Here's a weird one. Went to the local lumber supplier to pick up a few things after work, when something caught my eye. In amongst a collection of dowels and squares was a set of 4'x3/8" dowels. I've made shafts out of ramin, walnut, cherry, poplar, and oak dowels, but never have I seen any like these.
They're labeled "Eco Dowels", and the closest thing they brought to mind was a set of Surewood Douglas Fir. Greater runout, of course, but mostly ramrod straight with a nice, showy grain. Really nice stuff. I asked the closest worker what they could be, and he didn't have a clue. Said the woods are never the same. However, he assured me it's a hardwood. Sure could be; it's somewhat dense and about 100 grains heavier than my 80/85 firs. I've just never seen a hardwood shaft this naturally straight or with as prominent a grain. Let alone a hardwood dowel.
So, any ideas on what wood these are? Anyone worked with these? Thanks guys...
Ash has a very prominent grain....
The gentleman I talked too said ash was a possibility. It is pretty heavy; about 600-grains for a 31" shaft. A real nice white wood with amber colored grain. I want to see how it takes a stain. It's just so super straight; if I didn't know any better I'd say someone straightened it before they arrived at the dealer...
Well, I just chucked up the dowel in a drill and sanded the nock end to 11/32" before cutting the taper with a hand taper tool. Cut real easy; the same tool bites and tears at doug fir, not to mention any hardwoods I've used. Does ash cut fairly easy? If not, the mystery continues...
Ash is fairly porous. It stains pretty well. There can be "hard spots" on the open grain that don't want to take stain too well though.
Poplar?
Most of the doweling around here is made from white oak or birch.