Massaranduba ("Brazilian Redwood")

[kc8pql]

Anyone used this stuff? It's being sold as "A more economical alternative to Ipe. It is the second hardest, strongest and most rot resistant wood decking material available today."

http://www.homesteadhardwoods.com/Massarandaba.jpg

[Beowolf]

We used it to deck our deck and porch.

I have stored the leftover pieces and have been using them to build a couple of workbenches. I resawed the 3/4 planks on a tablesaw and planed them to 1/4 inch.

It is REALLY hard. Made short work of a set of planer knives. I had read somewhere that it machined quite nicely, making long shavings as opposed to dust. My experience was just the opposite. The dust produced by sawing this stuff is fine and powdery. I wore a twin cannister style dust mask when sawing it because the dust irratated my so much. My nose would run non-stop, and it left a very strong taste in my mouth too if I didn't have the mask on. Very unpleasant to work with in that respect.

It seems to take epoxy pretty well. I used the wood flour (knocked out of the shop-vac filter) as a filler and it worked quite nicely.

It can be sanded super-smooth. I applied a couple of coats of paste wax to a sample piece and in the end I had a hard time convincing myself that it was wood. Several people who have seen it, assumed that it was some sort of composite or laminate. It just looks different.

As for the appearance: I like it. My samples look pretty close to your photos, although my experience has been that the more flatsawn pieces display an interesting grain texture and a more salmon color. I like the color, but it is short lived. This wood darkens quickly and gets very dark. Since these workbenches are going to be located under windows, I think they'll be reddish-brownish-black within a year.

In summary:

My experience has been that it looks nice, finished nice, works like hell.

Edited to add: If you're going to use it outdoors, it will need some sort of finish, and I'm not too sure how suitable it would be on a boat, we experienced quite a bit of moisture related swelling in the first year that the deck was built. It actually lifted several planks off their joists.

[kc8pql]

Thanks. I was looking for a teak substitute that is more pleasent to work that Ipe. This stuff sounds just as bad.

[T.A.R.]

My old boat "Nashayte" was built on Nantucket her center board trunk was originally built of Massaranduba. She was in Yachting magazine April 1931. It was claimed Worms refuse to eat it.

[Beowolf]

I'd believe it. It also has a class rating for fire resistance. I haven't tried to burn a piece yet.

[islandteak]

FWIW... Massaranduba (Manilkara bidentata)
...Ken

[watson1990]

I bought some Brazilian Redwood to add some contrast to my cedar stripped canoe...I bought it in 2002 or 2003. it was 4/4 and 4 inches wide by 16 feet long ..they called it "Canberra " and each board only cost me $12.00 ..not sure if it is the same but it certainly does look the same ...sands as smooth as a baby's behind !

Watson

[mcdenny]

You might check out Garapa. Very similar to teak, more butterscotch color, 20% heavier and 1/3 the price. Weathers and takes oil just like teak. Glues fine w/epoxy. Commonly sold as premium deck (house, not boat) material.

I find Spanish cedar dust very irritating but machining the Garapa did not bother me at all.