# Heat Tolerant Wood?



## 280305 (Sep 28, 2008)

Our wood stove has a handle that is used to control the damper. The handle is made of wood and is starting to break apart. Because of the handle's location near the back of the stove, it is exposed to a lot of heat. I removed it and was amazed at how light it is. It must have almost no moisture left in it.

I would like to turn a new handle to replace this one. I am looking for suggestions of wood species that are best to use in such a hot and dry location.

The current handle is painted black to match the finish on the stove. I am also wondering if and how I should finish the new handle.

Thanks for any ideas.


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## bondogaposis (Dec 18, 2011)

I can't really answer your question about heat resistant wood species. I think what your old handle is going through is the early stages of a process called carbonization. It will lower the ignition point of the wood and possibly be a fire hazard. I would suggest something other than wood if possible for the handle or barring that, plan on replacing it every couple of years.


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## JayG46 (Apr 24, 2013)

Ipe is an incredibly fire-resistant wood but it's also prone to surface checking, at least when exposed to the sun. I think that whatever type of wood you choose is going to loose moisture when the stove is running and gain when it cools down, contracting and expanding, leading to checking and cracking.

Not sure how big the handle is but you can buy acrylic blanks from places like Rockler and Penn State Industries that would not be subject to the change in moisture content that wood is.


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## GregInMaryland (Mar 11, 2010)

Ipe has a higher fire rating than concrete/cement, so you might give that a shot. Beware, Ipe eats steel tools for breakfast, so use your sharpest carbide blades.

Greg


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## daltxguy (Sep 7, 2007)

That's a good question.
Maybe a light wood was intentional as it's probably a better insulator??
Painting it black might be a bad idea since it will absorb more radiant heat.
I have what looks like a maple handle on my stove door which is just fiinished wth a medium dark stain but it's purposely made so it remains out of direct exposure to the radiant heat from the hottest part of the stove and it's never hot to the touch. The steel handle, on the other hand is always warm to hot to the touch.

The flash point of most woods is around 550F (300C), so I wouldn't worry too much about it igniting.
I guess this is what you should be looking for though - the wood with the highest flashpoint - but I think in the end, it might not be too big of a concern, if it hasn't gone up in flames already!

If you were trying to start a fire with a bow drill, then you would want a low flashpoint. The hearth boards are typically softer woods like willow, cedar, sycamore so maybe softwoods are not the best.


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## Dal300 (Aug 4, 2011)

We use to have an old Oregon wood Cookstove when I was young.

It had old wooden handles that eventually just gave way and kind of crumbled off the steel shafts.

I made new handles by drilling a hole larger by quite a bit than the steel shaft and inserted a hollow metal tube. 
The tube rode on the steel shaft loosely so the wood was never in contact except at one point. I peened the ends so the tube couldn't slide off.
Those handles, made of lodgepole pine are probably still in that cabin in Idaho 40 years later.


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## 280305 (Sep 28, 2008)

Thanks for all the ideas.

The handle is only about 3" long and is loosely held in place by a bolt through the center. By that I mean that the bolt bottoms out before there is any pressure on the wooden handle. Also, the head of the bolt is recessed so that you don't touch the hot metal.

Steve - You might be correct that they use a low-density wood to act as an insulator. Even when the stove is very hot, the handle is no where near being too hot to touch.










Maybe I'll hang some pieces of scrap of various species near the handle for a few hours and then see how they feel.


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## punk (Oct 14, 2011)

maple works real good it is what I made mine out of been on there ab out four years good day to youall


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Another vote for Ipe it's fire rated,just like Greg said.


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## Kentuk55 (Sep 21, 2010)

I just keep learning some good stuff from all ya'll. I never knew there was such a thing as heat tolerant wood… WowZa.


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## Purrmaster (Sep 1, 2012)

As others have said, Ipe is pretty heat tolerant. Heck, it's just about everything tolerant. I swear I remembered reading somewhere about a couple of other species that were also heat tolerant.


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## LiveEdge (Dec 18, 2013)

An alternative to Ipe would be Cumaru. Some fire resistant characteristics.


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## daltxguy (Sep 7, 2007)

Native larch is also quite fire resistant. I don't think we should be cutting down tropical hardwoods in the Amazon rainforest just to get a 3" handle for a wood stove in North America!

Personally, I think a corn cob would do the job.


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## Kryptic (Nov 8, 2013)

Ipe only grows on rivers in remote locations of perfect rainforests that host a diverse ecosystem.

Why not use oven mitts because really, who would put a hardwood handle on a wood burning stove ? What and how old is the stove ? who still makes a wood burning appliance with a wooden handle ?

seriously ?

at - 20 below, for 3 months a year and somewhat dependant on burning carbon options who puts a wooden handle on wood-stove and what a perfect waste of resources when you know that failure is the only option,….. new stoves usually have a metal coil on the handle for a 2 fold reason

a: it isn't combustable
b: its doesnt act as an insulator, rather a heated handle that dissipates heat


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## 280305 (Sep 28, 2008)

I like the corn cob idea! We grew lots of Hopi Blue Dent corn that is drying in out barn. If I leave the kernels on, will we get blue popcorn?

