This topic may have been discussed before, but I did a search and didn't find one like it. If it has perhaps someone can mention that and we go a different direction. 

We could go on and on discussing the merits of utilizing different woods for different applications from the suggested utilization of hickory for tool handles, sycamore / buttonwood for drawer sides, sugar white pine for window and sash work, cypress for outdoor furniture, and the list goes on, but for this post let's keep the discussion of favorite wood species as applied to 2 subjects and those 2 are furniture for the home and kitchen cabinetry. I know that just these 2 subjects could vary a tremendous amount according to the application and style of the home or kitchen and the style and type of furniture, but this might be interesting. Obviously suggested wood for furniture and cabinetry on ships or in the south with very high humidity may vary, but let's see what our group in general likes.

My question may be very difficult for you to answer as it is for me, but if you had to pick 3 of your favorite wood species to build furniture or cabinetry what would those 3 be?

If I had to pick 3 of my favorite wood species to work with for general kitchen cabinetry and furniture they would be as follows:

1. Pecan

2. White Oak

3. this is cheatin, but my 3rd choice would be just about any species that had an unusual and very pronounced figured grain pattern. 

 

Dan ~ headed back to the shed thinkin that this topic could go a lot of different directions, but we'll see. 

 

 

Good question Dan. Of course you know I love figured wood. I know it takes some special tools to deal with them, but I love flame birch the best. Followed by tiger maple and birdseye. Curly cherry is pretty, but flame birch has nice and stronger figure. Plus most of all, it smells so sweet when you are sawing or sanding, almost like a bowl of fruit. bob

What is your favorite turning wood Charles? I know you turn very well. bob

I like figured maple.

 

-Ace-

Dan........Living out here on the flat lands we are lucky to have access to hardwoods..........but I like working with any hardwood, domestic or imported.

I have worked forever with yellow birch and red oak and am tired of it. My favorites now would be cherry, rustic hickory and walnut. I've built bedroom sets out of cherry and walnut and built my kitchen cabinets with rustic hickory. Yup...........them be the three I like the best.

Wow, Dan that is a great question. Narrowing it down to three, Hummmmm!

 

1. Walnut - I love the deep color and grain of walnut. It works good and makes a beautiful piece of furniture. It also turns good.

 

2. Cherry - has so many different characters to it. I love the natural beauty of cherry, but I also love the way it darkens with age. It works very good and it also turns very nicely.

 

Now is when it really gets hard. I have to pick just one more for my third choice.

 

3. Maple - Maybe I can cheat a little here. I love all of the maples, curly, birdseye and tiger. Does that count since they are all maple? LOL  I even like to turn maple and especially the spalted maples.

 

Since I can only pick three for the purpose of the discussion, those are the ones I would choose. I also like to work with poplar, and cedar and then I really like some of the exotics, purpleheart, bloodwood, zebra wood, Leopard wood, Paduk. Shoot, I guess I just plain like all of it.

 

Air dried Black Walnut

Black Walnut

Red Oak

Larry

Maple, Quartersawn.

 

Chestnut

 

Kinda leaning towards IPE as a third wood.

i like birdseye maple and then cherry and walnut

For me #1 would have to be cherry.. any kind of cherry.  I love the texture and the smell.  #2 would have to be beech.  Beech is really hard to get and I had the pleasure of coming into about 200 BF of it.  It is hard enough to work with but it isn't as sensitive to burning as cherry.  #3 would be a tossup between white oak and maple.  The worst....purpleheart.  Got to be the ornriest wood I've ever worked with.  I made a mirror frame from purpleheart and it was so hard that I had to clean my planer rollers twice before I got it planed.  Its like working with slate.