Replies

1. 
   splintergroupie | Aug 17, 2004 02:32am | #1

   Google on <<palm tree wood>>...plenty of sites with pix.

   Here's one: http://shop.store.yahoo.com/kaubusiness/tito.html

2. 
   robkelly | Aug 17, 2004 03:37am | #2

   It is very porous when it dries, and soft.  Aulus Gellius reports in his Noctes Atticae that the Romans before his time (2nd century A.D.) believed that palm wood had a unique property, that the more one loaded it down in building with it, the more the wood would push back, bearing up under the load. This supposedly led to the idea of awarding a palm branch or palm crown to the the winner of athletic contests. In reality, it probably led to many ancient Romans being buried under buildings constructed with palm beams.

3. 
   Michmesquite | Aug 17, 2004 04:23am | #3

   If you want to try some, I have a 50 footer in front of my house you can have. I won't ship.

   _________________________________

   Michael in San Jose

   "In all affairs it's a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted." Bertrand Russell 

1. 
   Dazz | Aug 17, 2004 05:37pm | #4

   Michael,

   Thanks for the offer !    Ok, you won't ship a palm tree trunk, no problem.  Uhh, when do you plan to drive out to New England ??

4. 
   wop | Aug 18, 2004 01:23am | #5

   I've seen alot of coconut palm used in Sulawesi Indonesia. Hard,fiberous, prone to splitting when used with mechanical fastners(nails or screws). leaves rough fibers up often that need to be sanded. Over all it's a real bugger to work with. looks just the same as a polished coconut shell when finshed.   oh ,and real heavy ;chairs made out of it that look light don't budge when you try to pick them up the first time.

                                                                                  Philip

1. 
   splintergroupie | Aug 18, 2004 03:02am | #6

   In a former life, i made burl clocks and tables. We got a few pieces of palm cross sections whose end-grain reminded me of antelope horn cross-section. Antelope, unlike deer, don't have sheddable antlers, but their horn sections resemble a bunch of hair-like stems cemented together on end...same color, too, when finished, a very dark brownish-black. I suppose there are many kinds of palms that can look completely different, however. I recall the sections were very stable, too.