Favorite wood?

[Shelley Bolster]

First, I'd like to comment on what a friendly, informative forum the Creek is. I've only been lurking for a few weeks, so forgive me if this has already been discussed, but I was wondering what wood do you folks prefer working with and why. What most influences your choice: price, availability, appearance, pros and cons of working with it, ease of finishing etc?

In the past, I've worked mostly with pine, due largely in part that I buy it by the lift from the mill were my husband works = lower price. I also like the look of pine (and hey, it doesn't show the dust :p ) but I find it can be alot of work to get it to the point of looking good and several coats of finish to keep it that way. Anyways, just interested in what types of wood most of you use.

Shelley

[John Renzetti]

hi , My personal favorite is Bubinga. I have used it for a couple of architectural woodworking projects at our house.
take care,
John

[Kevin Gerstenecker]

Hands down...............for Domestic Hardwood, it's Cherry. If you have ever worked Cherry, there is no explanation necessary. For Exotic Woods, I guess it would be a toss up between Canarywood and Cocabola...........but then there is Bubinga too which is nice stuff. Ah, so many woods, so little time! ;)

[Greg Heppeard]

It depends on the project. I go for more figured woods for small projects and a general good look for larger ones. Everything seems to flow better that way, in my eye anyway. I hate red oak. I worked in cabinet shops for several years and 98% of the cabinets were red oak. Don't get me wrong, it's a beautiful wood when used in the right applications.

[Dick Parr]

Hi Shelley, welcome to the creek. :)

Like Kevin, I like to work with cherry but I also like walnut. They both finish nice but the cherry does work easier. And as Kevin, I like Canarywood and Cocobolo because of the finish you get.

I am getting ready to post a picture of a king size head board I just finish for our new bed. It is made from cherry, walnut and canarywood. Hope to have pictures by Monday.

Kevin, It's good to see you back. ;)

[Jack Hogoboom]

Mahogany and cherry for furniture, ash for bowl turning. Maple is also a favorite.

[Cecil Arnold]

I'm with Jack, and welcome from another newbie.

[Bruce Shiverdecker]

Welcome Shelley:

My favorite wood is FREE WOOD. Well, sometimes not exactly free. There is work getting it cut up and the time and effort required for it to dry.

Since almost all my work involves Turning, I lean towards Hard wood. Pine is a little soft and "catchy", probably due to my newness to Turning; about two years now.

First choice - Real Gnarley grained Walnut, followed by Cherry, Ash, Elm, and Maple, not necessarily in that order.

Bruce

[Andy London]

Domestic would be a toss between Birdseye and Curly Birch, African would be Sapele, South American is a tossup between Kingwood and Tulipwood.

For Furniture my favorite is Cherry or Cherry Birch, hard to tell them apart but at the moment Cherry Birch where I live is 1/3 the price.

Andy

[Bruce Haugen]

Cherry and Honduras mahogany.

Bruce

[Dan Mages]

I have not done much woodworking, but I do like walnut and ash.

Dan

[Tom Sontag]

As one who has drifted into lumber sales, I can tell you that cherry is THE hot domestic hardwood. I advertise walnut and people come and buy cherry. As a hobbiest, I do not wonder why at all.

But I collect/use all kinds of wood. And I could ramble on for a long time about why each wood is special. Limiting myself to domestic hardwoods (not really much of a handicap, although cocobolo, bubinga and others can be extraordianrily beautiful), right now I am enamored with osage orange (extremely hard, rot resistant, and vivid yellow! - our most 'exotic' domestic hardwood) and quartersawn sycamore (definitely underused - beautiful figure - see below). Walnut can be very beautiful and is a joy to work except the dust bothers my sinuses a bit. Figured maple can really give a piece WOW.

I would suggest you you find a shop with a nice selection and try out a few different kinds of wood for some small projects. My house is full of cherry furniture, but I use as many different kinds of wood in various ways because for me, playing with different woods is what it is all about.

