# Paulownia



## Janx Spirit (Jun 9, 2021)

Hey all - 
I have access to a few Paulownia trees that I can cut and haul if I want to. Curious if anyone has turned bowls with this species, and whether it's worth the trouble to go get it. I've seen everything from "it's boring junk" to stories of people stealing these trees because they're so valuable? That last is a bit surprising, because they are invasive and seem to grow pretty quickly.
I'd love to hear any experiences with it or see any examples. Cheers - 

Gregg


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## Arn213 (Jun 10, 2021)

Janx Spirit said:


> Hey all -
> I have access to a few Paulownia trees that I can cut and haul if I want to. Curious if anyone has turned bowls with this species, and whether it's worth the trouble to go get it. I've seen everything from "it's boring junk" to stories of people stealing these trees because they're so valuable? That last is a bit surprising, because they are invasive and seem to grow pretty quickly.
> I'd love to hear any experiences with it or see any examples. Cheers -
> 
> Gregg


I can only speak in the guitar side of things. Paulownia (aka as Empress wood) is a very lightweight wood and you see a big trend of this being used mostly on telecaster bodies and right behind that are strat bodies. The ideal weight for tele bodies are usually at the 4 pound mark (mostly swamp ash and then followed by alder). Paulownia gets lighter than that and falls about the 3 to 2-1/2 pound mark for a tele body. A very resonant wood similar to sound profile of swamp ash.


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## phinds (Jun 10, 2021)

It's a grainy wood and so makes for interesting bowls. Check out this page, particularly the bowls at the very bottom of the page.

http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/paulownia.htm

Reactions: +Karma 1


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## 2feathers Creative Making (Jun 10, 2021)

Never turned it but have seen it in a dresser. Fell between oak and chestnut for looks and had little weight. Drawer slides and interiors could use to be oak for wear and tear. Either that or it needs drawer glides. It's a niche wood but very profitable if you can make the contacts. Also can be carved fairly easily like balsa wood. 
Have personally used trim made of it. There were several shades present in my trim. 
I would say, that there hobbit house resources would help you figure this one out using your own judgement.


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## Nature Man (Jun 10, 2021)

Would love to see any pictures you might have of the wood. Chuck


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## Janx Spirit (Jun 10, 2021)

The wood is still in standing tree format, so there's a lot of work yet to be done.

I'll probably see if some of the guys from the local woodworking group want to help me cut some down and cut it...up.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## 2feathers Creative Making (Jun 11, 2021)

If these trees are over 20 inches dbh, they may be worth slicing the butt logs (about the first 6 feet or more if the diameter warrants a longer tabletop) on a band mill for table and bench tops. That lightweight is a major selling point if you move your own furniture.


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## Gonzalodqa (Jun 11, 2021)

I would not recommend Kiri as a table top the wood is way to soft it will dent with anything

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Mike Hill (Jun 11, 2021)

Can't say to know much about it other than 3 decades ago, we had a bunch of it everywhere - now don't see all that much of it. Seems an exporter was buying all the logs - even yard logs - and sending them over the ocean - to the Asian market. - i.e. Japan. At any point in time - his log yard would have 100's of logs. Back in the 80's and 90's a good trunk could be sold for 1,000's of dollars. I guess the common name of Royal Paulowania is not a misnomer! Let's say there was some paulowania rustling (poaching) going on. I think it is called Kiri in Japan and supposedly used for some traditional Japanese wedding dowry type things. Apparently some bug/blight got ahold and killed most of the Kiri. Again, this is from a dusty memory from the 90's so check if you want to make sure. But, yes it is way soft and some people say it cuts like balsa. And as Arn said it is supposedly not very dense either.

Reactions: Like 1 | Informative 2


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## Arn213 (Jun 11, 2021)

Great post Mike! So the best custom forged Japanese chisels will have custom made Paulownia box (as Mike Hill stated it is called Kiri in Japan). Below is a photo sample of Paulownia tele body. It is very light weight and usually south of 3 pounds for a tele body is really, really light as typically the magic number is 4 pounds (swamp ash or alder). You can see at the neck pocket it has a hand written weight of “2.45” pounds! Aesthetically, Paulownia reminds me a cross between swamp ash and alder. The grain is not as crisp like swamp ash, but not as soft/tender like you see in alder. Building wooden architectural models in the past- it is closer to bass wood in density. Bass wood is also a very lightweight wood and neutral sounding tone wood which was predominately used heavily in paint grade guitars (for hard rock and heavy metal) in the 80’s.


