alder plywood alternatives

[Don Scott]

Greetings everyone,

I've been lurking for a while and have a great reason to jump into the forums with a question.

I have a cabinet/furniture project for a client and they would the wood type and finish to match the existing cabinets in the kitchen. They were convinced it was cherry, but it was really alder.

I had never worked with alder before and I do like it, however I am having problems with the 3/4 and 1/2 inch plywoods that will be used for a bookshelf unit on part of the project. It is all plain sawn, not rotary cut like birch, so it repeats a pattern that just doesn't look good. I noticed that red oak has a similar grain pattern and color - am I missing any other obvious choices for the project?

I wouldn't mind staining it to match either. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Don

[Jim Becker]

Welcome to the 'Creek, Don!

Plain sawn veneer is generally considered preferable and is a premium product over rotary cut, which has an unnatural grain pattern. Plane sliced it pretty much what a glue-up of boards from that (veneer) tree would look like. That said, red oak would not look anything like alder in grain, pore or color. Alder is a close grain species which is why it's often used as a substitute for cherry when the wood is going to be stained and colored, especially darkly like so many furniture and cabinet manufacturers try to portray as "cherry". Maple could also be substituted as could tulip poplar. But oak...not really.

[Joe Chritz]

I'm with Jim in that plain sawn veneer is really the good stuff. If they want rotary cut than I would go with maple and bye/tone it to match.

I haven't used Alder for anything except laser engraving projects but it looks promising.

Joe

[Jamie Buxton]

Be aware that "match" is a dangerous word. The human eye can perceive millions of colors. If the clients expect an extremely close match, developing the finishing schedule may take as much effort as building the cabinets. When I get a project which must match, I start with the finishing first. I may not quote the entire job until I have a finish schedule. I make finish samples until I get agreement from the homeowners. Then I go ahead to make the cabinets. If I can't reach agreement with the homeowners, I can at least kill the project early.

[Joe Jensen]

Be aware that "match" is a dangerous word. The human eye can perceive millions of colors. If the clients expect an extremely close match, developing the finishing schedule may take as much effort as building the cabinets. When I get a project which must match, I start with the finishing first. I may not quote the entire job until I have a finish schedule. I make finish samples until I get agreement from the homeowners. Then I go ahead to make the cabinets. If I can't reach agreement with the homeowners, I can at least kill the project early.

AMEN to that. I did a similar project recently. Alder stained very dark. The homeowner had a can of the custom mixed stain (wife had the original cabinet guy tint on-sight. I stupidly agreed to finish the project instead of just building it and having the other guy finish it. I spent over 50% of the total time on the project finishing, and it was only 20% of the fee.

I'd say before you commit to the project, get approval on a test piece with finish first.

[J.R. Rutter]

Birch if you have to have rotary cut, cherry if you don't.

[Rob Sack]

Years ago, when alder plywood was not available, hand selected red birch had to do. Steamed beech plywood might also be an alternative to alder plywood.

[Don Scott]

Thanks for the input....and for talking me out of the oak plywood. My supplier carries red birch so I'm going to check that out. I'm afraid the cherry will darken too much and I'll get a call back.

I'm going to drive over to the lumber place and hand pick the alder I need. I had to do this a few project ago because the warehouse guys just pull the top sheet and don't pay any attention to the patterns of the wood. These guys have a plywood warehouse the size of most Lowes stores, so I may take a piece of the finished face frame and see if I can match it to some species I've never heard of.

As a last resort I'll use either type of birch plywood.

Thanks for the help,

Don

[Jim Becker]

Don, just remember that the material you see "in the buff" may look very different with a finish on it, especially when thin face veneers on plywood are involved...I say this because of your intention to do some visual matching with your face frame material and it's even true, unfortunately, with the same species sometimes. Minor variations are going to be the rule and your client needs to understand that...it's the nature of wood. :)