When using hardwood - which do you prefer and which do you avoid

[Blaughn]

In your experience which of the hardwoods are most drop-out tolerant (least likely to break) and which are the ones you avoid.  I now do most of my cutting in cherry and have found it very tolerable.  Early on I was doing one of the Sheila Landry scripture plaques in walnut and suffered a drop-out failure (when I was almost done, of course ).  I have not used walnut since BUT I am wondering which of the woods you prefer and avoid. 

Bruce

[OCtoolguy]

I use walnut, mahogany, cherry and poplar depending on the project.

[WayneMahler]

I use oak red/white cherry walnut maple . They all have their plusses and minuses.  As for my preferred it would project dependent.

[OCtoolguy]

Oh yeah, I forgot to add oak also. I've use maple on occasion and hickory but not on my favorite list.

 

[Bill WIlson]

Just about any wood can have hidden checks or splits in it.  It could be caused by how the tree grew or how the boards were dried.  Sometimes the defects are so small as to be practically invisible to the naked eye....that is until you make a delicate cut and a piece unexpectedly breaks off.

I'm not sure if any one species is more or less prone to this kind of defect, at least among the common, domestic species.  Imported, exotic hardwoods may be a different story. 

I've always considered red oak to be more easily split than other fine grained wood species.  This bias is partially derived from years of splitting firewood.  But I've cut some pretty delicate fretwork out of red oak and it hasn't posed any more problems than any other wood I've used.  I probably wouldn't use it for delicate, 1/8" thick Christmas ornaments, but fragility in those circumstances can pose a challenge for most any hardwood.

I tend to select the wood for a project based on what appearance I want and what I have on hand/available.  As long as the piece being cut is 1/4" or thicker, I have no qualms about using just about any domestic hardwood.

[lawson56]

When I was cutting in thick hard wood I used White Pine, Cedar, Oak, Cherry. and I did use Red Oak. I found White Pine worked best for the type of cutting I did.

[Blaughn]

2 hours ago, Bill WIlson said:

Just about any wood can have hidden checks or splits in it.  It could be caused by how the tree grew or how the boards were dried.  Sometimes the defects are so small as to be practically invisible to the naked eye....that is until you make a delicate cut and a piece unexpectedly breaks off.

I'm not sure if any one species is more or less prone to this kind of defect, at least among the common, domestic species.  Imported, exotic hardwoods may be a different story. 

I've always considered red oak to be more easily split than other fine grained wood species.  This bias is partially derived from years of splitting firewood.  But I've cut some pretty delicate fretwork out of red oak and it hasn't posed any more problems than any other wood I've used.  I probably wouldn't use it for delicate, 1/8" thick Christmas ornaments, but fragility in those circumstances can pose a challenge for most any hardwood.

I tend to select the wood for a project based on what appearance I want and what I have on hand/available.  As long as the piece being cut is 1/4" or thicker, I have no qualms about using just about any domestic hardwood.

I have discovered that cherry can vary widely in the way it accepts a finish.  I have two plaques that are headed to the scrap pile because I could not build a lacquer coat thick enough to level with sanding.  There were areas that were like unquenchable sponges.  This has motivated me to find a finishing technique that will not be hit or miss.  We put so much work into these pieces it is really frustrating when you screw it up in the finishing stage.    I will post my results on that little experiment when I have completed it.

[BadBob]

Poplar, Red Oak, White Oak, and Pine are the primary woods I use. I also use smaller amounts of Ipe, Walnut, Cherry, and mystery wood. I even cut some MDF. What cuts the best can change from one board to the next. Any wood can have checks that you can't see that will break or fall off.

[TAIrving]

As part of my woodworking journey, I have experimented with many different woods.  Tendency for dropouts, Bruce's original question, is one of the characteristics I have watched.  Other characteristics include: how well they take a finish, tendency to have fuzzies, hardness, and of course, finished appearance.  Along the way I have developed a sensitivity to wood dust, I get a skin rash from exposure. 

I have worked with walnut, pecan, hard maple, cherry, mahogany, red oak, monkeypod, paduak and mesquite, etc.  I now have ready access to end pieces of mesquite, so that is my first choice for any project, but it is not appropriate for many projects.

My biggest frustration was in trying to do fine fretwork using 1/4" monkeypod and my conclusion is to not try fine fretwork with 1/4" anything.  My second conclusion is that monkeypod might have a slightly greater tendency for dropouts than other woods, or maybe it was just the piece of monkeypod I was using for that project.  

For projects where dropouts are a concern I would be more comfortable working with mahogany, hard maple, cherry and walnut.  But there are many other factors to consider.  

