{"id":2430,"date":"2019-01-26T20:19:00","date_gmt":"2019-01-27T01:19:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.woodturningpens.com\/?p=2430"},"modified":"2020-05-29T14:51:59","modified_gmt":"2020-05-29T18:51:59","slug":"small-canarywood-bowl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.woodturningpens.com\/small-canarywood-bowl\/","title":{"rendered":"Small Canarywood Bowl"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Readers with exhaustive memories may recall that I wrote about Canarywood in a post from 2014<\/a>.  This post is an updated version that adheres to my standard information template.<\/p>\n

Geographic Distribution<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The tree that yields Canarywood is known to botanists as Centrolobium spp<\/em>..  This designation means that more than one species may be harvested and sold as Canarywood.  Without formal DNA analysis it is unlikely that the species of tree that yielded your specific piece of wood will ever be known.  Fortunately for the purposes of wood working, it doesn’t matter.<\/p>\n

Centrolobium spp.<\/em> are fairly widely distributed, occurring from southern Panama all the way south through the southern portions of Brazil.<\/p>\n

For the sake of simplicity, I will refer to Centrolobium spp. <\/em>from this point forward simply as Canarywood.<\/p>\n

General Characteristics<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The heartwood of Canarywood can vary greatly between samples.  It may be simply a pale yellow-orange but it can also appear much darker approximating a reddish-brown color.  Regardless of the predominant color scheme, there are almost always darker streaks throughout that add considerable interest to the finished piece.<\/p>\n

If you are lucky, some pieces can be almost rainbow-like in their diffuse coloration.<\/p>\n

\"Canarywood

Canarywood Bowl Sloped Interior<\/p><\/div>\n

The pale yellow sapwood is sharply delineated.<\/p>\n

As is the case with many colorful tropical woods, the color of Canarywood does tend to darken and homogenize with age.  There are methods that will help prevent, or at least slow, this color change that are described here.<\/a><\/p>\n

In general the grain of Canarywood is straight, although in some pieces it can be irregular and even wild.<\/p>\n

Canarywood displays a fine to medium texture with a good natural luster.<\/p>\n

Canarywood is very durable in terms of its resistance to decay.  It is also known to be resistant to termite and marine borer attacks.<\/p>\n

Working Characteristics<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Canarywood is reported to be easy to work with both hand and machine powered tools.<\/p>\n

As is not infrequently the case with some exotic woods, tear-out can occur during plane operations if there is wild or irregular grain.  This resource can help guide you in preventing this problem from occurring. <\/a><\/p>\n

Once dry Canarywood displays good dimensional stability.<\/p>\n

Canarywood is also reported to turn, glue, and finish well.<\/p>\n

Canarywood also has a distinctive and pleasing scent when freshly cut.<\/p>\n

Pricing and Availability<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Canarywood is generally available in good sizes of dimensional lumber and is occasionally also offered as turning blanks.  Prices should be moderate for an imported hardwood.<\/p>\n

I no longer remember exactly which vendor I obtained my Canarywood from, but markings on the side lead me to believe it was purchased from a Woodcraft store in person.<\/p>\n

In this blog, I almost always recommend several other vendors with whom I have done considerable business and in whom I have great confidence.  These vendors are: West Penn Hardwoods<\/a>, Bell Forest Products<\/a>, Got Wood?<\/a>, NC Wood<\/a>, and WoodTurningz<\/a>.<\/p>\n

West Penn Hardwoods is selling a large 8” x 8” x 3” bowl blank of Canarywood for $35.33 with smaller pieces in both bowl blanks and spindles in decreasing size and price.<\/p>\n

Bell Forest Products is only selling spindle sizes of Canarywood with none priced above $2.25 for a traditional pen blank size.<\/p>\n

WoodTurningz is selling two bowl blank sizes of Canarywood.  A whopping 10” x 10” x 2” platter blank will set you back $26.75 while a more moderate bowl blank of 6” x 6” x2” is $10.95.<\/p>\n

I don’t usually quote prices from the following vendors, but I have purchased wood from them and have no complaints.<\/p>\n

Woodcraft<\/a> sells one bowl blank size, a 6” x 6” x 2” for $7.25.<\/p>\n

Craft Supply USA<\/a> sells a 6” x 6” x 3” bowl blank for $22.90.<\/p>\n

Exotic Woods USA<\/a> sells several sizes of Canarywood bowl blank, with the largest being 8″ x 8″ x 3″ for $35.90.<\/p>\n

Amazon Exotic Hardwoods<\/a> also sells several sizes of Canarywood, with their largest also being 8″ x 8″ x 3″ for $27.50.<\/p>\n

