STL375: What Is Moonwood?

STL375: What Is Moonwood? Fine Woodworking staffers Mike, Owen, and Bridgid sit down to discuss Handworks 2026, wood finishes for kitchen utensils, and the moon's effect on trees.Issue #325 of Fine Woodworking is out! Mentioned in this episode: The Why and How of Woodworking by Michael Pekovich Hanging Tree Guitars by Freeman Vines with Zoe van Buren The Handworks haul: Lee Valley Round Spokeshave, based on a spokeshave by Edward Preston & Sons, Ltd. Sign up for Woodworking in America! Questions From Eric Mickelson: While on a recent trip to Austria, our tour guide mentioned a hardwood dealer that specializes in wood for instruments, and mentioned they only harvest the wood on a full moon. More details on their website. I had never heard of that before. Anything to that? From Matt Wilson: I made the mahogany trivets in the photos for my sister almost five years ago. They have seen nearly daily use. I like the way they aged. Wabi Sabi man. My neighbor recently got married, and both he and his wife have Japanese heritage. I thought trivets would be a good wedding gift, as they are low cost and would give me a chance to brush up on kumiko. My neighbor’s wife would like me to use basswood and walnut because of the contrast. I think this is a bad idea. I picture the walnut turning that ugly grey color and having raised grain that could best be described as splinters. Is there a good way to do this with walnut? Is there a good finish option that would help prevent the issues I listed above? I just put a few coats of shellac on the original trivets thinking that there isn’t really a finish that can handle high temps. Should just give them money? Sources on moonwood: Zürcher, E. (1999). Lunar Rhythms In Forestry Traditions – Lunar-Correlated Phenomena In Tree Biology And Wood Properties. Kluwer Academic Publishers. Viires, A. (2016). Woodworking in Estonia: Historical survey (pp. 13–16). Lost Art Press. Roschak, C. (2026). Moon wood: cultural beliefs and scientific scepticism: the effect of lunar cycles on plant growth and wood properties. International Forestry Reviewm, Vol. 28(2). Every two weeks, a team of Fine Woodworking staffers answers questions from readers on Shop Talk Live, Fine Woodworking‘s biweekly podcast. Send your woodworking questions to [email protected] for consideration in the regular broadcast! Our continued existence relies upon listener support. So if you enjoy the show, be sure to leave us a five-star rating and maybe even a nice comment on our iTunes page. Join us on our Discord server here. Log in or create an account to post a comment. Sign up Log in