The Wood Latest Topics

Wood Type

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 02:12:59 +0000

Is there anyone online that is really good at identifying wood. I have an architect telling me the existing siding on a barn project is white oak but I am strongly questioning what he is telling me.

ID guess?

Thu, 05 Mar 2026 20:57:33 +0000

Not likely to get polished closeups, as it’s from my son 1000 miles away.

Light weight and crushes easily under thumbnail.

This is why you can't get rid of any offcut or scrap!

Fri, 10 Oct 2025 19:18:33 +0000

Tree ID? Near Albany, NY

Thu, 30 Oct 2025 03:14:54 +0000

Any ideas on what this might be? It's a deciduous that blew over. No longer has leaves. Was located in a forest not near water.

The sapwood and heartwood are both the same light color.

Mail order wood recommendations?

Mon, 15 Sep 2025 02:42:24 +0000

I've looked into local mills and hardwood dealers, and decided that given the cost of gas and my time, I'm better off ordering my wood on a website for delivery.

I've watched some videos that rate different sites and done some research on the web, but I'm wondering if you guys have any opinions?

For my next couple projects I'd just need 6' boards, maybe a couple 8'. Nothing especially long, wide, or thick.

I'm happy to let the wood acclimate and then mill it after I receive it.

Thanks

Wood Identification - Ghana

Sun, 21 Sep 2025 19:04:25 +0000

HI All,

I just picked up a bootload of this wood and was wondering if anyone can help with what species it might be.

Price of Hard Maple

Mon, 15 Sep 2025 17:04:33 +0000

Someone was talking about the price of cherry the other day. I just wanted to add some data to the brain trust . . . 8/4 hard maple, S2S, purchased this morning in SoCal was $5.79 a board foot.

Wood Identification

Mon, 21 Jul 2025 23:56:20 +0000

@phinds and others. I needed some lumber to build a clamp rack and in searching thru my stash, I found a 8’x5.5’x1” thick board that I’ve had for years. I’ve provided the dimensions as it might help in knowing what it was to be used for. It has a 3/8” wide ship lap on both edges making me think maybe it was for flooring. Prior to jointing and planning, it resembled white pine or fir, except it is much heavier. After milling it flat, it is flawless with very straight grain. Paul, you once mentioned that the end grain was the most definable. To provide you a pic, how to I address the endgrain, crosscut on the table saw and sanded or what. This is what the face looks like. Just curious. Thanks in advance.

Need Advice on Quality RTA Cabinets for Kitchen & Bathroom Renovation!

Fri, 20 Jun 2025 07:50:28 +0000

Hi everyone,
I’m in the middle of renovating my kitchen and bathroom and considering RTA (ready-to-assemble) cabinets to save on shipping and installation costs. I’ve been looking at brands like IKEA, MasterBrand, and Cozyhommie, but I’m not sure which one offers the best balance of quality and value.
Has anyone here used RTA cabinets from these brands (or others)? I’d really appreciate your insights—especially on durability, ease of assembly, and overall satisfaction. Any recommendations or tips would be a huge help!
Thanks in advance!

Mwangala wood

Sat, 05 Jul 2025 18:39:59 +0000

A relative of mine died who was an avid wood turner, and it seems a collector of rare and exotic wood blanks as well (likely a hoarder). I am trying to sell off his tools and wood for his widow and have come across a wood name I can't find on the web - Mwangala. The goal is to find pricing on wood turning blanks so that I don't price things incorrectly.

Does anyone know where I can find information on this wood?

Rot resistant wood

Sat, 24 May 2025 20:22:39 +0000

Does rot-resistant wood such as cedar, cypress, and sapele need a varnish finish if used for out door furniture? .

Bent Lamination

Wed, 14 May 2025 23:57:40 +0000

Has any one here ever used or even know if you can use maple for a bent lamination project.

Ocooch lumber

Sat, 18 May 2024 23:49:52 +0000

First time i have purchased lumber online. I have been tempted many times but did not want to pay shipping. This time i couldn't travel to my normal (and good) sources.

Ocooch was one of the few places that listed Padauk in the size i needed.

i ordered two pieces. Delivery was reasonably quick, they were well packaged and the pieces were first rate and dimensioned as they had listed.

