Comfort Birds - Exotic Wood

When we were in Ontario this past May we visited a couple of places that sell exotic wood, pieces with interesting colour, grain pattern, etc.  We found some awesome wood at Exotic Woods in Burlington, and at The Wood Shed in Smithville.

Once we got home the fun began carving the birds.

Here are photos of the ones made so far. Click on any of the images for a larger view)

Black Palm (Borassus flabelliefer), from tropical Africa. The fibrous wood makes it difficult to carve so the fibers don't break away, but leaves a pattern that suggests feathers. The natural oils in the wood requires no finishing products to bring up a nice shine.

Buckeye burl (Aesculus ssp.), Eastern United States. Really unique swirling grain with interesting colours. The wood is almost weightless, buffs up to a polished stone finish.

Cocobolo wood (Dalbergia retusa), a rosewood from Central America.  A very dense wood with gorgeous colour and grain.  Also has natural oil that produces a great finish when polished.

Elm (Ulmus americanus) salvaged from trees cut down in Winnipeg this spring due to Dutch elm disease.  Only the interior clean wood was taken in 2 X2 inch stock.

Orange agate wood (Platymiscium ssp.) from Central and South America.  A dense, straight-grained wood with a nice colour and finish.

Purple Heart (Peltogyne ssp.) from Central, South America (Mexico to Brazil).  Another dense, straight-grained wood, quite difficult to carve, but finishes up beautifully.  Just a light application of paste wax and buffing did the job.

Vera Wood (Bulnesia arborea) from Central and Northern South America.  When purchased the stock had a nice bright green appearance.  When worked it came up a light brown, and when finished (buffed only) and exposed to UV light, it darkened to a deep green.  The wood is highly fragrant, even after being worked.

Walnut burl (Juglans ssp.).  As with most burls, the wood is dense, but very light.  The grain swirls in very interesting patterns. A light application of finishing oil brings up a nice shine.

Wenge wood (Milletia laurenti) from Africa (native to Cameroon, Congo, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zaire) is very black and almost as dense and heavy as ebony, but still reveals a nice straight grain pattern.

Zebra wood (Microberlinia brazzavillensis), as its name suggests has dramatic grain with great contrast between the black and ivory colours. There are enough natural oils in the wood to bring up a nice shine with buffing after sanding and polishing with synthetic steel wool.