Woodworking with Monocots | Lumber Update Episode 125

Today I look at Monocots. The Bamboo and Palms that you may have seen showing up in flooring or plywood or even turning blanks. I also answer questions about branch wood, air dried wood, and the commercial vs local names of lumber.
Send in your questions about lumber and the lumber industry. Comment below with a question or contact me via my website at www.lumberupdate.com.
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[@LagoonofMystery]

Thanks for answering the monocot question--it's one I've been thinking of asking you. I do a little bit of carving and have found significant difference among palm species. I haven't carved red or black, but sabal and California fan generally offer solid wood all the way through. It's not particularly hard (although those I've carved grew in clay/loam rather than sandy soils). Mexican fan palm, on the other hand, is so fibrous it is like trying to carve rope, only offering somewhat solid wood close to the base. As these palms each have a growth tip and will not regrow from the roots if that is removed, my assumption is that age impacts the density of palm wood with density decreasing the closer one gets to the growth tip. I can confirm that palms retain a lot of water and are insanely heavy when first felled.

[@gizanked]

If you used them for a workbench and not just flooring or cutting boards could they be Roubo Monocots?

[@gizanked]

(also youtube is older than 15 years. My account is old enough to vote)

[@RenaissanceWW]

You're right of course. I think it was 2005 if I remember right. I'm trying to remember why all of us in the first generation of woodworking content creators were all using Blip.tv for video. I wonder if it was the early time limits that RUclips put on video? I know I was more than 90 episodes into this "podcast" before moving it to this platform. Who can remember, its possible we were all just late adopters.