Mexican Kingwood

We have been milling a bunch of Kingwood recently for a client overseas and as a result have a lot if neat pieces left over that were either too short or too thin for his order.
If you are into making custom knife handles, pens, or small boxes, this high end rosewood is a great species to work with.
Feel free to drop by the shop or visit our online store to see if any of the pieces may work for you.

These Mexican Kingwood logs yield plenty of nice material

Milling up a log into walking cane blanks for a customer in Taiwan.

Click here to browse available stock.

1.5 Mexican Kingwood Turning Squares!

We just found this bundle of 1.5 inch x 1.5 inch x 17 inch squares of Mexican Kingwood.

We milled them up about a year ago and forgot that we had them stashed in the back.

Great looking stock that was milled specifically for Billiard cues.

Obviously would be great for other projects as well.


Mexican kingwood is a high end rosewood species that is prized for its tight grain and deep purple color.

The picture above is of a stack of kingwood logs. This is a good indication of how small these trees are.

Here is a picture of some freshly milled blanks of Mexican Kingwood.

Look at that color!

If you are interested in the 1.5 inch x 1.5 inch x 17 inch squares we have about 12 of them for $15 a piece.


Want to save a little cash and don't mind doing a little milling yourself?

Purchase a full log for $24.50/BF! That's about 40% off our regular price.

760-434-3030

Kingwood logs-Great Material at a Great Price!

Mexican Kingwood is a tight grained rosewood that is prized in smaller high end projects such as billiard cues, pens, jewelry and ornamental turning.





Also known as "camatillo", Mexican Kingwood has a deep purple hue to it's heartwood that keeps it's color well as it oxidizes over time.




Many wood suppliers only sell pre-cut squares in standard sizes at inflated prices that well exceed $50-$75/BF!

Over the years we have come to realize that different projects require different sized blanks and sometimes standard sizes just don't work.

As a result, we give all our clients the option to purchase the full uncut logs (such as the ones pictured above) at a realistic price of $24.50/BF.





This way they can mill what they want and minimize their waste while still lowering their overall cost.

At $24.50 we are still making a profit and our clients are getting a high end rosewood at under $30/BF- not a bad deal!





Just a few calculated measurements and some careful cuts on a bandsaw and you will be amazed by the amount of material each log will yield. Obviously there is some drop involved with milling a full log but at $24.50/BF it just makes sense to purchase it this way if you have the ability to mill it yourself.





Give us a call or drop by the shop if you want to dig out a log that may work for you.

It is a pretty neat species that comes direct from our own sawmill in Mexico, so your purchasing direct from the source!

760.434.3030

Design in Wood '09

The "Design in Wood" exhibit just opened up the San Diego County Fair last week.

Its always fun heading down to the show to see what some of our customers have been up to with some of our woods. Year after year we are always amazed with the work that is on display. With everything from intarsia to furniture there is a little bit of everything at the display.

Here is Dean Moore's entry for this year-"Jewelry Armoire" out of Cocobolo and Curly Koa. Our pictures do not do it justice, this Jewelry box is pretty incredible-

To see Dean's box from last year Click here

19 year old Kyle Toth had one of his bats on display out of Bloodwood and Maple

Check out his Purpleheart bat by Clicking here, very nice work.

Here are a couple sculptures by Kenneth Glaze out of Pink Ivory and Mexican Kingwood

Here is a chest by Local Woodworker Terry Hansen. The Cherry and Walnut didn't come from us but we are pretty sure most of the woods on the top came out of our shop.

It easy to get lost checking out all the different woods in his designs, a little bit of everything-Cocobolo, Bocote, yellowheart, bloodwood, wenge, black palm, goncalo alves, marblwood and more-Its seems as though he has every type of exotic in his boxes.

Del Cover is one of the most highly respected woodworkers in our area. Here we see a floating seat rocker out of wenge and some figured Bubinga.

Check out the massive Cluster Maple Table he made a while back by clicking here

We are almost positive this is one of our 1.5" thick Bubinga Slabs in a table by Rick Moen. Check out the figure in this piece! We still have a couple of these slabs left as of 6-21-09

Here is a Cabinet by local woodworker Jose Eguez out of some of our Wenge and a nice figured piece of Black & White Ebony-that stuff sure is pretty.

