Coconut Wood

[Allan]

Does anyone have experience with turning coconut wood? I tried turning a few spindles with wood that was seasoned for a year and found the “pulp†between the “fibers†was like cork. If someone could shed some light on using coconut wood for turning, I would appreciate it very much.
Allan

 

[dkulze]

Pretty sure coconut is a palm. I've heard of folks turning various palms that solidify when they dry. If it stays kinda corky and isn't solid enough to turn as is, you might try using a hardening agent such as PEG (although I'm not a fan of PEG). You can also use a vacume jar and eurythane oil. Just get a large jar with an airtight lid, put a hole in the top that will accept a vacume line fixture, and fill it with eurythane or the hardening agent of your choice. Put the wood in (it'll float so weight it down) and hook a vacume line to the lid. Pull out a few pounds of pressure and you should see the wood outgas and foam in the liquid. Give it a little while and release the vacume and it will suck up liquid. Do this a few times until the wood doesn't foam anymore when you pull the vacume. Let harden/dry for a few weeks and go for it. Let us know how it works.

Dietrich

 

[Doghouse]

The above method works very well. You can use either poly or laquer depending on your preference. It does take a long time to cure and as you turn, you may find that the inside is not fully cured. It will be solid, after a week but still off gas for a day or 2 after turning.

 

[Steve Worcester]

I knew I had seen that method somewhere. There was a guy (Frank Sharp Jr.)who used coconut palm in a turning at the 2003 symposium.

Here is a link to the photo
http://www.turningwood.com/AAW2003/IG/DSCN0977.JPG

If I remember correctly he strengthened the fibers with epoxy as he was turning because it was so pulpy.

 

[Allan]

Thanks for the input, guys.

In Fiji, I saw furniture made of coconut wood. The wood appeared to be dense and heavy. Perhaps it was all the absorbed/hardened finish that made it so.

I am going to leave turning coconut wood for another time.
Allan

 

[Mort]

Turning palm not making lumber of it

Larry Haslack [sp] - lives on the west coast of Florida north of Tampa area - demoed turning a palm hollow form for the Sarasota Wood Turners in March 2004. When selecting the wood [green] he uses a screwdriver as an ice pick and drives it into the wood by hand. Little penetration 1/2" to 1/4" and he gives it a try. The species appears not to be important to him, only that it will turn and not be corky or punky. His method of drying the interior of the hollow form involved pouring a quart or so of denatured alchol in it and sloshing it around. The wood is very wet by the way. He then dyes most of the palm pieces and finishes with laquer if I remember right. With all of the hassle watching Larry turn the palm it is not high on my list of wood to try. Having said that I will give it a try this winter when we flutter back south.

Old timers around Manatee County Florida said that many home were built of palm logs which were in perfect condition 100 + years later. Once again not species was mentioned.

Probably the only good you will get out of this post is Larry's name. Perhaps some one will correct the spelling of his last name - Please. I supect Larry will share some tips and tricks with you.

 

[Hawaii Turner]

Turning Coconut

:cool2: Aloha, I've turned 1-2 dozen coconut bowls. When cross cutting the tree, pay close attention to the spacing between the hard, dark fibers that are separated by the "cork". The closer the dark fibers are, the more solid the piece as there will be less cork fill. I have found some that are less then 1/64" apart and others over 1/8" apart. I also notice that the color of the hard fiber matters. If it is a dark red, you get more contrast and hence a nicer bowl. If it is more yellow-ish, it won't stand out and usually has more of the "cork". I have tried various products to solidify the corky pieces, but it usually is a wasted effort. Your best efffort is to carefully select the wood. I had once harvested wood from 8 trees and threw all but 1 away as they were too "corky"
Now, about spindle work, I would avoid using the inner core, maybe 3"-6" dia. as that area usually contains more of the cork than farther out. Cut your blanks from the outer area after using the selection criteria that I mentioned previously. I saturate my pieces with 50% thinned lacquer sanding sealer to toughen up the "cork" before starting and during sanding.
Aloha :cool2: :cool2: :cool2:
Doug (Hawaii Turner)