Paulownia Wood Source

[Chuck Young]

When I first heard of this wood, I thought it was exotic and unavailable based on the name. Ben (Rayburnguy) posted that it grows in the United States. Come to find out, it has some great characteristics. It has the best strength to weight ratio of any wood. No knots, slightly more dense than balsa, and cheaper to boot. Now if I can just find some. I see some surfboard supply sources around $10 per board foot. Where do you get yours, and what do you pay?

[RayburnGuy]

Chuck,

 

Due to a problem with my computer a while back I've lost my bookmarks for the suppliers I've bought Paulownia from. I do remember that both times it was ordered from a different supplier. What I did the couple times I've ordered it was to just do a search for "paulownia supplier" without the quotation marks. I just did a search and below is the link to that supplier. Have not ordered from them before so I can't give a review of their services. You might even check Ebay.

 

The paulownia I've received did have a few knots in the boards. I think this varies from one supplier to the next, but not sure. I can't remember what I paid for the paulownia I've ordered, but don't think it was unreasonable.

 

Paulownia also has some grain you will have to get used to. If you try to take too big of a bite when carving it can splinter on you. These issues are no worse than other woods that have their own idiosyncrasies though. All in all it's my belief that paulownia is a good wood for building cranks that will hold up well and has good buoyancy while still being tough enough that through wire harnesses aren't required. I liked it well enough that I've planted 2 tress in my yard. They grow extremely fast (one of mine grew over 13 feet in one year) and are great shade trees since the leaves on them are huge. They also seem to tolerate drought really well. While some of the other trees in the yard were showing signs of drought the paulownia trees stayed nice and green. Be warned that they do have a VERY AGGRESSIVE root system and that the trees sprout from these roots. You'll have to keep them in check or you will be living in a paulownia forest before you know it.

 

Hope this helps and good luck.

 

Ben

 

http://www.worldpaulownia.com/paulownia-wood/

[Travis]

I made probably 40 or so cranks with the stuff over the years but still find basswood or balsa my go to.   I found the grain to be an issue and while they claim doesn't splinter I found the stuff I used from various sources all would (not horrible or a deal breaker).   Price ranged from free up to near that 10 dollar price per board foot.  I likely still have some in the shop to be honest.

[gone2long]

That's funny they are considered weed trees where I'm at 

[Travis]

That's funny they are considered weed trees where I'm at 

 

Yep...it was being pushed as the get rich scheme for landowners to replace those slow growing native hardwoods.    

Edited October 2, 2016 by Travis

[SW Lures]

Another invasive species to North America. I hope landowners read up on it. From reading Travis's post, it sounds as if it's in the past, except for a few it seems. Ones enough just like the Snakehead, (32) Wels Catfish in Spain etc, etc.

I know gloom and doom, but I'm seeing trends.

Dale

[Travis]

It still gets brought up and some still pursue it.  It was in the 80's and 90's when I think the big push was being made.  I grew up in KY/TN area and had several friends whose parents were farmers and looking for how to put kids through college sort of thing, retirement etc....  Soybeans and tobacco just weren't cutting it for many of them so heard a lot about llama, alpaca, ostrich, emu, and bison in regards to how to supplement income and then there was paulownia,   

 

https://extension.umd.edu/sites/default/files/_docs/programs/woodland-steward/EB319_Paulownia.pdf

 

 

Definitely a wood some may like to build cranks with but it just didn't win me over.  

[Chuck Young]

Thanks for the link Travis. I just identified one 16" dia tree in my front yard as a basswood tree. It too close to the house and wires to drop. But a few limbs are going to be converted to lures! 

[Chuck Young]

I found a source in NH. Goosebay Lumber sells clear paulownia 4/4 to 8/4 for $10.50 per board foot. Evidently marine wood suppliers are a good place to check.

[BobP]

Here's where I bought my last batch:  http://www.sustainablelumber.com/

 

You'll probably need to call them after perusing the website in order to get the length/width/thickness you want milled.  The prices I paid a couple of years ago was reasonable considering the custom milling and size I wanted (1/2'x3"x12')

[BJBarron]

I get mine off Amazon. I get the break boards they use in karate to hit and break. It comes in 1/4", 1/2", 3/4" thickness and 8.5" x 11"

Edited October 29, 2016 by BJBarron

[BobP]

A weed is any plant that you don't want around. Paulownia is an Asian tree that was imported for ornamental reasons and escaped "off the farm" and into the forests. It is popular in Japan for furniture construction because of its light weight and its hardness, compared to balsa. Lots of them in Tennessee, I hear. Unlike many woods used for crankbaits, it does have significant grain effects you need to aware of. The white grain is very hard and dense. The dark grain ranges from fairly soft to almost crumbly in some specimens. This grain variability can make hand sanding difficult unless you use a sanding block. The last batch I got from the source cited above was pretty uniform in grain, so no problems. Its nominal density is 18 lbs/sq ft, which is the same as "heavy balsa" a but it's hard enough not to require special construction techniques or reinforcement.