Thread: black bean

worked with Blackbean but never turned it.
Itshould be a good timber to turn.
Just beware of the dust and use a top quality mask, not those cheap throwaways

Black Bean Castanospermum australe

Timber: Dark Walnut, hard but open-grained, straight grained but sometimes interlocked, coarse textured, highly figured.
Heartwood dark-brown to almost black. 750kg/m3
Timber Uses: Used for veneers, radio cabinets, paneling, joinery, plywood, turnery and furniture.

Note what Bob says, the fruit (bean) is edible but the dust off the timber as it is worked is crook.

I like the look of it, it looks 'rich'.

Mate:

Blackbean is a beautiful timber to work in all respects. Despite its open grain you can achieve an excellent finish on or off the lathe.

Don't get cocky about the dust though. At first it may not affect you but like most things your immune response builds up over repeated exposures. It is terrible stuff.

Originally Posted by robyn2839

has anyone turned any black bean? i got a couple of slabs of it and some leopard wood ,and am keen to try them. bob

Definitely wear a respirator if you have one; or the next best thing are the green industrial dust masks with exhalation valves made by Protector and a pair of goggles. The dust and aroma coming from black bean is lethal for the eyes, throat and chest. The first and last time I turned the stuff, I went into a coughing fit, watering and itching eyes and swollen throat.
I also wasn't wearing a mask or eye protection although they were both at arms length at the time
That taught me a good lesson; no matter how revved up you are to jump on your machine to turn your work of art, take your time and think of your well being before anything else. I'd kick myself to high heaven if ever I seriously injure myself due to my utter stupidity and no longer be able to turn. Not worth taking any risks; wear the safety gear no matter how big or small the job is.

And black bean takes a high polish very well but hard as hell to turn; keep those gouges sharp.

learnt my lesson today,wont be turning black bean again. got the coughing fits ,big time ,watery eyes,then started dry reaching and am still coughing. pretty bad stuff,should have read these responses before i started,mind you i had one of those crap masks which works really well with a big bushy beard. bob

You obviously weren't wearing your Triton Respirator!