I’ve heard it’s posible to build a surfboard from palm wood. Is this true? I think this wood is very similar to agave, must be pretty dry to work with it, but what about density, stiffness and everything else? does anybody seen a surfboard made of this wood?
Palm tree wood…way tooooo heavy. Are you referring too Bamboo skinned Surf Tech boards, then yes, if not then the lightest stuff is Agave or Balsa, stick with that. In the 40’s they blended Balsa and Redwood for some sub 100 pound planks. I’ve got a 10ft Pine & Redwood plank that goes about 130 lbs. Hell, I’ve got the stretch out, do some push ups and eat some Wheaties just to move it. A 9ft palm tree log board would be pretty heavy too. Never seen a board made out of it. Palm is like a big grass, very porous / pulpy, how the heck would you mill it down to size, I don’t know of any lumber yards that would touch a 16in palm log, screws up there blades.
-Jay
I did a little internet research and found that low-density palm wood is used for acoustic insulation…I think it must be like cork. When palm dries there are parts of the piece of wood with high, medium and low density. high density is used for general building just like any other kind of wood. medium and low density may be useful for surboard building. I’ll search for a piece of palm wood and see what happens. Jack.
I have a friend of mine that lives in the Coachella Valley. At one time he ran a date farm. If there is anyone that knows palms trees he should. I will email him and see what comes back. I was just down in that area last week. You can find palm trees laying dead all around that area. Remember that there are many differend types of palm tree.
South Carolina got its name the Palmetto State because the revoluitonaries built Fort Moultrie out of Palmetto trees, a type of Palm. The trees are really spongy, so they took the impact of the British cannon balls and didn’t shatter. The cannon balls jsut sank in and stopped. I dont know how this is going to help you build a board, but Palm trees and revolutionaries like the Swamp Fox helped the good ol US of A become free from the taxes imposed upon them by those dirty old red coats.
If you build a board out of it put a South Carolina flag on there.
Where have you seen agave wood? The only agave I have seen is used to make Tequilla! It is like a plant that belongs in the aloe family or something similar. I can’t imagine you could make a board out of it, that is unless you are referring to something else all together.
Later
GMAN
Great for tiki’s and totem poles, use a chain saw. Cutting into planks wouldn’t be too hard, but it’s so wet it would take forever to kiln dry and keep stable.
I have a friend who made a board out of Yucca plant. Sounds similar to Agave?
Looks cool and rides great
Mark
Alright fella's. I live in the Marshall Islands on the Kwajalein Atoll. Ive been talking with Paul Jensen about HWS construction. We have an abundance of dead palms at one end of the Island at the landfill. They're coconut palms piled up everywhere, been drying under the tropical sun for years. We also get Banyan trees that are sort of like a Yucca. The sap burns the skin. Wierd stuff, but I am looking into the possiblity of shaping a board out of this stuff. Im really curious on the Coconut Palm being used if chambered out. The wood is soft in the middle of these trunks. I think this might make for an interesting experiment. At least. We also have scrap lumber all over the place. Most people on this island dont work with wood, but we have a nice shop will tools available. I'll update more later.
some palm tree wood is so hard and dense that they make nails out of it in the Philippines.One is called Nara.And another one there is called Kamagong,also very hard and heavy.Both are used to make weapons ,such as in Stick fighting.Coconut palm wood is used to make furniture,and drums.the inside of the tree is spongy,but the exterior very hard.Tail blocks and noseblocks seem the best use for modern surfboards!
Palm wood rotary peeled veneer sounds interesting! Most timbers will season to 6-12% moisture content , so, take out the moisture and see what you get . Some woods are soaked in water before peeling cause the blade cuts cleaner.
I don't know much about palm wood. The cut trees I have seen have been heavy and dense. Agave are not similar to aloes except in general appearance. Put agave juice on your sunburn and you find one important difference(Ouch). Agaves send off a flower spike then die. The spike is the source of agave wood. The core of agaves was/is used as a food source by American Indians. They used the plant to make shoes, thread, needles, etc. The cores are cooked and fermented to make mescal. The long spined bluish species is fermented to make tequilla. Yucca is the genus name for many species, but in California we usually are refering to the long thinned bladed plant sometimes called a century plant. Mike
I’d love to shape something out of all three types of wood. Agave is not on the Islands here, but I am for sure going to shape something out of it. I will have to wait until I get back to Cali. I know where to look, becuase Ive seen many shoots from the 101. While Im on Kwajalein I will experiment with the palm wood, shape out 1 board, and do it like a balsa that I will chamber out. We have plenty, and if it weighs a ton well, i still got to have fun shaping it. The Yucca might be the best option for this type of project, however it will be more challenging for me to collect the lumber since there are few trees on Island with straigth trunks. Kayu, I think Palm wood might be a good veneer, but it is very brittle when thinned out. Its like working with weak cork in the center. I might be able to glass up an alaia out of Palm and make it work. Hmm lots of options still…
Im an avid woodturner as well a board builder and have tried using dried palm here in san diego. Its heavy, pulpy, and frays apart like wet cardbaord when put to a sharp blade. When turning I use a gouge to get the basic design and then use 50 grit sandpaper to finish it off. It does however sand out to about 400 grit nicely. And the pattern it leaves is very interesting. dark little dots in long light colored sleeves. It staines well with water based dyes. Other than that I only used it a few times and really have no interest using it again. Hope this helps out. Also it holds water for along time. Has to be completely dry to work with. R
Thats pretty cool. I’d love some shots if you have any. Ive noticed that there are fan palms out here, much like the kind in San Diego. It has a very light, stringy feel to it. Ive cut a few down with a chain saw to clear fire lanes. I would bet the wood takes forever to dry out. Which is why I believe the wood in the Landfill is good to shape with. How did you go about squaring off the logs? I was thinking about using a chainsaw and going along a chalk line. My guess is this wood doesnt split very well.
I cut the big round on my bandsaw. Didnt have any problem. Cut very easy when dry. I take some pics of a piece I turned and post it. R
Nice reply!!! Fellow Sandlapper.
Also, South Carolina has the largest Paulownia operation on the eastern seaboard.
Certain species of palm make lumber suitable for cabinets, flooring, bowls, etc. ("Black Palm" and "Red Palm") I have some 10ft. x4" x1" black palm boards I've been reserving for glue-up into stringers in balsa boards. The lumber is dense, hard, heavy, and fibery, but has a unique endgrain. I'll try to post a pic.
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Pics of a small piece of "Red Palm" lumber. 24" long
This is a sweet update to a 5 year old, dead posting! I will get moving on my project asap. I will get some shots of the palm grave yard tomorrow.