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## FranklinWorkshops (Jun 11, 2021)

I cut a Paulownia that was growing behind my house a few years ago. These are the only pieces I have left of it. Notice the great curly figure which proves it's not all plain wood. Sold the curly stuff to a local jewelry box maker. The piece on the right is a 2 x 2 blank. This wood is almost like balsa in my view but it does machine and sand well. To turn a bowl will require very sharp tools I would think.

Another thing about this wood is how quickly it dries. All the logs I cut from the tree were split down the middle and stored in a barn. I didn't have any end checking and the logs were down to 12% mc is only a month or so. I milled them into short boards and they were ready to use immediately. I think the Japanese revere this for traditional boxes.

Reactions: Like 4 | Informative 1


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## barefoot (Jun 12, 2021)

This kiri (aka paulownia) is an astonishing wood. It is he fastest-growing hardwood in the world; one of the lightest woods in the world; with a flash point as high as that of cement; virtually water proof; with very low numbers for "movement"; takes glues and stains well; when cut, regenerates from the root; fabulous chime sound when struck; Won't bend, twist, or warp. The wood is legend in Japan and much of the Orient, but little known and actually branded as invasive in the U.S. 

I made this guitar top out of paulownia. The boards practically sang from the tap tones. If I had more, I'd make a set of chimes out of just cutoffs of paulownia.

Reactions: Like 1 | EyeCandy! 3 | Way Cool 4


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## FranklinWorkshops (Jun 12, 2021)

barefoot said:


> If I had more, I'd make a set of chimes out of just cutoffs of paulownia.


Carla, I may have some cutoffs left. How big (length x width x thickness) would you need for wind chimes?

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## barefoot (Jun 28, 2021)

Larry, been busy and just checked back in. I would LOVE to have pieces between 1' and 4' in any width or thickness. I will gladly trade for it or pay you any fee I can reasonably afford. Hope you still have those.


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## Janx Spirit (Jun 28, 2021)

That is such a stunning guitar. Wonderful work.

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 1


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## FranklinWorkshops (Jun 28, 2021)

barefoot said:


> Larry, been busy and just checked back in. I would LOVE to have pieces between 1' and 4' in any width or thickness. I will gladly trade for it or pay you any fee I can reasonably afford. Hope you still have those.


Hi Carla, 

I just returned from my storage shed and found a couple of pieces that I think you can use. They are 13 inches long, 3.5 inches wide and 2" thick, give or take a bit. If you pay for the postage, I'll give them to you. Will ship in a Medium Flat rate box. I will also fill up the box with some smaller pieces. Do you think those might work? 

If so, I'll clean them up and post photos here for final approval.

Reactions: Like 3


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## barefoot (Jun 29, 2021)

Would be most appreciative. I have pieces of various woods that you might have a need for. Do you have a favorite?


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## FranklinWorkshops (Jun 29, 2021)

Thanks for the offer, Carla, but I have more wood than I'll ever use at this stage in my life. What about this, pick out something that you think another WB member might want, offer it up like I'm doing the paulownia to you and pass on the good deed to another member. Maybe that member could then do the same thing and we'll see how far the good deeds spread. That would be fun. Kind of like paying for the driver behind you in a fast food drive-thru. I heard about one restaurant that had over 100 consecutive drivers do that one day. Lots of good cheer spread around and we need good cheer these days. 

I'll get the paulownia read for you to see this morning. I also want to go thru the barn again to look for more pieces.

Reactions: Like 1 | +Karma 2


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## FranklinWorkshops (Jun 29, 2021)

Here are photos of the pieces I could salvage. All except the one of the left are 13+ inches long. They will fit in a Medium Flat rate box. Are these okay to ship? If so, send me a PM and we'll get all the details arranged.

Reactions: Like 1 | Thank You! 1


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## barefoot (Jun 29, 2021)

Wonderful! I've found that paulownia is hard to get in these sizes; martial artists like to use them for breaking boards, and surfers LOVE the stuff and have driven the price up. I'll go out and find some good wood to offer up.


