Experimental Investigation on Rotary Peeling Parameters of High Density Coconut Wood

Substantial quantities of senile coconut palms are present in plantations within the Asia-Pacific region. Once coconut palms become over-mature, their production of traditional products, such as coconuts, significantly decreases, resulting in profitability challenges for farmers. Presently, few profitable markets exist for over-mature, senile coconut palms. Using the coconut palm stem in composite or engineered wood products could, however, provide an attractive alternative. Due to some of its unique characteristics, a processing system able to recover wood from the high-density zone near the stem periphery is desirable. A series of rotary veneer laboratory trials were undertaken to establish fundamental benchmark lathe settings and veneering characteristics for coconut palm stems. Different pressure bar configurations, billet pretreatment temperatures, and veneer thicknesses were tested and the resulting cutting forces and veneer quality were assessed. Optimal setting recommendations for peeling coconut wood are provided. The authors thank the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR; project FST/2009/062) for research funding. They acknowledge the financial and kind support of all collaborators involved in the project. We also wish to thank our partners and funders of the Xylomat Technical Platform from the Xylomat Scient ific Network funded by ANR-10-EQPX-16 XYLOFOREST.