Wood identification

[The Bowler Hatted Turner]

This will be a difficult one as I don't have a sample to show. Years ago when I was apprenticed one of the men made a fishing rod by hand. I remember that he told me the timber was greenheart but looking at pictures of greenheart I don't think it was, nothing like it.
The timber looked like african blackwood but it had many very bright green flecks in it. I can also remember that he thought the finished rod, which was a thing of beauty, was not suitable for fishing so he kept it on display on a wall  So I assume there may not have been enough whip in it (for fly fishing)not sure if that is any use as a clue but that is all I have to go on except to say that when the wood was delivered  it came in a thick cardboard tube and the pieces were about 5' or so long and each piece was about 3/4"ish square.Not a lot to go on but it was 40 odd years ago, I just fancy getting hold of a bit and seeing how it turns that's all.
Funny the things you remember as you get older, can't tell you what I had for breakfast though!

[seventhdevil]

greenheart has one of the most varied colour spectrums of any wood i know. this web page has only a small selection. http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/greenheart.htm

i've seen pictures and held samples which really don't look like they are the same wood.

pale straw to olive greens and browns, richer hues of brown with a golden tint and even hints of red, darker greens that flash the golden colour again then slight purples going all the way down to a charcoal black...

it varies alot down to the genetics of the tree its growing conditions and what minerals are in the soil.

it was most likely a greenheart rod john...

[The Bowler Hatted Turner]

Steve this stuff was black all over with green dots almost, very vivid green dots about 1mm wide and upto 4mm long (as I remember). I think he said it came from a deck piling in a harbour.

[seventhdevil]

piles are what greenheart has been used for for decades.

the time in the water will have been what has blackened the wood and there are areas in the timber that are not affected in the same way so have shown up green rather than black. the green you are seeing is most likely the parenchyma around the pores (you did say that they look like dots) that have not been affected the same as the background timber.

[The Bowler Hatted Turner]

Thanks for that, the chances of getting any like that are fairly slim but I will keep my eyes open.

[seventhdevil]

if you just want some greenheart to turn then i can help you there john...

if you are after that lovely black/green colour then my suggestion would be pau santo (zollerina braziliensis) but that is not imported these days.

here is what it looks like though.

http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/pau%20santo.htm

http://www.wood-database.com/pau-santo/

i'd love to get more of that stuff but that bowl is the only bit i've ever seen or been able to turn.

it's like rock...

[The Bowler Hatted Turner]

Thanks for the offer Steve but neither of those gives the effect I was after. I will continue to look though.

[seventhdevil]

what effect are you after then, i may be able to suggest a timber or tell you if one even exists.