Pretty wood

[dadiOH]

There have been several L O N G off topic posts recently so I thought I'd start one that was ON topic and still allow y'all to comment, rave, rant, discuss, etc. at great length :)

What do you think is the prettiest hardwood, domestic or imported? ___________

MY THOUGHTS

A lot of you seem to favor cherry but it leaves me cold. Nothing wrong with it, just doesn't grab me.

Neither does maple except for curly or birdseye.

Oak - white oak - is one of my favorites...hard, strong, works easily but I would never call it pretty. Not even with a flake figure.

Hickory is nice, rather like it.

Birch isn't in the running, neither is beech.

Walnut is a different story...works nicely, nice color, interesting grain but not much figure. It would be my nomination for domestic wood. _____________

I haven't used a lot of imports...mahogany, khaya, makore, utile, nogal, Phillipine mahogany, maybe 2-3 more.

Nogal (Peruvian walnut) isn't as attractive as black walnut and is softer but it can be very dark, almost black. Handy sometimes.

I wouldn't characterize either makore or utile - especially utile - as very attractive but they aren't bad looking.

I think Phillipine mahogany is way under rated. Some of them are very nice. Even rotary cut luan ply is useful...very plain grain which I prefer in large expanses to things like Brazilian rosewood. Not too many years ago there were acres and acres of Brazilian rosewood ply covering lobbies, board rooms, elevators and meeting rooms. Used to make my head spin.

Both mahogany and khaya are nice, among my favorites (sapele too) but my pick for prettiest wood is koa.

Wonderful and varied color, looks like mahogany on steroids. Used to be that it was easy to get highly figured boards too but nowadays they are all picked over by large shops before the boards ever see the light of retail day. Biggest problem with koa is the price...now $45+- per board foot. I used to get it for $0.50 when walnut and teak were in the $1.25 -

1.35 range.

[Gerald Ross]

Heart sweetgum (domestic) is hard to beat and easy to turn.

[Leon]

For domestic, USA, Mesquite, wish I could afford the big pieces. Followed by Walnut, White Oak.

Favorite import,

Zircote,

[Nova]

Cocobolo is one of my favorites.

[Steve Turner]

My favorite wood (regardless of imported vs. domestic) is Mesquite. Beautiful color, beautiful figure, strong, stable, hard (but not too hard), and a joy to work with tools, both hand and power. The only downside (IMO) is that the trees are so scraggly it's hard to find good clear lumber in usable sizes at a decent price.

[Swingman]

... and you can't beat the scraps for cooking a steak.

["<<<]

If we're allowed to get a little crazy here ... I built a dash for an AC Cobra, and used Etimoe ... it looks GREAT !!!

[Larry Jaques]

If you have insurance and want to take it. I have a large sweetgum in my Grants Pass, OR front yard and would like it removed. Free to insured party. Must take all. (Roots, too!) Want the maple and the redwood and a doug fir, too? Take 'em!

-- ...in order that a man may be happy, it is necessary that he should not only be capable of his work, but a good judge of his work. -- John Ruskin

[J. Clarke]

I agree. Argentinian black mesquite is wonderful and it grows as a big tree down there so lumber in substantial sizes is available. Or was until the regulators decided to pull the plug on the trade.

[Leon]

My grandmother, aunts and uncles lived about 50 miles south of San Antonio back when I was a kid. The highway between SA and Charlotte Tx was littered with huge Mesquite trees. I remember the trunks being 2-3 feet in diameter and 20-25 feet tall. My uncle raised cattle and obviously had a lot of pasture covered with mesquite trees. We would cut them down and use the limbs for fire wood and or to BBQ. I have a chunk of Mesquite that is about 18" long x3x3 that I salvaged out of one of the limbs, 25-30 years ago. Still waiting for the perfect project.... Maybe I'll cut it into veneers.

[Doug Miller]

I don't think I could narrow it down to just one... for domestic woods, my top favorites, in no particular order, are curly cherry, curly maple, quartersawn sycamore, and quartersawn beech.

I've not used enough imported woods to have much of an opinion there, but I sure do like the look of true mahogany.

[WW]

[Lew Hodgett]

RE: Subject

Quarter sawn White Oak, Hondouras Mahogany and quality teak.

Lew

[dpb]

I think I have to make the choice dependent on the use--some just are "the cat's meow" for one item but totally wrong for another...

To the question as asked as to "pretty", I'd probably have to go to the rosewoods as most striking w/ the Honduran mahogany as the ideal cabinet wood for the non-domestics.

For US domestics, that's a little more difficult altho it's hard to beat butternut on one hand but old salvage chestnut is another outstanding choice...the other of my favorites would be the Claro walnut followed by black walnut...

In it's place, white oak is so striking...there, we're back to what the use is matters...

Like someone else already said, don't think I can have just one...

--

[Steve]

Personally, walnut is my favorite, too.

Except when I'm working with Cherry. Then that's my favorite.

Except when I'm working with Maple. Then that's my favorite.

Except when I'm working with Oak. Then that's, oh, wait a minute! I really don't care much for Oak.

Seriously, I do love walnut.

And cherry, and maple...

[Gerald Ross]

Thanks! But I get all that I can use from the local tree cutters. Either cut to length and loaded on my truck or delivered next to my shop.

[Robatoy]

I like Purple Heart and Padouk.

But the most incredible wood I have ever seen was the back of a 1957 Gibson where the birds eye maple looked like pearls floating in liquid diamonds. I will never forget that.

[Norvin Gordon]

For turning I find it hard to beat California Manzanita, outstanding colors and grain, not very large in size.

[Steve Turner]

And there's that too!

[Larry Jaques]

Yes, I love dark woods like rosewood, walnut, jarrah, and bokote. I put down a little entryway in Jatoba and like it a lot, too.

Agreed, and Honduran mahogany carves nicely, too.

I haven't seen any claro walnut in local wood yards. What's so special about it as opposed to black walnut? Juglans hindsii and nigra look awfully similar in these pics. Same shade, similar figure.

?keywords=walnut>In it's place, white oak is so striking...there, we're back to what the

Absolutely! QSWO is a dream.

What really irks me is to see someone mix quilted maple, birdseye maple, and some other extremely figured wood so there is no mellow place on the piece. Everything fights for your eye. It's overkill and it's downright UGLY! I prefer a basic box with a really nicely figured top, or even a figured inset in a plain top. Classy.

-- ...in order that a man may be happy, it is necessary that he should not only be capable of his work, but a good judge of his work. -- John Ruskin