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Timber Species used in Wood Carvings
Akcent Giftware reviews the more important timbers species used by professional carvers in making
hand carved wooden ornaments and works of art. We point out that the
majority of our hand carved timber products are quite small items. Our wooden figurines and carved animals are carved from fast growing plantation timber and timber off-cuts that would otherwise be
discarded. Additionally painted timber carvings use up off-cuts
other than traditional carving timber, as they don't need to show
the beautiful grain colours. Most timbers used are also introduced
species in the areas recovered. The wood carvings industry is not the reason for
wholesale felling of unique and rare timber species, but rather a cottage craft industry that sustains many families with the use of plentiful local resources and avoids wastage. Buying our Timber products greatly assists the Tsunami ravaged Indonesian econony.
ALBESIA (Botanical Name: Albizzia Falcata)
Native to the Molucca Islands and introduced throughout the
tropics as a plantation timber species. The Heartwood is light Brown with
a slightly pinkish or yellowish tinge. A course grain softwood
commonly used to make painted wood carvings.
AMERICAN BASSWOOD (Botanical Name: Tilia Americana)
It grows most commonly in the eastern, central part of North
America, particularly around the great lakes. With little grain
and mostly pure white in colour, but it's wonderful carving
characteristics put it ahead of the class as a carving wood for
use in intricate projects. Heart stock can show brown streaks
and/or thin black seam lines, both of which paint over easily if
used in paint grade projects.
BALSA TREE (Botanical Name: Ochroma Pyramidale)
Native to tropical America, Balsa is a very light and spongy wood,
white or yellowish, often tinged reddish in colour. Also called
corkwood, it has exceptional strength to weight characteristics
ASH (Botanical Name: Fraxinus Excelsior)
Wind-pollinated tree, distributed throughout Europe and Asia
Minor, and it's the only species of ash in Sweden. Ash's wood is
heavy strong, stiff and hard and takes a high polish; it shrinks
only moderately in seasoning and bends well when seasoned.
CEMPAKA (Michelia Champaca).
This tree is a native of India however it can be found throughout
South-east Asia. Cempaka wood is very durable and of medium
hardness. The wood colour varies from tan to white and is slightly
striped. Cempaka is a member of the magnolia family. It's white to
yellow fragrant flowers are valued and it's oil is a prized
essential oil used to make expensive perfumes. A bitter alkaloid
in its tissues makes the wood naturally insect resistant.
CHINABERRY PARASITE WOOD
These unique mushroom-like structures are the result of a
parasitic mistletoe plant that grows on trees like the Chinaberry
tree. The parasite vine often destroys the branches or the whole
tree if not removed. The host plant tends to produce a mass of
woody tissue surrounding the infection. Tropical mistletoes leave
perfect attachment imprints on the host stem long after they have
rotted away and fallen off. These club-shaped malformations of the
host wood, intricately sculptured by the impressions of the
mistletoe with dark edges, are called "wood roses". Wood
roses on parasitic branches are cut from the tree, dried and
carved into all sorts of beautiful figures or used as display
blocks for other artworks.
CHINABERRY WOOD (Botanical Name: Melia Azedarach)
Chinaberry trees also known as the "pride of India" and
"Jempanis" are native to East Asia. The Chinaberry is a
deciduous tree with small lilac-colored flowers and a yellowish
fruit. Fruits and tea from leaves are toxic if large quantities
are eaten. The Chinaberry is a coarsely textured, medium density
hardwood, this wood is generally used for painted or partially
painted statues. However, when properly finished, this wood can be
quite smooth and pleasant to look at with its visible grain and
irregularities of pattern. The bare wood is tan to yellow in
color. This wood tends to be fairly heavy and sometimes
difficult to work with so carvings are usually small, (up to 30
centimeters) long.
EBONY (Botanical Name: Diospyros celebica)
Ebony wood is a very dense timber species (actually heavier than water), and
it can be highly polished. It has in the past been imported from
Sulawesi and Kalimantan (Borneo). Ebony is usually black with
reddish to brown stripes running parallel to the grain. However
young trees have a much lighter colour and sometimes the sapwood
is actually white. It is always carved when wet since it becomes
very hard after it dries out. It's hardness and straight grain
make it ideal for the carver. Usually, the finishing is done with
a black wax to make the wood look darker, but the natural colour
is also very beautiful.
Ebony wood has been highly prized and is becoming rare, so is
highly expensive or unavailable due to well warranted protection
measures. The few pieces we hold are remnants of another traders
old stock and will probably not be able to be re-stocked.
INDIAN ROSEWOOD (Botanical Name: Dalbergia Latifolia)
A premium-quality timber species used to manufacture furniture, panelling, and other ornamental products. Medicines and an appetizer are made from tannins in the bark. The tree is commonly called sitsal, beete, shisham or Bombay Blackwood in India, and sono keling or sono brits in Indonesia. The natural range of Dalbergia latifolia stretches from the sub-Himalayan tract to the southern tip of India and some islands of Indonesia. It has been introduced to many other countries. The sapwood of is pale yellowish-white often with a tinge of purple. Heartwood varies in color from light golden brown to shades of light purple with dark streaks, or deep purple with distant black lines. The heartwood darkens with age and weighs about 850 kg per cubic meter. The wood is very hard with no distinct annual rings. It is difficult to work because of its high density. The wood is fragrant and commands a high price. It is used to make premium-grade furniture, panelling, veneers, and interior and exterior joinery. Secondary uses of the wood include; knife handles, musical instrument calico-printing blocks, mathematical instruments, agricultural implements, and boats keels and screws. Dalbergia latifolia is a popular agro forestry species in Indonesia. Farmers use the nitrogen- rich foliage as a green manure and fodder.
