grows in Jamaica, go here

http://botany.si.edu/antilles/WestIndies/results.cfm

and hit "return to Detailed Query." Limit the search to the island of Jamaica and search for the common name "Ironwood."

Ken Johnson · 04-26-2011, 08:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Runge

The densest timbers in Jamaica are probably

Guaiacum officinale
Krugiodendron ferreum
Sloanea jamaicensis
Brya ebenus

Brya ebenus is the darkest of these. Try
http://www.Gilmerwood.com

Also, the next time you go, please track down a bit of Sloanea jamaicensis for me. It grows near Manchioneal and near Inverness. You can easily spot the tree by it's buttressed trunk - similar to this Sloanea species:

http://www.cavehill.uwi.edu/fpas/bcs...anea-root1.jpg

If you want to look into what grows in Jamaica, go here

http://botany.si.edu/antilles/WestIndies/results.cfm

and hit "return to Detailed Query." Limit the search to the island of Jamaica and search for the common name "Ironwood."

Thanks for all the info. I did see two huge Sloanea Jamaicensis near the lighthouse by Ricks Cafe where they cliff dive. I believe they were supposedly 2000 years old or something amazing like that. Very cool trees.

woodrat · 04-27-2011, 12:24 PM

Sounds to me like Ipe.
We use it for building decks. I also turn it on my lathe to make walking staffs.
We purchase ours from Austin Wholesale Decking, so you might try a decking wholesaler in your area although I think they ship. www.austinwholesaledecking.com
Good luck!

Fishbucket · 04-28-2011, 09:30 AM

Does this "Ironwood" produce yellow sawdust?

I have something here that I'm making a centerpiece candle holder out of. It's a deep dark choc color., very heavy and when cut the whole shop is filled with yellow dust. It also splinters with very sharp edges.
I'll try and post pics in a couple days. and I have some cut-off's I'd send you and phinds if you want.

TexasTimbers · 04-28-2011, 10:33 AM

BTW Ken, you probably know but ironwood is just a slang for the hardest wood in a given region, or at least whatever the locals have tagged as the hardest wood. There's often species even harder than what the locals believe.

For example most farmers and ranchers believe Bois d' Arc is the hardest wood in our region, but Mesquite is much harder.

Hey Fish, speaking of Bois 'd Arc a.k.a. Osage Orange a.k.a. Hedge, I'm certain that's what your mystery wood is.

.

ChiknNutz · 04-28-2011, 02:29 PM

Yeah, sound like typical IPE used for decks, but maybe not (typical IPE is Brazilian Walnut though). A friend of mine used to build hi-end decks with it and brought me a couple pcs to play with. WOW is it every dense and heavy compared to most any other wood I've ever touched. Apparently, it can be left out in the weather w/o any sort of treatment and won't rot for DECADES and I guess the stuff hardly burns too. Here is one online source I found for IPE and other exotic hardwoods (they seem to be geared more towards the decking industry, but still might be a decent source for some hard to come-by stuff).

http://www.advantagelumber.com/index.html

Fishbucket · 04-28-2011, 08:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TexasTimbers

Hey Fish, speaking of Bois 'd Arc a.k.a. Osage Orange a.k.a. Hedge, I'm certain that's what your mystery wood is.

Well Dag nabit, poke a hippy and light a fire.....

..it was a 4x4x48 stick. I could have made a Crossbow, or something manly! .. besides a candle holder center piece thing...

Runge · 04-29-2011, 08:35 AM

http://www.forestry.gov.jm/pdf_files/localtreenames.pdf

Runge · 02-04-2012, 06:12 PM

Seriously, who in Jamaica might have a bit of Sloanea jamaicensis to sell. To the folks who visit there regularly ( Logger ), could you offer me any guidance on how I might get a bit of this wood? I tried to talk to some of these folks but didn't have any luck.

http://www.jamaicaonlinegallery.com/products2.html

Logger · 02-06-2012, 06:22 AM

I was told you cant bring un carved wood back, they consider it plant matter and cant be brought out of the country. We go in a couple months and if I remember I will look in the yellow pages when there and see what kind of lumber suppliers are listed, maybe they could help you. logger

Bwood · 02-06-2012, 10:29 AM

You might want to try Woodshop 102 in Key Largo, FL . I got some there onetime I believe.

greg4269ub · 02-06-2012, 12:23 PM

Runge,

You can try woodbarter.com there are lots of people who are trading and selling all different woods including exotics. Good luck

Sent from my DROID X2 using Woodworking Talk

Check out my website treecyclehardwoods.com for your next lumber purchase.

Runge · 02-06-2012, 10:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Logger

I was told you cant bring un carved wood back, they consider it plant matter and cant be brought out of the country. We go in a couple months and if I remember I will look in the yellow pages when there and see what kind of lumber suppliers are listed, maybe they could help you. logger

Hi Logger,

I have enclosed locations for Sloanea jamaicensis in Google Earth. The locations are based on information contained in two articles by Kelly:

http://scholar.google.com/scholar?as...s_sdts=5&hl=en

Here's a picture of the wood from the closest cousin to S. jamaicensis:

http://www.ibama.gov.br/lpf/madeira/...cteristica=244

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bwood

You might want to try Woodshop 102 in Key Largo, FL . I got some there onetime I believe.

Thanks, Bwood. I have tried Rex once before on this matter but I could try again.

Quote:

Originally Posted by greg4269ub

Runge,

You can try woodbarter.com there are lots of people who are trading and selling all different woods including exotics. Good luck

Sent from my DROID X2 using Woodworking Talk

Check out my website treecyclehardwoods.com for your next lumber purchase.

Wow! I've never heard of www.woodbarter.com. Thanks.

SawdustDave · 02-07-2012, 12:33 AM

We have an ironwood here in Arizona that's far harder than ipe. You can buy carvings of it in the Mexican border towns. I brought home a donkey carved from it and out of curiosity, filled the kitchen sink and dropped it in. It sank like a stone. It's almost black and the annular rings are almost impossible to see. I read that the trees can live a thousand years. I'll look around tomorrow and see if I have any in my shop. I've tried carving it but the only way I could cut it was with the table saw or a Dremel. Warning: When you carve it, it smells like Satan's socks.

I just Googled Arizona desert ironwood. There's plenty there about it. They say it's one of the hardest woods in the world.