I got some desert ironwood from friends who spend the winters in Arizona.We
don't see much of that here in Maine.
Any thing anyone can tell me about this wood would be helpful.
Kevin

On Tue, 12 May 2009 18:22:39 -0400, "Kevin Cleary"
wrote:

I got some desert ironwood from friends who spend the winters in Arizona.We
don't see much of that here in Maine.
Any thing anyone can tell me about this wood would be helpful.
Kevin

Well since we're in Maine and we often stain pine and call it oak, we
have Ipe and can call it Ironwood. It just isn't as 'purty' as the
stuff mac collects in the desert.

So where abouts in Maine are you Kevin?

Lenny

I'm in Milford,near Old Town and you?
wrote in message
...
On Tue, 12 May 2009 18:22:39 -0400, "Kevin Cleary"
wrote:

I got some desert ironwood from friends who spend the winters in
Arizona.We
don't see much of that here in Maine.
Any thing anyone can tell me about this wood would be helpful.
Kevin

Well since we're in Maine and we often stain pine and call it oak, we
have Ipe and can call it Ironwood. It just isn't as 'purty' as the
stuff mac collects in the desert.

So where abouts in Maine are you Kevin?

Lenny

Actually Iron wood is a local or regional wood. It is the hardest local.

I have some Iron wood from the South Pacific. I know it is different from yours.

In Maine - you likely have a species that is locally known as an iron wood.

Likely the Iron Wood from Arizona is very dense and hard. It is likely nice
for small projects - pens and such.

I don't know that wood, but the general term available to localities.

Martin

Kevin Cleary wrote:
I got some desert ironwood from friends who spend the winters in Arizona.We
don't see much of that here in Maine.
Any thing anyone can tell me about this wood would be helpful.
Kevin

On Tue, 12 May 2009 18:22:39 -0400, "Kevin Cleary" wrote:

I got some desert ironwood from friends who spend the winters in Arizona.We
don't see much of that here in Maine.
Any thing anyone can tell me about this wood would be helpful.
Kevin

Mostly, be prepared for a mess... It's a wonderful wood once you get it
polished, but you're going to cover your lathe with brown or black dust..

Like all turning, sharp tools and light touch are important..
Watch for cracks/fissures and expect it to come apart on you... It might not,
but IMO it's better to be ready..

I'm guessing that since it's from AZ, it's not a large heavy piece?
The first 2 problems if it's in it's natural state are sand (sometimes
impregnated) and stones.. Check it well..
If it's small enough to cut on the bandsaw it will work fine until the blade
dulls.. cuts pretty normally..
If you have to use a chainsaw, good luck!
D. I. loves to dull chains..

Once you get it on the lathe, turn pretty much like any other wood, being very
aware of tools dulling..
Even if you're getting nice shavings, most D.I. will also throw out lots of
gritty dust, so us a DC and mask..

The difference comes when you're in the final stages... Scrapers work well but
can be touchy, it's the only wood that I take the burr off of my scraper for..

Sanding is sort of backwards... Speed/heat/pressure not only don't hurt it but
seem to work best to get a glass-like finish..
It's not going to absorb a finish, so I wouldn't try..
I sand to 400 and buff with the Beall system and the finish is amazing..
(looks like it's sanded to 1,000 or more)

Let me know if I can help!

mac


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

On Tue, 12 May 2009 21:50:05 -0400, "Kevin Cleary"
wrote:

I'm in Milford,near Old Town and you?

Searsport here. Work with a guy that use to live in Milford, know any
Quills ? Also went to college with a guy from up that way, Tim
Deschane ? He had a twin brother Tom. Ever heard of them?

Lenny

On Tue, 12 May 2009 21:05:46 -0500, "Martin H. Eastburn"
wrote:

Actually Iron wood is a local or regional wood. It is the hardest local.

I have some Iron wood from the South Pacific. I know it is different from yours.

In Maine - you likely have a species that is locally known as an iron wood.

Likely the Iron Wood from Arizona is very dense and hard. It is likely nice
for small projects - pens and such.

