Picture Frames - Wood from Southwest US

[mb007]

I'm starting to plan my first real woodworking project - some picture frames to give as gifts. I want to use wood(s) native to the Southwest, but I'm unsure what to use, or where to get it from. Does anyone have any suggestions about what I could use, or a good supplier to contact? Rough-sawn boards are fine. I've had a few tools in the garage for almost a year now, and the itch to use them is getting to be unbearable

Thanks!
-Matt

[LCHIEN]

mesquite has a lot of southwestern character

[pelligrini]

Yep, that was my thoughts too. It is a pretty hard wood though.

There might be some places that would do mail order. Another source might be some places that specialize in barbecue supplies. It is a popular wood used for grilling too.

[Bill in Buena Park]

Does California Redwood qualify as Southwestern? I recently saw some rustic, distressed redwood frames that had some charm, made me think "hey, now I know what to do with my scrap redwood".

Manzanita might make an interesting frame as well, but may take some creativity to process and artistically arrange.

[Uncle Cracker]

Desert Ironwood comes to mind, if a darker color with irregular pattern fits the bill. It's tough on tools, though, so getting it milled by a pro might be in order. The finished product looks like chocolate, with shimmering gold veins throughout. Incredible.

[mb007]

I had originally thought about Mesquite (and found a few online suppliers who will let me do mail-order), but I didn't think about looking through a barbeque supplier.

The ironwood is awfully tempting as well, that sounds like it would look great in a picture frame.


Thanks for the input!