Hemlock and Alder

[Rockytime]

Went to Lowe's today for Poplar. Saw Hemlock and Alder. Never see that at HD. Did not buy any. Anyone use it?

[Terry Jay]

Alder, if Western Red. is a fine grain reddish wood, cuts nicely.  A bit soft, sands easily.  

[dgman]

I’ve never used Hemlock but I have used Alder. For a hardwood, Alder is relatively soft. I wouldn’t use it for puzzles. It has a creamy tan color and is typically straight grained, but you will find some interesting grain patterns in some boards. I have used it for boxes and clocks. It scrolls well, but is hard to get a goof finish on it. I’d say give it a try if you have never used.

[Davevand]

I used alder for the first time and it cuts very nice with the scroll saw. The only issue I had was finishing it, I sprayed three coats of lacquer and it was still soaking into the wood, to get a good finish I had to seal with shellac first, then finish with lacquer or poly.

[Rockytime]

Thank you. I'll go to Lowe's and pick some up. 

[FrankEV]

1 hour ago, Davevand said:

I used alder for the first time and it cuts very nice with the scroll saw. The only issue I had was finishing it, I sprayed three coats of lacquer and it was still soaking into the wood, to get a good finish I had to seal with shellac first, then finish with lacquer or poly.

You maight want to try a lacquer sanding sealer before sanding and finishing with the lacquer.  I use it on soft wood like pine.

[fredfret]

Save your alder cutoffs for smoking especially fish. I've never cut it but smoked a lot of salmon. 

[ben2008]

On 11/12/2020 at 7:52 PM, Rockytime said:

Went to Lowe's today for Poplar. Saw Hemlock and Alder. Never see that at HD. Did not buy any. Anyone use it?

I just bought some 1/2" alder online. It's a nice medium brown and does not have a heavy grain pattern like red oak.  I had never used it before. It cuts like a dream on my RBI, and is lightweight but sturdy. I have not put a finish on it yet. I like it so far. I also am going to try beech for the first time.

Here's a link. The 2 pieces i received look almost exactly like the picture. I was impressed.

https://ocoochhardwoods.com/scroll-saw-lumber/alder/

Edited November 17, 2020 by ben2008