Urban Logging Fail

[Shawn Pixley]

Here in Southern California, there are very few forests (read as "none"). I have been able to score some wood from people who have a tree die in their yard. I also have seen palm lumber at vaious lumber yards. So, I had an opportunity to see if the local Palms could be made into lumber.

A neighbor on the block took down a largish queen palm (frond palm, not fan palm). I took 2 of the sections to experiment and see if I could dry and cut it successfully. The wood was white, wet, very light, and very soft. I sealed the ends and did some online research on palm lumber. The research inticated that stabilizing the wood might help turn the "soft white straws" into a more homgeneous board. I went down to the garage with the intent of using some left over epoxy to stabilize one board. I planned to use a wood hardener on anothe and let the third be untreated.

When I got down there I found that the wood had developed a full coat of green mold in the 24 hours since I had retrieved it. I have never seen mold form this fast. I took the wood out of the garage immediately. I hope it doesn't spread to anything else.

So palm is not easy to deal with here. This experiment failed, but I'll try again using a solar kiln...

[Dan Hintz]

For very porous "wood" (palm is a great example), you really want to vacuum stabilize to really get through the "straws". Luckily, that stuff loses water FAST, but you can speed it up as with all other woods by dropping it in some alcohol for a couple of days before letting it sit to dry. Once it's dry, then stabilize with something like Cactus Juice.

[Sean Hughto]

I remember visiting friends in LA who had some nice fruit trees in their yard - like limes and mangoes and and tangerines etc. I think I'd look for some of that. And how about mesquite?

[Judson Green]

I've heard of turners putting wood in the freezer. Not sure how or if that works. Probably wouldn't give mold an agreeable environment.

[Shawn Pixley]

Thats what I planned to do. I was surprised that the mold formed so fast. Well less than 24 hours.

[Ole Anderson]

Wow, I would never have considered palm something a woodworker would consider as it really isn't a "wood' is it? But then bamboo has become a big item in hardwood floors and knick-knacks.

[Dan Hintz]

Wow, I would never have considered palm something a woodworker would consider as it really isn't a "wood' is it? But then bamboo has become a big item in hardwood floors and knick-knacks.

It makes great turning stock... here's a pen done in red palm:

EDIT: and BTW, this one wasn't stabilized, and I got quite a few splinters during the process.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xaf1/t1.0-9/304230_551309528212385_1512121968_n.jpg

[Shawn Pixley]

It makes great turning stock... here's a pen done in red palm:

EDIT: and BTW, this one wasn't stabilized, and I got quite a few splinters during the process.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xaf1/t1.0-9/304230_551309528212385_1512121968_n.jpg

I'm intensely curious. I've seen pen turners and knife makers use it. I have seen the Black Palm boards available. On the internet you can find Coconut Palm boards. So I thought, why not try it. The worst thing that could happen was that it did not work and I would have wasted a little time and some small amount of resin and hardener.

291284
Here is a picture of the mold. This is about 18 hours after I picked it up. It was pure white when I picked it up.

Palm seems to be halfway between a tree and a grass. I was surprised how light it was, especially as it was very wet. For the mold to develop this quickly, there must be native enzymes that break down sucrose and celullose into simple sugars. Admittedly, my knowledge of botany is very, very small.

[Joe Kaufman]

Similar experience with palm plus it has an unpleasant odor anytime you mess with it. I ended up tossing it. A member of out wood turning group turned a vase from Queen Palm and it was an attention getter. Looked great. The only comment I remember was it took several cans of spray lacquer in the process.

I've experienced similar mold conditions with Sycamore if
I do anything to slow down the drying process. I have not tried sealing with any of the wax emulsions'.