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For christmas this year I recieved some exotic woods. I"m pretty sure they are green, look like they came from woodcraft or similar store. They have a layer of wax covering them. I wanted to make a pipe or two out of some of the wood. I am wondering how long to wait or maybe a method that will dry out the wood so I can get to work.

Also on a separate note I have some purple heart and cocobola that my brothers wants me to make some pipes out of. Has anyone every made a pipe out of either of these? They are on some toxicity charts but then again so is olivewood so I dont know what to think. My bros want pipes out of it but I don't want to poison them.

The reason it's got the wax coating is so the wood doesn't dry out too fast - or it will develop cracks.

I strongly suggest against cocobolo as a wood for pipes. It is full of compounds that cause irritation of the skin and mucus membranes. When
I lathe shape or sand it, I have to wear a full-on respirator in conjunction with the dust collector. Lots of folks have reported short term effects similar to poison ivy in terms of dust contact. Since the creation of dust is simply freeing those compounds, I can just imagine what heat would do. *shudder*

I don't know about purpleheart, but I suspect it also is mildly toxic. At least one fellow I know reported nausea and being dizzy when running a bunch of it through a surface sander.

Some woods generally considered safe are:
- cherry
- maple
- ash
- walnut
- olive

In general, you should avoid rosewoods of all kinds.

As far as green wood goes....

Woodcraft does sell sealed, green wood for turners. It's green because it's much, much easier to turn green wood than it is to turn wood that's dry and had it's lignins set. When it's green, the wood is softer and more pliable.

The wax is there to prevent the wood from drying out, or drying too fast.

Behind me on a shelf is a vase that's been in process for about 6 months. This is wood was harvested from a dogwood that I felled in my mother-in-law's front lawn, and after I turned the rough form I coated the entire deal with a layer of emulsified wax (aka anchorseal). When it stops losing weight (I measure every 2 weeks or a month) it'll be ready to turn.

If you want to use green wood for pipes, I suggest cutting it up into smaller pieces to aid in drying. Place them in a loosely tied plastic grocery bag or coat them with emulsified wax, and check on them regularly.

Is the wood ready to be used when it stops losing water weight? Roughly how long will it take for the wood to be ready for pipe making. I'm trying to be patient but it's a beautiful piece of wood and I"m quite anxious to see what I can turn it into.

Yes, when it stops losing weight, then it should be okay to shape into a pipe. However, what I would do, is drill the various hols, and let it dry out even more before fitting a stem. If it's green, wet wood, there's going to be a hell of a lot of movement as it dries.

Thanks for the tips, I'm definately going to have to get something to work with immediately, I've got the itch to really get to work and make a pipe or two.

KurtHuhn wrote:However, what I would do, is drill the various holes, and let it dry out even more before fitting a stem. If it's green, wet wood, there's going to be a hell of a lot of movement as it dries.

I'm assuming that means redrilling the mortise and facing the shank after it has dried some more.

Most likely, yes. If the wood is really wet, who knows how much it will change dimensions.

Old thread but an important warning. DO NOT work purple heart without proper breathing apparatus.It is quite toxic and VERY irritating . I don't think i would use it for anything other than an inlay on a pipe.

Art

KurtHuhn wrote:... Some woods generally considered safe are:
- cherry
- maple
- ash
- walnut
- olive
....

That Cocobolo description sounds pretty freaky. I went back and edited one of my posts in another topic where I said I thought that wood toxicity was overrated.
I've been smoking a maple, and a walnut pipe heavily for about 9 months, and without any problems.

KurtHuhn wrote:If you want to use green wood for pipes, I suggest cutting it up into smaller pieces to aid in drying. Place them in a loosely tied plastic grocery bag or coat them with emulsified wax, and check on them regularly.

Hey Kurt,
I recently purchased a 2x2x12 block of olive from Woodcraft and cut it into three blocks for pipes. Within a few hours the cut sides were already showing cracks. Woodcraft was nice enough to replace it but I think the fault was mine not theirs. I live in a very hot and dry desert and I am wondering what I can do to stop this from happening on the new piece. If I leave it uncut and with the wax seal intact will it dry out slowly or will the moisture just be trapped? And if I do cut it should I age it inside the house where the temperature is more controlled? Thanks a bunch for the help.

Whenever I cut up wood that is still moist i put it inside a plastic bag prick a few small holes in the bag and put it in a cool dark place for a few months.

NathanA wrote: Hey Kurt,
I recently purchased a 2x2x12 block of olive from Woodcraft and cut it into three blocks for pipes. Within a few hours the cut sides were already showing cracks. Woodcraft was nice enough to replace it but I think the fault was mine not theirs. I live in a very hot and dry desert and I am wondering what I can do to stop this from happening on the new piece. If I leave it uncut and with the wax seal intact will it dry out slowly or will the moisture just be trapped? And if I do cut it should I age it inside the house where the temperature is more controlled? Thanks a bunch for the help.

If the wood was covered in wax, my guess is that it was sold "green". Most of what Woodcraft sells has a high moisture content, since it's easy to turn green wood. For pipe making, you really want wood that's pretty dry to begin with. Otherwise the holes will change dimension and you run the risk of cracking and checking. You might be able to lessen that somewhat by cutting off the piece you're going to shape and sealing the rest of the block with emulsified wax, then fully shape your pipe and put it in a plastic bag to dry. That, to me, sounds like too much work, so I always use fully dried wood.

NathanA wrote:Hey Kurt,
I recently purchased a 2x2x12 block of olive from Woodcraft and cut it into three blocks for pipes. Within a few hours the cut sides were already showing cracks. Woodcraft was nice enough to replace it but I think the fault was mine not theirs. I live in a very hot and dry desert and I am wondering what I can do to stop this from happening on the new piece. If I leave it uncut and with the wax seal intact will it dry out slowly or will the moisture just be trapped? And if I do cut it should I age it inside the house where the temperature is more controlled? Thanks a bunch for the help.

I am directing this towards Kurt but anyone can chime in. So I took the olive blocks mentioned above and placed them in a plastic ziplock with a couple of small holes in my closet to dry out slowly. The replacement pieces are doing fine and I went ahead and put the first pieces with cracks in as well. To my surprise the cracks have closed up. Now I know they are not sealed up, unless olive has some really strange properties I don't know about, but my question is this: After they are fully dried would the pieces that cracked (and the cracks were small to begin with) be suitable for pipes, or would I likely have smoke coming out of the side of the bowl?

They won't be sealed, but they might be closed. As long as the wood dries evenly all over, it might be good to make a personal pipe out of, but I wouldn't sell it. Keep an eye on the cracks as the wood loses moisture, and see what happens.