Koa, Mango and Mokey Pod

[mayszs]

I recently got back from Hawaii and fell in love with their native woods specifically Koa, Mango and MokeyPod.
I've been contemplating placing an order with one of the Hawaiian owned lumber mills. Due to the rather substantial freight costs small quantities it is cost prohibitive so I figured I'd see there was enough interest from other members to place a large order to make the freight less painful.

 

[Mark Gottesman]

Real quick thought. Check with the luthier (stringed instrument builders) web sites and suppliers to see if any of them have anything you can use in stock here on the mainland. They use those lumbers for building ukuleles and other instruments. If you are looking for dimensional maybe someone else will have a lead.

 

[WoodWrangler]

Lots of Monkeypod down here in Florida ... might be able to find that a bit closer, and cheaper. Do you want turning stock or boards?

 

[Jeremy Scuteri]

Koa can be really pretty stuff.

 

[Cles69]

Koa is very nice. My wife and I fell in love with it when we were in Hawaii.

 

[mayszs]

I'm looking for boards, I have yet to take the plunge and but a lathe.
I didn't realize Monkey Pod grew down there, I'll definitely look into that.

I did some initial searches for Koa and Mango. The only Mango lumber I could find in the lower 48 was as veneer and the Koa was incredibly overpriced. I never though about instrument lumber suppliers, I'll definitely look into that.

I agree on the Koa, I found some wedding bands with Koa inlay I picked up as a Valentine's gift for the wife, they look amazing.

 

[MrAudio815]

There was a member back in the day that shipped some great Hawaiian woods to me.

Here is a previous post on the matter: http://www.ncwoodworker.net/forums/showthread.php?t=28682

Chris is a Great guy & The $35 large priority box is a great deal.

 

[mayszs]

That's awesome!!
Thanks

 

[Jeff]

How many bf are you wanting to buy?

There is information on all 3 here. Interestingly, Monkey Pod is a generic term used loosely without specific species to identify it.

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

http://www.hearnehardwoods.com/hardwoods/exotic_hardwoods/exotic_woods.html

Hearne Hardwoods is asking + $8/bf for Monkey Pod and $40-60 +/bf for Koa. The Koa is a protected species with strict limits on harvesting in Hawaii.

Here's some mango for sale.

https://www.cookwoods.com/about-cook-woods/

...And a mango plank for $33.70/bf.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mango-wood-...ood-hardwood-2-x-10-x-85-1-4-kd-/220943221416

 

[aplpickr]

Be careful working mango. Mango sap contains the same active ingredient as POISIN IVY. If you are very sensitive to PI you should avoid it.

 

[Hmerkle]

Zack,
I know cormark has Koa, not sure what else they have, but certainly closer than Hawaii (although if you pay for my trip, I will be happy to go there and bring some back!) ha ha

Seriously, have a look here and maybe give them a call;

http://www.cormarkint.com/species.html

 

[mayszs]

That's very good to know. I'm one of the lucky people that can walk though PI in shorts and never itch but my wife and mother get blisters just thinking about it.

 

[mayszs]

I ran into the limited supply of Koa while looking for it on Oahu. There wasn't much of it and what was for sale wasn't of the greatest quality.
Mango on the other hand seemed relatively plentiful starting at about $17 board foot going up very quickly based on figure.
I didn't know that about MonkeyPod either, I'll have to contact the carver I met out there and see if he can tell me the exact species.
I'm not sure how much I'm going to buy just yet. It'll come down to how much I can get the wife to let me spend, how many finished prices I sell in the near future and any volume discounts(if any) are offered.

 

[WoodWrangler]

The monkeypod trees down here (Florida) have been black seed pods that look like ears. There is a wood vendor that lives about a mile from me that sells turning blanks --> http://www.woodturningblanks4u.com/

Alternatively, there is a supplier in Tampa, Florida called Viable Lumber which is a group who uses residential lumber (which monkeypod almost always is) and boards it out for sale. --> http://viablelumber.com/ (they call it "ear tree")

 

[Jeff]

Monkey pod diversity and a Sherlock Holmes clue.

The Hawaiian version is Pithecellobium saman and the seed pod is about 4-8"l x 3/4"w (reminds me of a southern pole bean). This is the species sold by Hearne Hardwoods.

http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/forestry/trees/CommonTreesHI/CFT_Pithecellobium_saman.pdf

On the other hand, the Florida version with the strange ear shaped pods is Enterolobium cyclocarpum. It's also called the Ear Tree and is not native to Florida although it has been widely cultivated in the state.

http://okeechobee.ifas.ufl.edu/News columns/Enterolobium.Ear.Tree.htm#Comparing the species

 

[mayszs]

I think something like this would look good in Mango and Koa.

 

[jonnyfontaine]

Hi... I've worked with Koa a fair amount, and also Tasmanian Blackwood which is closely related, and just throwing it out there... for my money Tassie Blackwood is my preference.

 

[Runk]

Here is a contact on Maui that does ship wood back to the mainland. I had some Mango shipped back a couple of years ago. It was three boards 6/4 by 6" by about 6 feet. I have visit this yard and it sells rough sawn lumber as well as cabinet hardware. They are related to a sister company that makes custom cabinets and such next door. This is located on Maui.

HLM Hardware Lumber
Wailuku Industrial Park
823 Alua Street
Wailuku, HI 96793
Phone # 808-244-0499
Fax # 808-242-1588

I do not have their email. If you decide to proceed then I might be interested in participating depending on timing.