Apologies for rambling but I enjoy studying wood.  

 

[kmmcrafts]

I mainly use Cherry, Poplar, Maple, Cherry, Red Oak, and Walnut. Have used many others too.. Red Oak is my least favorite.. it likes to break along the grain.. I know any wood can and will do this but Oak seems to be the worst in my experience.. however since it breaks along the grain it's usually pretty easy to glue and not be noticed.. Finishing oak is another issue for me.. the edge / end grain is like a straw that sucks up finish.. then if it's dipped in a oil finish that finish holds a puddle somewhere in the middle and then seeps through to the face grain later on when you least expect it. 

I've had wood of all types have spots in the face grain where is seems to be really dried or had started to get to a point of maybe decaying and thus finishing is like you mentioned.. a sponge so to speak, this is why I never ever use a top coat spray finish without dipping it in either 50/50 blo and mineral spirits or Danish oil first.. In most cases I solely use Danish oil and done.. some cases I'll top coat over it with water base poly. 

Cherry is probably my most used and favorite wood followed by Maple and Walnut. Not a huge fan of Poplar as far as looks.. but love to work with it.. mostly use it for my puzzles as it cuts nice and it's cheaper source of wood. 

[Joe W.]

9 hours ago, kmmcrafts said:

Red Oak is my least favorite.. it likes to break along the grain.. I know any wood can and will do this but Oak seems to be the worst in my experience.

Good to know.  I'll try to keep that in mind.

[kmmcrafts]

10 hours ago, Joe W. said:

Good to know.  I'll try to keep that in mind.

If pay attention to how you lay out your pattern it can help a lot with this.. and example if you're cutting text and the middle of the e or o has just a tiny bridge to hold it in place.. place the pattern so that tiny bridge goes against that grain.. I hope I made sense of that for you, LOL 

[Joe W.]

9 hours ago, kmmcrafts said:

place the pattern so that tiny bridge goes against that grain..

Yep - got it - thanks

 

[Norm Fengstad]

I try a any species that comes my way, soft woods like pine, spruce have more tendency to break along grain lines. Was given agift certificate from Windsor hardwoods so bought Canary,wood, tiger wood, yellow tarara and zebrawood all 3/4 in. and around 20 bucks a board foot the other day was well pleased 

[Blaughn]

On 5/12/2022 at 8:39 AM, TAIrving said:

As part of my woodworking journey, I have experimented with many different woods.  Tendency for dropouts, Bruce's original question, is one of the characteristics I have watched.  Other characteristics include: how well they take a finish, tendency to have fuzzies, hardness, and of course, finished appearance.  Along the way I have developed a sensitivity to wood dust, I get a skin rash from exposure. 

I have worked with walnut, pecan, hard maple, cherry, mahogany, red oak, monkeypod, paduak and mesquite, etc.  I now have ready access to end pieces of mesquite, so that is my first choice for any project, but it is not appropriate for many projects.

My biggest frustration was in trying to do fine fretwork using 1/4" monkeypod and my conclusion is to not try fine fretwork with 1/4" anything.  My second conclusion is that monkeypod might have a slightly greater tendency for dropouts than other woods, or maybe it was just the piece of monkeypod I was using for that project.  

For projects where dropouts are a concern I would be more comfortable working with mahogany, hard maple, cherry and walnut.  But there are many other factors to consider.  

Apologies for rambling but I enjoy studying wood.  

 

I have done a fair amount of work with Jatoba wood which US wood dealers usually refer to as Brazilian Cherry.  (It has nothing to do with cherry other than the fact it is reddish in color.)  It is the most drop-out resistant wood I have used to date.  The downside is that it is the hardest and heaviest wood I have ever used.  Resawing it on my bandsaw is an extremely slow process and if you try to hurry that you can break the bandsaw blade.  Likewise scrolling requires more frequent blade changes.  When it is finished it makes a beautiful plaque.  

[Blaughn]

On 5/12/2022 at 10:39 AM, kmmcrafts said:

I mainly use Cherry, Poplar, Maple, Cherry, Red Oak, and Walnut. Have used many others too.. Red Oak is my least favorite.. it likes to break along the grain.. I know any wood can and will do this but Oak seems to be the worst in my experience.. however since it breaks along the grain it's usually pretty easy to glue and not be noticed.. Finishing oak is another issue for me.. the edge / end grain is like a straw that sucks up finish.. then if it's dipped in a oil finish that finish holds a puddle somewhere in the middle and then seeps through to the face grain later on when you least expect it. 

