The Wood Database

[TAIrving]

I ran across this site "The Wood Database" https://www.wood-database.com/.  It seems to have interesting information about different types of wood and I thought it might be of interest to our membership.  

I had been reading the post by FrankEV entitled "Wall Art - No Backer, No Frame" and saw mention of Sapele, a variety of wood I had not heard of before.  The Wood Database has an informative write-up on Sapele.  

[OCtoolguy]

I tried to find a source for sapele when I was making something a while back. But, I never found any place that carried it.

 

[dgman]

14 minutes ago, octoolguy said:

I tried to find a source for sapele when I was making something a while back. But, I never found any place that carried it.

 

Woodcraft usually carries it. I also can find it at my local hardwood dealer. Also, Woodworkers Source has it. It is an online dealer. It is a great wood to work with!

[OCtoolguy]

2 hours ago, dgman said:

Woodcraft usually carries it. I also can find it at my local hardwood dealer. Also, Woodworkers Source has it. It is an online dealer. It is a great wood to work with!

I recall now, the problem was finding it in the dimensions I needed to make Carole Rothman's bowl. Nobody seemed to have it wide enough. I ended up using mahogany.

[dgman]

38 minutes ago, octoolguy said:

I recall now, the problem was finding it in the dimensions I needed to make Carole Rothman's bowl. Nobody seemed to have it wide enough. I ended up using mahogany.

You’re right Ray, I remember now. Mahogany was a great alternative. In fact, Sapele is often used as a Mahogany alternative as genuine Mahogany is getting hard to find. Sapele is a little harder and darker than genuine Mahogany, but cuts very nicely. I use a lot of it!

[tomsteve]

thats my candy store site!

"i want some of that....and that...that might be good so some of that......."

[stoney]

Thank you Thurman for the link in your post.   I enjoyed looking at the specs of different species of woods that I have worked with and others I might want to try.

[WayneMahler]

Will have to check this out when I get time. I was using a site from the Department of Forestry . It gives you the names, toxicity etc of the different species and other important info. 

[Rolf]

Thanks Algae for bringing that up. We need a reminder periodically. When I was getting into Intarsia I looked up Wood toxicity. The wood data base was quite the eye opener. No wood dust is healthy, but some are downright nasty. 

Besides the fire and mess hazard of wood dust having a real dust collection setup when doing Intarsia is critical.

Edited November 5, 2020 by Rolf

[rod143]

Eastern red cedar is a pretty wood that can be obtained at Lowes for lining closets, but of course it makes a great wood for scrollers for small projects; since the wood comes in narrow widths (< 4" wide). I have used it for coasters and other small projects. Enclosed is a red cedar coaster with inlays coated with India ink and the whole coaster sprayed with clear shellac. The pattern was adapted from the cover of a Celtic jewelry box by Steve Good.

 

 

[OCtoolguy]

37 minutes ago, rod143 said:

Eastern red cedar is a pretty wood that can be obtained at Lowes for lining closets, but of course it makes a great wood for scrollers for small projects; since the wood comes in narrow widths (< 4" wide). I have used it for coasters and other small projects. Enclosed is a red cedar coaster with inlays coated with India ink and the whole coaster sprayed with clear shellac. The pattern was adapted from the cover of a Celtic jewelry box by Steve Good.

 

 

You said inlays. What are the inlays made of?

[rod143]

The inlays are made with red cedar that have been coated with India ink and sealed with clear shellac.

[rjweb]

Very nice, but when looking at it the inlays look like they are behind the pattern, must be my old eyes, RJ