Identify wood, please

[John Torchick]

My grandson picked out this wood for a pen kit for his father. Attached are photos that hopefully will be of help. I met a fellow yesterday that does custom woodworking. He identified it as Arbor vitae. The wood is greenish in dolor with a streak of orange. It was like drilling concrete! We worked for over an hour and only got half way through the blank.

 

[RichColvin]

Looks a bit like Lignum Vitae.

 

[John Torchick]

Lignum, not Arbor. duh. Thanks, sorry for the mistake in the name. That stuff is like iron. I'm going to see if my grandson will pick something like walnut, bradford pear, osage orange, pecan to name a few. I need to get some long, sharp bits from Woodcraft next week.

 

[Leo Van Der Loo]

I don’t know John, looks like Ipe to me ???

 

[Mike Johnson]

As hard as you say it was turning Ipe may be a good guess, I have turned a few pieces that were really hard.

 

[Bill Boehme]

It's hard to say about ipe because a number of South and Central American species are being called by that name since it became popular for decks and other outdoor uses. I have some ipe 2X4 cut offs that are a rich chocolates brown with very straight and tight grain. It is very heavy and hard. However, I did discover that it Isn't very good as a hammer or mallet because it tends to splinter if subjected to heavy use.

Real lignin vitae is the heaviest of all woods and hard. It primarily comes from Haiti. The colors ranges from bright yellow to dark brown. It's very hard, but also subject to splitting as it dries. There's also Argentinan lignum vitae which really isn't lignin vitae, but it is heavy and hard. It also has a pronounced ugly green color and a pungent odor.

My vote is Dunno wood.

 

[John Torchick]

I haven't turned it yet as I'm still trying to figure out how to finish drilling the pen blank! Arrrggghhh. I might bite the bullet and go to Lowe's or Ace Hardware and buy a new 3/8 bit or wait until next week and stop in the Woodcraft store. Recommendations for drill bits are welcome. Thanks for looking and for replying. Reluctant to go into WC as it costs $$$ every time I go there. I think it was cheaper in my younger years of chasing girls and tipping a few adult beverages. BTW, I see Leo is still participating in one of the two activities. 😉

 

[Bill Boehme]

I recommend Colt and Fisch twist drills. I prefer Colt, but I think that Woodcraft switched to only Fisch because they cost less.