Ipe ("Iron Wood")

[Eric Roach]

I haven't found a lot of information on the lure building sites about Ipe, but I do want to share my experience:

• This wood is dense...incredibly dense. I buy my wood at Highland Hardwoods in NH and I believe this is the densest wood they have in stock. It is sold as decking material (you wouldn't believe how much a 8', 4/4 plank of Ipe weighs).
• As you might imagine, the wood is hard on cutting tools.
• The maximum width I have found is 15/16".
• It turns and sands beautifully -- very crisp edges.
• It's tough to drill -- you have to go slow and clear constantly, but bits don't tend to wander too much along grains.
• I've had the best success sealing it with thinned epoxy (I use ESP 155, which is a Xylene-thinned epoxy that penetrates very well).
• One big issue is tannins; If you heat your plugs before sealing you'll see them come to the surface, and the epoxy sealant will look like tea when you're done pouring it back and forth over your plug. The tannins will bleed through paint starting at about 85 degrees, which it is sure to see sitting in a Plano box in your truck on even a warmish-day.

If anyone has any positive or negative Ipe experience I sure would like to hear it -- especially any tips on controlling tannin bleeding.

A great wood for sinking lures...but right now it seems I can only use it if I'm painting them black.

[Pete F.]

I have to look, I'm pretty sure I made some needles out of Ipe a while ago. I know I had some scrap from a deck. I don't think I painted or weighted them, just plain epoxy. Not too memorable so, I don't think they slayed them.

[surfflyfish]

i got a piece of that and i rather no bother with it.very hard,and i think is even harder than silver birch or rock maple.nice to make bottle stoppers.

[Hookedagain]

I have used a ton of this stuff. It is available in 2x stock and 4x4s as well. Most use it for decking and some use it for interior flooring. The ends should be sealed with "Anchor Seal" after cuts are made when used outdoors. It turns a silvery gray when not sealed with some kind of water sealer. Its very hard and there are hardness charts on line to see where it stands in comparison to other woods. Check out ipedepot.com

Its real name is Brazilian Walnut

[trevier]

as a contractor I have used IPE for outside decks, major PIA to work with, also has a class A fire rating, it won't burn, just smolders,

[Eric Roach]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I found more info' online under "Brazilian Walnut", like it averages 2.5x more "hard" than hard maple. Serious stuff.

Still can't find any good info on controlling tannin bleeding.

[lazzyone]

Ive used it for some bullet style needles. The needles came out well and have held up. I sealed with BLO/spirits and had no problems with the seal. I had a nasty skin reaction to the stuff and haven't turned the rest of my stock. The stuff was very hard on tooling.

[pbadad]

Used this material doing decks and docks. Hard as nails. Nasty dust. WEAR A MASK!!!

[ed morini]

Its probably not the tannins bleeding out of the Ipe but rather the resins.
Usually tannins are boiled out of the wood. In the days of sail oak was used to dye the sails of commercial craft. The bark was harvested and boiled, the sail material was soaked in the brew. This was called tanbarking and left a reddish tinge to the sails and preserved them against the elemnets.

Ipe will release resins that can be problematic with some surface protectors. When gluing it, it is advisable to wash the joint with acetone, lacquer thinner, MEKs or acetone to remove the resin and allow good adhesion. I would recommend a wash coat of thinned epoxy after cleaning the surface with acetone. This is a very common menu for teak and other such resinous woods such as spanish cedar, and even white cedar to some extent. The longevity of the thinned epoxy coating depends on the amount of resin contained within the sample and the extent that the sample stays at a constant equilibrium moisture level ...use for plugs is not very conducive to a long lasting finishes, however Ipe is very reistant to decay and will last quite awhile.

Sorry for the long read

Ed

[Eric Roach]

Great stuff, Ed -- thank you.

[ed morini]

Anytime, glad to help if I can

Ed