Early Access Video: Choose the Best Wood
Added 2019-07-13 20:46:17 +0000 UTCFriends:
This one took a lot longer than I was expecting, but I give you my (sort of) brief guide to choosing wood for furniture and DIY projects.
As always, I want to hear what YOU think!
Happy Saturday!
--Rex
Comments
That was a great explanation of a complicated subject. I’m going to have stop by a local cabinet maker to inquire what woods are plentiful near me. That is a beautiful bench you made, would you consider making it a project in one of your videos. Stay Safe... Gigs
Marc Gigliello
2020-02-26 04:50:15 +0000 UTCHope I get to see the finished product!
Rex Krueger
2019-09-17 14:47:52 +0000 UTCI got walnut, cherry, ambrosia and some other hard woods. Can’t wait to use them!
Adrian Abshire
2019-09-15 13:02:06 +0000 UTCA man after my own heart!
Rex Krueger
2019-07-18 23:58:58 +0000 UTCMy classification is simpler: I Can't Afford That! and That Will Sorta Work. :)
Jim Williams
2019-07-18 20:39:17 +0000 UTCGood question! Most North American hardwoods are food safe, but MANY exotics are dangerous. One big consideration is that the pores on ring-porous woods can trap food particles, which is not sanitary. This is why you generally don't see oak cutting boards.
Rex Krueger
2019-07-17 11:35:32 +0000 UTCI'm really glad you found it helpful! Get you some walnut or cherry, your life will never be the same.
Rex Krueger
2019-07-17 11:32:53 +0000 UTCI will pick some up tomorrow, great idea.
William Allen
2019-07-17 04:31:39 +0000 UTCHide glue doesn't swell the wood, and it lubricates the joint as well. May be a better choice for that kind of joint?
Matthew Leigh
2019-07-17 04:15:52 +0000 UTCRex, I like your personal way of dividing the wood types. I’ve worked with soft wood and springy but not the other groups. This video has certainly given me an idea of some other woods to work with. Keep up the great work!
David
2019-07-17 00:38:59 +0000 UTCRex, Thank you. I got a lot out of this video. The bowl in which you used Purple Heart did raise one question. If you are making pieces for food related use (salad bowl, cutting board, spoons, etc.) are there woods you favor and/or woods you avoid?
Mark L
2019-07-16 20:58:59 +0000 UTCAh, too tight, plus glue swelling. That’s probably it. And ya, I’ll Reggie after a tiny trim, thanks kindly
William Allen
2019-07-16 11:44:47 +0000 UTCMy experience with cedar (non-aromatic), is that it can be quite brittle. It splits incredibly easily. I would venture to guess your tails might have been just slightly too tight on your pins, or glue swelling the joint may have added just enough pressure to cause a split. The good news is it glues up beautifully!
Nic Beurskens
2019-07-16 09:31:51 +0000 UTCMy experience with dovetails is really limited. It's something I need to study.
Rex Krueger
2019-07-15 21:11:32 +0000 UTCNice guitar eh. That was really useful. Learned a lot. Have you tried dovetails in cedar? Annoyingly the tails split out on me. After assembly, when I was sitting on the bench thinking “man this is actually really comfortable”. Is that just cedar? Or did I cut the tails wrong for the grain?
William Allen
2019-07-15 16:10:33 +0000 UTCI was trying to make that joke in the video, but I just couldn't work it out.
Rex Krueger
2019-07-15 10:29:35 +0000 UTCMy pleasure!
Rex Krueger
2019-07-15 10:28:50 +0000 UTCFunny that you should mention that. I used to live in the Central Valley of California, where they used to grow some olives. I was always looking for olive to turn, but never got my hands on a piece. If you're really offering, then YES! I'm dying to try it.
