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What Exotic Wood to Get for a Friend?

Larry Steinmetz

Larry Steinmetz

Joined
Jun 2, 2019
Messages
144
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42
Location
Alvin, TX
I am certain there could be a whole host of personal opinions but here is the scenario.

A long time Coast Guard friend of mine is getting transferred from Houston to St. Louis. He is a very good wood turner and has made some phenomenal going away/promotion gifts for fellow Coasties. He will get a very nice going-away plaque but my son (also active duty CG) and I would like to get him some nice exotic wood as a thank you and farewell and we are looking in the $100 - $150 range. He uses a lot of different woods so I can’t really say I know exactly what he favors so, kinda like Christmas, if you could splurge on wood, what would be your suggestions as turning stock gift?
 
A nice burls is a good choice if he can’t turn it right away they tend to keep.

You may have some of the same exotics we have in florida if you go a bit south.
You may find some excellent pieces around Corpus Christi.
I personally favor camphor and red gum eucalyptus both native to Australia but fairly common here.
Rosewoods and cuban Mahogany ( probably a native) are also local finds.
 
What sort of things does he like to turn? Is there something he's always wanted to try, but hasn't had the right wood (like hand chased threads)? Are we talking spindle wood or face grain wood? Is there some sort of local tropical wood found in Houston that he's never going to see again in Missouri?
 
Good questions Dean. He does a lot more spindle turning (bottle openers, really nice pepper mills, etc.) than anything else. I have never got the chance to watch him do it but he turns hammerheads for vessel inspector going-away plaques as the inspection hammer is a tool (and a symbol) of our trade. He has talked about doing some platters and bowls in the future so was thinking a nice bowl blank might be the inspiration he needs.
 
hockenbery said:
A nice burls is a good choice if he can’t turn it right away they tend to keep.

You may have some of the same exotics we have in florida if you go a bit south.
You may find some excellent pieces around Corpus Christi.
I personally favor camphor and red gum eucalyptus both native to Australia but fairly common here.
Rosewoods and cuban Mahogany ( probably a native) are also local finds.
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I'll have to look into some of the woods you mention. On my property, I have the standard water and live oaks, pecan, hackberry, too much Chinese Tallow, Elm and some things back in the woods that I haven't id'd yet. A road trip could be in order to see what else I can come up with. We do not have a lot of specialty wood supply houses in the Houston area (4th largest city in America) but we do have one that is great called Clark's Hardwood Lumber Co. (https://shop.clarkshardwood.com/) and they have quite a bit of interesting wood including some sheet goods I have never seen anywhere else.
 
odie said:
If I wanted to make a special impression, I'd pick out a nice burl figure....

-----odie-----
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A nice burl would certainly be a great gift. I'll have to see if I can get one local before he leaves (or possibly go online to see what is available).
 
I have a personal opinion about exotics. If you can guarantee it comes from a responsible source, it could be alright. BUT, there is so much wood poaching going on I prefer to stick with domestics. I'm not saying poaching is not a problem in America, but we did our land clearing a long time ago and many foreign countries are still in the swing of it. Once they clear cut the Amazon Basin, we are all in trouble! Buy him a nice piece of Mesquite burl as a remembrance of leaving Texas. Or really any domestic burl. Black ash burl is in the amazing category.
 
I think there are a couple of businesses in Florida that sell exotics. Basically they have contracts so they can harvest after the storms. Just about anything grows in Florida. Cook woods out of Klamath Falls OR has a lot of special woods. Not sure if they do gift cards or not. Gilmer Woods up in Portland has a bunch of 'if you have to ask, you can't afford it anyway' types of woods.

robo hippy
 
Bob Brown said:
If he buys his wood, find it where. Contact that company and purchase a gift card.
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I like the idea but with a twist…anyone on here from the St. Louis area that could recommend a good wood store? I saw a few from a quick Google search but would appreciate any recommendations.
 
Join the woodbarter.com forum to avoid the middle man markup. Joining is free as long as your a fellow woodworker (woodturning counts). Look in the Wood For Sale & Wood For Trade forum for gift ideas.

If he’s a really nice friend then look for pics from member Mike1950 of some gorgeous West Coast Big Leaf Maple Burl. Mike has some of the prettiest burl wood I’ve ever seen.
 
Karl Loeblein said:
Join the woodbarter.com forum to avoid the middle man markup. Joining is free as long as your a fellow woodworker (woodturning counts). Look in the Wood For Sale & Wood For Trade forum for gift ideas.

If he’s a really nice friend then look for pics from member Mike1950 of some gorgeous West Coast Big Leaf Maple Burl. Mike has some of the prettiest burl wood I’ve ever seen.
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Thanks, Karl...somehow woodbarter.com has escaped me. I feel like I have seen it in the past but is not a normal stop for me... I'll have to give it a look!
 
robo hippy said:
I think there are a couple of businesses in Florida that sell exotics. Basically they have contracts so they can harvest after the storms. Just about anything grows in Florida. Cook woods out of Klamath Falls OR has a lot of special woods. Not sure if they do gift cards or not. Gilmer Woods up in Portland has a bunch of 'if you have to ask, you can't afford it anyway' types of woods.

robo hippy
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I have bought a lot from Cook Woods. One think I like is for a lot of their wood, the piece you see in the picture is the actual piece of wood you will receive. They are also generally decent about pointing out any 'flaws' in that piece of wood - cracks, checking, etc. Never had an issue with them, and would recommend them in a heartbeat.
 
robo hippy said:
I think there are a couple of businesses in Florida that sell exotics. Basically they have contracts so they can harvest after the storms. Just about anything grows in Florida. Cook woods out of Klamath Falls OR has a lot of special woods. Not sure if they do gift cards or not. Gilmer Woods up in Portland has a bunch of 'if you have to ask, you can't afford it anyway' types of woods.

robo hippy
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Less than a year ago I bought some really nice Myrtle from Cook Woods. As an active duty Coast Guard guy, I was stationed in both Brookings and Newport in the 80's and fell in love with Myrtlewood (including using the leaves as a substitute for bay leaves). I also fell in love with craft beer and was stationed in Newport when Rogue opened up Bay Front Brewing...those were great times!
 
Yet another option would be something that has a personal meaning or connection to him. Knowing he’s in the Coast Guard, lignum vitae comes to mind for its historical use on sailing ships.

I had the opportunity to go to Sea Base in the Florida Keys twice with my son to scuba dive. Great trips and they have several lignum vitae trees on the property.
 

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Steve Saah said:
Yet another option would be something that has a personal meaning or connection to him. Knowing he’s in the Coast Guard, lignum vitae comes to mind for its historical use on sailing ships.

I had the opportunity to go to Sea Base in the Florida Keys twice with my son to scuba dive. Great trips and they have several lignum vitae trees on the property.
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Excellent idea...along with the Coast Guard, lignum vitae reminds me of my Navy days. My friend and I have talked about this very wood in the past so might have to see if I can find some.
 
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