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## barefoot (Jun 29, 2021)

There's something on my mind. Maybe you guys can help me find a solution. A wonderful guy named Ted, who was a friend of mine and a maker of folk furniture, was gruesomely murdered about a year ago by a perfect stranger he tried to help. It made national news because it was so horrible and weird. He had a barn full of good wood that his wife doesn't quite know what to do with. I'm just sniffing around for a good outlet. Can you folks think of a way to auction it to help his wife out with expenses? I would volunteer to help set the thing up, take photos, etc.

I don't now what he has as I haven't been in his barn for years, but he was certainly a collector. I'd have to go do an inventory if anybody can think of a way to handle this.

Reactions: +Karma 1 | Sincere 1


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## FranklinWorkshops (Jun 29, 2021)

That is really sad. Maybe some of our members in your area can help out. If there are any woodworking clubs in that area, get word to them and maybe they can help move it. Have you seen the wood and do you know it's dimensions on average? Bowl blanks sell well on Etsy.


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## barefoot (Jul 18, 2021)

Larry, thanks for the good response. His widow is out of town right now, but when she gets back I'll gently touch down on that issue now that you've given me some ideas about how to proceed.
Till later.
c:


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## barefoot (Jul 31, 2021)

Janx Spirit said:


> Hey all -
> I have access to a few Paulownia trees that I can cut and haul if I want to. Curious if anyone has turned bowls with this species, and whether it's worth the trouble to go get it. I've seen everything from "it's boring junk" to stories of people stealing these trees because they're so valuable? That last is a bit surprising, because they are invasive and seem to grow pretty quickly.
> I'd love to hear any experiences with it or see any examples. Cheers -
> 
> Gregg


Gregg, these trees are prized in Japan. When a child is born they plant a paulownia tree and when that (girl) gets married they make a wedding chest out of it because it's virtually indestructible--doesn't respond to humidity doesn't crack, burns at the temperature of cement, makes good charcoal, is a phenomenal acoustical wood (used for kotos), a new tree will grow out of a cut stump, great for making lightweight but strong plywood, has beautiful flowers, etc. I prize it since I made a guitar top out of it which is awesome! This site has a lot more information; just explore the site to get full information.








About paulownia trees and paulownia wood | iPaulownia


Paulownia tree is by far the fastest growing hardwood tree in the world, allowing commercial returns within three years. Paulownia wood is practically knot free




www.ipaulownia.com

Reactions: Informative 2


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## barefoot (Mar 8, 2022)

Larry,
Well, we didn't manage to start a trend, but maybe another time. 

Meantime, life has been Groundhog Day with doses of harsh reality, so I stashed the paulownia in my shop for now--but really am going to do that chime after I dig out. Need to refurbish my old table saw so I can cut the paulownia thins for the chimes--a case of using one project to push another. Didn't somebody write a song about that--something about a hole in the bucket...

Just a half-axed update. c:


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## Nature Man (Mar 8, 2022)

barefoot said:


> Larry,
> Well, we didn't manage to start a trend, but maybe another time.
> 
> Meantime, life has been Groundhog Day with doses of harsh reality, so I stashed the paulownia in my shop for now--but really am going to do that chime after I dig out. Need to refurbish my old table saw so I can cut the paulownia thins for the chimes--a case of using one project to push another. Didn't somebody write a song about that--something about a hole in the bucket...
> ...


Unfortunately, Larry is no longer on this site. He has opted to focus on his Etsy site. Chuck

Reactions: Informative 1


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## barefoot (Mar 8, 2022)

Thanks Chuck.


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## Trob115 (Mar 9, 2022)

Nature Man said:


> Unfortunately, Larry is no longer on this site. He has opted to focus on his Etsy site. Chuck


I think we all miss Larry around here.

Reactions: Agree 3


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## Mike Hill (Mar 9, 2022)

They also one of the fastest growing trees and when young whips - they have the largest leaves!

What eventually happened to you friend's wood stash?


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## barefoot (Mar 9, 2022)

It's acclimating in my shop. I'm late getting to it. This has been a very troublesome time for us in that the hurricane took down a tree that took out the roof of my shop, drove our 28ton wood splitter into the ground, trashed the garden, washed out about 80' of our driveway, damaged our septic tank and a few other minor things. I'm getting back to my guitar work to catch up now. Boy, what an exciting year!

Reactions: Sincere 5


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## barefoot (Mar 9, 2022)

BTW, Mike, did you know that paulownia burns at about the same temperature as...wait for it...cement!! How about that!

