Source(s) for rosewood veneer?

Doug Miller wrote:
> I have a project in mind that's going to require about 10 square feet
> of rosewood veneer, and I'm having something of a hard time finding
> sources.
>
> Specifically, I'm having trouble finding sources of veneer that's
> about 30 inches long. Woodcraft, Highland, and several other vendors
> sell East Indian rosewood in 3-sf packages, all trimmed to 12"
> lengths -- won't do. I need to be able to veneer pieces between 2 and
> 4 inches wide, by about 28" long, in one strip. Pretty much all I've
> been able to locate so far is either:
> - rosewood in the aforementioned 12"-long pieces, or
> - rosewood in FAR longer and wider strips (e.g. 9" x 6 feet), or
> - rosewood 4x8 sheets, or
> - not really rosewood -- one vendor is even advertising "Italian
> Rosewood", whatever that is.
>
> Any suggestions would be gratefully appreciated. I'm leaning toward
> using something that just
> looks like rosewood, but I'd rather have something that really *is* a
> rosewood. East Indian
> rosewood is my first choice.
>
> Yes, I know that Brazilian rosewood, Dalbergia nigra, is
> CITES-listed. I'm not looking for that.
>
> Why is it so important to have real rosewood? I'm making a wedding
> present. My wife and I know
> both sets of parents, and our kids know both the bride and the groom.
> The groom graduated from Indiana State University (the Sycamores),
> and the bride is a graduate of the Rose-Hulman Institute of
> Technology -- so I figured I'd make them something out of -- what
> else? -- sycamore and
> rosewood. That's why it's important to find veneer that really *is*
> rosewood, not just something that got the "rosewood" name stuck on it
> for marketing purposes. Like "Italian Rosewood".

Careful. If you persist in your quest, you WILL have everything confiscated
by the United States Justice Department.

See:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/therecord/2011/08/31/140090116/why-gibson-guitar-was-raided-by-the-justice-department

Martin Eastburn <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

> Rosewood is a colored wood. It isn't a species.

Actually, it *is* a genus, although it's not a species: all true rosewoods are genus Dalbergia.
>
> Many if not all have a high content of silicon and might make
> cutting very expensive since the slicing blade would be cut to
> shreads.
>
> I get 21 results for a search for the species data containing
> "Rosewood"
>
> Cocobolo is rosewood - Dalbergia retusa
>
> Padauk - Peterocarpus indicus - NarraAndaman padauk

Padauk is not, however.

"dadiOH" <[email protected]> wrote in news:[email protected]:

> Doug Miller wrote:
>> I have a project in mind that's going to require about 10 square feet
>> of rosewood veneer, and I'm having something of a hard time finding
>> sources.
>
> There are umpteen types of rosewood. Step #1, figure out which you
> want.

Unfortunately, part of "Step #1" is finding a source at a price I can afford. I discovered very quickly
that Woodcraft sells East Indian rosewood veneer -- which is just what I was looking for -- in 4x8
sheets for about $325. Ouch.

> Step #2, check Constantines and search for "rosewood"

Ahh. Thank you. I did not know of Constantines, and somehow none of my Google searches ever
turned them up. That looks promising.
>
> http://www.constantines.com/116thickveneers.aspx
>
> Also...
> http://www.veneersupplies.com/categories/Veneer__Products/Wood__Veneer/

Been there already; most of what they have is larger than I wanted. I'd rather have a dozen
consecutive 32" pieces than four consecutive 96" pieces, for example -- more consistency in the
grain patterns.

> http://www.wood-veneers.com/veneer_extra.html

Didn't know about them either.

Many thanks -- I'll have a look at them, and Constantines. If you're going to be in Indianapolis any
time soon, look me up. I'll have a cold homebrew with your name on it...

Doug Miller <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

> Martin Eastburn <[email protected]> wrote in
> news:[email protected]:
>
>> Rosewood is a colored wood. It isn't a species.
>
> Actually, it *is* a genus, although it's not a species: all true
> rosewoods are genus Dalbergia.

Didn't mean to send this quite as quickly as I did....

