Another stupid poll

[Cliff Newton]

Okay, this has probably been done before, but I'm new here so indulge me. What is your favorite wood?

Up until yesterday, hard maple was my favorite. But now, I've discovered Black Walnut.

[Hal Flynt]

uh Free?

Walnut

[Joe Suelter]

Well Cliff, I too prefer Black Walnut. Cherry wood have to rate a close second. Have you ever cut Sassafrass? Kinda smells kinda like root beer! Also, welcome to the Creek.

[Bruce Page]

I'll take cherry

[Cliff Newton]

Well Cliff, I too prefer Black Walnut. Cherry wood have to rate a close second. Have you ever cut Sassafrass? Kinda smells kinda like root beer! Also, welcome to the Creek.

Thanks for the welcome. Never have cut sassafrass, but I do like root beer. I'm not even sure I've seen sassafrass for sale around here.

[Wolf Kiessling]

depends:

carving - basswood

turning - mesquite

[Jim Becker]

1) Cherry

2a) Figured Maple
2b) Black Walnut
2c) Poplar

[Edit...added exotic/special]

Cocobolo/Rosewood
Bocote
ANY kind of burl

[Bob Marino]

Probabaly qs white oak.

Bob

[Carl Eyman]

Hard to say. Depends on so many variables, but for the sake of the arguement: Mahogany, cherry, and pumkin pine.

[Steve Beadle]

I don't have a lot of experience working with exotic hardwoods, but I must say black walnut can be breathtakingly beautiful. When I walk through my local hardwood warehouse they have to come along behind me with a mop to wipe up the drool, because I see so many woods I'd like to try.
I'm thankful, however, that even working with plain ol' pine, I get a lot of enjoyment. Except when it comes to staining and finishing it, that is!

[Mark Singer]

walnut
shedua
zircote
wenge

[Andy London]

Exotic;

Tulipwood
Kingwood
Caboa
Sedrino

Domestic:

Birdseye
Curly Birch
Curly Maple
Cherry

[Chris Padilla]

I like the delineation of exotic/domestic so:

Exotic:
Bloodwood
Redheart
Bubinga
Snakewood
Lignum Vitae

Domestic:
Birdseye anything (Maple is favorite)
Curly anything (Maple is favorite)
Spalted Maple...I have some GORGEOUS pieces :D
Flame Birch and plain Birch

[Michael Ballent]

Exotic:
Purple Heart
Monkey Pod
Lace wood
Canary Wood
Zebra wood

Domestic:
Black Walnut
Maple (all types)

[Bart Leetch]

Well to honest if I can afford it I like it....

[Chris Padilla]

Michael,

My dad has a large cross-sectional slab of Monkey Pod. He's had it since we lived in Hawaii (early 70s) and its been residing in Colorado since 1979. He is going to give it to me someday as he doesn't think he'll ever do anything with it. I guess I'll hafta do a wood gloat whenever I get it, eh? :)

[William Young SE BC]

Walnut and oak are at the top of my list but they are very expensive out west here so I have been resorting to cedar and larch and birch and aspen lately which are very inexpensive around here and grow locally.
It's amazing what can be done with alternative woods when the nicer ones go through the roof for price.
W.Y.

[Frank Pellow]

I see that everyone else is restricting themselves to hardwoods but that leaves out my favourite wood of all: -cedar.

Walnut tops my list of hardwoods.

[Steve Clardy]

Uuhh, lets see. RED!!!!
Oh. You're talking wood, not colors!! lol
Lets see here now.
Walnut
Cherry [I like to mix cherry and walnut together in special projects].
Kentucky coffee bean.
Red Oak.
White Oak.
Thats all for now.

[Kent Cori]

Domestic

Cherry
Walnut
Soft Maple
Oak

Exotic

Cocobolo
Bloodwood

For Turning

Any kind of burl
Cocobolo

[Dale Thompson]

Cliff,

For "flatwork", I would have to say Cherry. It machines like a dream and the aroma is phenomenal. Black Walnut would be second. In my opinion, nothing has the "warmth" or "patina" of Walnut. Red Oak is a distant third although that is about all I have been working with lately. I've come to appreciate its grain and "hardness".

