Which woods look good with KOA?

[Izzy Charo]

I'm making a frame and panel blanket chest and will use KOA wood for the frame. I'm interested in folks thoughts on woods that would look good for the panels... The really nice Master Grade curly KOA would be great for the panels, but is extremely pricey. So, I'm looking for a second choice. Current plan is to re-saw the panel from solid wood, and sand to a final thickness of 1/4 inch.
Thanks for all thoughts-
Izzy Charo

[Jim Becker]

This is a totally subjective thing...

Some folks would do a high-contrast solution and make the panels out of something light and fancy. Other's would choose something very plain and much darker than the beautiful koa to highlight that koa.

So it comes down to what kind of "look" you want to create for your bed and blanket chest.

[Jamie Buxton]

Quilted or curly maple.

[Ted Phillips]

I agree with Jamie. I made a jewelry box last year with a beautiful koa lid and frame. I used tiger-striped maple for the body panels and it looked fantastic. The grain was similar between the two woods, but the contrast was what made it look good.

[John Sincerbeaux]

I like to pair Koa with dark woods like Ebony or Wenge. In your case, do you have enough Koa to use for the panels?
What about Wenge for the frames and Koa Panels? IMO the most beautiful wood should be “showcased” as the panel(s) and the frames should be the support cast.

[Derek Cohen]

I'm making a frame and panel blanket chest and will use KOA wood for the frame. I'm interested in folks thoughts on woods that would look good for the panels... The really nice Master Grade curly KOA would be great for the panels, but is extremely pricey. So, I'm looking for a second choice. Current plan is to re-saw the panel from solid wood, and sand to a final thickness of 1/4 inch.
Thanks for all thoughts-
Izzy Charo

Hi Izzy

The beauty, figure and chatoyance of Koa will be lost as a frame. I would use it as the panel. For the frame I would choose a very dark wood, with reduced figure to emphasise the Koa.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Al Launier]

This wood look good. His name is Koa by the way. First grandson 4/08/18. Koa is highly figured with great lines.

[Michael Pyron]

as noted, it's subjective...

since you don't provide any pics of the woods it is rather difficult to make any suggestions...non figured Koa can be rather bland and unexciting...might as well save the $ and use Australian Blackwood...

figured Koa is extremely pricey these days because of simple supply and demand...I figure if Taylor Guitars has issues with the supply then that is certainly a sign of just how hard it is to get a hold of. (I make this statement because from my recollection of history they are the guitar company that has most pushed the wood as part of their lineup)

either way, without pics of the wood to be used I find it impossible to give any real opinion as Koa varies so much in colors and such.

[Jacob Mac]

I agree with Derek. I would use it as a panel if you have enough.

[Izzy Charo]

First, a Happy Fourth to All! Thanks for the replies... The KOA that I have is mostly straight grained; beautiful but probably not spectacular enough for the panels. I'm considering using it for the frame, but that still leaves the question of the panels. I like the tiger maple suggestion for the high contrast look. As others have said, this is all subjective...my wife prefers darker woods. So, I'm considering buying a piece of Master Koa for the front panels and resawing (carefully!). A couple of questions: The largest panel would be roughly 14 x 16, and I would edge glue two re-sawn pieces to get this. Does resawing to get a final 1/4" thickness make sense? Could I go to 3/8 or even 1/2 thickness, for added strength, but at what thickness does the risk of bowing/warping become too great?
Thanks again,
Izzy

[Jim Tobias]

You could get some great figured koa veneer and veneer the panels. Veneering the flat panels would not be a huge deal if you have done some veneering....heck, not too big of a deal if it would be the first time.

Jim

[John Sincerbeaux]

You could get some great figured koa veneer and veneer the panels. Veneering the flat panels would not be a huge deal if you have done some veneering....heck, not too big of a deal if it would be the first time.

Jim

Have you tried finding “great figured Koa veneer” lately?

[Gene Takae]

A fav combo of mine is redwood burl with ebony accents. I've done 2 urns and a box in this manner.Top.jpg

[Jim Becker]

So, I'm considering buying a piece of Master Koa for the front panels and resawing (carefully!). A couple of questions: The largest panel would be roughly 14 x 16, and I would edge glue two re-sawn pieces to get this. Does resawing to get a final 1/4" thickness make sense? Could I go to 3/8 or even 1/2 thickness, for added strength, but at what thickness does the risk of bowing/warping become too great?

My advise is to re-saw your bookmatches slightly thicker than the final 1/4" you want; glue up the panels and then find a way to use a wide-belt or drum sander to bring them to final thickness. You'll get a better result that way with less chance of things like tear-out, etc., on the final surfaces. At that small panel size, there's not a whole lot of risk for bowing/warping once they are contained within the structure of your bed framework.

[Gene Takae]

Here's another box with that scheme.

MIKE'S BOX3.jpg