I don't know that wood, but the general term available to localities.

Martin

I know Lie-Nielsen uses locally grown hornbeam for their chisels ...
http://www.lie-nielsen.com/index.php

but I'm pretty sure at least what we get for Ipe decking (and it is
referred to in the brochure as ironwood) comes from somwhere out of
state (and probably not even in the Northeast).

Lenny

Scientific Name
Ostrya virginiana

Trade Name
Ironwood

Common Names
Eastern hophornbeam
Ironwood

Regions of Distribution
North America

Countries of Distribution
United States

On IPE - I find 21 results in search.
Perhaps Eastern red cedar

Wood Explorer software. Good resource for wood information!

Martin

wrote:
On Tue, 12 May 2009 21:05:46 -0500, "Martin H. Eastburn"
wrote:

Actually Iron wood is a local or regional wood. It is the hardest local.

I have some Iron wood from the South Pacific. I know it is different from yours.

In Maine - you likely have a species that is locally known as an iron wood.

Likely the Iron Wood from Arizona is very dense and hard. It is likely nice
for small projects - pens and such.

I don't know that wood, but the general term available to localities.

Martin

I know Lie-Nielsen uses locally grown hornbeam for their chisels ...
http://www.lie-nielsen.com/index.php

but I'm pretty sure at least what we get for Ipe decking (and it is
referred to in the brochure as ironwood) comes from somwhere out of
state (and probably not even in the Northeast).

Lenny

Martin H. Eastburn wrote:
Scientific Name
Ostrya virginiana

Trade Name
Ironwood

Common Names
Eastern hophornbeam
Ironwood

Regions of Distribution
North America

Countries of Distribution
United States

On IPE - I find 21 results in search.
Perhaps Eastern red cedar

Wood Explorer software. Good resource for wood information!

Martin

Ipe

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN - South America (Brazil)

BOTANICAL NAME - Tabebuia Serratifolia

OTHER NAMES - Pau D'Arco, Ipe Tabaco, Yellow Poui, Bethabara, Pau Lope,
Ironwood

Ipe information can be found at:

http://www.advantagelumber.com/ipe.htm


--
Jack Novak
Buffalo, NY - USA

Thanks Mac for your help.It definitely makes a mess but its so beautiful
when polished.
By the way,how did you make out with the carvers mallet?
Kevin
"mac davis" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 12 May 2009 18:22:39 -0400, "Kevin Cleary"
wrote:

I got some desert ironwood from friends who spend the winters in
Arizona.We
don't see much of that here in Maine.
Any thing anyone can tell me about this wood would be helpful.
Kevin

Mostly, be prepared for a mess... It's a wonderful wood once you get it
polished, but you're going to cover your lathe with brown or black dust..

Like all turning, sharp tools and light touch are important..
Watch for cracks/fissures and expect it to come apart on you... It might
not,
but IMO it's better to be ready..

I'm guessing that since it's from AZ, it's not a large heavy piece?
The first 2 problems if it's in it's natural state are sand (sometimes
impregnated) and stones.. Check it well..
If it's small enough to cut on the bandsaw it will work fine until the
blade
dulls.. cuts pretty normally..
If you have to use a chainsaw, good luck!
D. I. loves to dull chains..

Once you get it on the lathe, turn pretty much like any other wood, being
very
aware of tools dulling..
Even if you're getting nice shavings, most D.I. will also throw out lots
of
gritty dust, so us a DC and mask..

The difference comes when you're in the final stages... Scrapers work well
but
can be touchy, it's the only wood that I take the burr off of my scraper
for..

Sanding is sort of backwards... Speed/heat/pressure not only don't hurt it
but
seem to work best to get a glass-like finish..
It's not going to absorb a finish, so I wouldn't try..
I sand to 400 and buff with the Beall system and the finish is amazing..
(looks like it's sanded to 1,000 or more)

Let me know if I can help!

mac


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

IMO, a great place to check on wood looks is Hobbit House Inc (no I'm
not kidding)
http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/

On Thu, 14 May 2009 08:55:26 -0400, "Kevin Cleary" wrote:

Thanks Mac for your help.It definitely makes a mess but its so beautiful
when polished.
By the way,how did you make out with the carvers mallet?
Kevin

Wow.. I'd forgotten about that.. lol

I made him a few but found out that he wasn't even carving yet, just "getting
ready to"..
Knowing him well, I know that this translates into "I read about carving in a
magazine, I'm now an expert and someday I might get a few tools and try it", so
we stopped with a few samples..