[Mike Cutler]

Shelley. I really like Jatoba, or Brazillian Cherry. Absolutely gorgeous figure. easy to work, sands, and finishes exremely well and is not one of the most expensive on the block. About $3.00-4.00 a bf retail. Like the others I also like Bubinga and I am waiting for Todd Burch to post pictures of the table he is building from the giant bubinga he got from Canada( If I missed the post someone show me where it's at please. ) I'd like to build something out of wenge also. What a remarkable three dimensional material it is. Of course I'd also like to try mesquite, after seeing some of Kirk Constables work, you just gotta try that wood at least once!
I guess it's as Kevin stated " Ah, so many woods, so little time!" By the way, welcome to the group and come right in. There is a wealth of knowledge available here, and not just pertaining to wood working either. Nice to meet ya'

[John Miliunas]

Hey Shelley, sorry, but must've missed your intro post. :o Glad you found us here at the Creek! Swell place to hang out with loads of SUPER folks and tons of information! And, just in case nobody has bothered to mention it, we *LOVE* pics! :D

Anyhow, to the wood thing. OK, Kevin started it and I'll jump on board with the Cherry! :) (Hey Kev, I like the Walnut, too, but fewer applications, I think.) Different flavors of Maple are also to my liking, particularly Curley and Birdseye! For exotics, just about *any* of them! Just recently did a frame in Lacewood, which really turned out nice. I did a pen with Olivewood some time ago, which is also a super looking wood. Typically, though, I like to stay with local woods, primarily due to costs and to support my "neighbors". :) :cool:

[Keith Outten]

Welcome Shelley,

For me its black walnut, I love the color and its easy to work. Cherry would be a close second however southern cherry isn't as high in quality as the northern variety so it is more costly in my area.

[Tom Sweeney]

I have not worked with many different varieties but I have to say any of the figured/ spalted/ ambrosia maple is my favorite. I'm not sure which "defect" I like best - it's between tiger striped & quilted, though I've never worked with quilted. Cherry is probably a close second ( & nicer to work) & my favorite thing is combining the 2. I haven't used any exotics yet but I have some nice Padauk that I'm itching to try & a small turning blank of olivewood that is gorgeous - I agree with others that the bubinga sure looks nice - especially with some nice waterfall figure in it. - Oh heck it's all good :D

[Earl Reid]

Hi, Shelly,

Welcome to the Creek. I had to give up on Walnut about 20 yrs ago due to price. Since then I have been using cherry. Here it is inexpesive, works up very nice and you can't beat the beauty as it ages. I have made a lot of furnitue from cherry. I can't afford the exotics except for small item. I also like what I call "found" wood . Ive made pens etc from roots of shrubs also.
Good luck,
Earl :)

[Jim Becker]

Hi, Shelly. Welcome aboard!

Hands down, my favorite species to build furniture from is cherry. But that doesn't stop me from using the walnut and poplar I have available in my racks as well as other things that come my way from time to time. Cherry gets the nod for a number of reasons, including the style of work I prefer (Shaker or Shaker-derived), workability and "the look".

For turning, I love spalted material (that's mostly maple, but I'm not picky when it comes to spalted stock) and burls of any kind. But I also enjoy turning cherry, box elder, ash and exotics.

[Gilbert Vega]

My favorite wood is Mesquite. I love the grain and coloration in the wood. I use it for turning, clocks, and for furniture. Just finished buying 8 boards 8 feet long 12" wide and 2-3" thick. Plan on starting two entry doors soon.

[scott spencer]

Hi Shelley - Welcome to the group. My favorite wood to work is black walnut....even the saw dust is pretty. Cherry is great too, but it burns and tears out a bit more easily.

[Shelley Bolster]

Thanks for all the replies and the warm welcome. Man, you guys use some pretty nice wood. So far, I think cherry is taking the lead - definitely a wood I have plans for one day.


Hey Shelley, sorry, but must've missed your intro post. http://sawmillcreek.org/images/smilies/redface.gif Glad you found us here at the Creek! Swell place to hang out with loads of SUPER folks and tons of information! And, just in case nobody has bothered to mention it, we *LOVE* pics! http://sawmillcreek.org/images/smilies/biggrin.gif
Sorry, John about the intro thing, but I didn't want to bore anyone - there just isn't alot to tell. :rolleyes: Simply put, you could call me a Domestic (pine) Goddess!:D

Yup, I got the feeling that everyone here *LOVES* pics, I'll see if I can get one up for you.

http://www.woodshopphotos.com/albums/shelleyswoodstuff/Diningroom_Set_pulled_out.sized.jpg


Hey, it looks like it worked! Man, that's a fluke. I built this draw-leaf table about 4 years ago. We usually don't have the leaves pulled out, so that's accounts for the color difference - UV rays. Building the chairs allowed me to justify getting a mortiser - now almost everything I build have mortise and tenon joinery.
Sorry, can't figure out how to add more than one pic at a time. :confused: Oh, well.:rolleyes:

Thanks again for the great welcome.
Shelley

[John Miliunas]

Sorry, can't figure out how to add more than one pic at a time. :confused: Oh, well.:rolleyes:


Ahhhh, that's OK, Shelley. Too many more pics like THAT one, and I'll be completely and TOTALLY demoralized! :eek: Very, VERY nice work! Yup, me thinks you can quite safely consider yourself to be the Pine Goddess! :D Kripes, I can't hardly imagine what nice stuff you'd create with some really nice wood (such as Cherry! :D )! Great job, Shelley and again, welcome! Seriously looking forward to seeing some more of your great work! :cool:

[Carole Valentine]

#1 Walnut, #2 Mahogany, #3 Cherry

But at the price for hardwoods these days, my "favorite" wood is whatever I can get my hands on without breaking the bank!;)

[Ken Wright]

Pennsylvania Cherry, Oklahoma Walnut, Claro Walnut from California are the top choices in my book. I occasionally will purchase some bubinga and some peruvian walnut. All of this I have to buy off Ebay because all that can be found around here is pine, cypress and local cherry that usually has little if any figure. The figure in the Claro Walnut is outstanding and expensive ... the Oklahoma Walnut is the best deep chocolate color and best figured walnut I've found anywhere. Pennsylvania cherry speaks for itself.

[Ron Jones near Indy]

sassafras--a little soft but I love the look and the smell ;)

[Shelley Bolster]

Thanks John for the kind words, but after reading all the wonderful woods, both domestic and exotics the folks here are using is just more that a bit embarrassing admitting that I work with pine. Hey, I even had to do a Google on bubinga and I thought that you only drank sassafras in a tea! Thanks for all the great info!
Shelley

[Jeff Skory]

Shelley, AWESOME table and chairs!!! I really like the looks of that. And the view out your window is quite nice too. Looks like a lovely area that you live in. Welcome to the Creek.

[Mike Hedges]

My favorite is Cherry, and mahogany, Mike hedges

[Kent Cori]

For furniture, my domestic favorites are walnut, cherry and maple in that order. I only use oak when trying to match something. I try to avoid pine because it dents so easily unless I am after a "distressed" look. I use poplar for drawer internals but nothing else.

Cocobolo is my favorite exotic but it is very expensive so I only use it for accent or turning. For pens I prefer burls and cocobolo.

[Jim Becker]

...but after reading all the wonderful woods, both domestic and exotics the folks here are using is just more that a bit embarrassing admitting that I work with pine. .
Pine is a wonderful wood to work with, Shelley. It has a wide range of looks, too. Take a look at the pine hutch that Lee S. recently posted pics of...beautiful stock, and from the 'Borg, too. Todd Burch has some "birdseye" pine in his shop cabinets that will knock your socks off! Frankly, if I didn't have such a good local source for cherry at reasonable prices as well as the poplar and walnut off my property, I'd be quite likely to be working with various forms of pine for my Shaker-style pieces, especially if I could find a source for wood like Lee and Todd and others have discovered!

Very nice work on that dining room, too! Thanks for sharing.

