Kevin’s Ipê

[formariz 12,130]

Two years ago Kevin @Pullstartbrought me  a truckload of Ipê and Ash scraps to the show. It has become a source of many projects . Here are just two of the latest. The first a new piece for the leg vise on my bench and the other one done by my son Alex, two planters for some vegetables built like a cage so they can survive the deer onslaught.

 

 

 

 

[ebinmaine 74,488]

32 minutes ago, formariz said:

scraps

 

Excellent second chance usage!!

[Pullstart 68,131]

So nice to see this put to use, friend!  The majority of what I kept was used for starting fires, props, jack stands, etc.  not much pretty but for a Pullstart handle.  
 

 

[Treepep 830]

18 hours ago, formariz said:

Ipê

 

I uh don't compute.  Could you explain that wordplease

 

Before becoming a chef I was an arborist.  I still identify as one however I have never heard of that wood.  Is it tropical?  Cannot possibly be in the Americas or I would know it.

 

Thank you sir

[formariz 12,130]

Ipê is a South American wood very prominent in Brazil. There are three varieties, yellow, red, and purple Ipê. Although there are minor differences in wood of each species they are named after the flowers the tree produces. An Ipê in full bloom is an impressive sight. 
 Widely used here for exterior work such as decks and outdoors furniture. Extremely hard to, durable and insect resistant. 

Yellow Ipê in Brasil from a friends photo

Edited 10 hours ago by formariz

[953 nut 62,108]

47 minutes ago, formariz said:

Extremely hard to, durable and insect resistant. 

Due to its extreme strength it is also a wood of choice for wood turners who do thin turnings like pens and kitchen utensil handles. One safety concern is the presence of  silica in the sawdust. A filtered air respirator is a must.

[Treepep 830]

Very cool.  I have a pretty good stack of tropical hardwood.  Wish you were near!  I used to make kitchen utensils and sell them to chefs.  Too busy for that business.

 

Thank you sir!

[Beap52 1,622]

Tropical wood indeed can make a feller have lung infections if sawdust in inhaled. 

 

I made the clock in 2003 while we lived in the Philippines. The clock face is brass that was etched and painted by a shop there.  The wood is narra.  It's THE wood of the Philippines.  Over logging has brought a logging ban so I was able to secure used narra when houses were torn down.  It was used as solid wood paneling in old homes. 

 

The wardrobe was built in Thailand.  It's teak with capiz doors.  Capiz is a shell that was used for windows in the Philippines.  These doors are new but old ones can be purchased when houses were torn down.  The reason I built the wardrobe is because houses in Thailand don't come with closets in the bedrooms. 

 

If memory serves me, I think I paid about one dollar a square foot for this tropical woodl some twenty years ago.