Driftwood? (Pictures added)

[turmoiler]

Hello,
some time ago after a storm I found a piece of wood on a beach, it was quite heavy and I kept it. Now the wood is dry and I have no idea what kind of wood it is or how many time it spent in the sea. It is hard and heavy and pinkish in color with interlocked and wavy grain, I've measured it and its density is >0,80kg/dm3, I think It's some tropical wood. My question is if this wood can be used for the belly of a bow. Does anybody know if the salty water can affect the properties of the wood?

[Pat B]

I think if salt soaked into the wood it will continue to attract moisture enen after it seems dry.

[Newindian]

I agree with pat b. salt will attract water, and I imageine that the wood would be impregnated with it even if it was only in the water for a few hours

[DarkSoul]

You could try soaking it in fresh water, to get the salts out? Just drop it in a pond, or a nearby creek (tied to a tree so it doesn't float away). Weighing the stave at several timepoints will tell you if the wood contains a lot of moisture. If the wood at EMC (pre-fresh water soaking) is still 15% higher than the weight of an oven dried sample...you know the wood contained a lot of water (and possible salts), more than normal wood without salts. EMC (post-fresh water soaking) might be lower than EMC (pre-soaking) as well. A nice hypothesis. Shouldn't be too difficult of an experiment to perform.

I'd personally be worried about any checks in the wood. It could have been floating in the ocean for weeks. Checks and cracks might very well be present, of develop quickly as it dries.

[Bryce]

Inuits made bows from diftwood quite often. But that was mostly spruce or a type of for or cedar. Can you.identify the wood?

[turmoiler]

Hi,
I wasn't aware that the salt content could raise the moisture of the wood, or even that the salt content itself could raise the wood weigh. Unfurtunately there aren't any pond or river nearby to soak the wood but I think I'm going to try the experiment DS talks about with a small sample of the wood to see the overall condition of the wood (I have a precission scale to work with).
About the cheking, the wood was has some small cheks when I found it, but they didn't increase noticiabily as it dried. This wood is wery tight.
As I said in the earlier post I think that is some kind of tropical wood, I'm sure it is not a common wood from around. Will post a picture soon.

[Pat B]

Get down below the outter wood layers andsee what the original wood looks like. Try to chase a ring if possible so you can se the orginal grain. Both might help to identify.
  Where do you live and where did you find this wood?

[Dauntless]

You could rough out a blank and taste the wood. If there's salt in the wood it will be salty 

[osage outlaw]

I seem to remember an article in PA magazine about curing staves in saltwater. 

[JW_Halverson]

I seem to remember an article in PA magazine about curing staves in saltwater.

And I remember a subsequent thread about using bull buffalo whiz....

[Pat B]

...and the contravercy that insued! 

[osage outlaw]

OOps, sorry I brought it up   

I remember the article but I don't remember the thread about it.

I guess when you live 1000 miles from the nearest saltwater it doesn't matter much.

[turmoiler]

I went to a local carpentry and cut the board in four pieces, the wood is light pinkish but it has been discolored in some places, I don't know if this is because of rottiness, fungus, water or sun exposure, any idea?

here are some pictures:






The carpenter said that he didn't know what kind of wood it was, so no tip here.
The wood was found in the mediterranean coast of spain.

[danny f]

looks abit like mahogany or sapele which is a substitute for mahogany but isnt as tuff. i have a piece in the shed that used to be a bar in a pub and the grain looks very similar.

[cracker]

Just looking at the pics I'd be inclined to say live oak but it's purely a guess.Ron