Jacaranda insights please

[Ollie McDottie]

Hello Everybody

We just had a couple jacarandas removed from our front yard. I have three trunks about 6’ long and 12-20” diameter. Thinking about having them milled and dried to make something in the future. Does anybody have any experience with this species regarding the drying process, time/thickness/etc, and then for use in furniture building.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Brice Rogers]

I'm a wood turner and I've turned a few dozens of jacaranda logs. It is a lower density wood, very light cream color (but when wet will oxidize quickly after being cut and look orange - - but that is just on the surface. Once it is dry and sanded there is no trace of orange. It is also kind of porous. One time I was sanding the inside of a bowl and shot the inside with compressed air and I noticed dust coming off the inside. Also, when I've dyed the wood, the dye penetrates deeply. I don't recall that there was much if any tear-out when turning. So, in general, it is a pretty well-behaved wood.

It also seems to be pretty stable dimensionally. I don't recall any tendency to crack and it doesn't distort much during drying. It can have a bit of chatoyance, which can be nice.

[Ollie McDottie]

Thanks for the insights Brice.

If you’re up in Los Angeles any time soon, feel free to come by workshop for some stock. I have more than I can use and happy to share for your insights.