Newbie needs some help....wood choice for projects

[George Farra]

Hi Everyone

I'm finally moving on from home improvement stuff to actual woodworking. My project list contains a hope chest, hallway table, and a jewelery box.

This will also be my first time purchasing rough lumber which I will finish and dimension myself.

I'm looking for a species of wood that machines easily, is relatively stable, and stains/finishes well.

What are my choices????

TIA

George

[Matt Day]

Post your location, but I would say walnut and maple would be your two best choices if you're in North America.

[Lee Schierer]

Red Oak, Cherry and Walnut would be the easiest woods to work with. White Pine, Maple and Poplar are also up there, but can be problematic when staining. For a beginner, firgure at least 15-20% more wood than you plans actually call for to account for errors. As you get better you can reduce this amount. When you make cuts, be sure to allow for the amount of wood enclosed in the joint...DAMHIKT.

[George Farra]

Hi Matt

Yes I am in North America....Northern NJ. I was thinking about maple, but I was under the impression that it does not stain evenly

Thanks

George

[Rick Thom]

Hi Matt

Yes I am in North America....Northern NJ. I was thinking about maple, but I was under the impression that it does not stain evenly

Thanks

George
For me either soft or hard maple are pretty standard fair; widely available in your area, easily worked with SHARP tools, a wide variety of colour/grain patterns available and fairly economical.
wrt staining, that is normally true when using an oil penetrating-type stain on bare wood. The stain is absorbed into the soft and hard fibers leaving an uneven, blotchy colour. You can pre-condition the wood before staining which gives a more uniform penetration of the stain, or use gel stain which tends to colour the surface rather than penetrating deeply into the fibers. Both are widely available products.
As always, make test samples that are prepared identically to your project and experiment on them first.

[Mike Parzych]

Hi George - Maple might not be the best choice for starters. Besides the stain issues, it's also subject to tearout where the grain switches occurr - not just curly maple. Walnut would be the best if it's in you price range - nice "tame" wood that machines like butter and finishes great. Red oak would be next.

[Dave Verstraete]

George
My first pick would be quartersawn oak since it is very straight grained and stable. Easy to finish with Minwax gel stains and/or Waterlox.

[Eric Schniewind]

I've certainly less experience than most on this forum, but I built a sturdy step stool out of ...here it comes...poplar and was very pleased with it. And no, I did not paint it. The boards I got were wide (about 12") and did not contain much of that bright green. It was very easy to work with, I used mostly hand tools and finished it with BLO. It has since darkened nicely and looks great IMHO. It's pretty cheap and easy to find.

It really opened my eyes to this wood, which I previously regarded only for paint grade.

Now, I doubt I will get a lot of support on this, and if I were at home I would include a photo to help my case, but could be an interesting choice.

My one cent.

[Joe Chritz]

You are probably farther ahead figuring what you want the house to be furnished in and using that from the start. Otherwise you get stuck building all your furniture from Red Oak. Ask me how I know this.

Maple is a great wood, it splinters a bit and is hard. It takes more effort and time to sand but looks fantastic when finished well. Plan on using a dye or a wash coat of shellac and stain to avoid the blotching problem.

Cherry and walnut look very good and are easy to work under normal conditions.

If you want a great wood that is easy to work, doesn't distort and looks great get some 1/4 sawn white oak. It is what the old mission furniture was made from and it is great looking stuff.

My personal house has red oak (both flat sawn and 1/4) and maple. Soon to add some 1/4 sawn white oak when my current supply of red runs out.

Joe

[Don Bullock]

Hi George,
I guess I'll chime in here too. First I'd suggest that you and your wife decide a style of furniture that you both enjoy that can be made easily. There are some like Shaker that IMHO fit well with almost any style and are easier than most to make well.

Once you decide on the type of furniture you can decide what wood to use to make it. Some styles just look better when made with specific types of wood. Personally I enjoy a piece with contrasting wood, but this sometimes adds problems to the choice and application of finish.

There are several different ways to go when selecting wood and finish. For a beginner, especially one without much experience with stain, I'd suggest either cherry or walnut. I never stain them and they both can look great with a fairly simple finish. I'm also a fan of unstained maple, so I'd add that to the list if you don't have to stain it. In my experience finishing maple is a little more difficult that walnut or cherry though. If you're set on staining and like the look of oak, either red or white, it's both easy to stain and finish.

What ever you do please continue to ask questions and search the various forums here on Sawmill Creek. It's amazing what is already there and we have some people here who really know what to do and are very willing to help.

Enjoy.:D

[Roger Warford]

George, you might want to get a copy of Understanding Wood Finishing by Bob Flexner. He devotes a chapter to discussing different types of woods and the finishing issues unique to each. It has been most enlighting for this newbie! :)

BTW, Mr. Flexner recommends dyes for maple.

[Greg Cuetara]

I have to agree with others on here to figure out the style of furniture you want and then pick a wood to match. I started out with Red Oak and it was a good choice since it is a hard wood but still fairly inexpensive. Since then I have switched over to Cherry. I have been able to get cherry for $2.40 / bd.ft. Walnut is really nice but expensive unless you mill it yourself or find a big stash in someone's backyard. When I first started out I thought everything had to be stained but currently I am only using shellac and then a top coat of waterlox which really is popping the grain on the cherry and gives a nice finish. There are tricks to every species of wood therefore pick what you like and can afford then go into the finishing forum and ask the questions about the type of wood and the look you are going for. There are some great people over there who can give some great advice.

Good Luck,
Greg

[Chris Padilla]

Firstly, pick a wood that LOML will like. What kind of color do you want? Go shopping together to look at various woods and see what y'all like.

Then look at the price of the wood, and pick up some domestic instead and plan to stain it! ;) haha LOML, like most, will undoubetly go for the pricey African or South American stuff.

Wood is wood. Within a species of wood, grain of the wood and board size will dictate price and workability. The straighter and "cleaner" the grain, the more easily the wood will work, typically.

I'd start domestic with some reasonably priced wood for your area and don't be afraid to look at your local craigslist for some deals.

Just remember that wood is a fickle medium. It moves with moisture changes. Cutting it can relieve "built in" stresses not otherwise apparent from looking at the wood: everything could have been done PERFECTLY to prepare it for your project and one day, it is all gnarled and twisted on you and becomes worthless. You never know; just don't let it frustrate you when (not if, when) it happens.

Just get your hands on some wood and start working it. That is the only way to learn this craft. Every time I work with a new species, I learn something new...they are all different in some way other than the obvious.

Have fun...jump in with both feet! :D

[John Sanford]

I wouldn't worry too much yet about staining. Just let time do the colorin'. :D (Yes, I prefer clear finishes!)

Poplar is very easy to work with, so its a good wood to start with. Ash is also pretty easy to work with, and can take the place of oak in many, many applications, as well as being less expensive. You can do some fantastic work with pine, just don't bother staining it. It will turn a nice honey color over the years.

Likewise with cherry, although it is certainly more expensive than pine. Don't stain it, just let it age naturally. If you want to jump start the aging, leave it out in the sun for a few days.

[Gary Breckenridge]

On the other hand I like to think local. I have cut trees here and lumberized them. I have brought wood home from vacations to the Maine and North Carolina coast. I like walnut, cherry and oak. I'd suggest you research the Pine Barrens and see if you can find some of that pine or something close. This could be a heritage heirloom project.:cool: