andiroba

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NOTE: THIS ENTIRE PAGE IS SUSPECT !!!
I need to review everything I have about andiroba as it appears that
much of what I was sold as andiroba may well not be that wood at all
and it appears that I consequently misrepresented the characteristics

First cut at figuring it out: NONE of my own samples
on this page are Carapa guianensis or even Carapa spp.

The anatomical statements in the box directly below
are not correct for Carapa guianensis

NOTE: there is rarely any "standard" or "typical" look for a wood so take what's in this table with a grain of salt
the REST of the pictures on this page will give you a better overall feel for this wood

andiroba
Carapa spp. (generally Carapa guianensis) of the family Meliaceae
the mahogany family
3" x 3" flat cut, 3" x 3" quartersawn, 1" wide end grain, and a 1/4" x 1/4" end grain closeup.

Diffuse porous with moderately large pores, randomly spaced, with heavy vasicentric parenchyma and rays that are barely visible at 10X. Growth ring boundaries are vague.

Also widely known as crabwood, this moderately heavy South/Central American wood is sometimes used as a mahogany substitute as it is in the mahogany family and is somewhat similar to the Swietenia mahoganies in both color and grain. It is inexpensive in its areas of growth and is widely used there for many purposes. It is susceptible to pin-hole borers and other wood eaters and many of the planks I've had have had heavy areas of holes, especially in and near the sapwood (check out the top edge of the upper plank in the first set of my pics directly below --- the enlargements show the holes quite clearly)

my samples:
NOTE: these pics were all taken in very bright incandescent lighting ("soft white" at 2700K)
colors will vary under other lighting conditions

both sides of a sample plank of caobilla (aka andiroba) / Carapa guianensis --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site. The first side has been fine sanded and so shows a slightly richer color and will show the fine grain details better in the enlargements than the second side.

end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above

END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above

both sides of a sample plank of caobilla (andiroba) / Carapa guianensis --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.

end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above

END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above

both sides of a sample plank of andiroba / Carapa guianensis --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.

end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above

END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above

two planks --- the other sides are shown directly below

the other sides of the two planks shown directly above

a closeup of the same two planks

small piece, and end grain, cut from the top left side of the top plank above --- I chose this section because it has some sapwood and when I sanded it down, I was surprized to find some very clean spalting that I had not seen when the plank was rough.

end grain closeup and END GRAIN UPDATE of the piece directly above

side grain closeup of the piece directly above

same plank as the pics above but this time dry and wet (with water) side by side to show how a finishing agent is likely to enhance the color of the wood

both sides of a stick of andiroba, cut from another larger piece from somewhere on this page, shown because I needed to get another end grain update for this wood --- HUGE enlargements are present.

end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above

END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above

plank --- color should be just a shade more red, very like the two planks at the top of the page.

web pics:

planks

both sides of a set of planks

planks listed as crabwood / Carapa guianensis

plank listed as crabwood / Carapa guianensis --- either this is a very close-up pic or a mis-identification since Carapa guianensis does not look this grainy until you get up very close