African Padouk (Pterocarpus soyauxii), also called coral wood, is a very hard, dense and melodious wood mainly from Cameroon, West Africa, which stands out due to its unusual colour: when freshly cut, Padouk has a bright and strong shining orange-red intensive colour, which turns into a very beautiful dark orange-brown after ageing! The unusually bright sound of the wood is the reason why it is used in so many different ways in the making of musical instruments; its visual attractiveness (best protected against bleaching UV radiation with a light-protective varnish) does the rest to make this beautiful wood a classic among woodturners and musical instrument makers. It can be worked excellently, shrinks little and is fortunately available in large dimensions!
