African padouk (Pterocarpus soyauxii), also known as coralwood, is a very hard, dense and melodious wood mainly from Cameroon, West Africa, which stands out due to its unusual color: when freshly cut, padouk has a bright and brightly shining orange-red intense color, which turns into a very beautiful dark orange-brown after aging! The unusually bright sound of the wood is the reason for its versatile use in upmarket musical instrument making; its visual attractiveness (best protected against bleaching UV radiation with a light-protective varnish) does the rest to make this beautiful wood a classic for woodturners and musical instrument makers. It can be worked excellently, does not shrink much and is fortunately available in large dimensions!
