What is this wood?

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SDB777

SDB777

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Joined
Feb 6, 2010
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Cabot, Arkansas USA
Hal sent me some photo's of some wood he came across. But doesn't know what it is...and niether do I!?!?!

Location: P. Rico

Here's the photo's:

tn.jpg


tn1.jpg


tn2.jpg



Not sure if it's a vine, tree or what? He said it 'oozes' sap, sort of like what the ooze looks like in those Alien movies!!


Anyone have any idea?
Anyone want some?



Scott (it's still green now) B
 
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Nope, not a vine. :confused: I have a slice that I am going to try to wash, several times. Might even try to heat the water some, to see if I can get the slime out.

If you look closely, those black specks throughout the interior area, are like little "catches". If you rub your finger over them, they will try to "Catch" your finger skin.

I can just imagine some hollow form Christmas tree ornaments or something similar, being turned from this stuff. My imagination is not very good :rolleyes:

More info as I try to dry it, successfully.
 
ThomJ said:
maybe from the "silk-cotton" tree
Click to expand...


My search showed this as a tree that lives in Asia and Australia....not to sure about it being in P. Rico?



Anyone ever seen this before? Or did Hal just cure cancer or something with a new discovery!?!?!?!?




Scott (someone had too) B
 
How big do they get? I'd be interested in some of it for a hollow form or for lidded boxes if it's turnable and of sufficient size. I assume that the mucus leaking out of it is safe for human contact? If your friend lives to tell the story, I'm in for some of it!

If it's silk cotton, they get to be huge! I couldn't find any pictures of cut trees on the web, but they were used for making canoes at some point. If somebody can make a canoe out of it, I certainly think I could turn something from it. Besides, it can't be any worse than palm for turning.
 
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silk-cotton is one of the trees I'm looking for 1 blank from, since I'm doing a series of pens of the offical state & US possessions trees
 
The tree is about 3½" dia. The stuff is HEAVY. Might be from the mass of liquid in the wood ?? I don't believe what I have is Cotton-Silk, only because this is a group of trunks, coming out of 1 stump, growing right on the creek bank.

The spines on the outside would be a deterrent for canoe building, I would think ?? If y'all look close, you can see the spines, especially on the piece that I cut at 90° to the saw blade, like a Coaster for glasses or cups.

1 other thing, I live in COSTA RICA, not in PUERTO RICO. :rolleyes::rolleyes::confused::smile::smile:

Ok. Looked up that Silk-Cotton tree. It is Ceiba, and, it is planted down here, and cut for form lumber.

This tree has a fern like looking branch. Dark Green and shiny tiny long leaves.
 
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I don't know what the leaves are supposed to look like, but the spines on the trunk are listed as a characteristic of the silk cotton. Whatever it is, it's interesting looking stuff.
 
LOTS of different types of trees down here have spines on them. The Ceiba has spines that are very prominent. This stuff I have, you can't really see the spines, unless you look for them.

No telling how many times I touched this tree, trying to balance on rocks in the creek. Every time, got stuck with spines. :rolleyes::rolleyes:

I will play around with trying to get the slime out of the wood, and then, dry it and see how much shrinkage there is.
 
You might check out wikipedia for 'trees of costa rica'... There are several entries that lack pictures, but quite a few have pictures of the leaves and descriptions. I can't find pictures of cut trees anywhere to try and cross reference.
 
I have a couple books of CR trees. I just have to find someone that MIGHT know what this is. Down here, everyone is an expert, even though most don't have a clue. :rolleyes::rolleyes:

This is more of a BUSH than a lumber type tree. When I get time, I will do some walking around, and see if I can find a larger tree. Might take the camera, but, it's pretty wet and slick around the creek, and I don't want the camera to get damaged.
 
Do you have big ferns in C.R.? Some ferns get huge and have wood like bases. Looking at the small pictures it is kind of hard to tell but I'm seeing fern or some kind of palm.
 
Went down to the creek, late yesterday, with the camera. Got there and all hell broke loose from thunderstorm that was just over the mtn. Kept the camera dry and looked around for the source of that wood. Found 1 more tree, besides the original. It does look like some sort of fern. Has this fuzzy, thorny outer layer, goes about 8-10' tall, then branches out with several fern-like branches.

Even went over the fence on the neighbors side, and looked around. No more found. This area is about 150 yards long, jungle habitat. Both ends are cleared for pasture, so, looks like, if anyone is interested, there well be a very limited amount available.

First, I want to be sure it will be workable, before I offer it up for sale.

Anyone interested, post here, or, give me a PM, so I can supply first come first serve.
 
The only thing I remember when I was in Costa Rica was the size of the msiquitoes, they were like hummingbirds. I would like to see that wood up close, it looks pretty cool.
 
This post is really buried, so, maybe this update will go unnoticed ??

The wood is drying and opening up. That Jello looking center, is shrinking and leaving lots of space in the center.

The black-wormy looking designs are hard wood. A sharp chisel will peel off curls, just like any normal wood.

I have had a couple suggestions on how to maybe treat the pieces. I am mailing out a package to a couple places and will put a piece in each package, so others can play with it , if they choose.
 
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