Down in Paraguay, nothing beats an ox cart for hauling tropical logs to the mill
In 1999 Keith, the owner of Woodworkers Source, went to Paraguay to visit a sustainable yield lumber project. He came back with a container load of unusual woods following shortly after.
When we bring in unusual woods, it’s often with a bit of stand-back-and-wait because even though we’ve seen a sample piece (or maybe not at all), it’s often a surprising what really shows up on the truck. 
Mesquite frame finished and hung
Those who work with mesquite may appear a little nuts to woodworkers who are used to the likes of cherry, walnut, oak, and similar woods.
Mesquite’s beauty comes from a different breed of criteria other than clear wood. Namely the worm holes, splits, checks, knots, and bark inclusions that characterize the tree and her timber. “High quality” has an entirely different definition when it comes to mesquite lumber.
Some years ago, I had a customer lodge a demand for mesquite that was 8″ wide and totally clear – he needed a lot of it too. I had to tell him, not out of opinion but of fact, “If you absolutely need it that wide and that clear without cutting or gluing, you don’t want mesquite.”
Down in the Amazon, we have a long time connection who keeps us informed about interesting woods and timber projects.
Keith Stephens steps off a water taxi after checking out logs in Peru
Before you think that sounds like a great job, consider the heat, the bugs, the bureaucracy, the red tape, the “we’ll get to your requests mañana” culture shock, the joys of long flights, delayed boats, slow buses, and then the half-dozen or so immunizations via needle you need to get before embarking on an Amazon wood expedition. Glamorous? I don’t know about that part.
Argyle Art Nouveau Chair by Matt Sandoval
Yes, you too might be convinced that the wood called purple heart is dyed to get that vivid color. Or maybe that it’s not a wood at all.
It happens every day in our stores where we invariably get asked, “So, c’mon is that really the natural color?”
Well, it most certainly is.
African exotic wood turning squares: padauk, bubinga, zebrawood, wenge, and sapele
They’ve practically taken over in here. Just within the last week, we’ve had a number of new squares show up demanding some attention. It’s like a turning square convention in our warehouse. Everywhere you turn . . . there they are.
All kinds of woods, too.
All these beautiful perfectly cut exotic woods are stacked, piled, and ready for good service in your woodworking shop.
Even though we call them turning squares, we’ve been lucky enough to have some crafty woodworkers walk through the doors, see these squares and say, “I can make something cool with those without even using a lathe.”
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