Brazilian Rosewood ownership question

[CurlyVermontMaple]

Good morning, I have questions about Brazilian Rosewood.

Here's my situation.
In the years between the 20s to the mid 70s Springfield Vt. was a
world machinist center in the US. The shops made many people
quite wealthy during this time and as a result there were several small
1-3 men woodworking shops that catered to the very rich.
All of the woodworking shops that were in production in the 50s 60s have
all closed and the craftsman of the time have all passed. Some of the woodworking
shops sat for decades gathering dust and rust.

I have a piece of Brazilian Rosewood that came from one of these woodworking shop
that was brought here in the late 50sor early 60s but no way to document it.

Has anyone here gone through the process of legally owning
pre banded Brazilian Rosewood that could give me advice on how to start the process?

Thanks
Bud

[Bob10]

Good morning, I have questions about Brazilian Rosewood.

Here's my situation.
In the years between the 20s to the mid 70s Springfield Vt. was a
world machinist center in the US. The shops made many people
quite wealthy during this time and as a result there were several small
1-3 men woodworking shops that catered to the very rich.
All of the woodworking shops that were in production in the 50s 60s have
all closed and the craftsman of the time have all passed. Some of the woodworking
shops sat for decades gathering dust and rust.

I have a piece of Brazilian Rosewood that came from one of these woodworking shop
that was brought here in the late 50sor early 60s but no way to document it.

Has anyone here gone through the process of legally owning
pre banded Brazilian Rosewood that could give me advice on how to start the process?

Thanks
Bud

I don't want to be a smart azz but who is going to call the law on you or are you planning on selling it?

I go to estate sales and see ivory fairly often none of it recently harvested and almost none has documentation.  While some companies won't sell it I haven't seen any of it destroyed.  There was a recent sale with a couple of stuffed bears which I have found out aren't to be sold but were allowed to be given away

[ianab]

Isnt it the actual importing thats strictly controlled? Thats where the Guitar company got into trouble anyway.

[CurlyVermontMaple]

Why I'm asking is that I am thinking of selling it.

This isn't a typical small piece of rosewood, it's a
slab.
Slab measures full (8/4)   2'' thick by 21-3/4'' wide and 11 feet 4 inches long.
I could be wrong but I don't think rosewood slabs are all that common
this size.
I'm kinda stumped on how to legally sell the slab without any actual documentation. 


Thanks for the reply's, any info will be appreciated.
Bud

[UpstateNYdude]

Domestic sales aren't usually prohibited, it's cross border and international where they seize your assets in customs if it's over a certain size/weight. Travis Knapp (I believe it's exotichardwoods.com) is in VT just north of me and still sells lots of CITES listed woods, but only within the U.S. he has an eBay store you might want to contact him he may want to buy it.

[Cian]

This isn't a typical small piece of rosewood, it's a
slab.
Slab measures full (8/4)   2'' thick by 21-3/4'' wide and 11 feet 4 inches long.

Oh snap! 

[ianab]

From this page.
http://www.wood-database.com/wood-articl...ned-cites/

First off, some clarifications are needed.

What is meant by “banned”? This does not mean that it is somehow illegal to simply own rosewood, or work with rosewood, or even to sell rosewood or the things that you have made out of rosewood. If you are a woodworker, and you have some Bubinga or rosewood, you should be fine (or, at the very least, what went into effect at the beginning of 2017 does not have any bearing on your immediate situation.) Unless you are doing some serious stuff (i.e., Gibson guitar), you probably won’t need to worry about any kind of special investigators coming around knocking on your door asking to see your stash of lumber.

So what does this new development mean?

It all starts with an organization called CITES, which stands for Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. The keyword here is international trade. This new development has impact only for wood that is crossing international borders. If you’ve got wood in your shop, you’re cool—nothing to worry about. 

[CurlyVermontMaple]

Thanks for the good advice.
 I wont have to hide in the shadows any longer.

Bud

[RonB1957]

Thanks for the good advice.
 I wont have to hide in the shadows any longer.

Bud

Would love to see a pic. of that piece. I would love to have it too, but I doubt I could afford it.

[sniper]

This isn't a typical small piece of rosewood, it's a
slab.
Slab measures full (8/4)   2'' thick by 21-3/4'' wide and 11 feet 4 inches long.
Bud

That would make a nice workbench top.


I would also like to see a pic of that slab.