What is your favorite wood to build with?

[Ralph Sarc]

With so many woods available to build projects with it’s difficult to choose. Pine is cheap but very soft, oak is wonderful but expensive! I enjoy working with MDF as it assembles well and really takes paint well also.

What is your favorite wood to build with?

[ray vile]

I like working with maple and walnut. I use oak when someone asks for it, and or when i think it will look better, I have some cherry but havn't used any yet, I would like to try some exotics but for the cost of them and as many mistakes I make I'll wait a little longer before using them.

[Jim Bontrager]

Definitely oak, it is easy to work with and finishes great.  I have also worked w/ cherry although softer it finishes very good also.  MDF IS NOT WOOD!

[Geoff Simpson]

I do a LOT of work with plywood.  3/4" maple available at the big orange box is more expensive than pine and less expensive than birch (out here anyways) but it's my product of choice.  I don't do a lot with "real" wood, like cherry or mahogany or oak as my projects don't generally require it and it's difficult and expensive to get up here in the great white north.  Apart from that, this is Pine country and i could rebuild the golden gate bridge with the scraps i have laying around in my garage.

[David Dean]

Oak it stands the test of time

[gdatomic]

I'll put in a vote for Bamboo Plywood. It's expensive. But has the best neutral grain, calm look and a highly interesting edge which you can leave revealed (as opposed to other plywood).

 

Maybe best of all, the veneer on either side is about 1/8 inch thick. So it's durable and you have many fewer worries about damaging the veneer.

 

Very stable wood that finishes well (although I've done minimal stain work - I like the subtle yellow/orange of the natural).

[Ralph Sarc]

I'll have to look into Bamboo Plywood. Where do you find it at?
gdatomic said:

I'll put in a vote for Bamboo Plywood. It's expensive. But has the best neutral grain, calm look and a highly interesting edge which you can leave revealed (as opposed to other plywood).

 

Maybe best of all, the veneer on either side is about 1/8 inch thick. So it's durable and you have many fewer worries about damaging the veneer.

 

Very stable wood that finishes well (although I've done minimal stain work - I like the subtle yellow/orange of the natural).

[John Brideweser]

I have a lot of soft maple. I think I will try walnut next purchase, maybe mahogany. I bought a planer so I go to a wood supplier and get it cheaper than what big box store would sell it for, I just have to plane it down.

[Ralph Sarc]

I looked today via the net and local phone book and found several wood suppliers near me so I’m going to visit them this weekend to assess prices. I also enjoy shopping at my local Habitat Store for really good deals. They are hit or miss but I’ve found them pretty reliable. I also need to shop for a planner. What type do you have?

John Brideweser said:

I have a lot of soft maple. I think I will try walnut next purchase, maybe mahogany. I bought a planer so I go to a wood supplier and get it cheaper than what big box store would sell it for, I just have to plane it down.

[John Brideweser]

I bought a Dewalt DW 734, it was about the last woodworking tool I needed and I am very pleased with it and the price. I hope you have good luck at the wood supply store. The prices I get are comparable to the prices at Steve Wall Lumber Co http://www.walllumber.com/default.asp I pay local tax but I don't have to pay shipping. The place I go is 20 miles away but it is well worth it. Let me know if the places you check are any good. I live in the desert in West Texas so lumber stores aren't real easy to come by here and I am wery happy we have the one we have.

Ralph Sarc said:

I looked today via the net and local phone book and found several wood suppliers near me so I’m going to visit them this weekend to assess prices. I also enjoy shopping at my local Habitat Store for really good deals. They are hit or miss but I’ve found them pretty reliable. I also need to shop for a planner. What type do you have?

John Brideweser said:

I have a lot of soft maple. I think I will try walnut next purchase, maybe mahogany. I bought a planer so I go to a wood supplier and get it cheaper than what big box store would sell it for, I just have to plane it down.