Distinguishing indistiguishable woods

[fazool]

The recent articl on Martin using sipo led me to The Wood Database and two article I found interesting.

This article details the various claims of mahogany and the diagram is particularly informative

Thumbnail here (click the pic in the original article to see a full size diagram)


This article tells how to distinguish real BRW at home using a simple fluorescence test

Another Useful Trick
Apart from the very characteristic odor, (which should roughly separate it from most non-Dalbergia species), Brazilian Rosewood has another characteristic that can be leveraged in order to help distinguish it from other rosewoods: its heartwood extractives are not water soluble, and will not fluoresce under a blacklight.

Before you get scared off from performing this test, be aware that with a simple blacklight bulb available in any hardware store for only a few dollars, and a few minutes of your time, you can perform both water extract fluorescence and ethanol extract fluorescence tests at home!

For suspected samples of Brazilian Rosewood, take a small test tube or other small transparent container and fill it with some shavings, (a handplane works great for this), and then fill the remainder of the container with water and shake it up for a few seconds. Bring the container under the blacklight and observe the results: true Brazilian Rosewood (Dalbergia nigra) will not fluoresce or show any appreciable change of color under the blacklight, while most other rosewoods will glow a pale blue/green color.

[rogthefrog]

Thanks for sharing, that was a good read.

[Mbroady]

Loads of great info. Thanks

[Sam VanLaningham]

Loved this article too! Thx fazool.

Sam