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Someone gave me some wood, but I don't know what it is. Very light weight, open pored, slight pleasant fragrance that makes you choke when you sand it. Very chatoyant. Any guesses?

Looks like koa to me...

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Looks most like monkeypod to me, but also could be koa, mahogany, khaya, sapele, sipo... Can you measure the exact density? Do you know what Spanish cedar smells like, to rule that out?

Hi Chris,
Most of the Koa I've seen is much denser than this wood, but researching Koa I found that it ranges in density from 30 to 80 lbs. / cu. ft.
30 lbs/cu.ft. would put it in the range of tulip poplar, which is about how dense this stuff is.

Hi Dennis,
Definitely not Spanish Cedar. I've worked with a fair amount of that stuff. The density would be right, but it doesn't have that strong distinctive cedrela odor, and is much more chatoyant, like a tiger's eye stone.
Monkeypod looks like a possibility.

I just dug my set of monkeypod out of the closet. I think Dennis is right - looks like monkeypod to me. Whatever you've got it looks good under finish; now I'm hoping it is monkeypod.

That is monkey pod for certain.

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Thanks for the responses. I really had no idea what this might have been. It was easy to work with and sands up quickly and does look really nice under finish. I will tell anyone who asks that it is most likely monkeypod, based on an expert looking at a photograph.

Thanks Again!