Reactions: Like 1 | Way Cool 1


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## Alan R McDaniel Jr (Mar 9, 2022)

barefoot said:


> This kiri (aka paulownia) is an astonishing wood. It is he fastest-growing hardwood in the world; one of the lightest woods in the world; with a flash point as high as that of cement; virtually water proof; with very low numbers for "movement"; takes glues and stains well; when cut, regenerates from the root; fabulous chime sound when struck; Won't bend, twist, or warp. The wood is legend in Japan and much of the Orient, but little known and actually branded as invasive in the U.S.
> 
> I made this guitar top out of paulownia. The boards practically sang from the tap tones. If I had more, I'd make a set of chimes out of just cutoffs of paulownia. View attachment 210755


I love this guitar!

Alan

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## barefoot (Mar 10, 2022)

Ah, thanks, Alan. That's music (clears throat) to my ears. 
Here's the other side. It's "the Hubble view of the universe" and is much more colorful and 3-D in person than this poor photo.

Reactions: EyeCandy! 1 | Way Cool 1


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## Mike Hill (Mar 10, 2022)

barefoot said:


> BTW, Mike, did you know that paulownia burns at about the same temperature as...wait for it...cement!! How about that!


Yeh - If only it was a little stronger! At one time I thought it would have been a good idea to plant a huge paulownia plantation and get into the timber framing business. Then I thought why not paulownia log cabins! Did I say that it grows fast! Then I thought pulpwood - then I fell asleep.

Reactions: Funny 2


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## barefoot (Mar 14, 2022)

Perhaps you should reconsider, Mike

Here's a test that measures why paulownia is considered useful in construction:




__





Paulownia


There's something on my mind. Maybe you guys can help me find a solution. A wonderful guy named Ted, who was a friend of mine and a maker of folk furniture, was gruesomely murdered about a year ago by a perfect stranger he tried to help. It made national news because it was so horrible and...



woodbarter.com






"Consequently paulownia wood can be widely used for various purposes such as house construction, furniture making, pulp and paper and handicrafts."


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## hmclaurin (Apr 24, 2022)

In our area an entrepreneur planted upwards of a hundred to a couple hundred acres of paulownia thinking that a market would develop. A couple years ago they cut everything down, bulldozed the wood into piles, and burned it. Commercial demand never developed in the time the trees matured and the land is now converted to more profitable row crop land. Another local woodworker milled some of the wood and used it for long conference type tables. A thick bar top epoxy was used to protect the soft wood. What would have been an incredibly heavy table was overly easy to pickup with the light paulownia. Will always remember driving by those paulownia stands in the spring, when they were in bloom, and smelling the incredible perfume smell that they gave off. In hindsight I wish I would have loaded up when they cut everything down.

Reactions: Like 3 | Informative 1 | Creative 1


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## 2feathers Creative Making (Apr 24, 2022)

I have installed paulownia as painted trim . Don't know why they haven't been using it for stain finish in the dark oak/walnut range. Painting it requires a pore-filling primer to hide the grain. But the pine they are using now, gets the same treatment. 
Years ago I saw some furniture in a retired foresters home that was made of p. Tormentosa. Beautiful stuffs

Reactions: Like 1


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## Mr. Peet (Apr 24, 2022)

hmclaurin said:


> In our area an entrepreneur planted upwards of a hundred to a couple hundred acres of paulownia thinking that a market would develop. A couple years ago they cut everything down, bulldozed the wood into piles, and burned it. Commercial demand never developed in the time the trees matured and the land is now converted to more profitable row crop land. Another local woodworker milled some of the wood and used it for long conference type tables. A thick bar top epoxy was used to protect the soft wood. What would have been an incredibly heavy table was overly easy to pickup with the light paulownia. Will always remember driving by those paulownia stands in the spring, when they were in bloom, and smelling the incredible perfume smell that they gave off. In hindsight I wish I would have loaded up when they cut everything down.


Sad story. The Commercial market really did not exist until the 1980's in the US. It was specialized in the Japanese and Italian trades in the early years. The paint grade trim really took an upkick in the the 2000's, closer to 2010 here. Sounds like the trees were either poor lumber grade or just lacked the right connections at the time. Sorry you missed out on it. It can have some really wonderful graining.

Reactions: Like 1 | Informative 1


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