Queenwood is harvested in Peru and is a relatively new wood in the North American marketplace.<\/p>\n
General Characteristics:<\/h2>\n
The heartwood of Queenwood varies widely in color but it is generally a light reddish brown with sections of darker purplish brown, as well as darker black streaks and veins throughout. the sapwood of Queenwood is pale grayish brown to cream color, and is sharply demarcated from the heartwood.<\/p>\n
Queenwood features a fine even texture with a good natural luster when properly surfaced.<\/p>\n
Working Characteristics:<\/h2>\n
Queenwood is reported to be easily worked and it is noted to turn well. Green Queenwood is prone to end checking during drying.<\/p>\n
Pricing and Availability:<\/h2>\n
Queenwood is a recent commercial species and is only occasionally exported from Peru. Turning blanks and small craft lumber are the most common forms available. Expect prices to be in the mid range for an imported 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>, 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 At this time, none of my favored vendors are offering Queenwood although I obtained my blank from West Penn Hardwoods some years ago.<\/p>\n Woodfinder<\/a> is an excellent website that is dedicated to advertising wood dealers. In your search for Queenwood 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 Queenwood is most commonly used for turned objects, and other small specialty wood items.<\/p>\n Queenwood is NOT listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Appendices<\/a> nor is it listed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature<\/a> Red List.<\/p>\n To the best of my knowledge, the United States government does not place any restrictions on Queenwood.<\/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 Aside from the standard health risks associated with any type of wood dust, Queenwood has not been reported to cause any health problems, however, other species within the Swartzia<\/em> genus have been reported to cause skin and respiratory irritation. As always, caution is essential until you are certain you are not sensitive to Queenwood.<\/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 significant difficulties while working with Queenwood.<\/p>\n I only had the one piece of Queenwood so my experience is limited. I found that Queenwood cut cleanly and easily, required only light sanding, and took a very nice finish. My piece does have some significant inclusions, especially in the bottom of the bowl that broke out and left holes. I know that for some wood turners this would mean certain ruin but I don’t mind so much since I simply worked with the wood I had and I accept it for what it is flaws and all.<\/p>\n Queenwood<\/p><\/div>\n I am pretty well neutral about Queenwood in that it didn’t strike me particularly one way or the other. It is a fine wood but given the difficulty in sourcing it I find it unlikely that I will work with it again.<\/p>\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. 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":" I only had the one piece of Queenwood so my experience is limited.\u00a0 I found that Queenwood cut cleanly and easily, required only light sanding, and took a very nice finish.\u00a0 My piece does have some significant inclusions, especially in the bottom of the bowl that broke out and left holes.\u00a0 I know that for some wood turners this would mean certain ruin but I don’t mind so much since I simply worked with the wood I had and I accept it for what it is flaws and all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":175,"featured_media":3380,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[135,128,136,137,129,138,139,130],"tags":[154,168,171,181,188,200,226,230,239,240,241,247],"yoast_head":"\nCommon Uses:<\/h2>\n
Sustainability:<\/h2>\n
Health Hazards:<\/h2>\n
My Personal Experiences:<\/h2>\n