"Rosewood" does not refer to the color of the wood at all, but rather to the floral *scent* of the wood;
in D. nigra, this scent is reputed to persist for decades. The name has been applied to woods of
other genera, and other families, which resemble true rosewoods in *appearance* (for example,
pau ferro, a.k.a. "santos rosewood") but lack the distinctive scent.
>>
>> Many if not all have a high content of silicon and might make
>> cutting very expensive since the slicing blade would be cut to
>> shreads.
>>
>> I get 21 results for a search for the species data containing
>> "Rosewood"
>>
>> Cocobolo is rosewood - Dalbergia retusa
>>
>> Padauk - Peterocarpus indicus - NarraAndaman padauk
>
> Padauk is not, however.
>

Andrew Barss <[email protected]> wrote in news:jie0k7$6en$1
@onion.ccit.arizona.edu:

> Doug Miller <[email protected]> wrote:
>> consecutive 32" pieces than four consecutive 96" pieces, for example -- more
consistency in the
>> grain patterns.
>
> Doug --
>
> Don't know why I didn't think of this before, but try Ebay. I just
> searched and turned up a lot:
> http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313&_nkw=rosewood$
>
> I've bought veneer from various people on Ebay and been quite satisfied.
> In some cases it seems like what was left over after a commercial project,
> so it's often short (which is good for those of us not veneer 1' panels
> in a boardroom) and I've gotten nice, sequenced, trimmed pieces for a
> lot less than the retail price.
>
> If tht doesn't rurn something up, you might call (or email) the people
> at B&B (http://www.wood-veneers.com) and at Veneer Supply (forget the
> URL). These are smaller companies that cater to people like us, and the
> service I've gotten has been excellent.
>
> Finally, you might post on the forum at Vacupress
> (http://www.vacupress.com). This is a company and website run by Darryl
> Keil, who is a really astonishing woodworking who does veneer work. In
> addition to being an excellent source for info on veneering, the forum is
> full of people who might be able to point you to (or sell you) a small
> amount of nice rosewood. (The vacupress site is in two parts: the forum,
> and the main site, which has veneering supplies, equipment, tutorials,
> and whatnot).
>
> What sort of sycamore are you using? There's American, and English. The
> latter is a maple which comes in a really tight fiddleback figure.

Thanks for the suggestions, Andy. I had already checked eBay without finding anything in
the sizes I was looking for, but it can't do any harm to check again, too. And I'll definitely
have a look at vacupress.com -- that's something I want to learn a lot more about.

I'm using American sycamore.

Rosewood is a colored wood. It isn't a species.

Many if not all have a high content of silicon and might make
cutting very expensive since the slicing blade would be cut to shreads.

I get 21 results for a search for the species data containing "Rosewood"

Cocobolo is rosewood - Dalbergia retusa

Padauk - Peterocarpus indicus - NarraAndaman padauk

General name :

Dalbergia xxxxx
where xxxx is :
baronii Madagascar rosewood
latifolia Indian rosewood
nigra Brazilian rosewood
oliveri burma pallisander
retusa Cocobolo
sissoc Sissoo
stevensonii - Honduras rosewood

Martin Eastburn (have a pdf of the search....)


On 2/14/2012 9:20 PM, Doug Miller wrote:
> I have a project in mind that's going to require about 10 square feet of rosewood veneer, and I'm
> having something of a hard time finding sources.
>
> Specifically, I'm having trouble finding sources of veneer that's about 30 inches long. Woodcraft,
> Highland, and several other vendors sell East Indian rosewood in 3-sf packages, all trimmed to 12"
> lengths -- won't do. I need to be able to veneer pieces between 2 and 4 inches wide, by about 28"
> long, in one strip. Pretty much all I've been able to locate so far is either:
> - rosewood in the aforementioned 12"-long pieces, or
> - rosewood in FAR longer and wider strips (e.g. 9" x 6 feet), or
> - rosewood 4x8 sheets, or
> - not really rosewood -- one vendor is even advertising "Italian Rosewood", whatever that is.
>
> Any suggestions would be gratefully appreciated. I'm leaning toward using something that just
> looks like rosewood, but I'd rather have something that really *is* a rosewood. East Indian
> rosewood is my first choice.
>
> Yes, I know that Brazilian rosewood, Dalbergia nigra, is CITES-listed. I'm not looking for that.
>
> Why is it so important to have real rosewood? I'm making a wedding present. My wife and I know
> both sets of parents, and our kids know both the bride and the groom. The groom graduated from
> Indiana State University (the Sycamores), and the bride is a graduate of the Rose-Hulman Institute
> of Technology -- so I figured I'd make them something out of -- what else? -- sycamore and
> rosewood. That's why it's important to find veneer that really *is* rosewood, not just something that
> got the "rosewood" name stuck on it for marketing purposes. Like "Italian Rosewood".

