Suggestions for inexpensive wood for drawer fronts to compliment maple dresser?

[Tim Plantz]

I have just downloaded some plans for a 8 drawer maple and cherry dresser that I like but I'm trying to stay on a low budget for a customer. Maple is fine for the main dresser but they call for cherry accents and drawer fronts. Can anyone give me a suggestion for an alternate wood for the accents? Cheaper than cherry but still with a good accent??

[Jim Becker]

Use maple and dye it if you want to make this change and still have the color contrast. Do remember that the cost of nice material will be quickly forgotten once the project is complete...the first step in finshing is the careful selection of material.

[David DeCristoforo]

Jim makes a good point about the extra material cost. Also, who is going to pay for the extra time you will have to spend staining or dying the drawer fronts? That much cherry should not be prohibitive nor that much more expensive maple. If you really need to save the few bucks, look at alder which is "cheap", and has a "somewhat cherry like" color. But it will not look nearly as nice as cherry!

[Sam Yerardi]

Another wood that is a good choice is poplar. Poplar has been used for many, many years as an alternative for 'higher' grade wood such as cherry and maple. I quoted 'higher' because I consider poplar a great wood in its own right. If you choose the grain accordingly, it can be stained, dyed, glazed, toned, etc. to mimic cherry and maple to an extent that it's hard for an expert to tell the difference. Poplar is a bit softer than cherry or maple but in this application I don't think that really matters much.

[Bert Johansen]

I agree with Sam--well, almost. I would not recommend staining poplar, but if you use a combination of aniline dye colors you can "nail" (pun intended) the color of cherry. And here is another suggestion. Spray the aniline dye, don't brush or wipe it on. If you don't have a spray outfit, go to your hardware store and purchase a Preval kit. It is an aerosol canister plus a small glass jar for the paint/dye solution. Works great for small jobs.

[Tim Plantz]

Thanks Sam. I usually have a fair amount of poplar on hand so I'll give it a shot.

Tim

[Tim Plantz]

Thanks Bert, I'll try out your idea with the aniline dye. It will be a good test. I've never heard of the Preval kit but I'll look into it.

[Sam Yerardi]

Bert has a good point. I will try his approach sometimes this year as I've commited to learning how to spray once and for all (right - like that's going to happen . I know I'll be back here almost immediately asking everyone what I'm doing wrong )

[Jim Becker]

I use water soluble dyes quite effectively with yellow poplar...and it can be hand-applied...whereas anything alcohol soluble really must be sprayed because the alcohol flashes off so fast that you will get noticeable overlaps with hand application.