Did a couple mini's out of oak branch wood that was laying around.. One out of
redwood as a joke..
I was going to try a set out of maple, but realized that he was never gonna USE
them, so decided not to waste my diminishing supply of maple..

Thanks for asking!



mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

Kevin Cleary wrote:
I got some desert ironwood from friends who spend the winters in Arizona.We
don't see much of that here in Maine.
Any thing anyone can tell me about this wood would be helpful.
Kevin


As far as I know, "Desert Ironwood" from the Sonoran Desert
(Arizona/Mexico/New Mexico) is usually mesquite. Lots of carvings from
Mexico are made of it. It's very had, takes a great polish, and I bet
it's a bear to turn. Sharpen those tools!

On Fri, 15 May 2009 12:20:25 -0700, scritch wrote:

Kevin Cleary wrote:
I got some desert ironwood from friends who spend the winters in Arizona.We
don't see much of that here in Maine.
Any thing anyone can tell me about this wood would be helpful.
Kevin


As far as I know, "Desert Ironwood" from the Sonoran Desert
(Arizona/Mexico/New Mexico) is usually mesquite. Lots of carvings from
Mexico are made of it. It's very had, takes a great polish, and I bet
it's a bear to turn. Sharpen those tools!

Nope.. 2 very different woods..
Mesquite is a larger tree, pretty straight grain and reddish in color..
Used for ceiling beams in the "old" days in Mexico..
A local company here (N. Baja) specializes in custom mesquite furniture made
from old houses..
http://mojavedesert.net/trees/mesquite/

It also turns a lot easier than ironwood and with less mess..
http://www.pima.gov/cmo/sdcp/species/iw/illus.html



mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

Mac,
I asked my friends about bowl size pieces but they were told that if the
pieces were big enough they would be used for table tops.I bet they look
amazing.
What do make with ironwood besides pens?
Kevin
"mac davis" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 15 May 2009 12:20:25 -0700, scritch wrote:

Kevin Cleary wrote:
I got some desert ironwood from friends who spend the winters in
Arizona.We
don't see much of that here in Maine.
Any thing anyone can tell me about this wood would be helpful.
Kevin


As far as I know, "Desert Ironwood" from the Sonoran Desert
(Arizona/Mexico/New Mexico) is usually mesquite. Lots of carvings from
Mexico are made of it. It's very had, takes a great polish, and I bet
it's a bear to turn. Sharpen those tools!

Nope.. 2 very different woods..
Mesquite is a larger tree, pretty straight grain and reddish in color..
Used for ceiling beams in the "old" days in Mexico..
A local company here (N. Baja) specializes in custom mesquite furniture
made
from old houses..
http://mojavedesert.net/trees/mesquite/

It also turns a lot easier than ironwood and with less mess..
http://www.pima.gov/cmo/sdcp/species/iw/illus.html



mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

On Fri, 15 May 2009 20:32:45 -0400, "Kevin Cleary" wrote:

Mac,
I asked my friends about bowl size pieces but they were told that if the
pieces were big enough they would be used for table tops.I bet they look
amazing.
What do make with ironwood besides pens?
Kevin

Are you sure that was Ironwood?
I've seen several mesquite tables, but not ironwood...
Mostly because in the Sonora desert, it's illegal to cut a tree down, AFAIK, so
most pieces of ironwood have lots of holes and cracks. That makes it really hard
to build furniture out of it..