I've had wood of all types have spots in the face grain where is seems to be really dried or had started to get to a point of maybe decaying and thus finishing is like you mentioned.. a sponge so to speak, this is why I never ever use a top coat spray finish without dipping it in either 50/50 blo and mineral spirits or Danish oil first.. In most cases I solely use Danish oil and done.. some cases I'll top coat over it with water base poly. 

Cherry is probably my most used and favorite wood followed by Maple and Walnut. Not a huge fan of Poplar as far as looks.. but love to work with it.. mostly use it for my puzzles as it cuts nice and it's cheaper source of wood. 

I have had the spongy problem with cherry as well.  I am experimenting with a home made danish oil that has a higher concentration of polyurethane.  This dries in a day and a half.  I then apply a seal coat of unwaxed shellac which dries is an hour.  I will be spraying lacquer as the final finish to see if this resolves/reduces the uneven absorpsion problem.  I have a number of items awaiting a less windy day so I can apply the lacquer.

[OCtoolguy]

I watch a series of Japanese videos by OHYO56 and he uses apitoa. It's used here in the U.S. for truck trailer flooring. Very tough wood and appears to be similar to dark mahogany but harder. I've been trying to find some that isn't 16 feet long and 2" thick. I may have found a place that will sell cutoffs. I'll keep you posted.

[TAIrving]

15 hours ago, OCtoolguy said:

I watch a series of Japanese videos by OHYO56 and he uses apitoa. It's used here in the U.S. for truck trailer flooring. Very tough wood and appears to be similar to dark mahogany but harder. I've been trying to find some that isn't 16 feet long and 2" thick. I may have found a place that will sell cutoffs. I'll keep you posted.

I tried to find some information about apitoa wood and could not find anything.  It is not in the Wood Database.  A web search comes up with amusing substitutions but nothing on the wood.  

The attempted web search makes its best guess and comes up with "Apito" which is a musical instrument and "Apitito" which is a restaurant POS system.  Then when I search for "Apitoa wood" it changes it to "patio wood".  I concede defeat.

Which of the OHYO56 videos discuss the apitoa wood?  

[OCtoolguy]

1 hour ago, TAIrving said:

I tried to find some information about apitoa wood and could not find anything.  It is not in the Wood Database.  A web search comes up with amusing substitutions but nothing on the wood.  

The attempted web search makes its best guess and comes up with "Apito" which is a musical instrument and "Apitito" which is a restaurant POS system.  Then when I search for "Apitoa wood" it changes it to "patio wood".  I concede defeat.

Which of the OHYO56 videos discuss the apitoa wood?  

It was a typo. Should have been apitong. He never talked about it in any of his videos. I contacted him and asked about the wood he used in many of his projects. He wrote back to me and explained that a friend gives him lots of scraps from whatever they use it for in Japan. Sorry.

Edited May 16, 2022 by OCtoolguy

[TAIrving]

19 hours ago, OCtoolguy said:

It was a typo. Should have been apitong. He never talked about it in any of his videos. I contacted him and asked about the wood he used in many of his projects. He wrote back to me and explained that a friend gives him lots of scraps from whatever they use it for in Japan. Sorry.

Thanks Ray.  The Wood Database says, among other things, "Not commonly imported to North America."  

[OCtoolguy]

5 hours ago, TAIrving said:

Thanks Ray.  The Wood Database says, among other things, "Not commonly imported to North America."  

I found it in quite a few places here near ne but they sell it in the long lengths required for "redecking" truck trailers. Only one place offers boxes of cutoffs and not always available. One of these days I'm hoping I get a call.

[Fish]

Oak, cherry, walnut, poplar, ash, cedar what ever I can get. I seem to burn cherry when I use it. I guess I go to slow with it. 

[Rolf]

Cherry, hard Maple, on occasion Spanish cedar. I do not like red oak,(too grainy for my taste) I literally watched a fretwork basket  self destruct while doing a presentation at FC a few years ago. The dramatic humidity change. 

[Rolf]

Blaughn , Your sign is absolutely stunning! What font did you use?

[Blaughn]

Thanks, Rolf.  I have made and given away about a half-dozen of these over the years.  By the way, this plaque is in the Pattern section of this website.

The font used for the "Redeemer" is "Parchment".  I spent an hour removing all of the extra swirls & embellishments leaving only the main body of the capital R.  The remaining words are all written in a font called  "Microsoft Uighur"  I select the font while in Microsoft Word before copy & past into inkscape.  While in word you need to select "Outline" and black color.  You also need remove the shadow.  Once you have done that you can copy and paste into Inkscape and start your layout and inserting bridges.

All the best, 

Bruce