Red Palm...................?

[TurnerJohn74]

Hello everyone! I was just wondering if anyone knows any secrets to turning Red Palm. I cant seem to keep it on the tube:frown:. As soon as I touch my tool it cracks and comes off the tube. I would love it if someone could tell me the secrets? Thanks.

 

[Lenny]

Did you glue it with CA glue?
If so try gorilla glue or 30 min. epoxy instead.
Be sure to sand the tubes lightly to rough them up so they will grab.
But maybe you know all that and I'm off base here ...?
Beyond that, sharp tools and go slow and careful.

 

[Robert Taylor]

keep in mind that red palm is not wood, it is grass. with that said use sharp tools and harden with ca glue from the start ca glue, turn, more ca glue, turn, more ca glue, and you should be fine.

 

[jskeen]

Like all palms, it is composed of dense fibers surrounded by a matrix of fairly soft open cells, which when alive, transport liquids via osmosis and support the trees respiratory processes. When dried this matrix is very soft, often crumbly, and the fibers become extremely hard and tend to splinter.

To turn you definitely need to reinforce the matrix with thin ca, and be sure to cut the fibers so that the cut is "pulling" them against the longest area of support. Not sure quite how to explain that, but you don't want to "push" the fibers, or they tend to pop out. After I get rounded, I usually tend to switch to the dreaded 80 grit gouge for shaping.

 

[David Keller]

Lots of thin CA, light cuts with a sharp tool, always cut with the grain(generally cutting from fatter to thinner on the blank). Also, don't be ashamed to use the '80 grit gouge' to get it to finished diameter and shape.

 

[phillywood]

John you could have looked at teh chart and there is soe info in it to help you out.

Other folks here, would you guys care to share your info in the chart?

 

[TurnerJohn74]

Thank you all for the info. The CA thing makes sense. Thin coat turn thin coat turn and so on. The 80 grit gouge sounds like it would work perfect.

 

[rjwolfe3]

Great info listed. I have a hard time with it myself. Ticked me off many times.

Another plug for the wood info chart. These posts are just the reason that we need it!

 

[srf1114]

could you "stablise" with something other than CA glue?

 

[rjwolfe3]

could you "stablise" with something other than CA glue?

I believe you could send it out to be stabilized or you could try Minwax Wood Hardener or that product that someone was selling here last year.

 

[jskeen]

could you "stablise" with something other than CA glue?

Depends on the quantity you were doing. Palm is heavy, so would be expensive to send out, as most processors charge by finished weight. If you have enough to batch process, you could home stabilize with either vacuum or pressure or both, but for one or two blanks it's probably cheaper and faster to us the CA.

 

[just_call_me_dusty]

+1 on the drown it with ca. I usually have to break one before I resort to the 80 grit. Sometime you get the bear and sometimes the bear gets you.