Rosewood - Pterocarpus indicus Willd.

Rosewood is a timber with remarkable physical beauty, an amazing range of uses and durability matched only by timbers which are either more expensive or which do not possess the same physical attraction or working qualities.

• Described as having a variable grain pattern, although one of the finest furniture and cabinet woods. Leading furniture makers actively seek out the timber because of its flexibility, strength and the relative ease of its working qualities and finishing properties as well as its low shrinkage and stability in-service.
• The timber varies in color from yellowish-brown to golden-brown through to red-brown or sometimes a blood red color. The darker colored (reddish) woods are much denser and stronger than the paler colored yellowish-brown woods.
• Produces a beautifully figured wood enhanced by the presence of 'ripple-marks' and its ring-porous wood structure. A ribbon or banded figure is apparent on quarter-sawn faces and a cathedral-like figure on back-sawn faces. The grain is usually interlocked but not severely so; sometimes wavy. It has a pleasant, persistent, fragrant odor.
• The timber seasons readily and well, however care should be taken not to dry the timber too fast as distortion and checking can occur. It is a remarkably stable timber with very low shrinkage and very little movement when in-service. Properly seasoned timber is dimensionally stable, and retains its shape well after manufacture.
• Suitable for high quality furniture and cabinet work, flooring, finely turned articles, boat building, rifle butts and decorative sliced veneer. It has good acoustic and tonal qualities, making it suitable for musical instruments.