David Weaver
over lunch today, I cut two blanks in an hour and turned the wax and corners off of the outsides so that they'll dry most of the way and make decent handles.

one was olivewood (Which is dense), the other is katalox - the first time I've used it.

It's a little damp, but not extremely wet - just enough to get the dust when handsawing to cake a little bit.

8x8x3 (perfectly sized - surprisingly) blank weighs 8 lbs 7oz plus a hair.

I calculate that as somewhere around 1.24 SG.

I've heard of katalox but never looked it up. The typical SG is 1.15 when it's 12% moisture (!!!).

Anyone turned much with it? It looks a little bit like a more dense purpleheart - cuts just fine with a disston rip saw - I'm assuming like the rest of the reddish/purplish woods it will turn dark brown quickly?