{"id":2740,"date":"2019-11-18T19:39:39","date_gmt":"2019-11-19T00:39:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.woodturningpens.com\/?p=2740"},"modified":"2019-11-25T21:23:29","modified_gmt":"2019-11-26T02:23:29","slug":"padauk-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.woodturningpens.com\/padauk-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Padauk"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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

Botanists know the tree and wood commonly called Padauk, among various other spellings, as Pterocarpus soyauxii<\/em>.  P. soyauxxi<\/em> is native to a swath of tropical African forests ranging from Nigeria in the northwest to the east across the Democractic Republic of the Congo and south into Angola.  For the sake of simplicity I will refer to from here forward simply as Padauk.<\/p>\n

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

Padauk heartwood can vary in color with a range between a pale pinkish orange to a deep brownish red.  In practice most pieces of Padauk are reddish orange when freshly milled.  Over time the color of Padauk tends to darken gradually and substantially over time eventually reaching a reddish to purplish brown.  Pieces of Padauk that are lighter in color when freshly milled may age to a grayish brown.  Color change in exotic woods can be slowed but not completely stopped by using ultraviolet light inhibiting finishes and by keeping Padauk items in dark storage.<\/p>\n

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Padauk Platter<\/p><\/div>\n

The grain of Padauk is usually straight but interlocked specimens do occur.  Padauk has a course and open texture featuring a good natural luster.<\/p>\n

Padauk has excellent resistance to decay and is therefore rated as durable to very durable.  Padauk is also reported to be resistant to termites and other wood boring insects.<\/p>\n

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

In general Padauk is considered to be easy to work with.  One potential problem is the possibility of tearout during planing quartersawn or interlocked grain.  This excellent resource<\/a> provides guidance on preventing tearout when working with interlocked grain.<\/p>\n

Padauk turns, glues, and finishes well.<\/p>\n

For me, one of the nicest aspects of working with Padauk is the bubble gum like scent when the wood is freshly cut!<\/p>\n

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

Padauk is widely imported into the United States as lumber in a variety of lengths and thicknesses.  Padauk is also commonly imported and sold as turning and craft blanks.  With its wide availability Padauk is generally moderately priced for an imported exotic wood.<\/p>\n

In this blog, I almost always recommend several 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>, NC Wood<\/a>, WoodTurningz<\/a>, Amazon Exotic Hardwoods<\/a>, Griffin Exotic Wood<\/a>, Exotic Woods USA<\/a>, Got Wood?<\/a>, and Wood Turning Blanks 4U<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Given the wide availability of Padauk it is not surprising that all of the above vendors, with the exception of Wood Turning Blanks 4U, carry Padauk in sizes ranging from pen blanks selling for a few dollars to enormous 16” platter blanks sold by Got Wood? for $52.00.<\/p>\n

Woodfinder<\/a> is an excellent website that is dedicated to advertising wood dealers.  In your search for Padauk, 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

There are a good variety of common uses for Padauk including but not limited to: veneer, flooring, turned objects, musical instruments, furniture, tool handles, and other small specialty wood objects.<\/p>\n

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

Padauk is not listed as being 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><\/p>\n

To the best of my knowledge, Padauk is not subject to any additional 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 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

In addition to the usual hazards posed by wood dust, it is important to note that although severe reactions are quite uncommon, Padauk has been reported to be a sensitizer.   The most common reactions are eye, skin, and respiratory irritation. As always, caution is essential until you are certain you are not sensitive to Padauk.<\/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<\/a> associated with a wide variety of exotic hardwoods 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 Padauk.<\/p>\n

UPDATE: True to its nature as a sensitizer, my health experiences related to Padauk changed over time with repeated exposure.  While the first one or two exposures didn’t result in any negative consequences, additional exposures resulted in severe sinus and nasal distress along with sneezing.  I have found that if I skip a day or two between Padauk exposures I have time to recover before exposing myself again.  Now that I am having these side effects, it is my intention to gather all of Padauk stock, turn it, and leave Padauk alone as a species in the future.<\/p>\n

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

I had a great time with this latest Padauk project, so much so that I updated this entry to the standard format.  This is the largest work I have done thus far and I am glad it was Padauk that I used to do it.  The Padauk cut beautifully although there were some rough areas on the cross grain as is to be expected.  The Padauk sanded to a very nice luster that appeared to have a finish coat applied, so it looked really amazing once the actual finish was on.  I am stocking up on Paduak platter blanks so I can continue to enjoy this work.<\/p>\n

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16 Inch Padauk Platter<\/p><\/div>\n

All of the work on the Padauk was done on my Robust American Beauty lathe<\/a> using Easy Wood Tools<\/a> cutters.  Sanding was with Gold and Green Wave discs from Packard Woodworks<\/a>.  Nova<\/a> chucks and jaws were used for holding the piece while working the interior. The platter was reversed on to an Easy Chuck with Big Easy Jaws from Easy Wood Tools.  The Padauk bowl was beautifully finished using Shellawax<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As always, I wish all my readers a great experience in whatever your wood working interests happen to be and to those who like working with lathes especially, do a good turn today!<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I had a great time with this latest Padauk project, so much so that I updated this entry to the standard formet. This is the largest work I have done thus far and I am glad it was Padauk that I used to do it. The Padauk cut beautifully although there were some rough areas on the cross grain as is to be expected. The Padauk sanded to a very nice luster that appeared to have a finish coat applied, so it looked really amazing once the actual finish was on. I am stocking up on Paduak platter blanks so I can continue to enjoy this work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":175,"featured_media":2742,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[135,128,136,137,129,138,139,130],"tags":[144,154,168,171,181,188,200,269,217,221,239,240,241,247],"yoast_head":"\nPadauk - Wood Turning Pens ..<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I used Padauk to make a very large 16" platter and it turned out beautifully. 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