"Andrew Barss" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Doug Miller <[email protected]> wrote:
>> consecutive 32" pieces than four consecutive 96" pieces, for example --
>> more consistency in the
>> grain patterns.
>
> Doug --
>
> Don't know why I didn't think of this before, but try Ebay. I just
> searched and turned up a lot:
> http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313&_nkw=rosewood$
>

Not quite what is being sought but maybe of interest:

This listing is for rosewood, flat sawn boards 3/4" x 7" x 6'. Around twelve
b.f. total.

http://hudsonvalley.craigslist.org/mat/2868480944.html

On Feb 15, 10:30=A0am, Doug Miller <[email protected]>
wrote:
> Martin Eastburn <[email protected]> wrote innews:YAG_q.71176$P92=
[email protected]:
>
> > Rosewood is a colored wood. =A0It isn't a species.
>
> Actually, it *is* a genus, although it's not a species: all true rosewood=
s are genus Dalbergia.
>
>
>
> > Many if not all have a high content of silicon and might make
> > cutting very expensive since the slicing blade would be cut to
> > shreads.
>
> > I get 21 results for a search for the species data containing
> > "Rosewood"
>
> > Cocobolo is rosewood - Dalbergia retusa
>
> > Padauk - Peterocarpus indicus - NarraAndaman padauk
>
> Padauk is not, however.

http://www.amwoodinc.com/

Doug Miller wrote:
> I have a project in mind that's going to require about 10 square feet
> of rosewood veneer, and I'm having something of a hard time finding
> sources.

There are umpteen types of rosewood. Step #1, figure out which you want.
Step #2, check Constantines and search for "rosewood"

http://www.constantines.com/116thickveneers.aspx

Also...
http://www.veneersupplies.com/categories/Veneer__Products/Wood__Veneer/
http://www.wood-veneers.com/veneer_extra.html

--

dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

Doug Miller wrote:

> Many thanks -- I'll have a look at them, and Constantines. If you're
> going to be in Indianapolis any time soon, look me up. I'll have a
> cold homebrew with your name on it...

Dang, you are a year late. I went to Marion last summer for my 60th HS
reunion and stopped in Indianapolis for a couple of days to visit a long
term friend. Maybe next time; had a friend at IU that used to make
homebrew...kinda cloudy but tasted fine.

--

dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

These guys have several species of rosewood:

http://www.certainlywood.com/

On 2/14/2012 7:20 PM, Doug Miller wrote:
> I have a project in mind that's going to require about 10 square feet of rosewood veneer, and I'm
> having something of a hard time finding sources.
>

Doug Miller <[email protected]> wrote:
> consecutive 32" pieces than four consecutive 96" pieces, for example -- more consistency in the
> grain patterns.

Doug --

Don't know why I didn't think of this before, but try Ebay. I just
searched and turned up a lot:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313&_nkw=rosewood$

I've bought veneer from various people on Ebay and been quite satisfied.
In some cases it seems like what was left over after a commercial project,
so it's often short (which is good for those of us not veneer 1' panels
in a boardroom) and I've gotten nice, sequenced, trimmed pieces for a
lot less than the retail price.

If tht doesn't rurn something up, you might call (or email) the people
at B&B (http://www.wood-veneers.com) and at Veneer Supply (forget the
URL). These are smaller companies that cater to people like us, and the
service I've gotten has been excellent.

Finally, you might post on the forum at Vacupress
(http://www.vacupress.com). This is a company and website run by Darryl
Keil, who is a really astonishing woodworking who does veneer work. In
addition to being an excellent source for info on veneering, the forum is
full of people who might be able to point you to (or sell you) a small
amount of nice rosewood. (The vacupress site is in two parts: the forum,
and the main site, which has veneering supplies, equipment, tutorials,
and whatnot).

What sort of sycamore are you using? There's American, and English. The
latter is a maple which comes in a really tight fiddleback figure.


-- Andy Barss