Stash Box #2 - Turned from HEMPWOOD [An engineered wood product]

In this woodturning project, I'm working with a product called HempWood, which is made of hemp fibers that have been formed into a solid block under heat and pressure with a soy based glue. It makes for a very heavy and hard (2600 Janka) material that actually has a sort of "grain" to it. It's a neat product, although it is pretty tricky to turn - your tools must be SHARP and it cuts better at a high RPM.
You can find a lot more info, including technical info, on the company's website: hempwood.com
I tried scrapers and bowl gouges and spindle gouges and skews, but the bowl gouge worked best for me on the outside and the scrapers seemed to do pretty well on the inside. I have a couple more small pieces to play with and I think it would look really cool with a bright colorful dye job.
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Please note, my videos are for entertainment only. They are simply demonstrations and are NOT intended to be instructional. Proper training and experience are essential before attempting to use any woodworking equipment. Do not attempt projects or techniques that are beyond your skill level or your comfort level! Serious accidents can happen in an instant and bandaging wounds or sitting in an emergency room is much less fun than woodturning. You are always responsible for your own safety. The only rules are: 1) Be careful; 2) Have fun.

[@richkeelan1312]

Awesome little box great Job

[@mikeruccio1054]

I live a few miles from this factory and I powercarve bowls and trays from this wonderful product.You have done a great job with this video and as you said your tools must be razor sharp.The end results speak for themselves....I love working with it and all the local woodworkers do as well.

[@mikeruccio1054]

smells like cereal to me! while I am working it....

[@ChadEamesWoodWorks]

Lol. It smelled like tobacco to me. It’s an okay product, but I’m not crazy about it. Don’t get it wet or it will swell up and fall apart. Nothing beats wood, in my opinion. Thanks for watching!

[@search2learn776]

Don't stop.

[@mountainviewturning5319]

Very nice 👍 have to check it out

[@dr.skipkazarian5556]

Hi Chad....you beat the devil on this one and the video stands a testimony of your perseverance and willingness to go "out there" and try something new. I'm looking forward to the video where you decide, on a crazy whim, to light the thing on fire, smoke it, and catch the buzz of a lifetime. 🤣 Best wishes and be well.

[@ChadEamesWoodWorks]

Lol 😂 I’ve got some crazy ideas, but that wasn’t one of them!

[@matthewschmalz852]

Funky stuff reminds me of engineered beam material. Thanks for the video!

[@ChadEamesWoodWorks]

Thanks for watching!

[@ThomasAnderson-lh5js]

Cactus juice and vacuum chamber

[@Hamit_HMT]

Thank you.

[@ChadEamesWoodWorks]

Thank you for watching!

[@OldManTony]

Nice job with what looked like a very difficult material. I wondered if it could be stabilised with something like Cactus Juice and be less fibrous.

[@ChadEamesWoodWorks]

I was wondering the same thing, but this stuff is seriously dense so I don’t know if anything would penetrate it. Although maybe the fibers would give it a path to the inside. I accidentally cut out the part where I bang the blanks on the lathe and each other, they are solid. I just measured the density and it’s approximately 1.03 g/cm3. Thanks for watching, Tony!

[@SethDowns]

@@ChadEamesWoodWorks The website that sells these recommends stabilizing the wood (from the website: "Turning blanks need to be stabilized using pressure pot stabilization method" --I was just ordering cactus juice to try for that purpose and believe that it would do it under pressure.

[@ChadEamesWoodWorks]

Yeah I didn’t know it was supposed to be stabilized, but honestly, I wouldn’t have done it anyway. I’m always up for a good challenge and this piece definitely brought it.

[@oneshotme]

Need to be showing it to us after you're done turning it please!! It would have been really nice to see it off the lath

[@ChadEamesWoodWorks]

Yeah I didn’t really show it in the end of this one. Sorry about that. I’ll put some shots of it on my Instagram.

[@oneshotme]

@@ChadEamesWoodWorks ty ty

[@nathansackett6899]

I'm thinking it would take dye extremely well. Might wanna try a test piece first though...cool box: )

[@ChadEamesWoodWorks]

I did try some dye on the corner of a blank... looked pretty cool. Thanks for watching!

[@rottiwoodturning6184]

Nice!. What kind of wood is that?

[@seemorevid1]

Interesting looking material. You commented that the block you had was stabilized. The company website says that the turning blocks need to be stabilized via pressure pot. Did you do the stabilization?

[@ChadEamesWoodWorks]

Haha! No, I didn’t. I guess I should pay more attention and read the website. Doh. I figured the glue would have penetrated the fibers during manufacturing, but found out otherwise as soon as I cut into it. Maybe I’ll go read those directions now...

[@HuskyHusqvarna]

I like turtles

[@bgpappy30]

It looks great, what did it smell like when turned?

[@ChadEamesWoodWorks]

No strong smell while turning that I noticed, but if you put your nose close it kinda smells like tobacco.