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Palm trees

D

DeltaRed

Well-known Member
Never saw a palm tree. Only pictures. I was wondering if anybody ever sawed them into lumber? Seem the tall branchless trunk would make some pretty fancy knotfree wood. Is it hard,or soft. Grain pattern? or is it even suitable for lumber?How about a barn or tractor shed built from palm?
 
I've seen them, but I've never considered them candidates for lumber. Guess if they were, we'd hear more about palm lumber.
 
The coconut palms are used for lumber but that is only something in recent years and mostly in the Philipines. Previously non- producing 70 year old trees were removed as waste and no uses, disgarded. It is called coco lumber or coconut lumber.
 
Parents had a lawn maint company in florida. Cut a few down trimmed a lot more. Palm trees are in the phylum as grass. When alive they are very water heavy and pulpy in the center. When dead and dry they are like balsa wood not very good for building things.
 
We had one that went down and I cut it up. Very soft, loose fiber wood. Would not make lumber. Rotted away completely in a year or two.
 
The useful building material from them is the fronds (sp). You can make a nice thatched roof for your outdoor bar with some...
 
A really neat thing is how they transplant those things. Cut most of the top frawns off, dig it up and leave some root ball, dig a hole at the new place, stake out some guy wires, and keep it watered. I think this is what the guy at a nursery tood me how. Did I miss anything? Crazy way to plant a "tree". The chunk about the size of a matchlite fire place log felt almost like a stage prop. Very light and soft. The best thing about Florida is this time of year. The citrus blooming time of year. Smells just Heavenly.
 
We have plenty of them down here. A worthless tree. Roach motel.
The tall Washingtonians were planted during the 30s and 40s under WPA.
Most were planted along boundary lines and now conflict with power lines.

The native Sabal palm are pretty up to about twelve feet.
Anything taller than that is just a stick with a bush on top.
No shade.

I prefer an Ebony or Oak. Plenty of shade with no sap.
 
There are a lot of different species called "palms". Date palms, coconut palms, palmettos. I assume some are better for lumber than others. In many countries, palms are all they have for native lumber so that's what they use.

FWIW, southern California is full of eucalyptus trees. They were planted for lumber, but it turns out they produced lousy lumber and few were ever harvested.
 
Palm is very poor to use as lumber; as it's a very soft, grainy wood, almost pithy. If using in construction, you need to leave the logs intact. Don't try to nail them together, it won't hold; you have to lash them together with cordage. Once the wood dries out it'll only last a couple of years before it starts to rot away, especially if in contact with the soil. Also, when Palm is dry it burns easily, very similar to a dried out Joshua Tree, burns fairly quickly and leaves little ash.


:>(
 
years back they made brushes out of palm wood. palm wood has fibers that the soft meat was carded out and you end up with a brush, Big industry, little Florida history
 

The only time I've seen them was on a trip to Weslaco, Tx. in January of '06 - The locals probably got a laugh out of me 'rubber-necking' out the windshield! :lol:
 
Mark B:

We used to have a lot of Orange Groves in SoCal when I was a youngster and the Eucalyptus trees were planted as wind-break borders for the orchards.

Doc :>)
 
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