Palm?

[Russell Neyman]

Has anyone ever turned palm wood? I'm imagining it will lack density and color, but a friend took down a medium-sized tree and wants to know if it's worth making a bowl.

[Robert Hayward]

Have not turned any myself but I have been told it does not turn well. Much like turning a bundle of straws.

Again I have not tried it but have given thought to stabilizing a piece of palm to see if that would fill in the voids between the "tubes". I live in an area rich in palm trees. Many of which are removed every year for various reasons.

[Russell Neyman]

,,, I have not tried it but have given thought to stabilizing a piece of palm to see if that would fill in the voids between the "tubes"...

I'm of the same mindset. Given is appears to lack color or figure, filling it with resin would be like turning a piece of plastic. I'll probably chuck up a small bit just to confirm my suspicions.

[Sam Force]

I have used black palm in segmented bowls and really like the look. It did turn like straws

[Jim Tobias]

The "straws" in it actually give it an interesting look(IMHO). I did this one awhile back and it was not difficult. I believe it was Black Palm. I've also turned a small piece of red palm with same results. I don't know if the species are all the same when it comes to turning them.
Sounds like you may be getting a larger piece which could be very nice. Mine were just small turning squares.
Jim
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[Edward Weber]

Palm (which is actually a grass) has no growth rings, but the grain is straight and is usually quite hard, can be very stringy and difficult to turn.
Sharp tools and patience are necessary

[Reed Gray]

Some one gave me a piece once to make a bowl out of, and in bowl/side grain mode, that is just a big NO! Never forgave him for that.... The end grain tear out is not fixable, even with 80 grit. I do have one piece in my collection that was an end grain bowl turned from a light colored palm tree, and it is beautiful. I would expect end grain would turn a lot better than side grain.

robo hippy

[Richard Coers]

Palm (which is actually a grass) has no growth rings, but the grain is straight and is usually quite hard, can be very stringy and difficult to turn.
Sharp tools and patience are necessary
You can call anything in palm as having grain? I relate palm to corn stalks. Long fibrous strings held together with a soft matrix. Black palm is the hardest, then red palm, and something like royal palm trees get super close to unturnable. You absolutely can't use a scraper.

[Edward Weber]

You're right, I should have said the stringy strands are usually straight.

[David Walser]

Palm stabilizes fairly easily — the porous nature of palm allows the resin to penetrate deeply. Once stabilized, it turns well. Without being stabilized, most types of palm are all- but impossible to turn.

[Robert Hayward]

I can visualize a bunch of possibilities for palm wood and a stabilizer or colored resin fill. If I did not have so many projects partially completed right now I would be on my way to the tree dump. Where the tree people take their downed trees.

David, does palm need to be completely dry to stabilize? Like a piece of real wood does?

Not too many days ago the root ball and about a 20" length and 18" diameter of the trunk of what looks like a cabbage palm was illegally dumped at the edge of a lake near me. Tempted to go there with my chainsaw and take the section of trunk. It is county property with a No Trespassing sign though. Soon as I start my chainsaw someone will call non emergency and you will be hearing about me on the news. Better wait until I have time to go to the tree dump.

[David Walser]

Robert -- Yes, the Palm needs to be dry to stabilize. There are two reasons for this: First, Cactus Juice does not behave properly in the presence of water. It will foam up when you attempt to cure it. Other stabilizing resins may be compatible with water. If so, I'm unaware of them. Second, to penetrate the wood completely, the resin would need to displace the water. Fortunately, because it is basically just a bunch of straws, palm dries very quickly. (At least, it dries quickly here in Arizona. I can't speak for Florida!)