Canary wood?

[Bob Lasley]

Good morning everyone,

Does anyone know what the gluing properties of Canary Wood are? I have done a search and not come up with anything regarding gluing. The wood seems slightly waxy coming out of the planer. However, Jatoba feels this way and it glues up just fine. Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Bob

[Lloyd Robins]

Bob, I ran a google search on canary wood, and while I found a lot of information and some beautiful pictures of the wood, I found nothing about gluing problems. Hopefully someone else will have personal experience with the wood. If not I guess you will have to become the "guru" in this area for the creek. Good luck!

[jerry cousins]

i just finished a writing desk of canary. found it to be a nice wood to work & even though it does feel waxy it glued up just fine. i did learn (a little late) that it is an open pore wood like oak and if you want a smooth surface it needs to be filled.

thought i had some pics of the table on this computer, but they must be at home. have attached a picture of a small clock - the case is canary. a beautiful wood and nice to work with.

jerry

[Tyler Howell]

Very Nice!

TJH

[Kevin Gerstenecker]

Bob, Canarywood can be glued without problem using yellow glue. True Canarywood is actually just another name for Tulip Poplar. The wood is easy to work with hand and power tools, and can be planed to a very smooth finish. It stains, polishes and paints well too. This wood is sometimes confuses with Whitewood, which it is sometimes called in England. Other names it has been referred to here are Canary Whitewood or just plain old Tulip Tree. I have never worked with this wood on a large scale, but I found it to be cooperative and it finished well. The get BIG in my neck of the woods, and they grow rapidly, hence they are not a real sturdy tree. Hope this helps you some Bob. Glue 'er up and use fasteners just like you would any other project.

[Mike Mastin]

Bob, Canarywood can be glued without problem using yellow glue. True Canarywood is actually just another name for Tulip Poplar. The wood is easy to work with hand and power tools, and can be planed to a very smooth finish. It stains, polishes and paints well too. This wood is sometimes confuses with Whitewood, which it is sometimes called in England. Other names it has been referred to here are Canary Whitewood or just plain old Tulip Tree. I have never worked with this wood on a large scale, but I found it to be cooperative and it finished well. The get BIG in my neck of the woods, and they grow rapidly, hence they are not a real sturdy tree. Hope this helps you some Bob. Glue 'er up and use fasteners just like you would any other project.

Kevin,

The Canarywood that Bob mentioned is an exotic from Africa :-) Tulip Poplar is indeed often referred to as Canarywood, but this is a real exotic that Bob has asked about.

[Kevin Gerstenecker]

Woops, sorry Bob and Mike. The only information I have on Exotic Canarywood mentions it's very oily properties, and suggests that the areas to be glued be treated with Acetone prior to gluing. Sorry about the misinformation earlier.

[Mike Johnson - Chicago]

Assuming you are talking about the Centrolobium ssp. Canarywood, I found it very easy to work with. Machines well, glues well, smells funny. I used Titebond I and had no issues what so ever.

Here is a couple of pics of the crib I made for my daughter with it.

[Chris DiCiaccio]

I have had no problems with gluing Canarywood. Titebond II is what I used on this piece. The bottom is poplar and the top is Canarywood.

<img src="http://members.aol.com/woodwk/SOFATBL1.JPG">
<img src="http://members.aol.com/woodwk/SOFATBL3.JPG">

[Bob Lasley]

Thanks for the info folks. This wood is the exotic variety such as in the crib and cabinet Mike and Chris posted, which BTW are gorgeous. The wood does machine well and does indeed have a strange smell. Titebond it shall be. Will post pics of this when I am done, probably about Christmas Eve.

Thanks again,
Bob

[Christoph G. Olesch]

Hello All ... I know this is an old post, but I am working with Canary for the first time. I recently purchased it to build a bathroom sink vanity cabinet. Information I have from my supplier is that it is the species centrolobium spp. The tree grows sporadically and comes from Panama to Ecuador and southern Brazil. As others have mentioned, it is oily and porous, but machines beautifully, I am making floating panels for the cabinet and routes very smooth. I took a risk and I'm sealing the panels now with Min-Wax Wipe-On Poly. The finish is beautiful. I did not seal the wood ... It looks like 4 coats is the magic number after finish sanding with 220 grit. The Min-Wax does not look plastic and, after applying a paste wax, it has a wonderful, hand rubbed looking sheen.

[Wade Lippman]

I bought some on closeout (I will buy anything for the right price...) and have used it once. Mine looks like a light rosewood; wish I had bought more.