A truly unique-looking wood, Ziricote is reported to be naturally resistant to decay. Good for steam bending and easily worked with machine and hand tools, ziricote has only a slight blunting effect on cutting edges.

Appearance: Ziricote wood has a medium to fine texture and a straight to slightly interlocking grain. It has a tendency to develop end and surface checks during drying, but is stable afterwards. Quartersawn surfaces will sometimes display ray or flake patterns similar to Hard Maple. The highly figured spider web grain is similar to what can be found in Brazilian Rosewood only more complex. Surface has a natural waxy appearance and takes on a satin finish with simple sanding.

Working Properties: Overall, Ziricote is fairly easy to work considering its high density. The wood tends to develop end and surface checks during drying, which can be problematic: though the wood is stable once dry. Also, pieces are usually available in narrow boards or turning squares, with sapwood being very common. Ziricote turns and finishes well, and in most instances, it can also be glued with no problems. (On rare occasions, the wood’s natural oils can interfere with the gluing process.)