panels from mixed species

[Oskar Sedell]

Hi all,

at the moment I´m building a couple of sliding doors for a wall cabinet that is holding our TV and some books. The cabinet with doors and drawers will be painted. I just finished the frames, and will glue up the floating panels as the next step.

I have some resawing offcuts from previous projects. Some alder, pine and maple. And instead of resawing new boards (frame saw, I have no band saw) to get the panels out of one type of wood, I´m wondering if it´s a good or bad idea to mix woods?

I know different woods have different properties, but these panels are quite thin, and not very big. about 10 mm thick (3/8´´) and 30 by 60 cm (12 x 24 ´´). I don´t expect the panels to warp the frames if they are moving a little.

Is there something I´m not thinking about?

Oskar

[Pat Barry]

I wouldn't do it personally because I think it could look very strange. Note: I assume the panel isnt going to be painted, rather stained or some clear coat.

[Jim Koepke]

There shouldn't be any problem other than how it looks. Sometimes having contrasting woods in a panel can be an attractive feature.

jtk

[Peter Christensen]

Oskar’s second sentence said it was all painted.

I don’t think there any problem with using mixed species for the cabinet.

[Phil Mueller]

If it is going to be painted, I see no issue with mixing wood species. I would just make sure it all has a consistent surface. For example, if the pine has knots in it, but the maple is smooth, I’d make sure the pine knots are filled to a smooth surface to match the maple....

By the way, I don’t blame you. I wouldn’t necessarily look forward to more resawing by hand either.

[glenn bradley]

Use a good primer, I would look at shellac based like B.I.N. maybe. that will tame any irregular absorption issues. I think you're OK.

P.s. Of course, its easy to experiment with someone else's stuff :D

[Oskar Sedell]

thanks for your input gentlemen! Yes, it will be painted. Otherwise I would not mix species.

Maybe some sealing of the wood is called for, so that the paint will go on in an homogeneous way. Good point Glenn, and keep experimenting!

Oskar