Tropical beauty with a funny name
I find it hard to say monkeypod without at least cracking a smile. And, contrary to the environmental concerns surrounding some tree species, monkeypod, (Pithecellobium saman also Albizia saman and Samanea saman) is something to smile about. Not only is the wood beautiful, but the trees it comes from are both abundant and flourishing. While somewhat expensive here in the continental United States, in many parts of the world where the trees grow, the species is treated as a utility wood, much the same way we view pine and poplar. The lumber itself runs from golden to a reddish-brown reminiscent of mahogany. Some boards exhibit dark streaks, while others can contain curl and other wild figure. Monkeypod trees grow fast and can reach significant sizes: 100' or taller and 3-4' in diameter, so wide boards are commonly available. The wood is very stable and highly resistant to rot and insect damage.
Where the wood comes from
While monkeypod trees are native to Central and South America, the trees have been propagated and naturalized in the tropics around the world. One story, for example, holds that in Hawaii, a businessman brought two seeds to the islands in 1847. Both of those seeds germinated, giving the tree a foothold in the islands. Today, all of the monkeypod trees in the Aloha state are alleged to be related to those two original plants. The monkeypod moniker stems from the spiral-shaped fruit pods the tree produces: its scientific name Pithecellobium means “monkey earring” in Greek. In other parts of the world, the species is known as raintree because the leaves tend to curl up when skies darken, allowing rainfall to pass through the canopy to the ground below.
History in woodworking
Perhaps the most famous use of monkeypod wood comes from Hawaii. Following World War II, the islands became a favored vacation destination. In response to the influx of tourists, islanders began producing a variety of carved and turned souvenir bowls as keepsakes for the masses to take home. Nearly all of these were made of monkeypod. These days, while you can still purchase a monkeypod bowl to commemorate your time in the sun, it was most likely made in the Philippines or Thailand, where labor costs are lower. Currently, with the renewed interest in live-edge furniture, makers are seeking wide monkeypod slabs for use as tables and desktops.
Working and finishing
For a basis of comparison, monkeypod is about the same weight and hardness as cherry. The grain, however, is much coarser and tends to be interlocked or “rowed.” The wood cuts well with both hand and power saws, but planing and jointing can be challenging, with the surface often appearing fuzzy and tearing in places due to the variable grain direction. You’ll likely find scraping and sanding yield a far superior surface than handplaning. The rowed grain can also make hand-carving the wood daunting though it turns and power-carves well. Unlike so many other tropical species, monkeypod doesn’t contain a lot of oils and resins, so it’s straightforward to both glue and finish. It’s typically available as solid stock in boards of various thicknesses from 4-24" wide and 8-12' long. Pricing varies from source to source, but expect to pay at least $16-20 per board foot and much more for wider and highly-figured pieces. You can also find veneer, turning blanks, and smaller, craft-sized stock. Note that the color can vary significantly depending on where the lumber grew. Wood from Central and South America tends to be yellower than stock from the Pacific islands that skews redder.
Echoes of mahogany. With its reddish-brown hue and darker pores, monkeypod is very similar in appearance to mahogany. Its creamy white sapwood can provide a nice splash of contrast.
Monkeypod
- Turnings
- Furniture
- Gift items
- Cabinetry
- Musical instruments
- Veneer
Monkeying around to avoid tearout
Writing this column is a lot of fun. Sometimes it is revisiting old friends, and sometimes, as was the case here, it is getting to know a new species. Preparing the samples for the photos is telling in how the wood responds to surfacing. That monkeypod has rowed grain is no exaggeration. None of the surfaces on my samples could be handplaned without significant tearout. In fact, the tearout left from the initial surfacing (the boards I purchased had been milled on both sides: “S2S”) was so bad that one of the samples still had small cross-grain checks even after a significant amount of prep. In preparing the stock for the box (below), I found that the best way to achieve a tear-free surface was to run the pieces on edge through the table saw, taking about a 1/16" skim cut off each face. While this worked for the relatively narrow pieces I used, for wider stock, a drum or wide belt sander would be a better bet. Other than the tearout issues (and the relative cost), I enjoyed working with monkeypod and am now on the lookout for a nice slab to use for a coffee table I have in mind.
Facets, facets, facets. Despite monkeypod’s ornery grain, I was able to cut the small chamfers around the box opening with a block plane. As the flats were so narrow, I think I was lucky enough to miss areas of interlocked fibers.
