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Turning with Coconut Wood

Discussion in 'The Lumber Yard' started by Emil Apostol, Nov 12, 2017.

  1. Emil Apostol

    Emil Apostol DS Legend

    Joined:
    Jan 4, 2017
    Location:
    Philippines
    Has anyone tried turning coconut lumber/wood? How does it turn, and how is the wood?

    I'm asking cause the stuff can be pretty cheap to come by in tropical areas and is a potential cheap dama material.

    Disclaimer: i know nothing about wood or woodturning so I hope you all could help a neophyte out. :)
     
    Nov 12, 2017
    Allen Ku likes this.
  2. goenKendama

    goenKendama Administrator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Oct 14, 2016
    Location:
    Metro Manila, Philippines
    Don't know about how it turns but here's some info on it. It may have the similar problem of bamboo not a large enough for a solid piece, i.e. you'd have to make a laminate since, if I understand correctly, only the outer wood is hard. Red Palm/Coconut Palm

    Common Name(s): Red Palm, Coconut Palm
    Scientific Name: Cocos nucifera
    Distribution: Throughout the tropics worldwide
    Tree Size: 65-100 ft (20-30 m) tall, 1-1.3 ft (.3-.4 m) trunk diameter
    Average Dried Weight: 51 lbs/ft3 (820 kg/m3)
    Specific Gravity (Basic, 12% MC): .68, .82
    Janka Hardness: 1,900 lbf (8,430 N)
    Modulus of Rupture: 12,970 lbf/in2 (89.4 MPa)
    Elastic Modulus: 1,654,000 lbf/in2 (11.41 GPa)
    Crushing Strength: 9,590 lbf/in2 (66.2 MPa)
    Shrinkage: Radial: ~5.5%, Tangential: ~5.5%, Volumetric: ~11.0%, T/R Ratio: ~1.0
    (Weight and hardness is for the higher-grade outer material, not the inner material.)
     
    Nov 12, 2017
    Wendy Nugroho and Emil Apostol like this.
  3. Emil Apostol

    Emil Apostol DS Legend

    Joined:
    Jan 4, 2017
    Location:
    Philippines
    I've heard about the inner/outer dichotomy of coconut palm wood. Could make for an interesting kendama if used properly.
     
    Nov 12, 2017
  4. goenKendama

    goenKendama Administrator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Oct 14, 2016
    Location:
    Metro Manila, Philippines
    @Edric Owen Ladera mentioned something about using Coconut wood to me a while back for a locally made kendama but it wouldn't just be about how to create a "turnable" and durable size piece of wood but also the talent and/or machinery to turn it.
     
    Nov 12, 2017
  5. Allen Ku

    Allen Ku Member

    Joined:
    Jul 12, 2017
    Location:
    Malaysia
    I don't think coconut wood would be suitable for making kendamas, as it is almost hollow in structure. As @goenKendama mentioned, the only usable would be the outer layer.
    But considered making it into plywood probably it works, just maybe not that durable as other common kendama woods.
     
    Nov 13, 2017
    Eric H likes this.
  6. Jasper B.

    Jasper B. Slayer

    Joined:
    Dec 5, 2016
    Location:
    San Diego
    I bet it could be compressed in some way like bamboo kendamas are, and played like that.
     
    Nov 13, 2017
  7. Edric Owen Ladera

    Edric Owen Ladera Slayer

    Joined:
    Dec 8, 2016
    Location:
    Philippines
    i remember @htimSxelA turning a palm wood in the terra shop when I ask about the same question @Emil Apostol asked. i don't know how it turned out couple months back..
     
    Nov 14, 2017
    Guy LaBorde and goenKendama like this.
  8. azleonhart

    azleonhart Moderator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Oct 12, 2016
    Location:
    Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
    All i know about coconut trees is that the shoots make a great dish, the shoot is somewhat similar in texture and taste to a bamboo shoot, but sweeter.

    The Malays call it “umbut”, and we normally make a spicy mixture of coconut milk, chili and turmeric, it ends up in a nice yellowish color, and we also include some dried spanish mackerel to the mix, or smoked beef slices.

    Fantastic with rice and a side of stir fried bean sprouts, and i’m sorry to hijack this thread and make some unsuspecting people hungry.
     
    Nov 14, 2017
  9. htimSxelA

    htimSxelA Moderator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Sep 29, 2016
    Location:
    Vancouver
    I have some black palm in the shop, I'm going to make a kendama out of it sometime soon, I've had it for a while!
     
    Nov 15, 2017
  10. Congarranza

    Congarranza DS Legend

    Joined:
    Jan 10, 2017
    Location:
    Camarillo, CA
    I’m starving!! Just chugged some coffee to suppress my appetite...
     
    Nov 15, 2017
  11. Wendy Nugroho

    Wendy Nugroho Member

    Joined:
    Apr 13, 2018
    Location:
    Indonesia
    This is actually a good idea.

    About 2 years ago I went to a village in Java, just near to my house. I went to a carpenter's house. He's about 80 years old. He makes a "doran" it's a handle for hoe which is made of, surprisingly, palm wood. He uses the outer part of the wood because because it's hard.
    doran.jpg
    sorry I didn't take any picture, but i found this one on the internet. The "doran" from coconut wood.

    Yes it's pretty common among Javanese people to use coconut wood as household and also building materials because it's cheap.
    The wood is pretty hard and solid, the serrate is so dense and strong. And I think it's strong enough to be turned to kendama. And I can say that it's way much harder than bamboo.
    I couldn't find strong literature about this wood. I guess it's not common wood for Indonesian either. Only Javanese and Sundanese but it's hard to find good literature of this.

    I'll dig more information about this, hopefully I can find some useful information to share.
     
    Last edited: Nov 8, 2018
    Nov 8, 2018
  12. Wendy Nugroho

    Wendy Nugroho Member

    Joined:
    Apr 13, 2018
    Location:
    Indonesia
    Okay, the hardest part of the wood is only 5-7 centimeter. and only 10 centimeter of the stump. We need huge palm tree, haha
     
    Nov 8, 2018