For "turning", I'll take Cocobola first. Kingwood, Tulipwood, Bloodwood, Padauk and Ebony - not necessarily in that order - are also fun to turn. Deer antler also turns very well - maybe better than all of the above. However, it smells REALLY bad and is hard to get.

Purpleheart is my LEAST favorite wood for turning. The results are nice but that stuff chips before I even get a blank out of the drawer. Turning Purpleheart is like training your cat to "fetch" the evening newspaper. :( Good Luck!!

Anyway, It's no wonder to me that the folks in South and/or Central America, where Purpleheart is abundant, use it for stair treads. :) ;)

Dale T.

[Lloyd Robins]

Favorites: Walnut, Purpleheart

Most used: red oak (I like it also.)

I live in a wood disadvantaged area. :(

[Joe Suelter]

Dale, you are absolutely right about Purpleheart. The very first thing I ever turned was out of that stuff! The local WoodCraft sold me a blank, I asked for an easy blank that I could learn on, as I was a newbie! Man, I swear to this day that I saw sparks while turning that stuff! I must admit that I am very proud of that bowl, though! While turning it, I almost swore off turning all together, until someone at Badger Pond told me the truth about purpleheart! The next thing I turned was a bowl out of maple, like going from concrete to butter...big difference!

[Michael Ballent]

I love the figure of Monkey Pod!!! That will be a GREAT gloat when it finally comes around... I have seen some pieces at my local store that were 24" wide. Rare bird nowadays

-Michael

[Dick Parr]

Cherry and Walnut because they are nice to work with and around here you don't have to pay an arm and a leg for it. ;)

Red Oak because I have over 3000 bft of it and the wife says I better like it and start using it since I bought it. :D

[Glenn Clabo]

Cherry
Walnut
QS Oak

Big space

Pine

[Rob Bourgeois]

Mahogany
Walnut
Wenge( accents only)

Red oak....but thats becasue it was free. 200 bd ft of 8/8

No favorite really, it depends on the project to get the right wood for the design.

[Greg Heppeard]

Ambrosia Maple. I love the stains in the wood and the holes left by those little fellows

[Dave Avery]

Cherry
Mahogany
Figured Maple

[Jeff Skory]

Red Oak because I have over 3000 bft of it and the wife says I better like it and start using it since I bought it. :D

Good God Dick, where and WHY did you buy 3000 bft of red oak! Do you have a sign out front that say "Lumberyard". Wow. That's a lot of wood.

[Dale Thompson]

Dale, you are absolutely right about Purpleheart. The very first thing I ever turned was out of that stuff! The local WoodCraft sold me a blank, I asked for an easy blank that I could learn on, as I was a newbie! Man, I swear to this day that I saw sparks while turning that stuff! I must admit that I am very proud of that bowl, though! While turning it, I almost swore off turning all together, until someone at Badger Pond told me the truth about purpleheart! The next thing I turned was a bowl out of maple, like going from concrete to butter...big difference!


Joe,
Purpleheart DID teach me ONE thing. I turned some yo-yos a while back out of Purpleheart. What started out as a 3" toy invariably turned into a 2" one (if I got lucky). On the positive side, the small ones were really neat and seemed to work quit a bit better than the full-size ones. I guess there is a cloud behind every silver lining. Or is it ---- :o :)

Dale T.

[Rob Glynn]

Well to honest if I can afford it I like it....

Well said Bart.

To be in the poll ...

Sheoak
Jarrah
Marri.

OK. So who else has worked with any of them.

Rob.

[Earl Reid]

This is what I use the most
1 Cherry
2 Walnut
3 Maple
4 wood that people give me from their travels
5 wood from the roots of (old) ornamental bushes
(Makes beautiful Pens)

Earl

[Mark Singer]

2x4's
notty pine
pecky cedar
pressure treated balsa

"stupid pole ...dumb answer"

[Cliff Newton]

2x4's
notty pine
pecky cedar
pressure treated balsa

"stupid pole ...dumb answer"

:) :) :) :)