Bass wood

[Jes Pidlin]

Anybody have any experience with using basswood for furniture. I'm looking for an enexpensive wood that takes stain well. I've heard that some cabinet shops use it.

Any comments.

[pelligrini]

Take a look at Sarge's "Diary of a Chest thread" I believe it is out of basswood. I've only used it for architectural models and in a few dart cases. It's pretty soft.

[Stytooner]

We used to use bass wood for all our stained standard cabinets and used birch plywood end caps. It is a fairly soft hard wood. Pretty bland as well and really looks a lot like birch, but softer.
We sanded to 220 grit, stained, used sanding sealer and then sprayed a couple coats of lacquer. These were out every day run of the mill cabinets. Nothing special, but always looked nice and uniform in color.

[LCHIEN]

http://www.thewoodbox.com/data/wood/basswoodinfo.htm

seems like its greatest use is for carving. Pretty low density at 26 lbs/cu ft.
Walnut is 36 lbs/cu ft and hard maple can go 45 lbs/cu ft.

[dlminehart]

Another top use for bass is for slats in venetian blinds. It is very resistant to warping and is also relatively light.

[Tom Slick]

It's used to make electric guitars if they want to make a model lighter. I don't know about its tone qualities though.

[LarryG]

It's used to make electric guitars if they want to make a model lighter. I don't know about its tone qualities though.

Not quite as bright as ash or alder, but not bad. I have two Japanese Telecasters that both use basswood for the bodies. They're both slightly more subdued than an alder-bodied Tele (which, when using the bridge pickup alone, is not entirely a bad thing).

[SARGE..g-47]

I just used basswood for the first time for drawer sides on a chest on chest, Jes. It works fine as it is very clear. I usually use poplar but my local supplier has gotten the last several batches from Kentucky and most of it has the brownish-purple hues and not really clear.

I did have to take some extra pre-caution hand sawing dove-tails as it is "very soft" and tear-out can become an issue if you don't do preventive measures in advance. It is also very light... very light. Frankly I would not use it personally for exterior surfaces on furniture as it dents very easily. In my home enviroment.. hard-wood is the norm as furniture is subjected to young children from time to time (mine are raised but we have off-spring) and that means it becomes a serious contender for a launching pad.. jumping board.. accidental collisions from usage of high octane sugar and is subject to spills.

But you are correct about the price being right and it is easy to work with if you are cautious when jointing. If the piece you are building is not in a traffic pattern subjected to possible abuse.. I think it would be fine to attempt it. But... under the circumstances I mentioned above... no way Jose.

I really have not found any soft-wood personally that stains evenly without prepping the surface and using gel stain. But.. on the other hand I have pretty much always used hard-wood for 37 years and have not experienced them all. I would also look at alder in your case if it is available reasonbly in your area.

Just my personal opinion and good luck...

[poolhound]

I agree with Sarge. I have used it for hidden parts but never for any surface or structural elements.

For inexpensive easily worked wood I have always used poplar. As has previously been stated you need to choose your stock carefully for appearance and use a good sealer to get even staining.

With good surface prep I have found poplar works out well. Do be careful about "glue stains and spots" thats always been the thing that has killed me. Even when I have been very careful and think I have checked and sanded everything something will show up once I put on the first coat of stain. Unless its in a hidden area the only way (I have found) to deal with it is to get rid of it by sanding it off. No amount of extra stain will hide it.

[drillman88]

I have never used basswood but did some research when I was building plantation shutters about a year ago.The fact that sticks in my mind the most was that several people wrote about the strong smell of the wood.May not be an issue but I thought I would post.