Man, i put an indoor deck around a exercise pool coupla years ago out of
Ipe. The stuff seemed to dull the freud blades i bought for the TS and MS
almost to the point of needing sharpened before lunchtime the first day!
After that i bought the cheapest blades money could buy just to keep the
project moving along. In retrospect, it may have been wiser to invest in
better quality blades. Thanks for the insight! --dave





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"Dave Jackson" wrote in message
ink.net...
I've had experience with Pau Lope (also called Ipe). It's called
ironwood for good reason. It's dense, heavy stuff. IIRC if you've ever
been on the boardwalk in Atlantic City, it is made of Pau Lope because it
never rots. It's devastating to carbide. I chose to buy a bunch of cheap
disposable blades as opposed to dulling expensive ones.. Predrill for
screws, or they'll just snap off. It'd be quite extreme for use as a
bed. Charge accordingly. --dave


I plunge cut hundreds of 1.5" long slots 3/8" deep and wide in Ipe and
have had better luck with a 4 flute HSS end mill bit than with a carbide
bit. I also resaw and make hundreds of cut into Ipe with a Forrest WWII
blade. I would say that Ipe is tough on carbide but certainly would not
say that it is devastating to carbide unless the carbide is a cheaper
grade that Forrest uses.