I have a potential job opportunity repairing a chair made from stinkwood . I haven’t been given a lot of details, but it is very rare, very expensive wood that grows in Knysna, South Africa from what I’ve been told. Apparently it is endangered so only very small quantities are cut down. My client has managed to bring back a small quantity that should be just enough wood to fix the chair, and there is no room for error, so I want to find out a bit more about this wood before I take the job. Is it toxic, and does anyone know how difficult it is to work with? Jon Arno, maybe you can help me out here?
Thanks
Andrew
Replies
Andrew, the common name stinkwood is used for a number of unrelated species, but I'm pretty sure the one you're referring to here is Ocotea bullata. It's range extends from the Cape Peninsula northward to Natal. It's a member of the laurel family (Lauraceae) and a close relative of the South American timber, greenheart (Ocotea rodiaei.)
The laurel family is known for its occasionally very potent chemistry (both sassafras and camphorwood also belong to the Lauraceae), so it's a good bet the dust will make it a little irritating to work with. This variety of stinkwood is usually sort of a straw (dirty yellow) color and it's moderately dense...about like our domestic hickories. It also has a rather poor reputation when it comes to stability. Despite these drawbacks though, it has been a popular cabinetwood. So much so that it is now becoming rare and expensive.
Personally, I wouldn't go out of my way to select it for a project...although for a repair, or on a commission basis for someone who wants it for it's rarety and prestige, there are worse woods to work with. It's plenty hard, but it shapes and machines pretty well.
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