Shopsmith Forums

After a recent discussion about where to acquire wood, I was wondering what types of wood were the most popular for furnature, pens and other things folks are making on this forum?

I happen to like oak for making furnature and finishing my house since it is a stong, hard local wood, but I also have a barn full of old ripped into planks of walnut that I don't know what to do with? It was here when I bought the farm about 30 years ago and boy, is it really dry now!

No idea what domestic wood is most popular among our members. I love walnut, white and red oak and mesquite. Not a big fan of maple. I do often use it for accents on boxes with walnut being the main wood.
Redwood is fun, too.

I think just the other day I saw an article to the effect that Oak was at its most affordable price in decades, now. Can't say that for walnut ; it's always at a premium. You may have a small treasure there.

I occasionally make furniture (walnut, oak) but much more often make smaller stuff. With small projects I've been able to sample oak, walnut, cherry, maple, persimmon, hictory, myrtle, mahagany, poplar, mesquite. For very small turnings I've also tried applewood, rosewood, ebony, bocote, padauk, etc.

Bigger projects can work well with coarser open grains like oak. For the smallest projects, very dense fine-grained woods like the rosewoods are nice. Also at the very small scale, getting hold of a "stabilized" (resin-impregnated) burl wood blank is great fun.

mountain4don wrote:After a recent discussion about where to acquire wood, I was wondering what types of wood were the most popular for furnature, pens and other things folks are making on this forum?

I happen to like oak for making furnature and finishing my house since it is a stong, hard local wood, but I also have a barn full of old ripped into planks of walnut that I don't know what to do with? It was here when I bought the farm about 30 years ago and boy, is it really dry now!

If you're anywhere near Nashville, TN, I might be interested in a few pieces to make some furniture or guitars. Let me know.

BTW: Better check that wood to make sure it's still good and not rotted or termite infested. The termites around here eat everything except cedar and bowdock (osage orange, bois d'arc, mock orange, horse apple, etc.). American chestnut was immune to termites, but there's none of those let in the wilds.

mgdesigns wrote:If you're anywhere near Nashville, TN, I might be interested in a few pieces to make some furniture or guitars. Let me know.

BTW: Better check that wood to make sure it's still good and not rotted or termite infested. The termites around here eat everything except cedar and bowdock (osage orange, bois d'arc, mock orange, horse apple, etc.). American chestnut was immune to termites, but there's none of those let in the wilds.

I am quite a ways from Nashville, up here in the Midwest outside Jefferson City, Missouri. Although I used to drive near Nashville often when I was going to Memphis State University and my parents lived in New Jersey. But been a long time ago now!

The termites here in Missouri evidently don't care for walnut. I have a log barn and a log cabin on the farm that are both made out of walnut. The settlers made anything that was in ground contact out here in the 1830's out of walnut because of so many of them and they were immune from termite attack. At least thats what I have been told. I sold a bunch of walnut logs off the farm about 5 years ago and they didn't bring much money per board feet as the oak did. It was waining in popularity then. And oak is the best thing going now. Especially if you have plywood grade logs more than 4' in diameter. After the loggers got done with all of it I went into the woods and trimmed up some of their leftovers and hauled them to a local saw mill and had them sawed up for my own use. Dried them in the barn for a couple of years and then planed them and ripped them into usable pieces. Good stuff so all of my furnature and interior house moldings and furnature are in oak!

I like walnut but many times my wife objects to the darkness of the wood so I have to use another wood.

I use poplar for all unseen framing and ply to help with expense.

That said I have probably an equal number of projects done in Walnut, Oak, Maple, Spruce, Cherry and Poplar.

Two of the hardest woods to work with for me is Cherry and Maple. Cherry because it will burn (tool mark) so easily and Maple because it will not take stain evenly. But they are my favorite because I have no problems working with them. With Chestnut, oak and few of the exotics I have to be careful or I will end up with sinus or lung problems.

With cocobola if I get a splinter I know it will become an infection, happens every time.

Most popular hardwood is definitely oak.

But, my favorite woods are
Walnut, cherry, hickory, oak..............in that order.

The most popular wood would be poplar.

OOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! In my area we use a lot of cypress. Its soft and saves tools but does mar easily.

The next time I cut trees and haul them to the sawmill I will have to look for some of these other "popular" trees. I need some new shovel and axe handles so I need to cut a few hickory trees. And maybe an oak or two. And maybe throw in another walnut. Has anybody tried working with American Sycamore trees? I have lots of large ones down by the creek? I also heat my house with wood so thats the main reason I am in the woods cutting trees. I can just pick a few out that would saw up some good lumber for furnature and stuff. What are the best woods for lathe turning?