Oak

[Bernie Weishapl]

I have a lady that wants a couple of lamps made out of oak. I told her that oak was expensive. The only oak I could find in 3 x 3 X 48 was $95 at the local hardware store and that was his cost. She like the grain of oak but doesn't want to spend that much and I couldn't make any money for my time.

So my question is what wood could I use that is light but has nice grain like oak? She does not want dark wood. I showed her a couple of maple lamps I made and she said she just didn't like the wood. My thought was maybe ash. Any help would be appreciated.

[Scott Hackler]

Ash will stain up and look darn close to oak. I know this because the builder of my house used ash doors and trim with real oak here and there and it blends pretty well. I can tell the difference, but my wife can't.

[mike ash]

Bernie - that calculates to $32/bf....that's outrageous!!!! I just bought a ton of quartersawn oak for $5/bf, so I'm sure I could buy you a 3x3 for around $20 and ship it to you for another $10 - $15. Let me know if I can help there!!!

As for lighter woods, try ash, maple, alder, ....or even pine.

Mike Ash

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

I can't see ash being much cheaper. Can't you do a glue up with 8/4 oak?
faust

[mike ash]

Bernie - I'm thinking that some ash would be a good alternative. Here's a photo of a 3" x 3" x 14" piece that I milled up a few years ago in case I wanted to make rolling pins.202726

Let me know what you think, Mike Ash

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Bernie.....check out the prices for oak at this site: http://www.constantines.com/redoak2.aspx

[Bernie Weishapl]

Thanks Ken. If Mike and I can't find something I will definitely give them a call. Ash looks really nice Mike. Check out the site in Ken's post. If you can't find any oak I will give them a call.

[mike ash]

Bernie - I'll check out my sources tomorrow and let you know what I can send to you.

Mike

[Rich Aldrich]

I agree with using ash. It also has much smaller pores, so it finishes better.

[Terry Quiram]

Bernie I did a google search for baseball bat blanks and this is one of the sites I found. http://www.kencraftstore.com/lathe_turning_products.htm

[Doug Reesor]

Bernie,

I don't know where you are located, but I have a stack of white oak out back 3" x 8" to 10" wide x 10' or so long that I bought under distressed conditions (Divorce leading to sale of assets. It was also less than $5 per board foot. If you are unsuccessful with Mike, I can cut you a couple of pieces. I have way more than I will ever use.

Doug

[allen thunem]

hey bernie you can drive to denver and get all the oak you need from a local wholesaler. spend the night, watch a mediocre baseball team have a steak and drive home the next day for what your local guy wants to sell it to you for. stop by the house for a visit
i have made doors out of beech and it looks great
doesnt match up to the open grain of oak but sure is nice to work with and turn

[Gary Max]

Heck Bernie you could always raid my firewood pile-----I have been splitting red oak up for firewood.

[Curt Fuller]

Bernie, I made a 6' oak coat rack from oak a while back that was 3" x 3" and I just used four pieces of 3/4" oak from Home Depot and glued it together. If I remember right, it was about $60 worth of wood and it looked really nice when I put a mission oak stain on it. I actually think that using laminated wood will give you a better product for something like that in the long run. No cracking, warping, or other movement to worry about.
202763

[Erik Johanson]

Bernie, it is a shame you do not livd closee to PA. Here oak is abundant and cheap, and in the middle of the state is some of nest oak growing in the country (at least according to the local saw mill).

[mike ash]

Bernie - I PM'd you. Did you get it?

Thanks, Mike Ash

[Prashun Patel]

Bernie-

If you can't find affordable oak (which is surprising) or ash in 12/4, I would consider making a segmented lamp. It should be easy to find a few pieces of 3/4" s4s in 1x4 @ the HD. This will be cheap since you can buy only the linear feet that you need, and you can grain match the edges. You can go straight to glue up.

[mike ash]

Bernie - Did you get my PM?

Thanks, Mike Ash

[Bernie Weishapl]

Thank you to everyone for your offers and advice. This forum has the most helpful and most generous people (turners) I know. I did have 3 offers for some oak and have PM'd them. So should be able to get it done. I truly appreciate the advice, offers and your time.