Trade Names
Rosewood, East Indian Rosewood
Similar woods
Cocobolo, Rio Rosewood, Honduras Rosewood, Santos Rosewood
Origin
Asia
Range
Southern Asia, East India, Sri Lanka, in lower and damp tropical rain forests, good veneer logs are rare.
Uses
High quality architectural woodwork or furniture.
Properties
The heartwood is tobacco-colored, gold-brown to purple-brown with dark brown to purple-brown lines. The dark streaks demarcate the growth zones and give the wood its typical attractive pattern, especially apparent when flat cut.
Machining
Generally good and easy working with all tools. Calcareous and gum deposits can negatively influence the service life of tools. Very smooth surfaces can be produced by planing.
Seasoning
There is a risk of end checking with the necessary relatively fast drying. There is no great tendency to warp but logs with calcareous deposits are more prone to checking.
Finishing
Rosewood is most excellently suited for polishing. It must be noted that the colored deposits in the pores dissolve when solvents containing alcohol are used and, as a result, this can lead to stains.
Jointing
Glue, screw and nail joints hold well and are very durable.