What is the most difficult species of wood you've turned?

[Bill Wyko]

I have a small piece of Red Gum about 6" in diameter. This thing has broken off the chuck about 10 times. It either breaks the tenon or when I turned a recess in the other end the wood broke. This lil sucker is a fighter.

[Bonnie Campbell]

My worst HAD been leopard wood. But now I have to say it's a chunk of 8x8x2 brazilian cherry. I've busted two tenons and going to try for a recessed turning soon..... hoping THAT works!

[Raymond Overman]

Easily black palm. It's cocobolo nails driven into balsa wood. It's next to impossible not to have some tear out even with extremely sharp gouges and light cuts. Sanding it is tough too since the softer wood is reduced faster than the harder wood.

I've got a small piece I'll ship to someone for the cost of shipping if they'd like to try it or I'll trade Bonnie for her piece of Jatoba. I love that stuff.

[Rich Stewart]

I cut a palm tree down one time for a neighbor. I hit it one time with an axe and the axe went almost clean through to the other side. Like cutting a sponge. How would you turn that stuff?

I can't think of any wood that I have turned so far that I didn't like. I'm sure I'll find one someday though.

[Anchor Sarslow]

Easily Black Palm. The trick for me has been to not turn it too small.. anything with a diameter of less than 3/4 of an inch or sidewalls thinner than that.. always broke. Tear-out all along the way.. It did sand down and polish OK once I got to that point.. but again.. it disappears fast. and it does not really turn.. it mostly shreds.

[Jason Hallowell]

I haven't done much turning, so my experience is pretty limited.

My second attempt at turning was red gum lyptus, and it was next to impossible. I almost gave up on turning after that one. It was rock hard, and even though it was completely dry, it grew cracks and moved dramatically as the internal stresses were revieled.

I've worked with other varieties of lyptus that were relatively easy to work with, so it must be the local red gum we have that's so difficult. I picked up 6-7 logs of it at a local firewood place, and still have most of it. I cut some into pen blanks, and the rest might just sit until I'm experienced enough to turn something useful out of it.

The only other wood I've ever had problems working was palm. The combination of super soft balsa like wood with the rock hard slivers running through it makes things interesting.

[Mike Vickery]

What ever devil species of Eucalyptus this is
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=70968
No idea what species it is but you see them a lot in my area planted as wind breaks by dairy farms.

[Jude Kingery]

Bill, along with Raymond and Anchor, it's hands down; black palm. That, for me, was the most difficult thing to turn. It's rather like having a bunch of porcupine quills embedded in butter and trying to make a nice surface is nigh on to impossible. It looks neat, but I'll never mess with it again, ha! Jude

[Pete Jordan]

Crabapple,

It was endgrain and tough as nails!

[Tom Sherman]

Up to this point the toughest wood I have turned has been Orange Agate, tried to do a small bowl broke the foot off twice. I put it aside and have been thinking lately of attaching a glue block to it to try that, we'll see.

[Neal Addy]

Some "mystery wood" from Peru. Jim King identified it as a type of bloodwood.

It was evil incarnate.

I've still got a piece in my shop. I left it there so I could kick it every now and then in revenge. I'd burn it but it doesn't deserve that quick of an end. Malevolent little...

[Jim King]

I agree with the palm being horrible.

[Ben Gastfriend]

Palm! Ugh! I hate the stuff, but it looks really good...

[Jim King]

Tom:
I love turning Orange Agate.

[Tom Sherman]

Jim the two pieces I have are not that size but I was quite taken by the color and contrast in the wood. Unfortunately I have not found the right technique for holding them. I will try the glue block method and see what happens.