Wood score Kauai HI

[Paul Engle]

Just returned from Kauai HI and scored some KOA . Walking tour of sugar cane plantation jungle revealed this monkey pod tree and the rainbow tree but no samples ... the Monkey Pod has a burl they call " the grouch " ... and a couple of fotos of the KOA store in Lihue , and no I do not have any interest in the store or the plantation or Smith family other than it was a great 8 days in paradise... 280167280168280169280166280170I did manage to acquire some KOA flat stock for lids for some round boxes I plan to make but is spendy at 48$ bf .I also made contact with a locale turner to get some turning stock of various island wood as soon as my credit card recovers from the trip .... the monkey pod tree is about 5 feet in diameter and one Banyan tree there that the foto did not turn out had to be 8 feet in dia ...The Rainbow tree was at the Smith family Luau we attended and not sure if you can see the color/s ..

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Thanks for sharing!

$48/bf....is a little rich for my blood!

The very first time I used my bandsaw to resaw was for a friend/coworker is an amateur luthier. I resawed some 13" koa for him. If I had known the value, I'd have been too nervous to do it!

[mike ash]

You won't believe this, but my Dad purchased 1000 BF of color matched, beautiful grained KOA in 1968 for $0.38/BF (yep, that's 38 cents!!!). He was a serious woodworker/teacher and his regular hardwood salesman was trying to drum up a market for KOA. Over the years, Dad used about 700 BF making some world-class furniture pieces. A few years ago he showed up with the remaining 300BF in 6-8ft lengths in 6-10" widths and gifted it to me!!!! Now the challenge is to figure out some flatwork that would do the KOA justice. I've done a few humidors for some special friends........and feel guilty that I haven't put the rest of it to use.

Mike

[David Reed]

While on Kauai in October I almost bought a 4" thick slab (about 14-16" square) of curly (stump) Koa in Hanapepe but it too was pretty rich and less than half the slab had curl. Perhaps if more curl.....
lovely wood indeed.

[Paul Engle]

You won't believe this, but my Dad purchased 1000 BF of color matched, beautiful grained KOA in 1968 for $0.38/BF (yep, that's 38 cents!!!). He was a serious woodworker/teacher and his regular hardwood salesman was trying to drum up a market for KOA. Over the years, Dad used about 700 BF making some world-class furniture pieces. A few years ago he showed up with the remaining 300BF in 6-8ft lengths in 6-10" widths and gifted it to me!!!! Now the challenge is to figure out some flatwork that would do the KOA justice. I've done a few humidors for some special friends........and feel guilty that I haven't put the rest of it to use.

Mike
Mike, some of that would make great segment work or just laminating some flats to make bowls etc.. I bet back in the day they were not too concerned about reforestation like today, looking more for cash flow ...

[Paul Engle]

While on Kauai in October I almost bought a 4" thick slab (about 14-16" square) of curly (stump) Koa in Hanapepe but it too was pretty rich and less than half the slab had curl. Perhaps if more curl.....
lovely wood indeed.

David ,I got a USPS box with drop offs and left overs that I plan on using for segment work and stuff for the Ornamental machine. I got one Select board at 2 " x 6 x 23 for 50$ that will make 3-4 small boxes but not sure if I will segment or not. Only one piece in the box has curl and not sure how I am going to work it ... I may just place on my display case as is .....

[Doug Herzberg]

Nice wood. I'm going there in a couple weeks - something to look forward to.

[Paul Engle]

Nice wood. I'm going there in a couple weeks - something to look forward to.

Doug, couple of leads for wood, about 6-7 miles north of Kapaa on the main highway , west side of the road is a driveway with a sign that says Kauai Hardwoods , I did not get a chance to stop so do not know what they have , also Rooster Exotic Woods ..808-652-8586 I did not make contact with David while there and not sure where his shop is . e-mail:davidgiul@yahoo.com. Also Robin Clark I made contact with but never got to meet him , he lives in the Poipu area ( south ) For more information on Kauai Woodturners contact club president Robin Clark at 808-332-5449 (home) or 808-639-5844 (cell) or email: mailto:robin.clark5@hawaiiantel.net (robin.clark5@hawaiiantel.net) . Robin has sources for wood

[Doug Herzberg]

Thanks, Paul. I'll check them out.

[Chip Sutherland]

I went to that store in Lihue on a trip 2 yrs ago. The lumber they had available was all flat stock and short cutoffs with nothing longer than 8". So I passed on it. Really wanted to buy some local art but the prices we fairly steep and the selection of turned art was very low. But we loved Kauai.

Best wood purchase in Hawaii was on the big island where we stumbled into Dan DeLuz's place. He has since passed away but his inventory of roughed out bowls was trememdous. I still have one large blank of curly koa to turn. Saw the sign to Kelly Dunn's place but the LOML would not go for the detour that day.

[Paul Engle]

I went to that store in Lihue on a trip 2 yrs ago. The lumber they had available was all flat stock and short cutoffs with nothing longer than 8". So I passed on it. Really wanted to buy some local art but the prices we fairly steep and the selection of turned art was very low. But we loved Kauai.

Best wood purchase in Hawaii was on the big island where we stumbled into Dan DeLuz's place. He has since passed away but his inventory of roughed out bowls was trememdous. I still have one large blank of curly koa to turn. Saw the sign to Kelly Dunn's place but the LOML would not go for the detour that day.

Kelly Dunn is pricey but his work is top shelf indeed !!! , she most likely wanted to spend the $ on stuff she wanted ... like the LOML did with pearls .... musta spent the national deb on pearls which the pearls are not too spendy but they talked her into having them set . There is another turner from one of the islands that did a 12-14 inch NE Koa full of quilting at the Koa store for 1200$ , Burnett or Bennett .. not sure of the name but very nice work. And the LOML did manage to sneak in a 6x6 Koa box with foam coasters (with wild life from the island printed on them) when I wasn't looking .. or was thinking she was buying some Aloha hand bags ... women can be sooo sneaky when they want to... I do like the material that has bamboo , I got one Aloha shirt there as I already have about 20 shirts that the Corp I worked for has Hawaii day on Fridays , one of the exec's lives on Maui north shore three months out of the year..

[andrew zen]

I go to Kauai all the time. kinda work/trade I have going.

Thanks for buying in Hawaii.

Koa is mostly found on the Big Island. Barged over after it is kiln dried. Price of Koa went up as the scare increased about supply when the Koa wilt infested some groves on the Big Island. There are no wide planks anymore as those trees have been harvested years ago and the Koa is a narrow tree. There is no replanting strategy, manual labor too expensive and agriculture (long term) is not lucrative as a whole (except for coffee and one last pineapple patch). Labor is a funny story on the islands. Hawaii has turned into a service only state, and very protected of their own, high wage labor.

The Koa Store has good stuff of different grades. They were afraid to buy Koa last time I was there due to price increases and the lack of demand for their expensive items. They have a small room with boards laid out with grades and prices. The owner does good work. but the upfront investment is a lot for a large piece, so he does a lot of boxes and the like. Hawaiins are notoriously thrifty and most tourists don't care about Koa or don't want to ship it home. So the store sells other things there to pay bills.

There is a lumberyard in Kapaa that has Koa and other hardwoods, some native to the pacific region.

If you want Koa, order a pallet from one of the lumberyards on the Big Island or Oahu and have it containered over. Each plank is serialized and priced due to grade. You will have to trust the lumberyard on their pricing, it is a sellers market these days.

Monkey pod.? Almost every nicnack sold made of wood on Kauai is Monkey Pod from the Philippines or Vietnam. I imagine Acacia (distantly related to Koa) will take over as I see it in home stores everywhere replacing bamboo in some cases.

There might be some Koa on the island, if you see a downed Koa, get a permit from the county clerk to harvest it. Taking a downed Koa is a serious cultural offense, even residents tends to follow this. Even better if you have one of this portable lumberyards (band saw) and a jeep, and a kiln (if still green). I was asked to container one over last time I was there. Partial containers are almost as expensive as a full container coming from Oakland on Matson.


The Koa Store will put a box of Koa kindling in a USPS flat rate box if you want. Each box is number with an inventory of the various grades and sizes.

Back when they had good inventory I would pack an extra suitcase and fill it to 50 pounds to return. Shippig that USPS or FedEx would be $200. Offset the price of the trip.


There is also a guy who makes Ukelele's on the island, visit him if you can find him.

I love Koa, but it is complicated. I am into tigerwood now. Koa sounds troubled.

[Paul Engle]

Thanks Andrew, I have some other wood from the islands and wish I could get more !

[Doug Herzberg]

Doug, couple of leads for wood, about 6-7 miles north of Kapaa on the main highway , west side of the road is a driveway with a sign that says Kauai Hardwoods

I found a place called Hawaiian Hardwoods in this area. This is the yard and showroom of a local woodworker named Randy Fleming. He does not sell wood to woodworkers. He has some really good carvings, some rustic furniture which is crafted to show off the wood, and a lot of little trinkets for those not willing to spend the bigger bucks, although I would not say his work is overpriced. The smaller stuff, bandsaw boxes, key rings, wine bottle corks, etc., look like he was just getting rid of small cut offs and he didn't put a lot of time into them, but that is reflected in the price. He runs the showroom on the honor system and no one was there when we visited. We signed the guestbook and bought a small item. A truck pulled up to the adjacent house, but if it was Randy, he didn't stop by to visit.

I've seen some logs lying along the roads from trimming operations. Some of them are small enough to be mailed or packed in luggage. I've been trying online to find a law prohibiting the taking of this wood, but haven't so far. One area is part of a larger construction site, so I may stop by and ask the foreman if I can just take some. Not knowing what it is, I'm reluctant to spend a lot of time or money on it, but what I saw looked like it might make some interesting endgrain boxes or small bowls.