Ironwood

I picked up a small piece of Ironwood (Olneya tesota). I think it's a protected species and may be illegal to collect so I won't say how I got it :D

Probably not the best wood for a new carver but anyone have tips for working with it? I've seen carvings done of it in Mexico that have beautiful dark grain and a mirror-like finish.

Here it is "floating" in water. It has a desity of 1.2, similar to Lignum Vitae or Ebony and about twice as dense as Walnut

Just make sure its not toxic or a rash causing wood before you dive in. There's no limit to its desired finish. You can get this to 1000 grit! Its heavy and very dense.

Mahalo

McTiki

wow...

that's amazing looking...

Rotary tools are maybe more appropriate than chisels. Contact Benzart.

McTiki, that is a good point. Certain wood dusts make me wheeze, especially redwood and any hardwood ~ I should probably wear a mask.

Tom, that's what I figured ~ treat it more like bone or stone. I think I'm going to try a Hei Matau, that may be within the scope of my limited skill set. I'll need to do some research to find how to do the lashing.

I found a guide of sorts, but, it doesn't contain the Iron wood genus (Sideroxylon)family. It does have alot of others common to us rotary & chisel guys though.

http://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/wood-allergies-and-toxicity/

Mahalo

McTiki

great color

The piece I sliced off has some lighter colored heartwood which could make some nice color variation. I drew out a simple hook, let's see what happens

Ironwood is beautiful, used on a lot of custom guitars. Hopefully the piece you got was from proper sourcing, it's the wild stuff that is off limits.

Just don't waste it :wink: That's a nice looking piece, you should be able to make some great stuff out of it.

wow that looks amazing!

http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/hardwoods/desert-ironwood/
No definite toxic effects listed here but probably safe to wear a mask if you're going to use power tools...

it's a type of hornbeam..if that helps any...alot of native american tribes used this wood specifically for arrow shafts because of it's rigidity and hardness....

This wood is better Machined than carved as it will wreck a set of chisels if not careful. Thats why most of the pieces you see are smooth with very little detail It can be polished to a mirror finish . Tom was correct in using rotary tools though fine detail can be sharpened up with knives and chisels. Good luck, take your time and Have FUN!