# Padauk Sucks!



## AKSteve (Feb 4, 2012)

I got a 2 inch thick by 10 ft piece, and I started working with itoday. first thing I notice is how ridiculously hard it is to work with! it's almost like the grain iis going in different direcitons and it's kinda twisted like, I trying to use a draw knife to taper the legs but like right down the middle the grain seems to be going in the wrong direction? wierd. I am going to have to machine this wood to get to work right. it's very frustrating, not to mention the fact when You do machine it you basically turn everything in the shop orange! I won't use this wood again that is for sure.


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## ArlinEastman (May 22, 2011)

Steve

All the Paduak I have used has all been with power tools. I have used it for turning on a lathe and for boxes never used hand tools with it before. It is one of my favorite woods for adding color to a project.

If you do not want it sell it to me.
Arlin


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## Mosquito (Feb 15, 2012)

I've used Padauk twice before. I really like it. But by the time I was done it looked like I had been eating Cheeto's and wiping my hands on my shorts… To me, it seemed really granular grain. By that I mean it was prone to chipping out, and once you got to the end of a cut you had to be very careful not to break a chunk out.

I do think it's a very beautiful wood though.


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## knotheadswoodshed (Jun 14, 2012)

aside from the orange dust, I love paduak…and so do my customers.
My Paduak boxes are one of my biggest sellers


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## ShaneA (Apr 15, 2011)

Yeah, I like it too. The dust is a mess but, as mentioned, it adds beauty and color to projects. I just wish it was cheaper, so I could buy more!


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## RyanHaasen (Oct 29, 2011)

I love the smell and look of Padauk. The only thing I don't like about it is the colour fades to (almost) brown over time. I wish it held its colour.


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## shampeon (Jun 3, 2012)

I worked padauk with hand tools, and while it was definitely hard, I actually enjoyed working with it. I took a rough 8/4 plank down to dimensions only with hand planes, starting with a scrub plane.








I agree on the red dust. That was annoying. But apart from that, I just love the color and definitely will work with it again.


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## lj61673 (Oct 31, 2011)

Welcome to the world of exotic woods…either love them or hate them.
Padauk can suck big time is you get one of those funky multi grain direction pieces.


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## BillWhite (Jul 23, 2007)

And it get all over the walls when ya sand, but it SHORE PURDY.
Bill


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## Grandpa (Jan 28, 2011)

I used some and made a checker board for my grandson. I thought it was beautiful. I machine everything though. 
The dust is no worse than any other wood except you can see this because of the great color. The other dust is there too, we just don't see it. 
You might hook a dust collector to that plane….LOL


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## Dusty56 (Apr 20, 2008)

I love it as an accent wood , but haven't made anything large with it yet. I understand that it turns brownish with time , and I don't know of a finish to stop that from happening yet.
What do you plan on using for a finish ?


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## BillWhite (Jul 23, 2007)

I have used HUT WAX on padauk turnings with great results. I find that the color becomes a deep maroon with time.
Bill


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## Dusty56 (Apr 20, 2008)

Thanks Bill. 
I am looking for something to keep the "orange" color intact. 
I also used some wax along with mineral oil on a cutting board with Padauk in it and it totally changed the whole look of the board . The Padauk kept getting darker as time went on and ruined my original "thoughts" as how I wanted it to look.
I don't know if it was the wax that possibly caused it because I've used just plain Mineral Oil on previous boards with no acute color changes. The edge board is the Padauk I was referring to.










and these are just plain mineral oil.Still holding their colors : )


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## AKSteve (Feb 4, 2012)

Don't get me wrong it is a beautiful wood, one of the main reasons I picked it to go with Maple, it just stands out so nicely. But I am definitely going to have to machine it. I was going to put BLO on it for finish, and paste wax for finish. not sure yet though. I would like to try to retain the color if I could. Bill thanks for the tip I will probably give that a try and see.


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## ArlinEastman (May 22, 2011)

For helping with color fastness on woods, I have been using Deft Danish Oil with UV inhibitors in it. So far so good the last 3 years with purple heart and paduak.

Arlin


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## Howie (May 25, 2010)

That's a good tip Arlin,thanks.


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## Dusty56 (Apr 20, 2008)

Thank you , Arlin : )


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## IsaacH (Aug 29, 2012)

Watch that dust….gives me a killer headache if I turn it without a respirator….not to mention the purple boogers…..ewwwww


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## Surfside (Jun 13, 2012)

Whoa! Padauk is my favorite wood too! Best results when finished!


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## waho6o9 (May 6, 2011)

Thanks Arlin


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## richgreer (Dec 25, 2009)

Padauk is eventually going to turn dark and brown and dull. You can slow it down but you cannot stop it. The same is true of purpleheart and a few other of the colorful exotics.

When it comes to colorful exotics, the only one that I am confident that it will keep its color is bloodwood.


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## EPJartisan (Nov 4, 2009)

Hey Steve, one of my mantras: if you know the tree you know the wood. Paduak, if you are using Pterocarpus soyauxii is from Africa where unlike up here in the temperate zones these trees grow in wet/dry seasons… not growth/dormant seasons…. most trees that grow in wet/dry have alternating and interlaced grain… meaning during the wet season it grows one way… dry it grows the other way. The Parenchyma cells are tiny and everywhere because (depending on the tree's nature) there it needs more time to hold what nutrients and water they can get. Here in the temperate zones we have distinct growth rings where the tree makes open (and more) cells for growth and then more condensed cells when it gets colder… most evident in Ash trees. Thus Parenchyma cells are more pronounced because they have to hold more nutrients and water, but for a shorter time… like in Sycamore trees and the rays found in White Oak. (Parenchyma = "functioning tissue organ" and are most found in Angiosperms a later evolution from the Gymnosperms)... interlocking grain is great for carving, but can occasionally be a PITA.


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## Cosmicsniper (Oct 2, 2009)

Eric…I want your brain…at least the knowledge you have about trees! Maybe someday I'll have the chance to really study it.


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## AKSteve (Feb 4, 2012)

thanks for the information! very enlightening for sure. what is a good source for the information you talk about? are there any really good books I could read, I would love to know more about it.


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## EPJartisan (Nov 4, 2009)

I highly recommend "The Tree" by Colin Tudge. not exactly a light read, but truly interesting. I read it three times just to absorb a portion of the info.. then I reinforce what I learn by reading on-line and other woodworking books about history (e.g. What wood is That?") and ecology books. I get most of my info of South American trees from a rare book called "Soils of the Amazon". When I study a tree species I usually do it for a few weeks…and I am not into academia anymore… so it is all for my own fun and knowledge. I just finished Yellowheart… fascinating. But keep in mind my hobbies are Physics, Forest Biology, and cultural psychology… used to be woodworking and painting… but that is my job now.. so my free time is all about reading and relaxing.

http://lumberjocks.com/reviews/1945


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## Dustmite97 (Aug 1, 2009)

I've got to use padauk a few times. It's a really nice wood especially with a nice finish on it. It is pretty solid wood but hasn't been too difficult to machine. I hear you about the dust though, especially when sanding.


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## EPJartisan (Nov 4, 2009)

I just realized I wrote above "what wood is that?"...which is a great book, but I meant "Know your wood." 
Yes, funny title.. but it is a great way to learn some facts about wood from around the world. I have no idea if it is in print, I got mine from my father. For example.. Mahogany was not imported into America during a short period.. off my head… about 1910-1915.. my condo was built in 1915.. so when looking at historical rehab.. i instead discovered the place was stained Birch to look Mahogany and was low income worker homes with small coal fire places.


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## 47phord (Apr 10, 2012)

I just made an anniversary gift for my wife out of Paduak. It was my first time using it but I thought it was fairly easy to work with. I'm guessing AKSteve just got a crummy chunk of the stuff. As for finishing my project, I followed several recommendations and used a clear spar finish, which blocks UV rays and protects that lovely color (supposedly).


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## pashley (Mar 22, 2008)

I work with it all the time. Some points:

• If you can use a card scraper or plane, do it; avoid sanding.

• If you sand, wear a mask, or at the very least, use a good air cleaner; that dust is toxic.

• Before finishing, take some denatured alcohol on a rag, and wipe off the paduak really well. Failing to do so will cause that orange dust to be picked up by the brush, and will carry over to your neighboring wood, and it's very hard to remove after that. Better yet, finish the paduak before assembly.


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## AKSteve (Feb 4, 2012)

Very Good tips Pashley, you not kidding about that dust, it's like orange Kool Aid ! it gets on everything, I definitely wear a mask, I can't stand to have any dust up my nose! I fashioned a taper jig today and cut out the legs that I wanted on the Table saw, I put my Rigid wet/dry vac on the exhaust but it still gets every where, I also put a exhaust filter on the vac too. here is a picture of the legs for the table I am making:


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## Dusty56 (Apr 20, 2008)

I want to see that table when finished : )


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## D_Allen (Oct 11, 2010)

You are right…it sucks. It's dusty and porous as was mentioned above. Orange everywhere!
I had a pen blank of it that I never did get around to turning. This is one of the blanks turned down and sanded to 320. I then wiped it off with just a dry cloth. It seems to have the same kind of open cells as wenge, but not as bad. I'll have to use a few coats of thick CA before the thin final coats but it should look good.
I wonder what it would look like if I used compressed air to clean out the pores and filled them in with some yellowheart?


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## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

Last time I used Padauk my router base looked as if the had rusted and it is plastic. I only use it for decorative accents because it's messy and not cheap!


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## picofarads (Nov 20, 2017)

What pashley said is absolutely right. That dust is so fine you have to make certain you get all of it off if you sand it. If you don't get every molecule off it will 'bleed' over to whatever you have it joined to. And, generally, that's a light colored wood like maple. IMO maple doesn't look great with a pinkish orange hue. Also, I have had experience with the multi-direction grain in padauk. After running it though the planer it looks like it has holes in it no matter which direction you feed it through. Card scraper is the only thing that helps. Plus you have to really seal it with something before applying the final finish or it will look blotchy. At least mine did.


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## LiveEdge (Dec 18, 2013)

As far as working with red wood goes, Padauk is the gentle, doting grandmother compared to the meth addicted old hag that is Bloodwood. I suggest working with Bloodwood for a little while and then the Padauk will seem dreamy. Plus I love the way Padauk smells.


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## cathode (May 18, 2014)

> As far as working with red wood goes, Padauk is the gentle, doting grandmother compared to the meth addicted old hag that is Bloodwood. I suggest working with Bloodwood for a little while and then the Padauk will seem dreamy. Plus I love the way Padauk smells.
> 
> - LiveEdge


I didn't mind working with Bloodwood, EXCEPT that it's so hard it splits / splinters like crazy.


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## AlaskaGuy (Jan 29, 2012)

Freshly cut Padauk










Padauk after it darkens










Red Oak on the Janka scale is 1290
Padauk …...........................1725
Bloodwood…........................2900


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## LiveEdge (Dec 18, 2013)

Wow. That oak really darkened too!


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## AlaskaGuy (Jan 29, 2012)

The first picture was taken in my shop without any finish on it. The second picture was taken at the owners house some month later with oil based finish on it and different lighting. Internet picture aren't always the best. I have two computers and these picture will look a bit different on each one.

Anyway to point is Padauk over time with lose the orange and turn a dark reddish color.


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## AlaskaGuy (Jan 29, 2012)

Blood wood dust


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