Comments on: Bulletwood

By: Kevin Kempton

Kevin Kempton — Sun, 08 Dec 2024 22:22:20 +0000

I purchased a 16"X16"X4" B-grade block that was on sale. Definitely hard and heavy. When freshly cut it does have a pinkish color but unfortunately this fades over time to a medium brown tone. The smell is not bad and the dust settles quickly. I found that during carving with a rotary carver the grain is very picky about the cutting direction. With a double-cut carbide burr it was hard to get a smooth finish unless you are very mindful of the grain direction. I expect it makes a great decking material. It can be carved reasonably well with power tools. With the B-grade piece there were some significant checks and some knot holes. I tried to incorporate the knot holes into this carving while avoiding the checks.

By: Brian

Brian — Wed, 03 Jan 2024 23:22:55 +0000

I’m in California and which has Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) requirements for fire spread. I want to build a deck and surface it with Massaranduba. To obtain a building permit, the material must either be listed on the CalFire building material list, or have test results from an ASTM E84 or UL 723 ignition resistance testing. I’ve scoured the web looking for test results and haven’t found any. Any help is greatly appreciated

By: Frank-M

Frank-M — Mon, 18 Dec 2023 21:18:24 +0000

In reply to Prabhu Chatter.

Los Quetzales eco lodge in the highlands in Panama has locally made furniture – most with nispero – the chairs are HEAVY.
https://www.losquetzales.com/
The reception counrter, the last time I vitited at least, was a single slab, 8cm thick, of purpleheart

By: Will

Will — Fri, 03 Feb 2023 17:55:51 +0000

In reply to Mike. IMO a chemical stripper would be the absolute last option. A $1500 planer with a helical head would be so much quicker and easier than stripping and sanding. It would pay for itself many times over, especially if this deck is that large. Also you should keep in mind that if this deck is for example, 20 x 30ft. then you’re talking about multiple tens of thousands of dollars in material cost alone to replace it if something goes wrong with chemical stripping. My time is not THAT valuable but I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t be worth the time it would take to strip it! Good luck!

By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 16:06:57 +0000

In reply to Will.

Unfortunately, I don’t have access to that type of a tool…and the deck is huge. I think the only practical solution for me will be a chemical stripper…or a lot of hand sanding!

By: Will

Will — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 14:14:27 +0000

In reply to Mike. I had a similar situation with my Ipe front porch having been painted a lovely shade of shit brown by the previous owner. Idiots… I unscrewed every board, 4/5 at a time, ran them through my helical cutter-head planer, removing approx 1/32”, screwed then back in place and applied Ipe Oil. That’s probably the only reasonable solution…

By: Mike

Mike — Sat, 21 Jan 2023 18:26:38 +0000

I purchased a home with a very large deck made from this wood (according to the original builder/owner whose family owns a chain of lumber stores!). Unfortunately, subsequent owners have painted over the decking; some of the boards have started to warp a bit. About 75% of the deck is under a roof while the remainder has been exposed directly to the elements. It was installed 20 years ago. How can I safely remove the paint and restore this type of wood?

By: Luis

Luis — Wed, 21 Dec 2022 18:55:48 +0000

In reply to Curtis Clemenson. In Belize you can find as many seeds as you want. These trees grow along rivers and creeks, there are just plenty of them

By: Luis

Luis — Wed, 21 Dec 2022 18:50:36 +0000

In reply to Edward Mark Kidman. Yes, great option

By: Vinicius gago

Vinicius gago — Mon, 27 Jun 2022 19:39:19 +0000

In reply to Scott Camazine. That is not Massaranduba, Its Muiracatiara, also very hard and dense but much easier to work with