Opinions of different woods ....

[Tim Boger]

Hey guys,

I'm looking for some opinions on wood I bought today. I went to buy Purple Heart and ended up get some other species as well.

Besides the Purple Heart, I got some Ipe, Tiger Wood and Angles Heart.

Seems very dense at first glance, the Ipe has some very unusual color. I ran a 1x6 of the Ipe through the planner when I got home .... wow is it hard !!

I do almost specifically segmented turning and have used the Purple Heart before but never the other three.

Anyone here worked with these types of woods? Tell me what you think.

Tim

[Dean Thomas]

How'd you get that golfer to stand for being lathed?

If you're doing mostly or exclusively segmented work, you've already discovered the joy/irritation of using materials that are at opposite ends of the density scale. Makes for some strange turning sounds.

In my experience, purpleheart comes to us pretty well dried and stable. Ipe and other super-dense woods come in varying levels of dryness and thus stability. I do not know if ipe ever really dries out. The few pieces I've turned seem to be pretty stable, but they've been solid ipe, not glued. My concern would be long term stability with mixed species. Maple and purpleheart change with the seasons in my area. If ipe were glued to maple and the maple moved but the ipe didn't, one of the two woods is going to suffer. At a minimum, the joint is going to give up, and if the glue is well-connected to the wood, one of the segments is going to split, I would think.

Conjecture, please understand. I have NOT used ipe in a segmented piece at all, let alone with a wood that moves with humidity changes.

[Tim Boger]

Thanks Dean for your insight, I've read lots of less than positive reviews of the South American materials .... oily, overly dense and possibly a health hazard.

I plan initially to not mix the Ipe with other materials in the first segmented design I work on.

What sort of finish would you suggest? If any. Maybe just the Beall polish.

Thanks,
Tim

[Dean Thomas]

Ipe is a waxy/oily wood, for sure. Depending on what you're making, I don't know if I'd add anything to the surface. I have in mind doing a set of little apertif vessels. My grandmother brought a set back from Mexico a million years ago, probably in ironwood. I think that ironwood is a distant cousin of Ipe. I'm going to make one and play with it. I plan to put a shot of liquer in it and letting it set over night, just to see how it affects the wood. That much oil/wax, who knows. Lignum was used for bearings for centuries without any finish because of its waxiness.

If you DO want to add some finish, I think that I'd consider a quick acetone wipedown and a couple of coats of lacquer. Acetone will allow the lacquer to gain a foothold and should prevent bubbles under the finish.

Have not been there, so cannot give anything more than my thoughts at this point.

Health hazards: Yeah, there are those possibilities. Lots of the non-domestic woods can present allergy or even toxin issues. Cocobolo causes a rash if the dust gets under my watch band. Some walnut dust can do that, too, though. I have a friend who cannot work cedar because the dust causes wheezing and breathing issues in addition to the rash thing. Some woods should not be ingested. Some woods have chemicals that react with acids or bases in foods. If I remember correctly, walnut and certain wild cherry species would seem to be less than wonderful candidates for wine glasses. Research and personal experience will teach you what to avoid or how not to use certian species. Obviously, I have to research the ipe to ensure that an apertif sipped from its naked self will not cause my innards irreparable harm!!

[Scott Conners]

Ipe has caught on here in socal as an outdoor decking wood recently as it's so dang dense and oily that it doesn't need much of anything to weatherproof it. It's seen as a substitute for teak and the like. I was working on a job where the contractor used some sort of drying oil on the outdoor benches he'd built, and it was sticky and gross for months. I have some raw scraps sitting around waiting for a project, but it's so open grained and rough surfaced that I haven't used it yet. I think it's gong to become part of my new steady rest instead of actually turning any of it.

[Tim Boger]

Hey Scott .... guess I should have asked the group here for advice before buying any of the Ipe or the Tiger wood. Both there woods appear very similar.

I think I'll try it for the feature ring portions of a segmented vessel or two and see how it tools .... both woods have good color and are attractive.

The grain on what I have seems very tight and closed, without having tried it would seem like water would bead up on the surface. I can't imagine there being any type finish on the material yet just very dense.

Thanks Scott for your feedback,
Tim