Branching out to Exotic Wood

[Kevin Gerstenecker]

I have always been intrigued by Exotic Wood, and I am starting to acquire some different species. I have a nice piece of Padouk on the way, and I was wondering if there is anything I need to know about this wood. I have a couple of books to reference, but I wanted to get some advice from the experts here also. Mostly, I am interested in finishing Padouk. I am planning a small box or two using the Padouk. I really want to bring out the beauty of the wood, and I invite any advice for machining, finishing and care of this wood. There are many species that I want to work with in the future..........I think it will be a refreshing change from the usual species I work most of the time. Some of the Exotics are unreal in their beauty, and I really look forward to the challenge of working with many of them. Thanks in advance for any and all advice and comments.

[Bob Janka]

Kevin,

My first pack of pen blanks was Padauk (aka vermillion). The open grain is reminiscent of that found in Red Oak. My first pen got just 1 coat of satin PPP followed by 1 coat of gloss PPP. Later, I made several more pens and used 3 coats of Hut's Crystal Coat friction polish (as I do nowfor all of my turnings).

I don't know about larger projects like yours. I'll leave discussions of oils, lacquers and other finishes to those who use these all of the time.

Cheers,
Bob

[GEDunton]

A couple of months ago I built a vemillion and canary wood sofa table for one of my daughters. Sorry no pics yet. Anyway, I tried my "save the COLORS" finish and it worked very well. A couple of heavy coats of blonde shellac, rub out to nearly thru, then rubbed in lacquer. It seems to keep the original colors better than most options I've tried. For small bowes, I'd just do te blond shellac, it really makes vermillion shine .

Good luck and have a lot of fun.

[Jim Tobias]

After sanding it, keep it out of the sunlight. You will lose the bright orange/red color to the sun. Also, wipe it down very thoroughly with naptha(or other mineral spirits) to get the fine orange dust out of the grain. Otherwise, if you are using it in combination with another wood, it will give you an orange tint finish on the other wood. I have done several boxes and frames from padauk and I have finished them in the same way, yet some have turned darker with age and others have stayed pretty close to original color. They are all in the same environment(light, heat, humidity, etc.) Good luck, it is a beautiful wood.

[John M. Cioffi]

Hi Kevin,

Here is some info I came up with.
The few times I've exp.this wood have been very enjoyable,turning pens,bottle stoppers,cork screws,ect.
It looks like the pic didn't make it with the info.
If I find anything else,I'll let you know.

I LOVE the exotics.




PADAUK

(Mbe, Mbil, Mututi, Ngula, Bosulu)
From Africa; Cameroon, Zaire, Angola, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Nigeria.
A medium to fairly large tree attaining a height of 35mm with a diameter of 1.0m.
Color is vivid reddish-orange initially, but changes to bright red, red or coral pink with dark streaks over time. The grain is generally straight to somewhat interlocked. Texture is as fine to medium. The surface of the wood is reported to have a natural sheen.
Uses include cabinetmaking, carvings, dyewood , paddles, handles, bobbins, fine furniture, flooring, picker sticks, shade rollers, sporting goods and stencil & chisel blocks.