Rex Krueger
2019-07-15 10:25:00 +0000 UTChave you ever used olive wood? here we have a lot but in small pieces, i know it's hard to find and it costs a lot. i can send you some to test it and tell your opinion if you want, it smells very nice and have very nice textures contact me if you want :)
Kostas Karanatsis
2019-07-15 09:44:04 +0000 UTC"The Wood Knight" has a couple of videos on various woods Jason. It doesn't help that it differs wildly from state to state either - here in Western Australia I have quite a different selection to what he has in Melbourne, so even though he's a local Aussie, it's still of limited relevance
Matthew Leigh
2019-07-15 09:06:55 +0000 UTCI'm in Australia, and I dont think I've specifically used Corymbia citriodora before - I think that is "blue spotted gum".... But basically everything else I have available is some sort of Eucalypt... Rex did a fantastic job working through HIS selection of woods... and I learned a lot. But I would LOVE a local Aussie expert to do the same video on local Australian woods.... Our "big box store" basically has pine. Eucalypts (usually of mixed varieties), and Merbau - a darker cheap imported tropical hardwood mainly used for decking. Our Eucalypts are marketed and sold under other names that are very misleading to the uninitiated.... eg: "Victorian Ash" is not ash - is actually two different varieties of Eucalypt. "Tasmanian Oak" is not Oak - actually three varieties of Eucalypt - the same two varieties of Eucalypt as victorian ash, plus an extra one. It does not help the novice like me trying to work it out :)
Jason Brooks
2019-07-15 07:05:41 +0000 UTCGreat video Rex. Thanks so much.
Duncan
2019-07-15 03:51:23 +0000 UTCActually it is popular especially if you are going to paint the finished piece,, as well as for areas that will not be seen much like drawer cases and internal framing for chest of drawers and the like! It is used at least here in the US a lot as it is reasonably stable and works well with all tools. Due to its color and lack of character in the grain department it is not usually used as a show species, but it smooths great and takes paint very well!
Michale Tatalovich
2019-07-15 03:02:03 +0000 UTCIt's funny that polar is not very pop(u)lar
Benoit Holliger
2019-07-14 20:43:48 +0000 UTCI find it very interesting! We don't have anything like that in the central US.
Rex Krueger
2019-07-14 20:22:34 +0000 UTCSure! My mistake. I am referring to Corymbia citriodora. It is the species of Eucalypt that grows here. I imagine that in Australia there is hundreds of species, but here we have very few and the vast majority of trees (over 90%) are citriodora.
Eduardo
2019-07-14 15:08:15 +0000 UTCEucalypt is a really big family of trees, do you know what species or specific name is the one you use commonly?
Matthew Leigh
2019-07-14 12:55:06 +0000 UTCI was going to buy a low angle jack but they were out of stock so I went with the regular jack plane instead
Matthew Leigh
2019-07-14 12:54:24 +0000 UTCRex, I recommend you to read something about Eucalipt. It is an Australian wood we use a lot here in Brazil. The trees grow here as well as they do in Australia. When the tree is mature for harvesting, it will have a very dense red core surrounded by a softer, but still hard, outher layer and a very soft white layer nead to the bark. If you lumber it accordingly, you get all kinds of wood you need from a single tree. It is used most for construction, but one can find forniture made of it some now and then. I made a small table for my wife with the soft eucalipt and it is working fine! I am not sugesting you to use it or making something to please your Brazilian and Australian viewer. I just thougth you would find it interesting.
Eduardo
2019-07-14 11:42:19 +0000 UTCI think that's a situation where the low-angle smoother and jack come out. I don't own these planes, but I think they're perfect for these specialized tasks.
Rex Krueger
2019-07-14 11:16:19 +0000 UTCBeech grows here, but you don't see it in the lumber yard too often. It's a shame because planes are made from it and it is easy to work.
Rex Krueger
2019-07-14 11:15:11 +0000 UTCI'm really glad! I was afraid it got too long.
Rex Krueger
2019-07-14 11:07:43 +0000 UTCThanks Rex, this was really helpful.
Drew Nelson
2019-07-14 05:36:32 +0000 UTCOhhh, this is great information, thank you for doing this video! I also absolutely agree with you on using locally available wood whenever possible. I'm in Germany and we don't have a lot of American red and white oak here, but I guess the European oak is a good equivalent to white oak in terms of hardness and ease of use. Also beech wood is basically ubiquitous here, which I would also put it into the easy-to-use-hardwoods category.
Daniel Bohrer
2019-07-13 23:34:52 +0000 UTCI'm making an end grain cutting board at the moment with jarrah as the dark wood. So. Much. Sanding. I had a go at planing it to get rid of a glue misalignment and my plane is curled up in the corner rocking back and forth muttering to itself.
Matthew Leigh
2019-07-13 21:27:39 +0000 UTCNever once. I hear it's crazy!
Rex Krueger
2019-07-13 21:18:21 +0000 UTCHave you ever used jarrah?
Matthew Leigh
2019-07-13 21:09:12 +0000 UTC