JACKFRUIT (Botanical Name: Artocarpus Heterophylla).
The Jackfruit is native to India where it is considered
endangered, but more abundant throughout other areas of Asia.
Closely related to the Breadfruit, it is also called, "Pala","Pohon
Nnangka" and "Ketewel". The Jackfruit is a hard,
strong, durable timber species used for carving, musical instruments and
carpentry. It's grain is deeply interlocked and resists cracking.
Lemon yellow in color, it darkens to a light brown with age. It is
grown as a shade tree and for its fruit, which is both sweet and
spicy
MAHOGANY (Botanical Name: Swietenia Mahagoni)
Mahogany is the rare and very expensive timber species that has
been used for carving and to construct fine furniture for
hundreds of years. Mahogany is a tropical hardwood with a
beautiful deep reddish brown marking with elegant brown-yellowish
grained waves which form a swirling pattern. The wood is
relatively hard but remains easy to carve. Mahogany is Native to
South America where it was first observed in 1595. When properly
finished and polished to a rich sheen, mahogany has a deep rich
red color. It was first used extensively for furniture making in
the reign of George I of England and became very sought after from
that time onwards.
RAIN TREE (Botanical Name: Samanea Saman)
The rain tree is a native of South America, also known as Monkey
Pod, and Suar, but has been dispersed throughout the tropical
Pacific for at least 100 years. This fast-growing and easily
replaceable brown hard wood has a criss-crossed interlocking grain
and rather coarse texture which keeps the wood from cracking when
moved to drier climates. It also makes it easy to carve and finish
with a high gloss. Hence it is the favored wood of importers
outside of the tropics. The colour of the wood varies greatly
between the center and outer edges of the tree, so interesting
multi-coloured sculptures are crafted. Since the trunk is large in
mature trees, the wood is quite suitable for creating bigger
sculptures. The rain tree is often mistakenly called
Mahogany, as the type, structure and colour resembles that of
Mahogany. Balinese carvers for example have historically
referred to the Rain Tree as Mahogany.
SATIN WOOD (Botanical Name: Zanthoxylum Rhetsa)
Satin wood, is native to the region from lowlands of India all the
way to the Philippines. Satin wood, is also called Crocodile wood,
because of the tree's knobby, tooth-shaped protrusions covering
the trunk. This wood is straight grained and of medium hardness,
so is easy to carve. It is often called the Ivory of Woods because
of its satin smooth finish and light yellowish white colour,
sometimes accentuated with white shoe polish. Older trees are
darker and the heart of the tree is sometimes purple. Compounds of
the essential oil of seeds of this spice plant have recently been
found to have naturally occurring compounds against major pests.
SEA HIBISCUS (Botanical Name: Hibiscus Tiliaceus)
Hibiscus Tiliaceus L. belongs to the family Malváceae. The
species is found on islands and coasts all over the Tropical
Pacific. It is known also as Grey Hibiscus, Cottonwood, Rose
Mallow, Purau and Waru. The sapwood is white to light gray and is
sometimes mistaken for Satin Wood. The heartwood is dark gray and
often nearly black. When the wood is appropriately cut, the
resulting artwork will have interesting and distinctive two-tone
carvings. As this coloured wood ages, the gray turns slightly
greenish, a quite beautiful appearance. The Sea Hibiscus can be
well-sanded and will polish well. Some of the trees have knobby
lower trunks which, when emphasized in the finished product,
create an unusual unique carving.
TEAK (Botanical Name: Tectona Grandis).
Well known as a wood very suitable for carving, furniture making
and boat building, teak wood is very durable and resistant to
decay and insects. It is of medium density, but its hardness
varies and is easy to carve. Teak is native to India, Burma and
Thailand
YEW (Botanical Name: Taxus
Brevifolia)
Yew has combination of hardness and oiliness that makes it
extremely easy timber species to carve. The grain is especially fine, so it has
an exquisite surface when carved and polished. The wood is red in
the center getting paler on the outer layers. Yew changes color
over time developing a mellow sheen. Before Christianity was
introduced it was a sacred tree favoured by the Druids, who built
their temples near these trees - a custom followed by the early
Christians. The wood was formerly much valued in archery for the
making of long bows. The oldest known wooden implement is a spear
made of yew wood, about 50,000 years old. The tree is poisonous,
valued for a variety of medicinal purposes.
Support Tsunami Victims
Support tsunami victims in Indonesian wood carvings craftsmen, a tsunami affected economy where timber carving is a large cottage craft industry that sustains a great many families. Buying our carved Timber products assists the tsunami ravaged Indonesian econony and it peoples.
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