So my wife brought home a piece IPE wood from work and after some research I found out that it comes from South America; I have never used this wood before and could use some good insight. I did notice that the wood is very dense and my wife said that the guy she got it from said that it's very hard to cut. Hopefully someone as used this wood before and could give me some do's and don'ts. Thanks in advance for any help! I wish I had a picture of it but I forgot to take one.
IPE Wood Question
- Thread starter Jonlane71
- Start date
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MillerTurnings
Member
Olsarge
Member
I've only used it for pens and it turns really nice. Use sharp tools, take it slow and it will be fine. Some pieces do not have wow type grain, but do some online research about the wood. I was told that it had the same fire rating as concrete, will not float and insects do not attack it. It is used for decks and docks. have fun with it. regards Dennis
wood-of-1kind
Member
Turns real good and known as "Brazilian cherry". Makes for a long lasting deck if your can afford the coin $$$$$$$
Jatoba is Brazilian cherry...IPE is a different wood altogether.
It's very, very hard wood!
It's very, very hard wood!
low_48
Member
It's incredibly strong. I've turned it down to 1/16" diameter on a box finial. Plain grain on most of it.
keithbyrd
Member
Question?
I have a friend who does exotic flooring and I have both Ipe and Brazilian Cherry - not the same - I will try to find them tonight and post a picture!
I have a friend who does exotic flooring and I have both Ipe and Brazilian Cherry - not the same - I will try to find them tonight and post a picture!
wood-of-1kind
Member
Right Keith, I made a mistake and should have called Ipe aka Brazilian Walnut.
I have lots on hand in my workshop and makes for some nice pens.
jttheclockman
Member
Jeff that is a beautiful piece. Excellent segmenting and turning. The woods work well together. You have to post more of your work. I love looking at work like this that is a true segmenter . Not to take away from those that use the ringmaster but this is what it is all about. Excellent.
I've heard it called Brazilian Walnut too.
I get pieces of it from Deck builders who usually call it Ironwood (several other woods are also called Ironwood but this is the one that seems to be used for decks).
It's really dense, sinks in water. Turns easy enough for me, and I'm not particularly good, but hand sawing it is an effort in futility for the most part. I've made knife handles and a few pens out of it, looks good and holds up well for what I've done. (Making thin knife handles is a bit difficult, cross cuts look nice but are easy to break till they're attached to the knife for support. Haven't done a kitless with it without a tube yet so the tube seems to keep it together while turning with no problem.)
Polishes up nicely without any finish at all, at least to my liking.
I get pieces of it from Deck builders who usually call it Ironwood (several other woods are also called Ironwood but this is the one that seems to be used for decks).
It's really dense, sinks in water. Turns easy enough for me, and I'm not particularly good, but hand sawing it is an effort in futility for the most part. I've made knife handles and a few pens out of it, looks good and holds up well for what I've done. (Making thin knife handles is a bit difficult, cross cuts look nice but are easy to break till they're attached to the knife for support. Haven't done a kitless with it without a tube yet so the tube seems to keep it together while turning with no problem.)
Polishes up nicely without any finish at all, at least to my liking.
gimpy
Member
IPE is what they are starting to make boardwalks out of these days
keithbyrd
Member
Here is a picture of Ipe and Brazilian Cherry - Ipe is on the left
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MillerTurnings
Member
Jeff that is a beautiful piece. Excellent segmenting and turning. The woods work well together. You have to post more of your work. I love looking at work like this that is a true segmenter . Not to take away from those that use the ringmaster but this is what it is all about. Excellent.[/quote]
Thanks, John. I started my addiction doing segmenting, and still consider it my main work. Pen turning started as a whim, and I got sucked into the abyss. I will post more segmenting work as I can. My website got moved to a different server, and the java scripting isn't supported. :frown: I am in the process of setting up new picture pages so they can be viewed.
Thanks, John. I started my addiction doing segmenting, and still consider it my main work. Pen turning started as a whim, and I got sucked into the abyss. I will post more segmenting work as I can. My website got moved to a different server, and the java scripting isn't supported. :frown: I am in the process of setting up new picture pages so they can be viewed.
jttheclockman
Member
Thanks, John. I started my addiction doing segmenting, and still consider it my main work. Pen turning started as a whim, and I got sucked into the abyss. I will post more segmenting work as I can. My website got moved to a different server, and the java scripting isn't supported. :frown: I am in the process of setting up new picture pages so they can be viewed.
[/QUOTE]Look forward to seeing them for sure.