I had a deck made out of Ipe. There was 4/4, 5/4 and 4 x 4 ’s in it. We tore it
off to put on a sunroom and I pulled up everything to make a smaller deck. Most
of what was left over went to Galoots who responded to my offer for free cut
offs. George Wallace and Gary Caron live close enough to have scored some good
sized stuff (George made a gazebo). I, of course, kept back what I thot was a
good supply. Unfortunately I have very little handle size material left. Poor
planning.

I bought it all 15 years back as decking material mail order out of New York and
Georgia lumbar yards. That’s why I have a rather wide variety of grain showing.
I think Ipe is a name used for several related tropicals. Most turn well, but
always need final sanding. Some plane well. Some is stringy & brittle. What they
all share is that thy are HARD on edges, near impossible to chop cross grain,
can spark under a power tool, are hard to glue, the dust stains things pinkish
and if you catch a splinter it will fester. But they make tough, strong parts. I
often use it where someone else might use metal. And my big mallet turned out of
a 4 x 4 is awesome.

So, for you guys that got my castoffs, time to chime in.

Bill