Wow!

So we saw this dirty piece of cocobolo in the back and decided to see if we could clean it up.
Looks like it's going to clean up ok, don't you think?...

Click here to visit our online store.

Billiard cue case by Richard Black

Our friend and longtime customer Richard Black recently sent us these images of a gorgeous billiard cue case he just completed using some of our Hawaiian Koa.

This particular piece of Koa was exceptionally figured with tight quilt/curl throughout the piece. It was part of an old stash of wood that we found roughly a year ago.

The cue that will be matched with this case will be unveiled at the International Cue Collectors Show that will be held in St. Louis, Missouri October 6-8, 2011.

We can't wait to get the images of the cue once it's unveiled!

Below are some images of Richard's case along with some of the original piece of lumber he purchase.

As always, excellent work Richard!

For more on Richard Black and his custom cues, please visit his website-
www.blackcues.com

Click here to see our customer gallery.

Quilted Maple just added to the Online Store...

We have some beautiful pieces in stock right now!

Click here to see available lumber.



Feel free to give us a call if you have any questions or would like to place an order over the phone.
760.434.3030

Bookmatched Parota...

Found these two pieces in the lumber rack.
At nearly 20 inches wide and 96 inches long, the possibilities are endless...
What would you make?

And the winner of the SDFWA door prize is...

...Donald Spangler!
(here he is pictured with Mitch Talcove, owner of TEH)

Can't wait to see what he makes with this beautiful piece!


Thanks again to all the members of the San Diego Fine Woodworkers Association. It was a lot of fun hosting the open house today, hopefully all of you had a great time as well!

We got to see numerous new faces in the local woodworking community as well as catching up with several longtime friends of the company. Just a great day all around!

Looking forward to next year!

Thanks again from all of us at TEH

Click here to visit our online store.

Great showing at the SDFWA open house today!

SDFWA open house Door Prize!

Jatoba crotch slab.
One lucky member will win this at the end of the day!

SDFWA open house!

Cocobolo Fingerboards Galore!

Pulling some great looking fingerboards for a client.
That's going to be a bunch of beautiful guitars!

Click here for available musical stock. 

Neat Redwood and curly Lytchee slabs just arrived!

Just showed up at the shop!
All three slabs are bone dry, 4-5 years air dried.
The Lytchee is full of great curly figure and the Redwood has burl and birdseye-like figure throughout.
Great looking pieces. Give us a call if any of them interest you.
760.434.3030

Customer Mickey Higgins picks up some exotics for his new projects...

Good assortment of colors and figure.

Can't wait to see what Mickey makes with these beautiful pieces!



Click here to visit our online store. 

Turned pieces by Gorst Duplessis

Our good friend Gorst Duplessis from New Orleans sent us this image of his latest creations-

65 turned balls in assorted sizes and species.

They look fun to make, don't they?

Thanks for the pic Gorst!

Click here to view more finished products by our customers.

Piece from the unique cocobolo batch available!

Many of you might remember the batch of Highly Figured Cocobolo we received about two months ago.

It was some of the most intensely figured stock we have ever seen in the 39 years we have been cutting cocobolo!

If you missed out on picking up a piece, here is your second chance!

We currently got a hold of one piece from the same batch measuring 1" (surfaced to 13/16" thick) x 7.5" x 60"
(Narrow piece pictured below included at no extra charge)

Great for musical instruments, furniture, jewelry boxes, etc.

Click here to see available lumber.

Let us know if you want to pick up this unique piece!
760.434.3030

Look what just came in! Highly Figured Cocobolo Billet!

Just came in-

Highly figured cocobolo billet measuring 7.5" x 11" x 41.5"

Pretty amazing, don't you think?

What would you make with this rare piece of wood?

Give us a call if you are interested in purchasing this pieces.
760.434.3030

SOLD

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Neat pieces of Cocobolo!

Click here to visit our online store. 

Batch #1-Walnut Slabs

ALL AVAILABLE SLABS ARE NOW LISTED ON OUR ONLINE STORE

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE WHAT WE HAVE IN STOCK

Click here for an up-to-date listing of all slabs that are currently in stock

Below are example photos of what our Walnut slabs look like:

Guitars by Dean Moore

Customer Dean Moore recently sent us these beautiful pictures of some acoustic guitars he just finished using some of our Bocote and Cocobolo.

Dean used to live about 30 minutes north of us in San Clemente, Ca and was always a frequent visitor to our shop whenever he had some extra time to drive down.

You may remember us posting images of his gorgeous jewelry boxes a few years back.

Recently Dean and his wife relocated to Pacific Northwest and he now fully dedicates his time to guitar making.

Below are some images of two of his guitars along with his insight into the workability of Bocote and Cocobolo as a luthier grade tone wood-

From Dean's email-

"....here are two in my current collection which are made from sets I got from you just before leaving SoCal - Bocote and Cocobolo...the glue-up and finishing process is about the same (Bocote and Cocobolo) from what I can tell. The Bocote is a little difficult to glue just like the Cocobolo so the same preparations apply although the Bocote does not seem to be quite as oily or resinous as the Cocobolo. Even so, I found it helpful to wash the glue joints with acetone before gluing just as I do with Cocobolo. I also find that the glued joint is stronger if the mating surfaces are not sanded finer than 150 grit with all woods but especially with woods like Bocote and Cocobolo..."

If you are interested in trying out some of our Acoustic guitar sets, we have several listed on our online store.

Click here to see our customer gallery.

The 2011 Parking Lot Sale is in the books!

Just like last year, we had another great Parking Lot Sale this time around.
Hopefully everyone was able to pick up some neat pieces of wood at some fantastic prices.
We would love your feedback on what you liked and didn't like about the sale.
Feel free to contact us with your suggestions and hopefully we can make the sale even more beneficial for everyone next year.
Thanks again to everyone who contacted us during the sale. We truly appreciate your business.

Three fun projects!

Tatajuba crotch, bookmatched Rose Myrtle slabs, curly Redwood slab.
Looks like this customer will be spending plenty of time in the woodshop during the next couple of months...

Customer's project is starting to come together...

We have a customer who wants to create a bookshelf out of different Latin American woods.
Here are a couple of his choices so far-Goncalo Alves and Pau Ferro.
Up next-Cocobolo and Granadillo.
Should look neat once it's done!

Click here to view available stock.

Parota Rounds and more!

How are these settings for ideas.

We decided to lay out some pieces here at the shop to display a few of our sale items and came up with these two interesting settings.

Parota Round slab top on a Redwood Stump base!

(This is a 40" x 70" table [approximate dimensions])

Bocote Slab top on a Redwood Stump base!

(This is a 18" x 38" table [approximate dimensions])

Again, these are just ideas we thought we'd share.

What do you think? We would appreciate your feedback!

One more reason to drop by during the sale-

If you plan on coming to the sale don't miss our large Cuban Mahogany slab that is on display towards the front of the shop.

Below is a little history on this particular rare piece and Cuban Mahogany in general-

Native to the Caribbean, Cuban Mahogany (Swietenia mahagoni) was discovered on Columbus’s first voyage when he landed on the Island of Hispaniola. Also known as Santo Domingo Mahogany, it is also been introduced in Florida, Hawaii and other South Sea Islands. It has not been commercially exported since the early 20^th century due to the over logging and high demand and was one of the first woods to be listed on CITES (endangered plant and animal life list). It is highly prized for the restoration of high end antique furniture and accessories.

Today, all species of Swietenia grown in their native locations are listed by CITES, and are therefore protected. Both Swietenia mahagoni, and Swietenia macrophylla were introduced into several Asian countries at the time of the restrictions imposed on American mahogany in the late 1990s and both are now successfully grown and harvested in those plantations. The world's supply of genuine mahogany today comes from these Asian plantations, most notably from India, Fiji and Indonesia.

Tropical Exotic Hardwoods was able to obtain two containers of Cuban Mahogany logs from the Dominican Republic in the late 1980’s after hurricane Hugo devastated the Caribbean. The naturally felled logs were shipped to North Carolina where they were sawn and dried. Part of this shipment was sold off for restoration projects in The White House, New York City Hall, and the America’s Cup “J” Class yacht “Endeavor”.

Robert Stevenson of the San Diego Fine Woodworkers invested into the shipment and has produced many replications of famous antique furniture including one piece featured on the back cover of Fine Woodworking. Many expert restorers of furniture in the USA consider the inventory that Tropical Exotic Hardwoods has to be the finest quality material available.

This large slab (8/4 x 23-24” x 137”) has been featured in many woodworking articles and is one of the largest known pieces of true Cuban Mahogany. A standing offer of $10,000 for the board exists.

All Cuban Mahogany in inventory is owned by Tropical Exotic Hardwoods owner Mitch Talcove and is not for sale.