Padauk – Sawn – Turning – 75×200×200mm

Supplied as a rough-sawn turning blank. Photo shows the dressed face to reveal the grain; the blank ships in its sawn state, ready to turn.

Supplied as a rough-sawn turning blank. The face shown is dressed so you can see the grain; your blank arrives unturned in its sawn state, ready to mount and turn.

This padauk bowl blank is one of the most vivid oranges you’ll ever put a gouge into. Fresh-cut Padauk glows almost fluorescent orange-red before it settles to a deep russet brown, and turners chase it precisely for that colour. It’s part of a small, limited parcel — while stocks last.

What it is. This is African Padauk, Pterocarpus soyauxii, a dense West African hardwood prized for its saturated colour and stability once dry. Genuine Padauk parcels at this cross-section don’t come through often — this one’s rare.

What you’d make with this padauk bowl blank at 75×200×200.

• Small to medium turned bowls
• Lidded boxes with a contrasting-colour lid
• Platters and shallow dishes
• Vessel forms where the orange grain is the feature

Working notes

• Density: ~745 kg/m³ — dense
• Hardness: ~7.6 kN Janka — hard, holds a crisp turned edge
• Grain: mostly straight, occasionally interlocked — watch for tearout on the interlocked sections
• Surface: Supplied rough-sawn — dress one face true before templating or glue-up.
• Working: turns cleanly with sharp tools, fine orange dust — wear a mask, it’s a known sensitiser for some turners
• Finishing: a coat of Danish oil under a wax buffed with EEE-Ultra Shine holds the colour longest against fade

What turners say about it. Turners on the major bowl-turning forums flag Padauk’s colour fade under UV and recommend a wax topcoat to slow it — the orange mellows to brown regardless.

The stack it came from. This padauk bowl blank is old stock — it sat in the back of the shed for many years before we recovered it and got it ready to sell — genuine parcels at bowl-blank size are rare and this one’s limited. Browse the Padauk range or our turning blanks category. Once it goes, the listing closes.