Bubinga is another one of the incredibly dense hardwoods from Africa. Colors range from pink to red to brown with purple to black streaks. This species is very similar to many of the true rosewoods. So much so that in 2017 it was added to the CITES category 2 restricted list. While still legal for import, there are a host of regulations that must be followed. Bubinga has straight to slightly interlocking grain, medium texture, and a modest natural luster. Moderate durability and resistant to insect attack, bubinga works well but depending on species and harvest location, may have blunting properties due to silica. Bubinga has been known to display curly, waterfall, pommele, and quilted figuring, in which care must be taken to reduce tear out when machining. Bubinga has a Janka hardness of 2400 and weighs 5.5 pounds per board foot.
VARIATIONS AND OPTIONS
4/4 refers to lumber that was cut at 1 inch thickness
15/16ths has been skip planed (a majority of the surfacing work has been done, there may be a few spots that are still rough, but the grain of the particular piece of wood should be visible)
13/16ths is commonly called finish planed. This should be ready for sanding and finish
Ripped 1 Edge is lumber that has been run through a straight-line rip saw. This allows for easy squaring on a table saw.
Sanded refers to a select few lumber options that have been run through a belt sander and are 100% finish ready.
5/4 lumber was sawn at 1.25 inches in thickness.
6/4 lumber was sawn at 1.5 inches in thickness.
8/4 lumber was sawn at 2 inches in thickness.
10/4 lumber was sawn at 2.5 inches in thickness.
12/4 lumber was sawn at 3 inches in thickness.