Has anyone turned IPE?

[Brian Clevenger]

I have a friend that is giving me some shorts, and I wondered if they would be good to turn. I've never really seen the stuff myself, but I was curious about what to do with them.

[Don Baer]

IPE(Tabebuia spp)
Color: Light to dark olive brown with greenish caste, often with lighter or darker streaks.

The Tree: May grow to 140-150 feet in height with trunk diameters of 72" and frequently to heights of 100 feet and diameters of 24-36". Boles are clear to 60 feet and more, with or without buttresses.

The Wood: A strong, tough, resilient wood. Naturally durable and weather resistant. Moderately difficult to work especially with hand tools; has a blunding effect on cutting edges, finishes smoothly except where grain is very roey.

Typical Uses: Furniture, flooring, industrial uses, tool handles, exterior applications, decking.

Source Region: Mexico, Central and South America

It's wood so I guess it's turnable..:D

[John Shuk]

I've turned pens from it and like it. I know Jim King has made vases using it as a lamination. Veiw it here.
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=45647&d=1156637152

[Raymond Overman]

A friend of mine gave me some from a deck project. (He's a carpenter) He called it Brazilian ironwood as well.

It works like you filled dry hickory with sand. It really dulls your tools and is hard as a rock.

[Jim King]

Brian:

We have two general types of IPE here. The lighter colored dark gold color is exported for decking. The darker type is much harder to find and is nice to turn and will take a nice shine. Glues up well also but be careful that it is dry. Most of the decking is said to have been kiln dried but it is probably 25% in the center. If you are lucky you might find some peices as black as ebony.

I posted this photo some time ago so here it is http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?p=382784#poststop

[Brian Clevenger]

The Ipe is coming from Kelly Hannah. He used it for decking. He has some shorts he was going to toss, so I thought it might be good to use for pens and such. It is mostly redish to brown in color. He mentioned that it was pretty hard on his blades, but I have the cheap delta sharpener, so I should be able to keep up with my tools okay. I figure I'll give it a go. If I don't like it, then I can go from there.

[John Shuk]

I think pens come out nicely. It sands funny. Try it and you'll see what I mean. Go up through the grits to say 400 and it will look really nice.