Wood choice made - what do you know about Brazillian Cherry?

After looking around for the color she wants and the availability of clear lumber I want to deal with, I think I've decided on Brazilian cherry. Both my local hardwood dealer and the local woodcraft carry it in 6' to 8' lengths that are completely clear.

I've never worked with this so I was wondering if any of you have. What can you tell me about it?

It's dense, heavy, and splintery. It'll also take a nice finish.

John Daugherty said:

It's dense, heavy, and splintery. It'll also take a nice finish.

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Rennie asked for us to tell him about brazillian cherry, not describe Vaughn!...

basically that is the same stuff as toms counter top rennie..and you have seen that.. another name for it is jatoba,,

Brazillian Cherry [Jatoba] is one of my favorite species to work with Rennie. I think it would make a beautiful table. It is dense and heavy, but I've not found it to be splintery.

It requies sharp blades, especially with jointer and planer.

And at least back here it is quite reasonable, or at least it was the last that I bought. Cheaper than cherry or maple as I recall.

http://www.friendshiphardwoods.com/index.html This is the place I usually go. Really good prices, but it's about a 60 mile round trip.

http://www.endeavorhardwoods.com/ This one is closer to home [only about 10 miles], but their prices are more expensive than Friendship Hardwoods.

Anyway, good luck and I'll be watching to see pictures of your build.

Jeff Bower said:

John Daugherty said:

It's dense, heavy, and splintery. It'll also take a nice finish.

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Rennie asked for us to tell him about brazillian cherry, not describe Vaughn!...

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Hey! I'm not heavy.

Vaughn McMillan said:

Hey! I'm not heavy.

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thats a fact jack if the wind were to blow real hard the only thing that keeps on the ground is the size of his feet and he can jump i saw pictures of him flying before jordan tried it.. and when he is airborn his hair acts like the tail on a kite for the steering

here's my opinion of jatoba. i like it! it is a good, dense, heavy hardwood. finishes up nicely, and has a good grain to it. here are a couple of pics of a table i made for a friend of mine. it is 2 ft by 2 ft, and 2 ft tall, and weighs in at around 74 lbs. the finish is just boiled linseed oil, and clear varnish.

Nice table Dan. Rich looking.