Post #729121 by AlohaStation on Mon, Oct 6, 2014 8:10 AM

Palm is tricky and it really comes down to where you live. My experience is in the tropic climate of South Florida. You can not wait for palm logs to dry, because they won't dry until you remove the outer bark, and if you let them sit they rot. When you start carving you have to be prepared for the Mold (and lots of it). Mold does not harm the wood and can be easily removed after drying occurs. I generally take my time when carving and a fresh log will be about halfway dry by the time I finish. I will leave it and allow if to finish drying before applying any type of stain/clear. Do not clear coat a wet log with mold - the mold will continue to grow under the clear coat.

The strength of palm is in the vertical fibers. If you cross cut the vertical fibers you have to be aware that the remaining piece could be knocked off. Palm fibers are held together by cellulose - cellulose is neither strong or consistent. Cellulose holds the vertical fibers together - like padding - and gauges whether a log is good or bad. The cellulose is what holds the water, while the fibers transport the water. Solid palm has less cellulose, while stringy palm has more. Finding out how much cellulose is in a log is a learning experience for anyone that carves palm and can only be resolved through experience. If you carve too deep to get features like FEET, you have to be aware that the feet are weight-bearing and will need cuts that accent the grain not challenge it. I always approach palm with a degree of caution, because every log is different.