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+-- Thread: Favourite Wood (/showthread.php?tid=7226177)
Favourite Wood - SpongeBob - 02-22-2016
What is everyones favourite wood for projects and why? I've always wanting to try Baltic birch but can't afford it. As a novice woodworker, I stick to pine and MDF.
Re: Favourite Wood - GNP - 02-22-2016
Cherry
Re: Favourite Wood - Joel H. - 02-22-2016
I like the look of Walnut best.
I like the workability of Cherry best.
I like the versatility of Maple best. I can dye/stain it to match nearly any color I need. Of course the grain won't match, and it's a rather dull wood to look at.
Joel
Re: Favourite Wood - KLaz - 02-22-2016
Joel H. said:
I like the look of Walnut best.
I like the workability of Cherry best.
I like the versatility of Maple best. I can dye/stain it to match nearly any color I need. Of course the grain won't match, and it's a rather dull wood to look at.
Joel
I second Walnut and Cherry. Although mahogany is right there among those two, but I give walnut my first choice. Curly maple makes for beautiful wood too.
I used Padauk for the first time this weekend and it hand planed very smooth. Especially the end grain. May have to think of more things to build with it.
Re: Favourite Wood - Bill Wilson - 02-22-2016
Depends greatly on the project. Generally speaking my favorites are cherry & walnut. I also like to work with sassafras. I do scrolling, so I use a fair amount of Baltic birch ply. It has it's preferred applications, but I don't use it for much beyond the specific purposes for which it is best suited (scrollsawn portraits, backer boards, drawer bottoms, cabinet backs, etc). If you are on a budget and hardwoods are out of reach, I suggest a little dumpster diving. Check out local cabinet shops and sawmills. Sometimes times they are more than willing to let go of cut-offs for cheap, it not free. Also, look for furniture that people are throwing away. Not the veneered, particle board stuff, but old furniture that is made of solid wood and veneered ply. If it can't be repaired, it can often be salvaged and you can get some decent pieces of ply and hardwood out of it. Beggars can't be choosers, but once you get a taste of some better materials, I suspect you will tend to pass on the pine & MDF.
Re: Favourite Wood - biggeorge50 - 02-22-2016
1. Curly Maple
2. Walnut
3. QS Sycamore
Re: Favourite Wood - Pink Floyd - 02-22-2016
I work with local domestics almost exclusively and don't have a favorite wood as I like all of it...even Hickory! I probably use more Walnut than anything just because I have a bunch of it. I also have and use a lot of ERC but also Red Oak, Post Oak, Cherry, Red Maple, Elm, Hackberry, SYP, Osage Orange...
I haven't met a wood yet that I disliked although some are more difficult to work than others.
Re: Favourite Wood - jteneyck - 02-22-2016
You need to find a local log miller and develop a relationship. You should be able to buy rough sawn green lumber for less than $2 BF, maybe even less if you trade labor or something else for lumber. Sticker it and dry it for a year or two and you'll have low cost lumber. I get logs for free and mill my own wood, so my favorite wood is whatever I have. It's really too bad mahogany doesn't grow where I live, but I've gotten some beautiful walnut, white and red oak, red mulberry, black locust, and more. They are all great to work. OK, not the pig nut hickory I once milled. I hate that stuff. The next one is firewood.
John
Re: Favourite Wood - Howard Pollack - 02-22-2016
For pure workability, mahogany. For a mix of workability, looks and relative cost, walnut.
Re: Favourite Wood - glzahn - 02-22-2016
I love working with cherry, maple, and walnut as well. I just discovered chechen; love the look and color variations of the grain.