HELP with wood choice and future?

[Marlin]

Hi,

I am trying to see if anybody has any experience with a lot of woods that can help. I am going to make a bedroom set (platform bed) and am trying to see what wood would work best. I need something that has little grain, strong enough for a bed, and takes dark (ala Black) stain very well. Not looking to break the bank either.
basswood seemed like it be ok but have heard that it is kinda soft and might not take to well to bumping or dings?

Also where do most get their wood? I don;t mind buying 500bf (or maybe even 1000) if the price and quality are right.
I am in NC and have found some larger dealers like internetlumber.com but not sure if their price for 1000bf is good or average at best for dry rough cut lumber.


Thanks

[linear]

First thing that would come to my mind is ash if you don't need any plywood. In my area, ash is the best balance of low cost and strength, with oak close behind. Oak would probaly win if you need to be able to buy plywood for your project.

Both ash and oak have an open pore that looks pretty good to me when you dye it black--it looks like wood rather than black plastic because of that prominent grain.

[onedash]

I love lyptus for just about anything. Its about $5 BF here vs ~ $4 bf for red oak at the local woodcraft. if I bought 100 BF I would get 10% off. But if you are buying that much you could probably get it from weyerhaeuser and get it a lot cheaper. http://www.weyerhaeuser.com/ourbusin...oducts/lyptus/
I started to build a desk out of oak instead of lyptus because my wife insisted. I regreted it because I could not get a nice finish on it. My bedroom set is oak but I couldn't come close to the quality of finish on it.
I don't plan on using oak ever again. And even though its softer than lyptus it was much harder to cut because of internal stresses. Lyptus is practically defect free and some of the boards have some very nice almost 3d reflective like grain. It doesnt show up well in photos though.

[drumpriest]

I would probably pick hard maple. Closed grain, works well, very strong, and you can dye it with Analine dye to look like ebony.

Where to get your wood is a local question. I know of a hometown mill a couple of hours out of the Pittsburgh area and get a lot there. I also have been getting lumber at the Rockler here, they have some good prices on certain domestics. Rockler's lumber pricing is inconsistent from store to store, as they get the lumber from different places. You can get S3S red oak for 3$ bf there or less in large quantity. It depends upon what you are looking for.

[crokett]

Marlin,

I'd go with Oak or Ash for the bed. Where are you in NC? These guys are pretty good.

www.hardwoodstore.com

[Marlin]

I am in Cary NC. Close to Raleigh for the non-NC people.

Yea I have seen them and the www.internetlumber.com people. I have been to 1 local place but their prices are WAY high.

Also this place seems to have even a larger amount. http://www.hardwoodweb.com/


Don't mind getting 500+bf if it is good and cheap. so that is why i was looking at the wholesaler.

Thanks

[LCHIEN]

500 or 1000 bf is a lot of wood for a beginner!
you're talking $2000-4000 depending on species.

not to mention do you have a lot of space? 1000 bd ft will
take 83 cu feet which is roughly a pile 4 ft high x 3.5 foot wide of 6-foot boards and will weigh ~3300 lbs.
Don't you want to try some other kinds of wood?

[Marlin]

^


I can get 1000bf of Ash for $1500. I have a garage I plan on storing it in while I cut it up.

I have enough exp. so I am not to worried about that. I have mostly worked with plywood, pine, etc... the stuff you get from left over work sites and your lowes and homedepots.

[Ken Massingale]

There are several sawmill owners at http://www.ncwoodworker.net/index.php who are near you.
k

[Jeffrey Schronce]

^


I can get 1000bf of Ash for $1500. I have a garage I plan on storing it in while I cut it up.

I have enough exp. so I am not to worried about that. I have mostly worked with plywood, pine, etc... the stuff you get from left over work sites and your lowes and homedepots.

I think that is the way to go. Ash is quite hard. As mentioned it does have some open pore issues. If you absolutely want to get rid of those you can fill the pores prior to dying the project. You can dye the pore filler as well. Personally, I wouldn't fill the pores if you are ebonzing the wood. As noted the open pores give the project a wood look versus a plastic look. Filling the pores or using a wood like hard maple will result in a "fake" look IMHO.
$1500 for 1000 bf of Ash is a great price. At that price you can use it for basically any project. I picked up a lot of Ash here in PA and love working with the stuff. I paid $1.50 per bf as well, though my stock had been kiln dried and then stored outside so I had to get the MC back down.
I use Transfast Water Soluble Dye - Black. You can get it in larger sizes from Jeff Jewitt at:
http://www.homesteadfinishing.com/ht...nsFastdyes.htm
I use 2-3 "wet" coats of dye for getting a solid black color on oak and ash. Its real easy to use. I use 1 oz per 1.35 quarts of hot water and get excellent results. Remember that the dye will not be as dark as desired until you put a final finish (in this case likely poly) on the project.

[cabinetman]

I'll offer a suggestion that might cut your lumber cost some. Both red oak and ash is usually available in 3/4" plywood at many lumber yards. If you plan your project and make a materials and cut list, figure out what sizes of actual lumber you will need that will be exposed.

What I'm suggesting is to take the board sizes and use plywood for the most part and edge it with solid lumber. You can put on as wide a piece on the edge for a profile if you choose. As long as it's going to be black, the add on piece can be almost grain matched where you would not be able to see that the board is plywood. This would also reduce some movement issues about the use of solid lumber.

As for making it black, you can try the aniline dye in the methanol base, called lampblack/ or jetblack, or an oil soluable dye stain (black), which dissolves in MS, naptha, lacquer thinner, or gum turpentine. Neither the methanol based dye or oil soluable will raise the grain.



A THING OF BEAUTY IS A JOY FOREVER - John Keats

[Marlin]

I am going to get some Ash tomorrow. Looks like Woodcraft has some small peices I can get to let my wife see and also test stain.


I have used Minwx and Olympic. The Olympic seemed to work better then the Minwax. Mind you that was Minwax Red Mag. vs Olympics Black.

I also have some semi-gloss Minwax polyU. Is that good for a bedroom set of what would be the better?


Thanks

[Jeffrey Schronce]

Minwax poly will be fine. I recommend dye versus pigment stain. Water based dyes are supposedly more light fast and less likely to fade.