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| For production of billiard
cues we use rare wood types - ebony, rosewood, amaranth,
wenge, massaranduba, bokote, maple, cocobolo, satin,
hornbeam. Here are brief characteristics of some of
them. |
EBONY (black wood)-- |
Botanic
name - Diospyros Decalh.
Grows in Cameroon, Zanzibar,
tropical Africa, India, Mumbai, Ceylon, Siam.
Ebony is the class name for the plants of Ebenaceae
family. They are trees and bushes, mostly with alternating,
rarely opposite leaf aestivation and axilliary inflorescences,
sometimes brought down to one flower. Heartwood sparsifolious
wood with narrow white sapwood. Heart of black color,
annual rings invisible. Small vessels, gather into radial
groups by 2-3 together, sometimes filled with heart
substance of black color. The properties are similar
to those of boxwood - very rigid, heavy and dense. Sinks
in water.
Black wood is a trade
name for different wood types of black color. The most
known are Ceylon ebony (Diospyros ebenum), ebony growing
in India, Sri-Lanka, and African ebony (D. crassiflora)
growing in Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Zaire. Moreover,
sometimes in trade green or brows ebony is referred
to Pecoma leucoxylon wood, the plant of Bignoniaceae
family growing in West-India. It's a high tree with
palmate leafs and rose or white flowers joined in sprays.
Density of dry wood is up to 1190 kg/m3.
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WENGE -- |
Botanic
name - Millettia laurenti. German, English and Italian
- Wenge.
Grows in tropical jungles
of Western Africa up to Zaire.
Sapwood (outer young physiologically active layer of
wood adjacent to generating tissue) - almost white,
width about 3 cm. Mature wood - from golden-brown to
very dark-brown with black streaks. The structure is
large, with straight fibers; the wood is good for decorative
needs.
Wenge wood is heavy,
resistant to pressure and bending. There's a lot of
mineral and oily substances in its pores which makes
processing, varnishing in particular, more difficult.
Density: 850 - 950 kg/m3, rigidity - 4,2.
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ROSEWOOD -- |
Botanic
name - Dalbergia latifolia, Dalbergia javanica. German
- Ostindisch Palisander. English - Indian rosewood.
Italian - Palissandro India.
Grows in Eastern India, Indonesia, Thailand, Ceylon,
Java.
It's a huge tree having
up to 25 m in height and 1,5 m in diameter. Sapwood
and mature wood differ a lot. Sapwood is narrow, white-grayish
sometimes with rose tint. Mature wood is very dark (dark-brown)
with lighter longitudinal streaks, may have slightly
violet or lilac tint. On the cut one may see numerous
pores (channels) looking like small black dots or dashes.
Is notable for high rigidity
and durability, but nevertheless is easily workable,
finished and polished. Drying of rosewood is related
to significant difficulties as acceleration of this
process leads to intensive crack formation.
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AMARANTH-- |
Botanic
name - Peltogyne. Wood color violet-crimson or dense
lilac with cream-white to rose-brown sapwood. Darkens
when contacting the air. Very heavy but flexible wood.
The structure is large and expressive. Annual rings
are dark-brown strips and dashes easily noticed on the
radial cut. The wood is rigid, dense.
Amaranth is really difficult
to saw and varnish.
Grows in Brazil (Amazon
region), Panama, Guiana, Surinam and some other places
in South America. The tree has a height up to 25 m with
the trunk thickness up to 0,8 m. In Russia "violet
tree " is known for quite a long time, 150 years
ago it was used in artistic parquets of the Winter Palace
in Saint-Petersburg. At present time amaranth is also
predominantly used in artistic parquet floors.
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МАССАРАНДУБА -- |
Massaranduba
(Maniakara Longifolia) grows in South America. Wood
color is dark-red with light-brown sapwood. Has great
longevity.
Is much more rigid than
oak, has great resistance to parasites and rotting.
Is used for floor covering, building of strong constructions,
frameworks of small ships, steps of stairs.
The wood is easily workable,
gives smooth surface, requires particular accuracy during
gluing. Density: 1050 kg/m3.
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HORNBEAM -- |
Hornbeam - Carpinus
betulus, birch family. Is wide-spread in Europe, Asia
Minor and Iran, also grows in Caucasus, in Carpathian
mountains, in the Crimea, south-western and western
regions of CIS. Hornbeam is also called white beech.
It has rigid, durable and dense wood of white-grayish
color.
The hornbeam texture is not as bright as, for example,
of ash; light dots on smooth matt background. Quite
often this wood has cross-fibered wood, that's why the
hornbeam is difficult to chop. Sapwood does not have
significant distinction transitioning to the heartwood.
To avoid deformations and crack formation requires long
and careful drying.
After drying the hornbeam
is almost insusceptible to casting; it becomes more
rigid than oak. Is difficult to process with the cutting
tools. Hornbeam has various applications in joinery,
though it's not as popular as oak, ash and beech; is
used for mosaics. Hornbeam is well finished and etched.
Density: around 750 kg/m3. Rigidity: around 3,5.
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MAPLE -- |
MAPLE (Acer)
- Maple, Maple family. The most popular types: Norway
maple or acutifoliate (A. platanoides); Field maple
(A. campestre); Sycamore maple or Sycamore (A. pseudoplatanus);
Manchurian maple (A. mandshuricum). Grows in regions
with moderate climate across all Europe, in America,
in the middle belt of European part of Russia, in Caucasus
and Far East and in other regions.
Maple is heart-less wood. Sycamore has glossy, white
wood; other types of maple has reddish or brownish tint.
Annual rings are visible on all cuts. Wood rays are
especially visible on the radial cuts and create distinctive
speckles. Maple has rigid, dense wood with pretty texture;
wood rigidity is a little higher that of oak wood. In
the course of time maple turn slightly yellow.
Maple wood is an exquisite
material for inner decoration works that creates contrast
background for dark furniture.
the most valuable maple type is Sugar Maple - the most
important maple type in North America, grows in Great
Lakes region. It also grows in Eastern Canada, in Caucasus.
As a rule, the tree grows in mixed forest with other
types of foliage trees.
Sugar Maple may reach
40m in height and 120 cm in diameter. The trunk of the
tree that grew in the forest has no knots up till the
crown.
Curly-grain maple is one
of the best materials for violins. The wood is easily
workable with cutting tools, in not resistant to humidity
though warps just a little. Due to tanning agents it
takes necessary color and tone in metal salts. Maple
is easily cut and polished, and thus is applicable for
fine carving.
Maple is inclined to crack formation that's why it requires
careful drying.
Density: 530 - 650 kg/m3.
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