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Thread: Interesting new material - hempwood

  1. #1
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    Interesting new material - hempwood

    I tend to watch a lot of build videos for entertainment as well as for creative ideas, new techniques, etc. A recent viewing of a Chris Salamone/FourEyes project had a material that caught my eye where a product called hempwood was used for drawer fronts. So I ordered a sample to see just what this material was all about, how it looked and how it felt. Honestly, it's pretty kewel stuff and I can see interesting applications.

    The material is quite dense...it reminds me strongly of Advantech and similar products in that respect...but that shouldn't be surprising as it's made by compressing layers of material taken from the hemp plants along with an adhesive to produce boards and panels. Where it differs is that the folks who make it pay attention to "grain orientation" for visual appeal and the result is both a "flat sawn" and "rift sawn" option based on while you prefer for a given need. I actually like the "rift sawn" orientation of the layers for show and that was what was used in the video that made me look twice. At any rate, it's always nice to learn about new materials including those that potentially cross the sustainability threshold. This particular product isn't likely for "every use", but I can definitely see applications. It can be cut, resawn, profiled, etc., in the same manner that any other wood or composite product can be worked, and it clearly isn't wimpy stuff. I may very well try it out for some project down the line just for grins.

    IMG_E1693.jpg

    Oh, and the samples smell like fresh cut hay. No surprise there, either.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  2. #2
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    But can you smoke it!
    Brian

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Runau View Post
    But can you smoke it!
    Probably, but I doubt it will be enjoyable...
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  4. #4
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    Interesting. Any idea if it responds poorly to moisture like a lot of compressed wood chip products like particle board?

  5. #5
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    There were at least 8 large hemp farms here in Central Oregon covering thousands of acres 3 years ago. Every single one of them is now out of business. They were all extracting CBD as their primary product and that market seems to have pretty much died after consumers figured out that all the benefits were pretty much just hype. Western Oregon had a much larger hemp investment and they are all pretty much belly up too. In case you are wondering a hemp field has an overwhelming dead skunk smell late in its growing cycle just like marijuana does. We could smell the hemp skunk for miles around a farm.

    Locally a kid was arrested for stealing a hemp plant out of a large hemp field to sell to his high school buddies... LOL! (Hemp has pretty much no euphoria inducing THC like marijuana does.)

    Without a high dollar product like CBD I kind of doubt there will be much in secondary products like hemp wood.

    Cool to hear about new products though!
    Last edited by Michael Schuch; 07-26-2022 at 12:33 PM.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Runau View Post
    But can you smoke it!
    I think the meat would taste better with more traditional chips/pellets, Ive been getting good results with the traeger signiture blend

    It does have a nice look to it? Is it food safe(cutting board)?

  7. #7
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    I have no interest in its recreational uses but would love to see industrial production advance. The law passed in the 1930s took a heavy toll on the rural communities in our area. Some of the old-timers I knew as a kid were poor, disgruntled, former hemp farmers. Wood pulp mills are very unpleasant places. Hemp fiber can be refined with a fraction of the nasty processes required for wood. There is a quiet effort being made to bring it back. I hope it can work. It can be grown without Anhydrous Ammonia and Glyphosate. I wonder if Hempwood dust irritates the nose and eyes like MDF does.
    Best Regards, Maurice

  8. #8
    Thanks for posting, as others have said, it's always good to hear about new materials.
    My question is this, most all of these products rice hull MDF, hemp wood, bamboo, all of them are a good percentage of glue/resin. How does that affect the environmental aspect and the longevity of these products?
    We've kind of gotten to a point with resins, that the wood, straw, grass, what ever, is only a minor part of the product, just a carrier for the resin.
    Just some thoughts

  9. #9
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    Hemp has very long fibers. It would be interesting to know more about the Hempwood process, what resins, and what the proportions are. I can imagine some interest in a Hempwood guitar or skateboard.
    Best Regards, Maurice

  10. #10
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    It reminds me of those big support beams that are made of compressed lengthwise wood fibers all glued together.
    Bill D

  11. #11
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    Good luck to them. Really small company right now. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uua964Y6BbA
    There have been other companies attempt to do this, wheatboard using wheat straw, and Environ using dyed recycled newspaper and soybean adhesive. I tried both of them, but they dropped out as quick as they started. The wheatboard was a delight to cut, smelled just like my early days on the farm.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Becker View Post
    …a product called hempwood was used for drawer fronts. …
    I wonder if they carry our plan to carry woodturning blank sizes. Would be beautiful figure for turning. Even 2x2s would be useful.

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by John K Jordan View Post
    I wonder if they carry our plan to carry woodturning blank sizes. Would be beautiful figure for turning. Even 2x2s would be useful.
    I know they had pen blanks, but didn't notice anything larger...but I wasn't looking for that. I don't see that kind of product as being an issue, however, as I suspect the initial compressed production is for thicker material which they then cut into the "boards" in the intended orientation. That's speculation on my part, but it feels likely.

    Quote Originally Posted by Andrew More View Post
    Interesting. Any idea if it responds poorly to moisture like a lot of compressed wood chip products like particle board?
    I will have to investigate that. It pretty much comes down to what kind of adhesive binder is used to make and compress the product together. Advantech and similar, for example, use a polyurethane type glue which is pretty darn water/moisture tolerant once cured.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Michael Schuch View Post
    Without a high dollar product like CBD I kind of doubt there will be much in secondary products like hemp wood.
    Hemp has been used in industry for a very long time. Rope, for example, as well as oils and many other products. The type of hemp used for industrial products isn't necessarily the same plants as the "recreational" materials are made from.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  15. #15
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    Using their pricing for a 72" x 5.25" X 1" board, I calculated that it goes for $16/bf without considering freight cost. At that price, not even considering its aesthetics, this is going to be a tough sell in my opinion.

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