Should the need arise i would definitely order from them again. Very pleased

Looking for advice: slabs for a Rubio style bench

Thu, 28 Mar 2024 19:38:33 +0000

I have dreams of building a Rubio-style bench this year or next. I'm exploring the option of making the top out of a couple of slabs. I reached out to a local sawmill. They offered can cut me a couple 4 1/2" x 12" x 8' slabs out of green oak for a couple hundred bucks (total I think, might be each). I asked over the phone about other woods and they said they might have some hickory. The person on the phone wasn't very confident, so I plan to go visit.

I'm seeking thoughts on any of the following:

* I've worked with oak plenty and I worry it's too porous for a workbench top?

* I don't have experience with hickory but understand its very hard?

* I'm shooting for a 7' top and assuming I'll lose some of the slab ends to checking - is 8' long enough?

* What sort of overage should I be thinking on the width and thickness? Is 1" enough?

* I'm guessing there are particular ways to mill the slabs out of the tree that are preferable and not so preferable?

* Any thoughts on how long I'm going to need to air dry a "green" slab? If I go the slab route, I doubt I'll find anyone with the right slab already dried. Maybe I try to arrange a kiln dry?

* Am I just nuts going the slab route?

* What am I not thinking of?

Thanks in advance.

BENCH MATERIAL CHOICES

Fri, 20 Feb 2015 21:24:28 +0000

So I am considering making one of those awesome workbenches with all the stuff on it, dog holes, clamps, speakers, outlets, massage chair. etc...

The material of choice is Hard Maple.

I don't want to go and buy all the maple, because it's damn expensive and I have a hook up to get wood cut to whatever thickness I want whenever I want. And it's pennies on the dollar.

I have a couple choices of different species from my "guy" and was curious if any of you had done benches out of any of these before.

Hickory

Ash

American Elm

If you could choose from any of these three, what would you choose?

Rough Lumber transportation

Thu, 06 Feb 2025 14:21:44 +0000

Will a little moisture on the outside of kiln dried lumber cause any problems? will it just affect the outer surface? Will it jusr dry back and accumulate to the shop conditions?

I was going to go pick up my next order of rough lumber from the yard, but there is a chance of light drizzle the next few days. It would only be in the back of the truck for an hour or so before it was back inside and was not sure if that small amount of moisture will cause future issues or will just take a touch longer to reach equilibrium in the shop.

I could try and wrap a tarp around the end but not sure that was worth the effort and if it would do anything in the long run.

Red-headed ash borer: Do I need to be worried?

Fri, 16 Sep 2016 12:58:11 +0000

Hi, folks. Over the last six months or so I've been collecting free logs (for turning bowls), sealing them, and storing them as halved bowl blanks on a lumber rack in the corner of my garage shop. Wood species include maple, oak and ash. This week I have seen three separate bugs--all appearing to be of the same species--walking around my wood rack. After doing a search online, I identified this bug as the "red-headed ash borer." My questions are: Have any of you encountered this bug before? Do you know if I should be worried about this bug being in my garage? How would you recommend I address this--given that I have 25-30 bowl blanks drying in my garage?

From what I have read online these bugs are not poisonous or a threat to humans. They do not bite or sting. They are only interested in hardwoods, not soft woods. And they are not interested in treated or processed wood products. Still, I can't help but be worried. Please let me know what you think.

Claro walnut

Sun, 29 Dec 2024 10:18:10 +0000

Hello Woodworkers,

Happy Holidays to you all.

We have just finished unloading the kiln of 8,000 board feet of walnut. Mostly 8/4 (milled at 2 5/16”) and 6/4 (milled at 1 3/4”). There is around 1,500 board feet of 4/4 (milled at 1 1/4”). We have moved most of the material into the storage rooms. The storage rooms are quite full. There is now around 30,000 board feet available. Most material is kept in sequential sets. If you are interested in coming to the shop to see our inventory, or you wish to order some wood, please let me know.

