It is important to remember that although many people may, or may not, be sensitive to any given wood, the only experience that truly counts is your own, so use reported side effects as guidance but not as a substitute for cautious and safe practices.
Appropriate protective equipment is therefore always recommended when working with this, or any other, wood, exotic or domestic, unless you have worked with the species before and are certain you are not sensitive to it.
Complete information about health hazards associated with a wide variety of exotic hardwoods is available from The Wood Database. Additional information about how to best use a dust collection system and personal protective equipment, such as respirators, can also be found through this excellent and comprehensive resource.
Fortunately, I experienced no negative side effects when working with Canarywood.
My Personal Experiences
I found Canarywood to be a moderately hard wood that cut very cleanly with Easy Wood roughers and finishers. The best exterior and interior finishes were achieved when using the negative rake cutters, a new item recently released.
I think I got lucky with the color as there is a good deal of red and orange streaks as well as what looks almost like a knot on the sloped sides both interior and exterior.
This bowl is diminutive to be sure! I measure 4 5/8″ across by 1 3/4″ high. But even small things can be worth the effort and can be quite lovely.
Canarywood Bowl Interior
The Canarywood sanded well and it has a very natural luster once finely sanded. I did find that higher grits, I usually go up to 800 girt, have very little effect on Canarywood as it is hard enough to resist these lower grits of Green and Yellow Wave sanding discs from Packard Woodworks. It is probably reasonable to quit at 220 grit with Canarywood.
Once cut and sanded, I used my go to favorite finish, Shellawax from Australia. Their slogan is that the gimmick is that it works and you’ll get no argument from me. I think it is a fantastic finish for most wood types.
The blank was held in Nova Chuck systems, including for reversing where the Nova Cole Jaws were used.
I would gladly work with Canarywood again, although I have so much wood that I can’t imagine myself being in the immediate market. But, as shown above, it seems to be fairly consistently available at reasonable prices if you shop around a bit, a good practice for any wood you might wish to buy.
As always, I wish all my readers a great experience in whatever their wood working interests happen to be and to those who like working with lathes especially, do a good turn today!