Birch too light for you ?
Birch too light for you ?
"The element of competition has never worried me, because from the start, I suppose I realized wood contains so much inspiration and beauty and rhythm that if used properly it would result in an individual and unique object." - James Krenov
What you do speaks so loud, I cannot hear what you say. -R. W. Emerson
No, not too light---but more expensive & less common than white hard maple here... but I actually did buy some 2x2ft birch 1/4" panels I can use between the stiles, just in case.
Last edited by Mark Kay; 04-03-2013 at 6:28 PM.
I recently built my kitchen doors/drawers (with Ikea boxes and hardware) out of cherry. I was limited by the availability of 1/4" plywood in the species I wanted (cherry, walnut, sapele, fir, maple). I bought a router bit set from Infinity, and finished with a coat of Seal-a-cell followed by Enduro-var. I set the doors out in the sun for a day to get a pre-tan. I'm very pleased with the color of the cherry and the durability of the Enduro-var.
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That looks great Ian. Is all Ikea frameless? Mine is faceframe but with more overlay than typical.
I too bought a Shaker router bit set, I think the mfr was in Quebec.
I'll have to make a note about Seal-a-cell & Enduro-var. I don't have any experience with those.
I'm still looking for opinions & ideas! All the tools are packed away except I brought in a PANEL SAW! It's a Panel Pro I think... It's brand new, I have assembled it over a year ago because it was in a wooden crate and was supposed to rain & had no help getting the crate in the house so tore it open, brought it into the hallway in pieces and assembled it and still have not plugged it in yet. It comes with the wheels and the optional extensions for the back and bottom, didn't install them nor the tape measure yet. It's been collecting dust. They cost over $1200 plus the extensions. I got a good deal I couldn't pass up so bought it.
Still retooling--picked up a Leigh Dovetail jig kit, complete with optional bit set. Didn't use it yet. I also altered the floorplan which now includes a spot for a small in-wall A/C unit...my house in the summer reached the 90's inside! Bedroom on second floor hit 96F with door & windows/shades closed! Still in decision mode & tool gathering.. next up is clearing some room & repairing porch post/pillar & porch roof! Don't give up on me!
This may help with colour: I built our kitchen 3 years ago with Hard Maple (which had some curl). This was finished with a couple of coats of blond shellac to take the edge off the whiteness, and then General Finished water-based poly, which I rubbed on by hand. The finish is spectacular.
All doors were book-matched.The splashback is a green-tinted glass, and the countertops are black granite ...
Regards from Perth
Derek