Thread: Paulownia

Originally Posted by wilkeswood

Hi all,
I've just purchased some very nice Paulownia from Maple man. I have never used it before and only have the research i've done online of it. Does anyone have any first hand knowledge of it?

Thanks in advance,
Ash.

Ash
I just received an order for Quarter sawn material from a chap in America
He builds world class acoustic Guitars (will send you the guys link)
Arguably the most stable wood on the planet but also a fabulous Tonewood
Deserves high praise i reckon
Good luck with the cabinet too
Lovely stuff...MM

Yeah Chris,
The guys at Redcliffe wood society fell in love with it. There are these patches of light purple/pink that come through it in random places and they are stunning I'm just hoping they'll keep shining through when I finish it with my oil. I did re-saw 8 of the boards and they've been in the shed and had no movement except for one board that went out but it had a massive knot and a few other deformations through it and it was so little that it only had t take another 2mm to true it up. There is very VERY little from people with first hand knowledge of it though.

Hi Ash,
Try posting in the Kayak & Canoe section of the Wooden Boat Forum.
They use it for their strip built boats, light strong and bends reasonably easy.
Cheers, Ian

Originally Posted by wilkeswood

Hi all,
I've just purchased some very nice Paulownia from Maple man. I have never used it before and only have the research i've done online of it. Does anyone have any first hand knowledge of it?

Thanks in advance,
Ash.

I grew, milled and sold Paulownia until a few years ago. I did not use it to build much my self but my customers built many and varied thing from harps to ocean yachts. I now live on the Gold Coast and if you send me a personal message with your phone number I would be happy to share what knowledge I have.

Whitewood

I've done a couple of carvings out of paulownia. It is very nice to cut into, very light and easy to use. The smaller piece I left out in the weather for a year to test the durability and it went completely black from its original almost white which suprised me though it did have an oil finish. The other piece was a whole log about 1.5 long and 800mm thick which was carved and then cut into slices but that one failed badly because the rounds cracked up as you would expect them to do. I was just hoping that it was dry enough and with its reputation for stability it would hold together but no. I have since found that it burns very well.