A to Zebrawood: Exotic Wood Veneers and Their Top Uses

Here at Oakwood Veneer, you have access to hundreds of different species and unique cuts, perfect for projects as diverse as paneling, accenting furniture, and even decorating musical instruments.

Maybe you’ve worked with oak and walnut veneer; but have you ever heard of the following exotics?

Afromosia

lso known as African teak, Afromosia is a beautiful African hardwood that is yellow to brown in color and which has characteristic dark brown veins.

Thanks to the pleasant contrast of its grain, it’s commonly used in cabinetmaking, and sometimes to accent furniture.

It’s also rare, so veneer is the way to use this species, to conserve wild stocks.

Cocobolo (Picture Above)

Native to Central America, Cocobolo is a beautiful wood with a dark, orange to reddish-brown heartwood woven with undulating dark grain patterns. It is a beautiful and often richly figured wood.

Consequently, cocobolo has a wide range of uses. It can be used to ornament furniture and other high-end decorative items. Because of its beautiful character, it is also widely used in inlaying and for decorating musical instruments, pool cues, pens, pipes, bowls, gun stocks, and even duck calls.

Ebony

bony, native to Africa and some parts of Asia, is an extreme heavy, dense, hardwood with a rich luster. It is available in a wide range of colors and figures, but some of the most popular varieties are nearly jet black.

Because of its strength, durability, and unique coloration, ebony is widely used to decorate furniture as well as in paneling, cabinetry, and inlaying. It also has a wide range of other cosmetic applications and is often used to decorate knife handles, scales, musical instruments (such as piano keys), and more.

Ironwood

Ironwood, also known as Desert Ironwood, grows in the Southwest United States in the Sonoran Desert, and is a remarkably long-lived tree.At Oakwood Veneer, we carry Ipe, which is an Ironwood that comes from Central America. There are many woods that have the same Ironwood nickname.

It is also a prized species, not only because of the strength and density of its wood, which can present an interlocking grain, but because of its rich color and figure.

As a result, Ironwood is commonly used to fence posts and tool handles. As far as Ironwood veneer is concerned, it can be used to decorate furniture, doors, cabinets, and for inlaying.

Jarrah

Jarrah is a dark red wood from Australia, prized for its density, strength, and insect and rot-resistance. Because of these attributes, it has historically been used to produce fences, wharves, bridges, and pilings.

It also boasts a grain orientation that is typically very straight and a rich, dark, brick-red color that produces great ornamental value. As such, jarrah veneer can be used to great effect when making furniture, cabinets, or for paneling or marquetry.

Koa

Koa is a species of Acacia (Acacia koa) that is native to the Hawaiian islands. Koa wood is strong, dense, and well-noted for its shock-absorbency and crush resistance.

Koa also exhibits beautiful grain patterns with light grain and dark streaks, making it excellent for ornamental uses. Koa can be used to produce or ornament furniture, cabinetry, canoes, gunstocks, bowls, and other decorative items.

Mahogany Veneer

Mahogany is a beautiful, dark, brick red wood that sometimes looks somewhat like jarrah. It has a dense, close grain, and is fairly hard and dense. It is also resistant to rot and insects.

Thanks to its color and durability, mahogany veneer can be used to produce unique furniture, paneling, marquetry, musical instruments, and much more.

Padauk

With a straight, often interlocked grain, padauk is a strong, dense hardwood with a rich, dark red heartwood that becomes dark reddish-brown on exposure and darkens with age. It sometimes exhibits beautiful figure and grain variation.

Thanks to its color and strength, and the fact that it is also rot and insect-resistant, padauk is widely used to produce and decorate furniture, in panelling, inlaying, and to decorate musical instruments.

Purpleheart

Purpleheart is one of the most beautiful and unique hardwoods in the world. True to its name, the heartwood of purpleheart exhibits a rich, dark, truly reddish-purple color and is prized for its unique color and strength.

Guaranteed to give an interesting appearance to whatever it is used to decorate, purpleheart can be used in the making of furniture, cabinetry, musical instruments, and much more, including inlaying.

Teak Veneer

Teak, with its beautiful light and dark grain variation, is well known among mariners for its use in shipbuilding. It has been used to produce aircraft carrier decks, spars, and other woodwork on boats for a long time.

This is because teak is prized for its water and rot-resistance, making it one of the finest woods for marine applications.

In addition to its uses on boats, teak veneer sheets can also be used in furniture, paneling, cabinetry, and for other decorative purposes.

Zebrawood Veneer

Last but not least, we have zebrawood wood veneer, a beautiful hardwood with a straight, interlocking grain and a unique coloration pattern of alternating light tan to dark brown stripes - therefore the name.

Because of its unique coloration (though it is also fairly strong, stiff, and rot-resistant) zebrawood veneer is used in furniture, cabinetry, and paneling. Like teak, zebrawood veneer may also be used on boats.

High-Quality Wood Veneer for All Your Projects

Whether you’re looking for an exotic like zebrawood veneer or want something domestic like oak or walnut veneer, we have the wood veneer sheets and panels you need - in a wide variety of cuts and configurations. Take a look through our collection and get in touch with us at 800-426-6018 if you have any questions.