Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Wooden Spring on January 15, 2014, 09:03:33 am
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OK, so I've got an old piece of ironwood (ipe decking board) that I just found at the back of my wood pile. I'm not sure what color to call it, but I'm pretty sure that my wife's cat makes hairballs in that same color...
What's the best way to make pukish green ironwood to look good? Because when I just put some poly on a scrap cutoff piece, it only made it look like a wet hairball...
I'm just at the rough out stage right now, but I'll post pics maybe tomorrow...
This one is going to be hickory backed ipe at 1 1/8" wide at the fades, 1/2" at tips with pin nocks, and 68" tip to tip. Handle is going to be purpleheart and black walnut.
If I can't make it look any better than a wet hairball, I'm going to see how many BTU's it can produce... >:D
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You could try sanding it
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You could try sanding it
Was that kind of like a joke, only smaller?
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I made a few bows using Ipe, and as I recall the sanding dust and fine saw-dust had a green tint to it. Because the Ipe was inside for a fair bit of time it's possible that it didn't oxidize. You can put some clear finish on a small portion to see if the redish-brown color is just "hiding". Beats burning it.
rich
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Ipe is usually a reddish color. You may have some other type of wood.
In any case, dark stains usually do the trick. I use "TransTint" stains. They are a bit pricey but the colors are fantastic.
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I've seen some Ipe on the greenish side. Ipe isn't specific from what I understand it's a general term for "Brazilian Walnut". Am I wrong, here? Not onlike using the term "Ironwood". There are lots of "Ironwoods".
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I've seen some Ipe on the greenish side. Ipe isn't specific from what I understand it's a general term for "Brazilian Walnut". Am I wrong, here? Not onlike using the term "Ironwood". There are lots of "Ironwoods".
Interesting... I'll have to check with my supplier then. In this case it was Atlanta Hardwoods - GREAT shop by the way. If there's more than one kind of "ironwood," then maybe I did get the species "feline dolor pilosus." It was weird though... It was chocolate brown until I started working it. Then the more I worked it, the greener it got. (9% moisture content if that's pertinent)
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You could try sanding it
Was that kind of like a joke, only smaller?
It could be but it depends on what your problem is exactly.
All the Ipe I have ever seen is brown in colour. When you sand it though you can see a yellow dust or a red dust, I've never seen any that is green. On the other hand, another name for Ipe is Greenheart. There is another wood that is also called Greenheart, no not Ipe. It has become very rare, I've never seen any, but it was sold for use in and around water because of its properties. I know of someone that used to make bows from this Greenheart and he thought it was better than Ipe. Maybe that is what you have?
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Greenheart? Hmm, dunno, could be. I'll take some pictures tonight and post tomorrow and we'll see.
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I've only seen yellow.
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I once bought an ipé decking board that was greenish brown. Especially when it was freshly sanded/scraped, it really had a greenish tint to it, not reddish at all. It also had white resin ducts, as opposed to the yellow resin ducts we find in most ipé. I picked this board mainly because of its exceptional density. I later determined the board to have an SG of 1.18 at EMC. Very dense, even for ipé. This board was not the typical ipé I've seen, but it made good bows. The word "ipé" is a pretty vague name anyway, for a number of botanical tree species in the genus Tabebuia. Perhaps the greenish brown type of ipé just comes from a rarer species of Tabebuia. Just guessing.
I hate the term "ironwood", though. At least fifteen species carry that false name, and nobody will know for sure which species you are talking about here at this internationally oriented forum.
If you don't like the natural wet hairball brown color of your piece of ipé, you can only stain or paint it. There is no way to treat it so its natural color magically changes. Since it is pretty dark by itself, your best bet would be to stain or paint it even darker.
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The Greenheart I am talking about is of the genus Ocotea species rodaiei. It's an evergreen with a SG of 1 and the wood has a greenish color to it even the sapwood