[Shelley Bolster]

Jim, speaking of different looks that you can achieve with pine, made me think of the buffet that I made for a friend a few months ago. She had an existing table and chair set that she wanted me to "match" a small buffet/china cabinet to. I figured it might be maple (maybe one of you could determine the wood :confused: ). She said she really like the knots in pine but wanted the colors to match. We sat down together and decided on the style and dimensions and with a little apprehension that I would be able to achieve the "look" she was after, went to work. This was my first attempt of staining pine but it turned out OK - anyways, she was happy with it.





http://sbdesigns.photosite.com/~photos/tn/559_1024.ts1081282798000.jpg


http://sbdesigns.photosite.com/~photos/tn/555_1024.ts1081281762000.jpg

I mixed Golden Oak and Cherry Varathane Gel Stain before getting a close match. Oh yea, I also used Minwax pre-stain conditioner first in hopes of reducing the blotching. If anyone knows the type of wood the table is, I'd love to know:) .

[Jim Becker]

Outstanding!!

BTW, it is likely that the table and chairs are maple.

[Shelley Bolster]

Thanks Jim, it makes feel better hoping I'm not a complete idiot when it comes to quessing some woods at least. Maybe my next book should be one on identifing different species of wood?;)

[Kelly C. Hanna]

I have a couple of them. First I love aromatic Cedar...second favorite is Cherry. I have yet to do much with exotics, so I reserve the right to change my favorites in the future.http://sawmillcreek.org/images/smilies/biggrin.gif

[John Olson]

I have a nice hunk of Koa wood here on the bed with me that I am brain storming a project for. The wife gave it to me for our 34 wedding anniversary.

[Jeff Skory]

Ok Shelley, you can quit with the pictures anytime now. You sure you're not related to Norm Abram? :D

That's a beautiful "small" buffet/china cabinet.

How long have you been woodworking?

[Bob Marino]

Shelley,

Very nice work with the hutch, both in wood and finish.

I guess my favorite wood is quarter sawn white oak. I really do like Arts and Craft furniture and in most cases this is the wood of choice for that style. When my horizons and projects expand a bit I will experiment with other woods :)

Bob

[Shelley Bolster]

Hey Jeff, I take that as a huge complement. :D Growing up in the early 70's, girls weren't even allowed down the hallway that led to the shop class. I guess the instructors had their reasons - the micro-mini skirts worn back then would have certainly distracted the boys and we all know that's not a good thing around tools! ;) Seriously though, I have probably learned more watching Norm than from any other one place. In fact he was even referred to by my husband as "Mom's boyfriend" .:p So, yup, around here Norm is a part of the family!


How long have you been woodworking?
That's a hard one. Well, the first set of cuboards I built was back in '76 when I was 19 (OK guys, quit trying to do the math - I'm 47 :o ). My husband and I bought a small fixer-upper (big on the fix) and started remoldeling. I built the cupboards (notice I'm not calling them cabinets) using a 2x4 frame and tongue and groove pine - hey, remember - no shop class.:mad: One thing you could say for them, they were mighty strong.

Then in '81 we bought 6 acreas and together we built our house - from building the forms for the footings and foundation, all the way up to splitting the cedar shakes for the roof and everything inbetween. Actually we've built it twice now due to the fire we had a year and a half ago that destroyed the top half and caused alot of water damage to the main floor.

Except for the cabinets in our house and a set for my mother, I didn't really get into furniture until about 9 or 10 years ago, pretty much when I started watching Norm. At that time it was mostly out of necessity. Getting tired of living in the sawdust because I was working in a spare room in the house, we built my shop. It's 16 x 24 with a 14 x 16 separate room for painting. (really our butcher-shop but we only butcher in the fall so I take it over for the rest of the year). We are planning a 24 x 36 addition to it hopefully starting in a couple of weeks although might not be finished this year.:rolleyes: $$$$

Sorry I rambled on so. But hey, I am a woman - need I say more? :D

Thanks again.
Shelley

[Shelley Bolster]

Hi Bob. I absolutely love Arts & Craft style furniture, not only for the look but the joinery - built for several life times. My 17 year old son has asked for a bedroom suite in that style, so it just might be one of my next projects. I am a huge fan of mortise and tenon joinery! During our fire, in our haste to get as much as we could out of the house, I literally through the chairs to the dining-room suite out the patio doors so we could move the table. Not one of the chairs have the slightest wiggle! Talk about a stress-test. ;)

Shelley