Here are some other nice pieces at the show. Can't remember who they are by but we remember having a similar piece of zebrawood in our shop with that sap line-it wouldn't surprise us if it was indeed our wood, either way its a pretty piece.

Look at this piece out of Padouk, it reminds us of a bar that was constructed down in Little Italy in Downtown San Diego in a high end restaurant out of our Padouk with a similar design, very nice.

Another piece by Terry Hanson, we love that design.

Looks like some tulipwood and some curly euc. What else do you see?

Look at this desk out of Ziricote by Jerry Beaudry. Looks like solid Ziricote throughout no Veneers!

Everywhere you look different pieces of all shapes and sizes-

Several turned objects at the show as well, we tried taking some pictures but its kind of tricky taking pictures of objects behind glass-sorry...

Here is another amazing piece by Del Cover that won the Woodcraft Magazine "Award for Excellence in Design".

Its is titled "Balboa Park Bench" and is modeled after the historic Balboa park area here in San Diego.

Tons of different woods in this piece-Check out the wenge in those seats...


Jason Lane actually stoped by the shop earlier in the day and mentioned he had this piece in the show.

This piece is titled "Bow-Tie Lectern" and is constructed out of some of our Ziricote.

There was also a very nice display at the front of the exhibit honoring the late Sam Maloof.

Two of his rockers were also on display which was a nice to see.

The show is going on through the first week of July- we recommend checking it out if your in the area.

Thottark Guitars

-above guitar: (Mexican Kingwood back)

Thottark Guitars are built by hand from start to finish by Derek Ott using only solid premium and select hardwoods.

-above guitar: (carved Paldao neck)

Each piece is individually crafted to create a one-of-a-kind piece of art whether it be through the use of unusual and exotic tone woods, carved necks or custom made inlays.

-above guitar: (Primavera back & sides)

Thottark also produces custom-made cases for guitars and other musical instrumentshttp://www.thottarkguitars.com/

Min Koide- 11-02-1926 - 11-23-2008

Sadly, our good friend and longtime customer Min Koide passed away last month. As far as Mitch can remember, Min was one of our very first customers and can remember selling wood to him when Tropical Exotic Hardwoods was nothing more than a few pallets of wood in a storage shed.

Min was a very special person and a remarkable woodworker to say the least.
Yesterday we visited a memorial at his exhibit in Balboa Park here in San Diego, California. Before falling ill, one of Min's last requests was that no matter what happened, his exhibit would go on and his artwork would be enjoyed by the many visitors to the Japanese Friendship Garden located in Balboa Park.

Below is a sampling of some of his pieces that are on display until Feb. of next year.

We encourage anyone who is interested in woodworking to visit his exhibit and enjoy the works of this incredible woodturner.

"Wood Bowls of Min Koide"

November 2, 2008- February 27, 2009

Japanese Friendship Garden

Balboa Park

San Diego, California

Click here to go to the website of the Japanese Friendship Garden

Gorgeous pieces out of Masur Birch

This was possibly one of Min's last pieces. We remember Min purchasing this piece of Black and White Ebony in July of this year.

A couple pieces made out of Cocobolo. The larger one is of a Cocobolo Crotch.

Turning a piece like this is amazing. The skill and experience needed is just mind boggling. Min was a true master.

Here is a set of three hollow forms out of Mexican Kingwood.

When most look at Mexican Kingwood logs they are too scared to try and work with it. All they point out is the cracks, sapwood, bark inclusions, and any other excuse that keeps them from turning this exceptional wood.

Min was able to recognize the beauty in each piece and realized that certain flaws were just part of the nature of certain woods. Here he incorporates the sapwood and voids in vertical bands around the piece and does it in such a beautiful way that it is almost impossible to capture in a picture.

This is a one many Macassar Ebony Bowls that Min created out of a large log that he purchased years ago. Mitch remembers delivering the piece to his residence and according to Min's son Gary, whats left of the log is still sitting in his workshop waiting to be turned.

This is another late piece by Min. He purchased this Ribboned Purpleheart from us this summer and might easily be the last piece he did.

This is done out of a solid Pink Ivory Log section.

Just one of the Numerous Cocobolo bowls Min has turned throughout the years.

Spalted Maple Bowls

This piece is incredible . A chest of drawers Min made for his mother when he was sixteen out of scrap redwood and pine that he found. This was made while he and his family were placed in a Japanese Internment camp during World War II.