Interesting new material - hempwood

[Bill Dufour]

How is this any better then a PSL beam?
Bill D

https://www.weyerhaeuser.com/woodpro...lam-psl-beams/

[Warren Lake]

hemp has been around forever. my mother talked about when I was a kid as it was used in clothing in europe, THC in hemp is super low think under 3 percent. Coast to Coast did a show in it years ago and in that it was said that hemp was made illegal and likely cause one super rich family saw it would cut into their pulp and paper profits. There are endless products made from it in health food stores up to at one point I think BMW and Mercedes used it in their car doors as it was super strong and light. Cheech and Chong also did in the van they were delivering only not hemp.

The coast show described it as a miracle plant for farmers as it could be grown between crops, grew super fast, didnt deplete the soil like other crops. They did say harvest you need special cutters as it was so hard and strong the usual stuff could not stand up to it

Guess they needed to get a tersa head.

[Jim Becker]

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.

I don't disagree...it's definitely a specialty material, but at the same time, I can see some applications where the visual will make it worth the cost, which if you think about it, isn't much different than highly figured solid stock in many species these days.

[Jim Becker]

How is this any better then a PSL beam?
Bill D

It's not better...for what glue-lam beams are used for. The benefit is that this material is made from a sustainable plant material.

[Mark Gibney]

Interesting, thanks Jim. I like how it looks from what I've seen online. I think I'll try to get my hands on some and see how I like working with it.

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[Jim Becker]

Yea, I really like the look of the "rift sawn" orientation like you show in that flooring, Mark. I could really get into that look...too bad it would be way beyond budget for my new shop building. LOL

The sample pack I ordered was $14 I think which pretty much covered the cost of USPS postage.

[Curt Harms]

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.

There was an effort to promote hemp during WW II when traditional rope making fiber supplies were under Japanese control. A few wild descendants of those efforts can still be found in the midwest.

[Keith Outten]

The State of Kentucky only recently changed their law to allow farmers to grow hemp. For law enforcement it is very difficult to distinguish hemp from marijuana that contains THC. Hemp can be a very profitable crop that has many uses, its easy to manage and fast growing.

[Warren Lake]

gov stupidity or done by a rich family that stood to lose tons of money from it. This stuff is nothing new history is full of it. Find the coast show its stated in that show. You cant get high from it so why ban it. History of many uses for it.

[Earl McLain]

There was an effort to promote hemp during WW II when traditional rope making fiber supplies were under Japanese control. A few wild descendants of those efforts can still be found in the midwest.

I grew up near Nappanee IN and there was a regular supply of “ditch weed”, also known as “Nappanee Nasty”. While there was minimal if any THC, it was really cheap and easy to get. Harsh enough that the coughing/hacking got you dizzy enough to fall down—so it served it’s purpose. At least that’s what I heard. On a street corner.

I’ve seen a fair number of pics of pens turned from the hemp wood product, the look reminds me of black or red palm. Mixed reviews on how it turns small-scale (pens)…from easy with sharp tools to worse than black palm or bamboo. To me, there’s much better wood to turn small items, so I’ve not tried it.
earl

[Warren Lake]

I know nothing about it other than that show and likely 100 good uses for it. We been scammed enough times and this just one more of them. Imagine if the powers to be actually put us first.

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[Edward Weber]

https://www.britannica.com/plant/hemp

I like hemp oil as a finish, just one of a thousand uses this plant has.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

Speakers with cones made from Hemp fibers are getting good reviews.