IPE wood "nearly impossible to drill" ??

I can only assume they mean it's hard to drill with cutting tools you'd find at harbor freight and a cordless drill with an empty battery.

There are some that are a pain.

"Plytainium" is a plywood product that we used for flooring and whatever glue was used would cause drywall screws to snap before they sunk in.

It lo could be such that a normal drill bit would make a very ugly splintered hole that on a deck would not look so nice but Brad point bits with edge cutting should do the job unless treated with some hardening agent.

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Milacron said:

"Despite the benefits of Ipe, there are some problems that homeowners should look at before buying. The biggest problem is that Ipe is a naturally hard and durable type of wood. It's nearly impossible to drill holes in the wood after placing it on the deck, which is why most builders will drill holes with specialized tools before placing the wood on the deck and securing it in place."

What...is it harder than aluminum ?? I find that statement hard to believe, unless they are thinking of wood spade drills. And what is the mysterious "specialized tool"...a drill press ?

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possible abrasive from minerals in wood AND elastic enough that it binds on normal clearance cutting tools. saws and drills hard to turn cause material is grabbing cutter. some circular saws have extra kerf or blade tips more to side so rest of blade is not squeezed. usually called rough wet lumber blade. use a regular blade and you will have problems

I know a fellow that built his deck with IPE decking, He even bought the plugs to put in the counter bores so they wouldn't be visible. I don't recall hearing of any problems other than he had to plane the joists because the wood wouldn't pull down with the screws like other wood products. In the end it was one of the best looking decks I've ever seen with something like a 40 year proven life span without any extra treatments.
Dan

It is extremely hard stuff. When I did my railings I found it necessary to withdraw the bit frequently when drilling pilot holes as the chips tend to rub and increase friction. Even when I ran the screws in under power using lube I got some smoke if I ran them in a little too fast.

It does cut quite well with carbide tipped blades and I had no problem with carbide tipped router bits if reasonable depth per cut was used. I did have to sharpen my cabinet scraper more often but that is true for most tropical hardwoods.

For finish I took the advice of Stephen Thomas to use Penofin and am glad that I did as it is the only thing that has held up when applied as he suggested in this thread.

http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/woodworking-woodworking-machinery/finish-ipe-276442/

EDIT: One suggestion I strongly make is that if you use counterbored screws with glued wood plugs put something between the screw head and the plug to make it possible to drill out the plug without damaging the screw recess. The fist time I did it I soaked cardboard in paraffin and then punched out disks which was a giant PITA. Then I got a bit smarter and used the lubed felt Wonder Wads meant for black powder firearms. The .36 caliber size is perfect for 3/8" plugs and the .50 caliber size will work with 1/2" plugs. The lube is dry enough that they can be placed in the holes without causing glue problems. Sure makes it easier if you need to unscrew a board later.

Also be careful shaving off the excess plug as they can fracture and leave an unsightly scar below the level of the board. IPE seems to be somewhat brittle.

High silica content is abrasive to tools. Years ago, my former business partner was using Ipe wood to make railings for the balconies of a huge house. The vertical slats were square steel. I machined many hundred square holes in the Ipe on the Hurco using a 1/8 inch HSS mill. Mill was dull by the end of the run..

Milacron said:

"Despite the benefits of Ipe, there are some problems that homeowners should look at before buying. The biggest problem is that Ipe is a naturally hard and durable type of wood. It's nearly impossible to drill holes in the wood after placing it on the deck, which is why most builders will drill holes with specialized tools before placing the wood on the deck and securing it in place."

What...is it harder than aluminum ?? I find that statement hard to believe, unless they are thinking of wood spade drills. And what is the mysterious "specialized tool"...a drill press ?

Click to expand...

Ipe is hard and abrasive. When drilling with hand tools, the effort required feels more like drilling aluminum than a pine 2x4. If you are using cheap harbor freight bits, then it probably will require a "specialized tool," in other words, a good drill bit. A machinist probably wouldn't think twice when drilling ice because they are used to drilling a variety of materials some harder than others. If you have only ever put a hole in pine then it probably will seem "nearly impossible."

If you have to drill a lot of holes, then a carbide bit will probably make your life easier as it will keep an edge longer. As long as you go into it with the expectation that you will have to work a littler harder with a hand drill than drilling pine it should be no problem.

As noted above, it can be drilled with what any of us consider to be ordinary tools.
My front porch deck and balcony deck were redone with Ipe in 2014. They used generally normal carpenter tools. They did wear masks when drilling/cutting - the dust is toxic.

All of the *fasteners* have to be special - some grade of stainless as I recall - reportedly Ipe will corrode standard screws.

It does have to be predrilled - but I have broken screws and even lag bolts trying to drive them into maple, so predrilling being required doesn't seem all that unusual.

david5411 said:

If you have to drill a lot of holes, then a carbide bit will probably make your life easier as it will keep an edge longer. As long as you go into it with the expectation that you will have to work a littler harder with a hand drill than drilling pine it should be no problem.

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I'd bet that a carbide-tipped drill like these from McMaster: 2940A22 $11.83
Carbide-Tipped Jobbers' Drill Bit, 1/4", 4" Overall Length, 2.25" Drill Depth, 118 Degree Point would be a good choice for free-hand drilling.

Good HSS drills work just fine in Ipe or Cumaru decking.

The key word is "homeowners" since most weekend warriors have that 10 year old set of shitty hss drill bits that were most likely used on concrete, dulled and never replaced. Kind of like that Phillips head driver they keep in their craftsmen firestorm cordless drill that is completely rounded over and strips out every screw they use.

Ipe drills just fine with any sharp tool, I hate working with it, dust is nasty and its hard on tools.

Ipe drills/machines very nice with HSS but screwing into it is where I've had problems.

Milacron said:

"Despite the benefits of Ipe, there are some problems that homeowners should look at before buying. The biggest problem is that Ipe is a naturally hard and durable type of wood. It's nearly impossible to drill holes in the wood after placing it on the deck, which is why most builders will drill holes with specialized tools before placing the wood on the deck and securing it in place."

What...is it harder than aluminum ?? I find that statement hard to believe, unless they are thinking of wood spade drills. And what is the mysterious "specialized tool"...a drill press ?

Click to expand...

Ipe is harder than oak, about twice over. No special tools needed, just keep them sharp. Make sure your clearance holes are sized properly, it tends to split if the fastener is close to the end. Rigid and makes nasty splinters. Will dull tools faster than almost all domestic species. Dust may cause allergic reaction due to the oils. Sands very well, planing is a bit difficult, forget nailing with anything, does not glue well.

Ipe | The Wood Database - Lumber Identification (Hardwoods)

dee
;-D

I drilled hundreds of holes in Batu deck tiles with nary a problem using a decent HSS bit in a press. It's a wood very similar to Ipé and almost as hard. Sounds more like something written to dissuade the DIY folks from doing it themselves. A quality Forstner bit would be advisable for holes over 3/8" or so IMHO.