Worst wood ever

[Brad Adams]

Just got done roughing out a wet Monkey Pod bowl blank. Let me tell you, it was the worst stringy piece of wood I have ever turned. No matter what I did I couldn't get it to cut well. It is a beautiful piece of wood though.

[glenn bradley]

Aptly named in 1832 for making a monkey out of people who tried to turn them? I don't turn but, have had the experience of finishing a phase with some piece of material and asking myself "what in the world is this stuff!?!".

[Dennis Collier]

Ive only turned it dry but that stuff has chatoyance(is that the right word) like no wood Ive ever seen. Beautiful stuff!!

[Thom Sturgill]

Ive only turned it dry but that stuff has chatoyance(is that the right word) like no wood Ive ever seen. Beautiful stuff!!

Chatoyance is specifically the effect that creates a 'tiger eye' or 'Cat's eye' gem. In woodworking it refers to the shimmering effect common to woods like curly maple that reflect light differently as the angle changes. I have some butternut bowls that while possessing no curl, do exhibit chatoyance.

[Scott Hackler]

Don't ever buy a palm blank! It is the equivilant of straw glued together! :)

[Dan Hintz]

Don't ever buy a palm blank! It is the equivilant of straw glued together! :)

<chuckle> CA glue (or stabilization) is your friend here. Palm splinters are surprisingly nasty buggers, so I prefer not to let them split off in the first place.

[robert baccus]

Palm turns fine but I stabilize it first with an epoxy soak. Black palm however is very hard but good quality wood with little brown showing is hard to find. Palm (400 species +) has its hardest wood toward the bark and the inside wood is always softer. Black palm is covered with 3" black needles by the thousands--hard to log.

[William C Rogers]

Don't ever buy a palm blank! It is the equivilant of straw glued together! :)

+1 on Palm wood. Worst I ever tried to turn. Never again.