I retrieved some pallets that came fro Australia.The address was stamped and also stapled on by the supplier. I noticed that the wood was blood red inside and out. The wood was planed and is absolutely beautiful.I suspect that it is red African mahogany anyone want to straighten me out on this issues and is it ok to incorporate it into a piece of furniture.Will it shrink or exand and cause problems in different climates,Can it be used outside tks Dan
Coulda been red gum. How about some help from Phully and bunch? Dave in Fairfax
Dan -
I'm goin gto let you slide on the membership fee 'til after the first.... Big of me, eh? Anyway, it could be bloodwood. I don't know how much of it you have, but before you decide to use it for furniture, you might want to check its' moisture content. If it is too high (in the teens) it could give trouble. Others will also invariably have their opinion, but it *is* something you should be aware of.
furniture.Will
Is there any way you can post a pic in apbw?
African Mahogany isn't red, at least none that I have ever seen. More like a light pinkish brown, usually. Sometimes it's a bit darker, maybe a reddish brown, but not blood red.
Blood-red pallet stock, eh? There's no way anyone would relegate bloodwood or padauk to pallets, is there? Just musing; I really don't think it would be one of those two. A pic would help.
If you can get all the metal out of it, go for it! Who cares what kind of wood it is, if it looks good!
If it's wood, it will shrink and expand with moisture changes. Some species are worse than others. Just make sure it's dry enough, use good joinery and construction techniques, and hope for the best. More often than not, it'll come out fine. Either way, you'll learn something in the process. With time, you'll be able to better deal with the "difficult" woods, but the only real way to learn it is to do it, IMHO.
That's a harder question, and better answered if the species can be determined.
Cheers!
Jim
Dave in Fairfax suggested...
Oh, didn't think of that! If so (Australian red gum, not American), then it would be suitable for outdoors.
Jim
Anything that would look good in a deep red wood.
I've used pallet wood with good success. I usually store it for six months to a year or so and have not had shrinkage problems after that. I've brought home a couple of good looking pieces and found they were not as good looking a few months later though. Sort of a crap shoot as pallet wood is often the cheaper poorer grades. It is not dried as well as the furniture grades and is prone to split more when it does dry. A board my be 4" x 48", but you may only get 3" x 16" of good quality from it.
I like to make smaller pieces so that is not a big problem for me. 50% waste from free wood is still a good deal. Be sure to clean the wood before putting through the planer and keep a set of blades just for those first couple of passes. DAMHIKT. Ed snipped-for-privacy@snet.net
How about the grain? Is it coarse (as it would be for Australian red gum) or fine (if bloodwood). If the pallets came from Australia, that's another vote for the former. It's used down under for fence posts and such.
Jim
Ok, but put it in abpw; that is, alt.binaries.pictures.woodworking instead of what I said before. (G)
Jim
If it's heavey as hell and just about as hard that's be my guess. First time I saw it and hefted a piece I thought it was rosewood.
charlie b
Terrible stuff...full of toxic resins. Send it to me and I'll dispose of it for you, in the spirit of Christmas. Wilson
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