I do mostly "wood art".... vases, bowl-like thingies, free forms, etc..
a few examples are on my main page:
http://www.bajawoodcraft.com/

Someday, I'll get the gallery up.. sigh


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

I'm sure your right.The piece I have looks awful on the
outside,wormholes,ect. but inside its beautiful.
Those pieces on your site are quite impressive.
Thanks again for sharing.
Kevin
"mac davis" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 15 May 2009 20:32:45 -0400, "Kevin Cleary"
wrote:

Mac,
I asked my friends about bowl size pieces but they were told that if the
pieces were big enough they would be used for table tops.I bet they look
amazing.
What do make with ironwood besides pens?
Kevin

Are you sure that was Ironwood?
I've seen several mesquite tables, but not ironwood...
Mostly because in the Sonora desert, it's illegal to cut a tree down,
AFAIK, so
most pieces of ironwood have lots of holes and cracks. That makes it
really hard
to build furniture out of it..

I do mostly "wood art".... vases, bowl-like thingies, free forms, etc..
a few examples are on my main page:
http://www.bajawoodcraft.com/

Someday, I'll get the gallery up.. sigh


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

On Sat, 16 May 2009 13:35:53 -0400, "Kevin Cleary" wrote:

I'm sure your right.The piece I have looks awful on the
outside,wormholes,ect. but inside its beautiful.
Those pieces on your site are quite impressive.
Thanks again for sharing.
Kevin

Thanks...
I find that the fun with ironwood is USING the holes and cracks..

Just turned a fairly conventional bowl, but used a huge hole that went through
the wood..
The hole going through the bowl are what makes the piece attractive, IMO..

I just threw some quick pictures up for you:
http://www.bajawoodcraft.com/quick_pics.htm



mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

Thanks again Mac,those are really nice pieces of art.
Do you use any finish? I did some pens and buffed them using beeswax and
they look pretty good but I was wondering if you sealed them with anything
or just used the natural oils to seal them.
Kevin
"mac davis" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 16 May 2009 13:35:53 -0400, "Kevin Cleary"
wrote:

I'm sure your right.The piece I have looks awful on the
outside,wormholes,ect. but inside its beautiful.
Those pieces on your site are quite impressive.
Thanks again for sharing.
Kevin

Thanks...
I find that the fun with ironwood is USING the holes and cracks..

Just turned a fairly conventional bowl, but used a huge hole that went
through
the wood..
The hole going through the bowl are what makes the piece attractive, IMO..

I just threw some quick pictures up for you:
http://www.bajawoodcraft.com/quick_pics.htm



mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

On Sun, 17 May 2009 19:41:15 -0400, "Kevin Cleary" wrote:

Thanks again Mac,those are really nice pieces of art.
Do you use any finish? I did some pens and buffed them using beeswax and
they look pretty good but I was wondering if you sealed them with anything
or just used the natural oils to seal them.
Kevin

Thanks you.. flattery will get ya almost anywhere... ;-]

On the ironwood, I sand to 400 or 600 on the lathe, touch up with any hand work
(to same grit) and run them through the Beall buffing system..

With most other woods, same as above, but higher grits, depending on the wood..

On soft wood, I wet sand with natural Danish oil on the lathe and then buff when
they're cured..

Just read your last line.. I've never had a piece of ironwood with ANY natural
oil.. lol


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

In article ,
mac davis wrote:

I've never had a piece of ironwood with ANY natural oil..

IIRC, there are about 70+ different species referred to as ironwood. So
a bit of variation in how "ironwood" looks, behaves, is or is not oily,
etc is to be expected, depending on what "ironwood" you are working with.

--
Cats, coffee, chocolate...vices to live by

On Mon, 18 May 2009 12:17:06 -0400, Ecnerwal
wrote:

In article ,
mac davis wrote:

I've never had a piece of ironwood with ANY natural oil..

IIRC, there are about 70+ different species referred to as ironwood. So
a bit of variation in how "ironwood" looks, behaves, is or is not oily,
etc is to be expected, depending on what "ironwood" you are working with.

Sorry.. I wasn't being elitist enough.. Sonora Desert Ironwood, as opposed to
stuff people find that's hard and name "Ironwood"..
Hell, I've even heard of Lignum Vitae referred to as "ironwood" several times..


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing