The name of a log is the first clue when searching for material, but the name alone cannot fully explain the board in front of you. Here, one board is labeled with the trade name “Guyana rosewood,” while another is labeled simply “rosewood.” Rather than concluding that they are the same species because their names are similar, we will follow what the surface and contours of each board actually show. The light and dark faces of the long boards, and the vertical grain of the reddish-brown square boards, offer different starting points.
Two Colors Within a Single Board
The long board sold under the trade name Guyana rosewood reveals a broad light face, with a dark section running along one side. The boundary between the two colors is not a ruler-straight line. Up close, the dark grain bends slightly from side to side, while fine lines remain visible in the light area as well. When another board is placed beside it, the proportions of the colors and the shape of the boundary change again. The trade name may be the same, but the two boards have different expressions.
Viewing a board from the side reveals another kind of information. Long bands and the board’s thickness come into view together. You can see whether the pattern read on the flat face continues onto the edge of the material. This is why it is useful to look at both front and side photographs when choosing a log. The color visible from one direction is not the whole story of the material.
Long Lines Across a Reddish-Brown Face
Moving to the square board sold under the trade name rosewood, the broad reddish-brown face catches the eye first. On one board, a relatively fine line runs along its length; on another, the line widens as it curves out from the center. Even boards of the same form can have entirely different grain movement. In a close-up photograph, a subtle line becomes the focal point, while in a full view, the proportions of length and width are read first.
A square board with a dark, even face shows yet another tone within the same name. On a board where light and dark areas appear together, the boundary between them becomes the focus. Place a narrow rectangular timber beside them, and its long edge and thickness catch the eye before the grain does. Boards and timbers are not read in the same way. When the shape of the material changes, the order in which we look at the wood changes as well.
A trade name points you toward the material you are looking for. But the actual process of choosing begins with spending time studying the edges and grain in the photographs. The arrangement of colors, the direction of the lines, and the thickness of the board—none of which can be reduced to the name alone—create each log’s individual face. When you view the whole from a distance and then examine one section up close, you can finally begin to consider which face to bring into the work.
Photos: Woodway product photographs. The logs shown in the photographs may have already been sold.
