Almond Growing Regions of California<\/p><\/div>\n
My piece of A. dulcis<\/em> was sourced from California and I would imagine my piece came from an orchard specimen that was removed.<\/p>\n For the sake of simplicity and common understanding I will hereafter refer to A. dulcis<\/em> as Almond.<\/p>\n The color of the Almond heartwood tends toward a deep golden or reddish brown. The sapwood of the Almond is pale yellow and is demarcated from the heartwood.<\/p>\n Almond has a fine texture with good natural luster.<\/p>\n There is no data available about Almond’s ability to resist rot or insects.<\/p>\n As Almond is not generally traded commercially there are no standard reports about its working characteristics but I will report my own experiences at the end of this post. It would be reasonable to assume that many of the characteristics of Almond will mirror those of other Prunus spp.<\/em> such as Cherry or Plum.<\/p>\n Almond is not typically harvested commercially for lumber. Pieces of Almond are occasionally available for sale from hobbyist or small custom sawmills. Prices should be in the mid to upper range for a domestic hardwood.<\/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>, NCWood<\/a>, WoodTurningz<\/a>, Amazon Exotic Hardwoods<\/a>, Griffin Exotic Wood<\/a>, Exotic Woods USA<\/a>, Got Wood?<\/a>, and Wood Turning Blanks 4U<\/a>. Note: ALWAYS green turn wet blanks from NCWood as their wax will not hold for extended drying periods.<\/p>\n None of these fine vendors is currently offering Almond.<\/p>\n Woodfinder<\/a> is an excellent website that is dedicated to advertising wood dealers. In your search for Almond, 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 When used for wood working, Almond is known for small turned items and some furniture, but its most common non-orchard use is as an excellent, hot, long-burning, limited ash producing, firewood.<\/p>\n Almond is not listed as being endangered by the Convention on 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 of Threatened Species. <\/a><\/p>\n To the best of my knowledge, there are no special restrictions placed on Almond by the United States government.<\/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 There are no known reports regarding health effects related to working with Almond. As always, caution is essential until you are certain you are not sensitive to Almond.<\/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 Almond.<\/p>\n Wow, I am in love with Almond as a turning wood. It is a true shame that more of this amazing wood isn’t available to turners and other hobbyists.<\/p>\n The first thing I noticed about the Almond was how dense it was, heavy for the volume. And it was clearly hard as well as it took some effort to cut the divot for the Nova Chuck in the bottom of the blank. What was amazing was when I roughed off the bottom and sloped the sides, you couldn’t see a single nick, no tearout, no roughness on the cross grain. Smooth as could be to the point that I felt guilty running the sandpaper over it. And there was a bit of interesting figure hiding in there too. And when it came time to finish the piece it came out like glass with a shine and sheen I rarely get to see. I was amazed and truly regret that I don’t have any more Almond to work with and no sources from which to get some.<\/p>\n Almond Interior View<\/p><\/div>\n The only really bad part of the Almond was that my piece was not dried properly at all and it was a mess of major checks and outright cracks with pieces about to fall off. Honestly, I was surprised it stayed together as well as it did even though two fairly significant pieces, one on the edge and one on the bottom, flew off during the process. Because the wood was fragile I didn’t turn it nearly as thin as is common for me since it seemed more important to have something a bit thicker to show for the effort than a bundle of thin random pieces.<\/p>\n I HUGELY enjoyed working with the Almond. If you ever have the opportunity to obtain some, don’t hesitate. And if you really don’t want it, let me know because I would want it for sure.<\/p>\n Almond Side View<\/p><\/div>\n All cuts were made using the Easy Wood Tool<\/a> system on my Robust American Beauty<\/a> lathe. Forward chucking was in a Nova Chuck,<\/a> while reverse chucking was done using a Nova Chuck with Cole Jaws<\/a>. Sanding was with Gold and Green Wave sanding discs from Packard Woodworks<\/a>. Final finish is 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":" The first thing I noticed about the Almond was how dense it was, heavy for the volume.\u00a0 And it was clearly hard as well as it took some effort to cut the divot for the Nova Chuck in the bottom of the blank.\u00a0 What was amazing was when I roughed off the bottom and sloped the sides, you couldn’t see a single nick, no tearout, no roughness on the cross grain.\u00a0 Smooth as could be to the point that I felt guilty running the sandpaper over it.\u00a0 And there was a bit of interesting figure hiding in there too.\u00a0 And when it came time to finish the piece it came out like glass with a shine and sheen I rarely get to see.\u00a0 I was amazed and truly regret that I don’t have any more Almond to work with and no sources from which to get some.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":175,"featured_media":3064,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[135,128,136,137,129,138,139,130],"tags":[148,154,164,168,171,176,181,183,190,200,204,210,221,230,239,240,241,247],"yoast_head":"\nGeneral Characteristics:<\/h2>\n
Working Characteristics:<\/h2>\n
Pricing and Availability:<\/h2>\n
Common Uses:<\/h2>\n
Sustainability:<\/h2>\n
Health Hazards:<\/h2>\n
My Personal Experiences:<\/h2>\n