This is a very common stove around here - a 2006 Vermont Castings.


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## daltxguy (Sep 7, 2007)

The corn cob would be a good test. Corn pops around 350F (180C)
Sounds like a good experiment to conduct with your boys!

I have a *2013 *Enviro fireplace insert - wood on the handles - so, yes they still do this.


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## jdh122 (Sep 8, 2010)

I've always heard that redwood is quite fire-resistant (a reason why they can grow so big despite forest fires). But I don't think it's legal to cut these amazing trees anymore (nor should it be). Maybe a small recovered piece?


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## LiveEdge (Dec 18, 2013)

Ipe: Sustainability: This wood species is not listed in the CITES Appendices or on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Cumaru is grown on plantations these days.

Redwood or other conifers aren't resistant beyond their thick barks (which have developed to resist fire).

Here is a link to the Flame Spread Index for various (mainly domestic) woods. A lower number is better. Ipe and Cumaru are not listed but they are Class A which means a number between 0 and 25.

Flame Spread Index


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## daltxguy (Sep 7, 2007)

You should educate yourself on the realities of ipe timber logging ( or any 'miracle' timber from outside of the US)
http://landscapearchitecturemagazine.org/2013/05/17/a-trail-of-stumps/

If Americans are consuming it, it's under threat, or will be eventually. It's happened with every species.. Mahogany wasn't on the list either, until it was - but it was too late. Ipe is the new mahogany.

The harvest of big-leaf mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla)-also prized as a decking material in the United States-is a textbook example of these dynamics. In 2003, big-leaf mahogany faced commercial extinction owing to illegal logging and a rampant export market-60 percent of it bound for the United States-and so it was listed in Appendix II of the UN-chartered Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. This regulation still allows the wood to be traded but limits the quantity and sizes of trees that can be harvested. It has alleviated some of the pressure on mahogany populations, but similar exploitation patterns are being repeated with other species like ipe, whose export market increased by 500 percent between 1998 and 2004. Schulze and his colleagues assert, "Tabebuia appears as vulnerable to uncontrolled logging as mahogany." Ipe, they conclude, is "the new mahogany."

The numbers simply don't add up. More ipe from Brazil is being consumed domestically and exported than is accounted for by the timber regulatory body which enforces the sustainable management plans for legal logging.
That means that even 'legal' trees are quite likely being illegally logged. 
Viewed this way, ipe is not being sustainably harvested.


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## LiveEdge (Dec 18, 2013)

I guess I try to rely on the agencies that have the best shot at knowing. I'm sure you speak some truth, but I'm unsure why we would concentrate on one species like Ipe as bearing the wrath of our moral outrage. We've destroyed 90% of our own old-growth forests.

There seems to be a difference of information. The Wood Database says Ipe is not listed in the CITES appendicies while your landscape architecture article says it is. Which is correct? I guess I'll have to check the CITES list on my own.


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## LiveEdge (Dec 18, 2013)

Unless I missed it. Handroanthus sp. are not listed in the CITES appendices. So either it never was and your article is incorrect, or it was at one time but has been removed (which would seem to be a good thing).

EDIT: I'm sorry. I think I misread the article. It never said Ipe was on the CITES list, but was talking about big leaf mahogany and giving it as a precautionary tale.

Well, for my own deck I went with Cumaru and I'm happy. If sources are to be believed, it is harvested in a sustainable manner.


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## 280305 (Sep 28, 2008)

I'm having second thoughts about using wood. In the spirit of sustainability, I have some other ideas. Now I am looking for opinions of whether I should use rhino horn or elephant tusk.


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## daltxguy (Sep 7, 2007)

The good news, rhinos are breeding well. The bad news is that a rhino horn, if you can get one illegally, will set you back $150,000


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## Dal300 (Aug 4, 2011)

Why not some nice Blue Whale bone?


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## LiveEdge (Dec 18, 2013)

Oh man. You made me spit my coffee out!


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## gfadvm (Jan 13, 2011)

Deleted for reasons of political correctness and harmony!


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## 280305 (Sep 28, 2008)

It is time to wrap up this topic. Given the sustainability debate, I tried to find a solution that would be gentle on the ol' Earth.

First, I went to see what I could find on the floor of the barn:










We decided that this does not fit our high-brow lifestyle.

Then I tried a high-tech wireless remote solution:










This works great, but I have security concerns. I have read on the Internet that the next big breach after the recent Target attack could very well be wireless damper controls. I hate to think what could happen if we were hacked and the damper was nefariously opened in the middle of the night.

Next up:










Never mind. This seemed like a good idea after a few beers.

Here is one of the suggestions that I got in this thread:










This had the advantage of great leverage. But, after some time, the kernels were very hot. I think that it might work better with a white or yellow corn.

Sometimes you just want to live on the edge:










My family felt that this was somehow unsafe. I gave in and implemented this safer solution:










This would have been a keeper, but the red on the can is just too much of a contrast with the black stove.

I ended up settling on a little bit of maple:










I was able to make this out of just one tree.

Thanks for all the comments!

- Chuck


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## daltxguy (Sep 7, 2007)

Yellow corn. Huh! I love science.


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