Sapele

[ken hatch]

I found a good price on 8/4 Sapele, the boards were very nice, milled two sides but still very close to 8/4. A little over 100 BF followed me home. Today I couldn't resist as I have never worked Sapele, I had to see how it worked. I chopped 800mm off one end, trued a face and edge and then resawed a couple of boards off. For as heavy and dense as it is it resawed very easily and it came off the machines in pretty good shape. Once on the bench, I found grain direction almost impossible to read by looking and even by feel there wasn't much difference but when you put an iron to it you would know :-). It wasn't hard to work, although I did have to re-sharpen what I thought was a sharp iron about half way through.

Plans are to make a small box from today's wood. I expect I will finish it with BLO or maybe shellac and BLO, anyone have experience with Sapele?

[Glen Johnson]

A local lumber yard used to sell it. I built a couple of projects with it. A lot of the wood was very reactive, especially when ripping it. You could see it bend and twist sometimes while I was cutting it ont the table saw. Other than too much movement, I like the way the projects looked when I was done.

[Jim Koepke]

due to what I now understand ais rowing.

It is good that someone understands ais rowing. It surely escapes me.

jtk

[Jim Neeley]

It sure is beautiful stuff!! I've got a couple of lengths of it in my wood stockpile awaiting the right project... alongside a 56" piece of 6/4 clear mahogany 16" wide. Gotta choose a project and go!!

[Bruce Haugen]

I built a wine cabinet for my son and DIL or their wedding present. I quickly learned two things:

1. Even if it is reasonably dry, the wood can twist or bow when resawing. Don't ask me why. I recall needing to rip a half inch off a piece to make a leg two inches thick. The half-inch piece stayed straight but the two-inch leg bowed by a fair amount. The lesson is that you might find a need to make your parts a bit oversize and sneak up on the final dimensions.

2. Your cutting edges need to be very sharp or you'll get tear-out and the grain will lift on you. Set the cap iron very close to the edge of your plane iron, less than 1/32". Still, some parts can be just plain evil.

On the positive side, it is a joy to finish and doesn't seem to be prone to blotching. It takes finish and stain very evenly. It also looks spectacular when finished.

[ken hatch]

Thanks guys,

I guess sharp irons apply to most wood but it seems it applies more to some than others :-). I'll watch for stupid wood tricks to come.

[Jim Matthews]

I made loudspeaker cabinets with this wicked, cantankerous stuff.


This pronounced, alternating figure it offers is a perfect example of interlocking grain and instability.
My project has checked and split along the now obvious "fault lines" between stripes.

Never again.

[lowell holmes]

Try planing across the grain using a light cut with a very sharp iron.

[george wilson]

There has been a HUGE discussion about setting cap irons here a few months ago. Unless you set the cap iron a FEW THOUSANTHS from the cutting edge,it does not help at all. Some set their cap irons by pushing the plane iron vertically against a soft wood block,bringing the cap iron down against the wood,and tightening it. unless the cap iron is set that close,it does not bend the chip back,and you might as well have a single iron. Set properly,and it will work wonders.

Planing across the grain works,too,but might not be practical when planing a narrow table leg. I often did that when planing curly maple for musical instruments.

[Tony Shea]

Most Sapele I've dealt with has been ribbon stripe, which equals a reversing grain nightmare.

I did have one piece that i used as a panel in a frame and panel door that did not do so hot. It twisted all over the place even inside the frame. I had to remake the door as the the Sapele door was unusable, which was unfortunate as it was a very striking grain pattern. I suppose that is why it reacted the way it did.

All of the other Sapele I've worked has been very stable in use. Other than reversing grain issues I really like the stuff and highly reccomend it to anyone willing and able to deal with the grain reversals. I typically will use a high angle (55-60 deg) plane when dealing with it and have not had any issues. I suggest starting at 55 and go to 60 if 55 is not working. Your iron will last a bit longer before sharpening and the surface will be slightly better.

I personally have not yet tried the extremely close chip breaker method yet but someday will get around to it.

[Trevor Walsh]

+1 on reaction and grain being a b****. I used a scraper a lot.