Favorite hardwoods for slaying/turning?

[daniel.patten.73]

What type of hardwood do you like playing the most and why?

I've played/turned.
Dalmata
Canary
Wenge (hardness varies across grain, can get grooved)
Cherry
Padauk (very soft)
Ebony (Gaboon)
Tiger Caspi
Purpleheart (color does not last)
Red Oak (super bouncy)
Walnut
Bubinga
Maple
Burmese Rosewood (personal favorite for now)
Chakte Viga (checked pretty bad, probably just a bad batch of blanks)
Mahogany

Any crazy-good hardwood setups you saw or know about?

[Preston]

Those look awesome!!! Maybe I could contact you so I could purchase one?

[daniel.patten.73]

Thanks Preston.
Turning kens is just as fun as playing them for me. I've turned free-hand tama in the past but I'm now using a sphere jig with replaceable carbide cutting tip. The tama in the photo are borrowed from other kens just so I can play/test them. Stoked to try some dupont oem and clear coat airbrushing on my own cherry tama batch next Friday for final paired sets.

I could sell a couple "made-to-order" sometime, but I'm interested in learning/testing more first. I'm open to possibly turning a suggested hardwood kendama set to add to my "test-it" list if it sounds fun. Here's a neat site that lists a good smattering of wood to work: http://www.wood-database.com/wood-identification/