Uses for Ipe

I built a pair of adirondak chairs out of ipe. It’s tough, dense, and hard to glue. I don’t know what hobbiest things you would want to make out of it, but anything that will be used outdoors would be a good start.

-- Julian, Park Forest, IL

A boat anchor comes to mind….the stuff actually sinks in water. Beyond that it’s pretty much just a pain. It makes this sickly green/yellow sawdust that’s like talcumn powder, requires oversized pre-drilling as it will snap screws like matchsticks if the screw meets much resistance, and is just plain heavy as lead.

Besides that…..well, it looks kinda pretty.

Use the IPE to form a rack to get the cherry and store it until next winter in Cape Cod, then you could put it under your firewood to hold it out of the snow. :)

-- Regards, Steve2

I have seen it used for Decks, Arbors, Gates, Outdoor furniture, etc…. If I could get my hands on enough of it I would like to make a English Garden bench. Notice these are all outdoor projects? I personally know someone in Alaska who had their deck made out of Ipe 10 years ago; Guess what? The nasty weather up there has not hurt it at all.

-- Chris

It makes a great deck, but I’ve heard from the friend that used it on his deck that it really is tough on tools, bits, and sawblades. I have no quantitative facts to back that up, however, so I don’t know how much wear a few pieces are going to cause.

-- Chris

I wouldn’t go about bandsawing this one… maybe use it for a workbench, or outdoor furniture/fixtures (planters etc?)

-- When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

I used it for a threshold, and I’ve got some more of it as scraps from the deck place that I want to play with. It actually mills fairly nicely, but the sawdust is some of the most noxious stuff on the planet; I don’t always wear a respirator in the shop, but when I’m working with Ipe I open all the doors to get airflow and wear a full-on filter.

Because of that I definitely wouldn’t use it for cutting boards, but I’ve thought about it for chairs, maybe boxes, places where really hard wood is a plus.

I don’t have a band saw, but I had no problems cutting it with the jigsaw.

-- Dan Lyke, Petaluma California, http://www.flutterby.net/User:DanLyke

It is great stuff, and I love to work with it when I am making anything for the outdoors as it can last forever.

Consider projects like birdhouses, doorway thresholds, exterior trim, outdoor furniture, etc.

Beware of blade wear. Also, pre-drill everything. It will not take a finish and if you glue, you may want to use polyurethane glue like gorilla.

-- making sawdust....

I have read that Ipe is like walnut in that the dust is more of an irritant than most other wood species. That could be because of the minerals in the wood or perhaps the specific oils which make it hold up so well outdoors.

The recurring theme here and elsewhere is that it’s almost always recommended for outdoors use. As for me, I have been thinking of using it for a blanket chest but these cautions keep popping up any time I research ipe.

Thanks everyone. Your help, as usual, has been invaluable.
The ipe is going back…hopefully to be traded for something else in my neighbor’s woodstove “burn” pile.
I’ll never understand burning cherry…or oak…or any other hardwood!!
Also, for such a dense and hard wood, it certainly makes for a TON of splinters!

-- Ellen on Cape Cod

One other item I ran across…. In South America (I think…) local utilities use this tree for utility poles.

-- Chris