# Monkey Puzzle



## l66-Ian (4 Jan 2013)

I am new around these parts, but thought I would share a couple of unusual pieces I was working on. They are a 'pair' of Monkey Puzzle bowls, 18 inches in diameter, approx 5 inches deep.

















Ian


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## marcros (4 Jan 2013)

fantastic. love them.


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## stevenw1963 (5 Jan 2013)

Like those Ian - lovely pieces of wood too.


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## gregmcateer (5 Jan 2013)

Love em


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## MattF (5 Jan 2013)

Very nice 

Matt


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## Phil Pascoe (5 Jan 2013)

I hope whoever took the monkeypuzzle down realised it's a protected species.


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## woodyturner (5 Jan 2013)

Welcome Ian and what a start well done they are great


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## l66-Ian (5 Jan 2013)

Thanks for all the comments. 

Monkey Puzzle is only protected in Chilie as far as I know, yes individual trees can have TPO's in the UK; however, if you have information I am unaware of please pass it on.

Ian


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## Phil Pascoe (5 Jan 2013)

It is on Cites worldwide appendix one, but that bans trade in them, not their felling, as far as I have read. I was led to believe it applied to felling, but that may not actually be the case. You're right about Chile, though. There are probably more in parts of Cornwall than some parts of Chile - the miners used to bring them back.


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## thomvic (5 Jan 2013)

I have a 30ft monkey puzzle tree in my garden. It is only protected for as long as I decide to leave it there - no matter what anyone else may say! Having seen the beauty of Ian's bowls it may not be there for much longer :roll: 

Richard


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## Noggsy (5 Jan 2013)

Nice form and lovely wood. Are they hollowed into end-grain Ian, I can't quite work out the grain direction?


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## dickm (5 Jan 2013)

Read somewhere, and also noticed it happening to MPs in gardens, that they are inclined to die suddenly at about 100 years of age. So maybe just wait a few years to be on the safe TPO/Cites/whatever side


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## duncanh (5 Jan 2013)

Horrible stuff to turn wet - full of very sticky sap. I ended up cutting off all the sapwood with the chainsaw!


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## l66-Ian (5 Jan 2013)

it was turned on the end grain, it is the only way to get the branches to make the pattern. It is very sappy and not the nicest turning, especially as the wood is quite soft, in fact butter like; however, the knots are very very hard.

Ian


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## chipmunk (7 Jan 2013)

I agree with DuncanH - it's definately an "acquired taste" and the smell of the sap/resin isn't too good either. There were some logs for sale at Harrogate and was going to ask if the price label was actually a bribe/offer to take them away but thought better of it.

I like the finished bowls though Ian - the way you managed to get the knots across the bottom of the bowl is very neat and not as easy as it looks to achieve from my experience.

I found that a mallet and chisel were the best tools to get rid of the bark/sapwood which was about 1" thick on my logs and full of oozy resinous sap which sticks to anything and everything it touches and the spines of the bark can be nasty too - wear gloves when handling. I find that a chisel is easier to clean than a chainsaw. 

Meths will clean the sap off hands and tools but if you leave the logs for any length of time you can almost cast your own amber with the stuff oozing out everywhere!

I don't really like the look of the trees and they aren't UK natives - so would have no quarms about cuttting them down ;-)

It's ironic that there are actually almost as many trees in gardens here than their native habitat but CITES doesn't really affect what happens to MP trees felled here, unless perhaps if anyone tried to export them from UK. As I understand it the trees here are really only subject to normal TPO's on a case-by-case basis. 

CITES is pretty sensible and is all about international trade and preventing exports from the native habitat. http://www.cites.org/eng/disc/how.php "CITES works by subjecting international trade in specimens of selected species to certain controls. All import, export, re-export and introduction from the sea of species covered by the Convention has to be authorized through a licensing system." 

It certainly doesn't cover domestically grown and processed timber from species grown outside the normal habitat.

Jon


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## loz (7 Jan 2013)

Lovely Bowls Ian - and welcome


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