Favorite woods

Sapele is my favorite. Poor mans mahogany. Works well and finishes very nicely. It is open grained which can be a problem. Sapele is available in many thicknesses.

Cherry, the patina that develops makes you want to reach out and touch it..Burns easily but you learn to speed it up a bit when it’s going through the saw…

I would say for me I have a few favorites:

Maple because of its hardness and clean, bright look. It also can be stained just about any color

Cherry because of how it ages like a fine wine and easy to work with both power and hand tools

Walnut because I’ve never seen a disappointed pieces of walnut. Putting a natural finish (Rubio Monocoat) on top brings the wood to life

White oak, specifically quartersawn white oak because I always had an appreciation for Stickley furniture and how the rays pop when stained

White Ash because it makes the perfect workbench material as its cheaper and super strong. Plus it looks great with any stain or wire wheeeled

First off, what do you know about wine, Corey; are you old enough to drink? 🙂

I mentioned walnut already. It works great with hand or power tools and carves nicely. When you get air dried stock, the colors are like a chocolate rainbow. And it looks fantastic with an oil (Watco) finish, wet sanded and waxed.

My next favorites would be curly/quilted/figured maple. Under a dye with some shellac, it pops like a firecracker. The chatoyance is mesmerizing.

Pine. What can I say? It’s traditional and ages to a warm patina like cherry does. And who can complain about its workability?

Finally, I have to say I like poplar. Go ahead and snicker. I like the color – especially the dark greens. But I love the way it works under a plane. It can get fuzzy, but you can fix that. You can stain it, you can paint it or you can appreciate it for what it is. I’m also glad most people don’t like enough. It’s cheap.

Joe, I really like Poplar as well. There’s nothing wrong with it and yet most people stay away from it. I made most of the moldings in my house from Poplar. It takes paint really well and I often use it as a secondary wood in my furniture.

Sapele is beautiful, but I’ve had it splinter on me. Lately walnut has been grabbing me more and more… always astounded by the grain when finished! My favorites seem to change with the project… I use poplar whenever I’m going to paint something. It works wonderfully and is a great balance of weight and strength.