Wood to compliment Sapele for a liquor cabinet?

[Eric.]

13 minutes ago, BonPacific said:

*Shrug*

Can only speak to what I've gotten locally. Air dried backyard walnut vs steamed and kiln dried hardwood dealer walnut. The dealer stuff is brown, and pretty, but didn't hold a candle to the backyard stuff.

I'm just making the point that about 99.9% of humans cannot tell the difference, and that includes me quite often and sorry to break it to ya...you too.  If it wasn't for internet fables the whole steamed vs. non-steamed thing would be a much less talked about issue, but it has reached infamy level like the exploding PVC dust collector.  I'm not saying there's NO difference between the two...but in reality it's totally blown out of proportion.  I bet if we did a blind taste test at least 9 out of 10 woodworkers would fail it.

13 minutes ago, gee-dub said:

Who's Ross?  i was trying to refer back to se his post but, found no Ross.  Actual name versus handle I guess?  I'm a fan of darker accents with sapele and cousins; walnut, ebony, ebonized wood of choice.  That is, as opposed to sapele and something light like maple.

Ross is wtnhighlander.

I'm also a fan of subtle contrast and complementary woods, but I think sapele and genuine mahogany are too close to use together.  They're not identical by any stretch...but they're too close.

5 minutes ago, bushwacked said:

please tell me those were steamed? that would make my day haha.

... or did yall become best friends on the spot?

Correct, they were steamed, and he had no clue...just like everyone else.

We get walnut from several different distributors, and some of it is steamed, and some of it is not.  If someone asks me directly if a board has been steamed (and I know the answer definitively), I'll tell them.  But when people just assume they know one way or the other, I usually just let them think what they want to think as long as they're happy.

[Janello]

I bring up the topic of Sapele and GM because I have a fair amount of both in my shop, and was looking at them next to one another last week wondering if it would work. My minds eye said no, and the consensus here confirms it's probably not an appealing contrast. That said, in the right project and right woodworkers hands almost anything can be made to look good.

 

Here's a piece I have been wanting to make a long time! Most would probably think it's ugly. I think it's genius, from a joinery and contrasting wood perspective.

 

 

 

[BonPacific]

1 hour ago, Eric. said:

I'm just making the point that about 99.9% of humans cannot tell the difference, and that includes me quite often and sorry to break it to ya...you too.  If it wasn't for internet fables the whole steamed vs. non-steamed thing would be a much less talked about issue, but it has reached infamy level like the exploding PVC dust collector.  I'm not saying there's NO difference between the two...but in reality it's totally blown out of proportion.  I bet if we did a blind taste test at least 9 out of 10 woodworkers would fail it.

As I said, I'm just working from my own experience here. Could be that my local dealers are stocking boring walnut, and the backyard stuff I've gotten is unusually nicely figured/colored. I called out steaming because that's the explanation I've heard from folks like Shannon. Not saying he's gospel, but that's as much of an explanation as I've ever heard for the color differences I've encountered. Probably like MP3 vs Ogg Vorbis. There is a difference, which some people can reliably detect, but most people don't care.

[Eric.]

As I said, I'm just working from my own experience here. Could be that my local dealers are stocking boring walnut, and the backyard stuff I've gotten is unusually nicely figured/colored. I called out steaming because that's the explanation I've heard from folks like Shannon. Not saying he's gospel, but that's as much of an explanation as I've ever heard for the color differences I've encountered. Probably like MP3 vs Ogg Vorbis. There is a difference, which some people can reliably detect, but most people don't care.

 

Mike makes a good point about the heartwood...mostly I find that people exaggerate the color change in heartwood. It's much more obvious in the sapwood. And since sapwood is trash in my shop, steaming becomes less of an issue. My main point is that most people have no idea what they're talking about and rarely know the difference even when they think they do.

 

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[wtnhighlander]

I bring up the topic of Sapele and GM because I have a fair amount of both in my shop, and was looking at them next to one another last week wondering if it would work. My minds eye said no, and the consensus here confirms it's probably not an appealing contrast. That said, in the right project and right woodworkers hands almost anything can be made to look good.

 

Here's a piece I have been wanting to make a long time! Most would probably think it's ugly. I think it's genius, from a joinery and contrasting wood perspective.

 

 

 

John, that's an interesting table. I like the physical design, and the contrast in the legs and pulls, too. Not sure about the top. From the ends, it appears to be a giant pin-striped cutting board.

[Janello]

15 hours ago, wtnhighlander said:

John, that's an interesting table. I like the physical design, and the contrast in the legs and pulls, too. Not sure about the top. From the ends, it appears to be a giant pin-striped cutting board.

I don't think the wenge on the end of the table runs all the way through the top. I'm pretty sure It's just box joints.