Wenge and Padauk furniture

[andrew whicker]

Hi all,

I'm wondering if you any of you have photos of furniture that have these two species.. I have some ideas on how to combine the two colors. Would like to see how they look when they are finished.


Also, it sounds like Wenge pretty much stays the same color, but Padauk could get even more red or maybe pink? What are your experiences with how these change color over time?

Cheers,

[Brent VanFossen]

I don't have first-hand experience with wenge, but padauk becomes very much darker. I have a piece of padauk that was the orange color of yams when freshly cut, but is now a luscious chocolate with only a hint of very dark red. I have other pieces that have kept a bit more of their red. If you're looking for contrasts with padauk, you might want to pair it with a much lighter wood, although I still like mine that I paired with walnut.

(Sorry for the formatting characters. My apostrophes are not displaying right.)

[David Utterback]

My limited experience with wenge is that it turns more brown when finished with oils and varnishes. It may be that I usually see the unfinished wenge in low light, but it appears nearly black to my eye.

[glenn bradley]

Paduak turns a warm chocolate brown in a few years. I'll see if I can get a pic of a piece I did for a client. I saw it the other day (about 4 years after I delivered it when it was dark red) and couldn't believe the difference. She had lived with it and didn't seem to even notice so I didn't say anything :)

[andrew whicker]

Hmmm...

I was hoping I found red and black woods that kept their color.

[Jim Becker]

Hmmm...

I was hoping I found red and black woods that kept their color.

It's rare that any wood species will "keep its color" as machined long-term. Most darken substantially or get more amber; a few, like walnut, get lighter over time. This is the effect of both UV and normal oxidation, even with a finish on them.

[Dave Richards]

Search the forum for posts by Mark Singer. He used a lot of padauk in furniture pieces he designed and made. You'll get a pretty good idea of how not red/orange it stays.

I can share some photos of a jewelry box I made from padauk a number of years ago if you want to see it.

[Mike Cutler]

Padauk Finished beautifully.
My Center island in the kitchen is a trestle design made of Padauk. The wood was basketball orange unfinished and using General Finishes Seal-A-Cell and Arm-R-Seal it turned a really deep purplish brown color. If you want that basketball Orange color, you'll need to finish it in a manner different than I did.

Wenge pretty much stays the way it is. I made a tack trunk out of wenge and jatoba a decade back. Here is the link.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?46908-Blanket-Chest-Tack-Trunk&highlight=

A warning about wenge,
Wear gloves when working with it. I would never advocate wearing gloves, or loose fitting material, around rotating machinery, except when working with wenge. Until it is finally sealed and finished, it has these really sharp, hair like barbs that easily penetrate skin. An actual splinter going in, will have you cussing like a sailor.
I used some really tight, form fitting, gloves, and wore a long sleeve shirt buttoned at he cuffs and taped. Still, it gave me the heebies wearing gloves using a table saw. I kept thinking my first wood shop teacher was going to catch me using the saw with long sleeves. :eek:

[Steve Jenkins]

Too true about splinters and wenge . Also when cutting it (especially) 8/4 it often will show a straw like color. Freaked me out the first time it happened. It will darken to its natural color in a day or two

[Jim Tobias]

Wenge stays true to its color...other than finishing brings out the rich chocolate color even more. Splinters.....OUCH!
I am attaching a photo of a coffee table I made for our living room about 10 years ago. It is a deep red and I think it has retained some of it's red color because it does not get much(if any) direct sunlight.

Jim371305371306

[Andrew Hughes]

That's a great looking table. Jim is it Andaman padauk?
The Padauk from Africa is very unappealing.

[Nick Decker]

Wow, beautiful table, Jim!

[Jim Tobias]

Andrew,
After looking it up, I would say it is Andaman Padauk. The grain and color on the table is near an exact match. I wasn't aware of there neing several varieties. I bought several pieces of it along with some Black Limba and Rosewood from a guy that was getting out of woodworking and moving several years ago. In fact, I still have a couple of slabs of the Padauk (9 " x 48" x 2"). Just haven't gotten in an orange dust mood lately!😊

Jim











That's a great looking table. Jim is it Andaman padauk?
The Padauk from Africa is very unappealing.

[Jim Tobias]

Thanks Nick. My wife likes it enough that it's been in place for 10 years. That may be a record!

Jim





Wow, beautiful table, Jim!

[Andrew Hughes]

Andrew,
After looking it up, I would say it is Andaman Padauk. The grain and color on the table is near an exact match. I wasn't aware of there neing several varieties. I bought several pieces of it along with some Black Limba and Rosewood from a guy that was getting out of woodworking and moving several years ago. In fact, I still have a couple of slabs of the Padauk (9 " x 48" x 2"). Just haven't gotten in an orange dust mood lately!

Very cool Jim, some wood we don't ever find they find us. You did very good with a somewhat rare wood.

[Jim Morgan]

A few years ago, FWW did an article on wood combinations and recommended that padauk and maple not be used together, because the contrast is too garish. I could see that for freshly cut padauk, but once it has mellowed to that nice cordovan it's a great pairing.

[Warren Lake]

if memory serves me and some times it doesnt one type of Padouk holds its colour much better than the other. When I was buying it years ago it was labelled as Padouk and nothing more, I did see that some of it darkened more than id like over time.

[Larry Edgerton]

An interesting thing I stumbled on with Padauk, if you desire a purple wood spray it with an acid catalized finish. It takes on a beautiful purple color and stays that way for ever as far as I can tell. The piece in question is 25 years old and still purple.