Post #462467 by pjc5150 on Wed, Jun 17, 2009 6:18 AM

Well, I have successfully made 3 tikis without a problem, but being a beginner, I hit my first roadblock over the weekend.

I procured a bunch of palm sections, of different varieties, thicknesses & lengths from a guy with a tree service. I took them home & it's obvious they're still a bit wet. Tried to take the planer to one of them and just made a mess. It was all stringy and not really wanting to cooperate.

I guess I learned that the palm sections need to dry before I start hackin' 'em up.

So here are my questions:

How long does it take this stuff to dry out? I live in Tampa, so it's plenty hot & sunny, and I put plastic bags over the tops and I'm letting 'em sit outside.

Are there some kinds of palm trees that are good for carving and some that are not?

Is it the wetness that makes them all stringy? Or is that just the nature of some palms?

I'm wondering if I filled up my truck & hauled a bunch of garbage home that I can't even use. And that would suck.