Additionally, we removed a very large walnut tree in November. The tree was over 90” in diameter. We removed over 150,000 pounds of logs. If any of you would like to have an entire log, or a specific amount of material milled to your specifications, we are willing to mill it. All orders will receive a discount. We have logs from 18” to 30” in diameter, and up to 12’ long, at the shop. We will, hopefully, be milling all of the material at the shop within the next 3 months. The larger logs (those over 30” diameter) are being milled into 2 3/8” slabs. When all the big logs are milled, we will have around 80 slabs from 24” to 40+” wide, and from 8’ to 15’ long. If you would like to pre-purchase a slab, please give me a call. All pre-purchased material will be priced at a substantial discount. Pre-purchased boards can be stacked with the material at the shop or shipped to you directly. As we stack the boards, we will be taking a photo of each board.

If you would like to speak with me concerning the boards we have for sale or about the logs we will be milling at the shop, my number is 530 574 7867.

Robert

Should you wish to be removed from this list, just let me know.

I did a copy and paste on the above. It is an email to me and probably a mailing list of his customers. I have bought figured walnut more than once and was very impressed. Maybe someone has an interest. Curly Oak

“Waterfall”

Tue, 10 Dec 2024 18:50:03 +0000

What is “waterfall” Bubinga? I got an ad that is offering chisels with “waterfall Bubinga” handles. It seems like a marketing gimmick, as I see nothing unusual. Is it not a wood type, but a handle shape?

A good day...

Sun, 27 Oct 2024 21:52:02 +0000

I let my shed fall into a disaster of a mess over the summer and today i decided enough was enough. Time to clean it out.

I found about 12 board feet of very curly maple, along with some other species, a bunch of usable shorts, and two sticks of 5/4 walnut, about 8" x 8' that i bought from some guy at a tool swap. I now realize it wasn't dried properly because they both look like wet spaghetti. Lol.

Still a pleasant surprise though.

For once, my messiness paid off!!

Mahogany, or.....?

Sat, 19 Oct 2024 15:47:55 +0000

Went to start a project this AM and pulled what I thought was (African) Mahogany off the rack.

After a few passes over the jointer, I'm not so sure.

Anyone care to take a shot at ID?

I know it's difficult to do from pictures.

The bottom board (M) came from Rockler, sold as Af. Mahogany. So I'm pretty sure that's what it is.

The top piece (?) is my mystery wood. If memory serves, i got this at an estate sale and the decedent had it labeled as Mahogany. The color is close, but not the same and the pores are much larger.

The carpenter

Thu, 05 Sep 2024 00:21:50 +0000

Hello guys, i wanted to ask how do you upholster a plywood seat back that should be fixed with screws after upholstery?? I looked all over the internet and still I couldn’t find a way through while i can see many samples of the final result but I couldn’t figure out how to do it

any help would be much appreciated

Milling mail order lumber

Mon, 19 Aug 2024 15:27:14 +0000

All the hardwood dealers "near" me are more than an hour away, and I don't have a truck. I can carry stuff on my Outback roof rack but that's a pain, and I'm limited to about 6' inside if I put down the seats.

So, I'm considering going with mail order lumber for my next projects. All of the suppliers seem to sell S2S. I get that they don't want to pay shipping on wood that I'm just going to plane off, but I don't see myself trusting that the wood will be square and true after being shipped from a different climate.

Should I order oversize and re-mill when I get it? Or assume that it will be very close and I'll only have to take off a 32nd to true it up? Anyone have a mail order hardwood dealer they recommend?

Acacia wood outdoor furniture

Fri, 21 May 2021 14:43:17 +0000

I would like to seal and protect my new outdoor acacia wood table set from sun and rain. Do I use boiled linseed oil and mineral spirits? Or what is the best to use on brand new furniture?

Today's ground contact treated

Thu, 25 Jul 2024 00:12:37 +0000

I built this fence in 2004. The gate post, not in the picture, was set in concrete and I don't think it lasted but four or five years. The line posts in this pasture dividing fence were just stuck in the ground. So 20 years is the life limit here for the new ground contact treated posts.

The perimeter four board fence you see in the background was built in 1980. I have replaced a few fence boards because I didn't catch the juvenile wood in them when I built that fence, but the posts and the majority of the original fence boards are all still hard as a rock. I wish I could still get that type.

You can see the leaning posts have rotted down in the ground. We don't really need to divide the pastures now with only two horses, so I may just take this down and reuse the rail boards.