Headboard/Footboard w/walnut sapwood

[Aaron Beaver]

I am building a bed out of walnut and I know some are very opposed to using walnut sapwood in a walnut project, but if you don't mind sapwood, what do you think of this mock up that I did for the footboard and headboard?

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[Andrew Hughes]

I like both your arrangements. The first with sapwood separate a little more then the second.
Anymore then that is just too calico or too busy.
Good Luck

[Jamie Buxton]

I like the right one. The symmetry makes it clear that you thought carefully about the sapwood use.

[Lisa Starr]

I don't care for the first arrangement, but think the second is attractive. The wider areas of sapwood look like a planned feature rather than a random occurrence.

[Larry Frank]

Ok on second one but do not like the first because lack of symmetry.

[Aaron Beaver]

Ok on second one but do not like the first because lack of symmetry.

I am looking at swapping a wider and thin stripe, so that I have a wide and thing on each side. I think that will even it out a bit.

[Jim Becker]

I personally embrace the sapwood on walnut, cherry and other species...'was even tickled when we bought this new-to-us "downsize" property recently and found the cherry cabinetry in the kitchen embracing the sapwood. It's how the wood is in nature and that's what I like.

[Prashun Patel]

Neither are quite working for me.

[Warren Lake]

half of them are upside down

[Jim Becker]

IU forgot to add to my original comments that I'd take one of the "wide" stripes and exchange it for one of the narrow stripes to keep things a little more symmetrical visually.

[Aaron Beaver]

half of them are upside down

What do you mean? I haven't done a lot of woodworking projects and have definitely not done wide panels like this before.


IU forgot to add to my original comments that I'd take one of the "wide" stripes and exchange it for one of the narrow stripes to keep things a little more symmetrical visually.

Yeah, will do that so there is a wide and narrow on each side.

[Warren Lake]

cathedrals in the wood point up.

Turn both photos upside down and right away they both look better even before your sapwood and other aspects.

[Aaron Beaver]

cathedrals in the wood point up.

Turn both photos upside down and right away they both look better even before your sapwood and other aspects.

thanks, I will do that after I get the pieces to their final thickness and layout them out again.

[Ralph Okonieski]

I belong to the philosophical group that wood and it’s small imperfections are permissible. Certainly, I work around large, ugly knots but accept small amounts of sapwood and small knots. Everything made by me is for family so they must be willing to take what is offered. Anomalies are just part of the wood. I like the sapwood in your photos.

[John TenEyck]

I'm not sure if it's the sapwood or the mismatching grain in general, but neither is doing it for me.

John