Woodfinder<\/a> is an excellent website that is dedicated to advertising wood dealers.  In your search for Canarywood, this can be an invaluable resource provided you use multiple search terms to capture all the possible listings.  I can’t speak to the quality of any of the listed dealers, but Woodfinder does have the advantage of allowing searches to be performed based on location which might allow an interested buyer to visit a listed wood dealer in person to hand pick pieces at a comfortable price.<\/p>\n

A significant problem with using Woodfinder is that many vendors are listed for woods that, upon further investigation, they do not offer.  I don’t know if perhaps once they did and they didn’t update their listings or if some vendors use a standardized list of woods that include most everything conceivable with the idea that once you land on their page you will find something you want to buy even if you didn’t know it beforehand.  It happens to me all the time!<\/p>\n

Uses<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In its native range, Canarywood may be used for such mundane purposes as construction lumber and railroad cross ties, purposes which are practically unthinkable in North America.<\/p>\n

In areas where Canarywood is an imported exotic wood, it finds use in flooring, veneers, very high end boatbuilding, expensive furniture and cabinetry, as well as our favorite, turned items.  Construction lumber, railroad cross ties, flooring, veneers, boatbuilding, furniture, cabinetry, and turned items.<\/p>\n

\"Canarywood

Canarywood Bowl Sloped Reverse<\/p><\/div>\n

In addition to these uses, Canarywood is said to have good acoustic properties, and is sometimes used for speaker enclosures and entertainment system cabinets.<\/p>\n

Sustainability<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Canarywood is not listed as being in any way threatened or endangered by the Convention in International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Appendices<\/a> nor does it appear on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List<\/a>.  To the best of my knowledge, Canarywood is not subject to any special restrictions by any United States government agency.<\/p>\n

I realize that inherent in working with wood is the killing of a part of the natural world that may be slow to return and if I become deeply concerned about this fact, I will have to find a new hobby.  I hope that such a time does not come to pass or at least not any time soon.  In part because I am concerned about legally and responsibly obtained wood, I am reluctant to buy from sellers outside of well-established and known vendors.  I am highly unlikely, for example, to purchase any wood from auction sites, such as Ebay, because of uncertain sourcing and documentation, as well as the potential, even likelihood, of material being misidentified in order to achieve a higher selling price.<\/p>\n

However, due to the commercial scarcity of some domestic woods, resorting to auction sites such as Ebay or Etsy may be the only way to obtain some desirable domestic, or in some cases exotic imported, species that are not routinely commercially harvested.  The potential risks of buying in these marketplaces have to be balanced against the desire to work with a specific species of wood.  That is inherently an individual decision.<\/p>\n

I also realize that many, if not most, wood workers do not have endangered species lists memorized, therefore I think it worthwhile and important to do even a small amount of research before purchasing any lumber, domestic as well as imported, to be certain of the potential impact you are having, even in a small way, on threatened or endangered populations.  This information is easy to come by and takes only minutes to locate through any Internet search engine, including those you can access on your phone as you are standing in the lumber yard or store.  Unfortunately, you simply cannot count on a vendor to tell you a product they are selling is endangered.<\/p>\n

Health Hazards<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Canarywood has not been reported to cause any specific adverse reactions; however, the long-term negative effects of exposure to sawdust of any species are well documented.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Complete information about health hazards associated with a wide variety of exotic hardwoods<\/a> is available from The Wood Database<\/a>.  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<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, I experienced no negative side effects when working with Canarywood.<\/p>\n

My Personal Experiences                        <\/strong><\/h2>\n

I found Canarywood to be a moderately hard wood that cut very cleanly with Easy Wood<\/a> roughers and finishers.  The best exterior and interior finishes were achieved when using the negative rake cutters, a new item recently released.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\"Canarywood

Canarywood Bowl Interior<\/p><\/div>\n

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.<\/a>  It is probably reasonable to quit at 220 grit with Canarywood.<\/p>\n

Once cut and sanded, I used my go to favorite finish, Shellawax from Australia<\/a>.  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.<\/p>\n

The blank was held in Nova Chuck systems<\/a>, including for reversing where the Nova Cole Jaws were used.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I found Canarywood to be a moderately hard wood that cut very cleaning 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.<\/p>\n

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. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":175,"featured_media":2437,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[135,128,137,129,138,139,130],"tags":[154,161,168,171,181,183,188,200,217,226,230,239,240,241,252],"yoast_head":"\nSmall Canarywood Bowl - Wood Turning Pens ..<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Canarywood is a moderately hard wood from Central to South America that features a bright yellow color with streaks of red and orange that add colorful note\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.woodturningpens.com\/small-canarywood-bowl\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Small Canarywood Bowl - 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