And now the answers
The correct answers for the Wood ID contest are:
1 - Mopane
2 - Jatoba
3 - Lotebush
4 - Bloodwood
5 - Bradford Pear
6 - Swiss Pear
7 - Wood Apple
8 - Brasil
9 - Texas Ebony
10 - Chinese Tallow
I enjoy collecting and working with rare and unusual woods, so I thought I would include a few in this contest.
Mopane & Jatoba are fairly easy to find from commercial sources, but I don't often see anything made from them. Most examples that I have seen are fairly plain and unspectacular like those shown here.
Lotebush is a relatively small, brushy shrub that is native to Texas. It's difficult to get many good blanks from one, but it has coloration similar to that of Eastern Red Cedar, so I thought it would be fun for this contest.
The Bloodwood blank threw many of you off because it is a good bit darker than most Bloodwood, so it looks very similar to Redheart. I ordered this particular blank from Griffin Exotic Woods and they indicate that dark bloodwood like this is very difficult to get.
Bradford Pear & Swiss Pear are fairly recognizable and most of you did get these right - or at least got close.
I don't remember where I got my Wood Apple blanks, but I haven't seen any since and they do look very similar to Yellowheart or Alaskan Yellow Cedar. I think I listed the scientific name of one of the close cousins of this particular blank by mistake, but I doubt if that made any difference in this contest.
Brasil is also known as Texas Ironwood. It's extremely dense and hard. It's another fairly small, brushy shrub and difficult to get much useful wood from the limbs or trunks. This particular example is from some roots that my brother dug up when he was clearing brush on his place. It's easy to mistake for mesquite if you're just looking at it, but there's no mistaking it if you can actually handle it.
Texas Ebony and Mun Ebony (generally from SE Asia) can look very similar. The Texas Ebony that I have is heavier and seems harder than Mun Ebony, but I don't have a lot of either to make definitive comparisons.
Chinese Tallow is generally a nuisance shrub/small tree in Texas, particularly in the gulf coast area. It is a very fast growing tree and for that reason is sometimes planted on purposed. It's wood is fairly light colored, but it can sometimes resemble the sapwood of pecan or hickory. I chose this particular blank for this contest for that very reason. It is much lighter and softer than pecan or hickory though.
So, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Thanks for playing & I hope you enjoyed the contest.
Edgar