Best wood for learning to plane?

[Chuck Nickerson]

It's time for me to learn how to use the planes I've accumulated (6+). Which wood should I purchase to practice? Now I don't mean which wood is the most difficult. Oak, Alder, Walnut, Mahogony, Maple?

[Alan Turner]

Of those you have listed, Oak is probably the most difficult, but it will turn on the evenness of the grain. If the grain does not reverse along the length of the wood, then the other 3 would be fine.

[Steve Wargo]

The easiest will be more than likely be the mahogany, as long as the grain isn't crazy. There was a reason that mahogany was shipped up from South America hundreds of years ago, and it's not just because it's beautiful. It really is THAT easy to work with.

[Bob Smalser]

Which wood should I purchase to practice?

Spruce, cedar, Basswood and H. Mahog are the crispest, although mahogany is a bit expensive for practice.

Best practice I know of is a pair of oars or a couple canoe paddles.

[Aaron Kline]

I don't know where you are, but if you can get CLEAR catalpa from a local sawmill, the stuff is a gem to work with. I pay 1.40/bf for it.

[Tim Sproul]

Alder.

It is easily worked like mahogany and walnut and maple and oak but doesn't have the hardness of maple and at least here on the West coast, it can be found for the least money. IME, all the woods you listed take to hand planing very well.....with the caveat that others have already noted.

[Chuck Nickerson]

I have a pile of cedar from when my father's fence blew down; beautiful 40 year -old wood. But to do oars/paddles I'll need a shave horse. Besides, the only boat I'm close to having is a 1/4 scale Greenland Kayak. (That's a whole 'nother story.)

[Mike Holbrook]

Tulip Poplar is pretty cheap, not to hard but not real soft. I am thinking I will start with some of it. I am getting tired of plywood and building lumber. If I can ever finish up all my construction work!

I have a few good size poplar that will have to come down for a new septic line. I can just feel my planes gliding through it now. Ohhhh yea I have to have it sawed and let it dry first :(

[Kenneth Sternberg]

Try planing the edge of a piece of plexiglass. When you can get that to come out to suit you some of the other will fall into place.
Learn Mr. Leonard Lee's trick for making a plane cut at a high angle, and a lot of that figured wood will not be the problem it was.