Alder?

[zootroy]

I was at the lumberyard picking up some wood for platform bed slats. They had frame grade alder that didn't look bad. I probably should have used doug fir but this stuff was dirt cheap. Anyway, got it home and planed it to get rid of the rough stuff. I was amazed that most of the boards had some very interesting figure. Almost resembled a highly figured hard maple. Question is, does anyone use alder for fine furniture and if not, why not?

[Tree Farmer]

Alder's been used in used in furniture making for some time, although I'm not sure I've ever seen a piece that I'd call "highly figured". I do know that A LOT of guitar manufacturers use alder for their solid bodies. Instrument manufacturer Carvin (www.carvin.com) uses alder as its standard body wood and offers translucent finishes over the alder. After seeing literally hundreds of unfinished alder guitar bodies and blanks over the years, I can recall only a few that fit the category of "figured". Almost all were clean and plain. Perhaps you got lucky!

[JR]

I have an alder desk with matching hutch and bookcase, bought as unfinished furniture. Its ok. I wouldn't call it figured, either, but there's nothing wrong with it. It's a little soft and open-grained as opposed to maple.

The solid hardwood parts on my furniture tend to have a bit of raised grain on a few of the pieces, but the plywood finished up very smooth. I didn't have any trouble staining it, no blotching of unevenness, but I did use a very light stain.

YMMV

JR

[Tom Slick]

I have bedroom furniture made of alder. it looks nice, but is not figured. We also make some guitar bodies out of it.
it is fairly light and soft. it may also absorb stain unevenly. I used wood conditioner before staining and it came out great.

[Pappy]

I have a piece stashed away that is pocked (think of a birdseye). Saving it for a picture frame I have to do.

[zootroy]

It had some great figure, but it was also a bit knotty. Next time I go, I'll see if I can find some clean that has the same look.

[atgcpaul]

I was at the lumberyard picking up some wood for platform bed slats. They had frame grade alder that didn't look bad. I probably should have used doug fir but this stuff was dirt cheap. Anyway, got it home and planed it to get rid of the rough stuff. I was amazed that most of the boards had some very interesting figure. Almost resembled a highly figured hard maple. Question is, does anyone use alder for fine furniture and if not, why not?

I used alder for a screen door and for nightstands. It was nice to work,
burns easily, and if stained a little darker can be made to look like cherry.
However, it is on the soft side and is definitely softer than cherry. It's been
a few years since I worked with it, but I'd put it equal to poplar in hardness
which isn't that hard if you're comparing that to other furniture woods like
cherry, maple, and walnut.

Personally, I prefer working with cherry, maple, and walnut over alder because
of their increased hardness and I like their grain and color better without
having to fake it with a stain or dye.

Paul

[RayintheUK]

Alder isn't very common over here, but I've got access to as much of it as I want. The figure (when there is any) is extremely variable - sometimes loads, sometimes looking exactly like sapwood (but isn't).

It's very easy to turn, BTW, but the end grain is a pain as the wood is so soft. No reason to use it over any other softwood, really, unless you get it for free!

Ray.

[bigsteel15]

Red Alder makes very nice smoked salmon.

[Brian G]

Hmmm. . .. . I could have sworn I posted a response to this last night.

I made the following table out of alder for my MIL. I liked working with it, but it does dent easily.