Wood - what's your favorite / least favorite

I think everyone has a favorite / least favorite wood - here's mine.

My Favorite is Red Oak - I like it's appearance - it finishes to a golden color without any tinting and I like it's open grain texture. For workability it's about as easy as it comes - machines like a dream. True green it smells a lot like puke, but not to bad...

My least favorite is Black Walnut - although in small amount is it tolerable. If I'm not careful and wear a good dust mask and shower immediately after sawing it. The stuff tears me up - I'm not right for days afterwords. It has that smell that just about makes me sick to my stomach. Drys my skin right out and sets me off into a far way land - I can't concentrate and my short term memory goes on a picnic for a few days. As far as workability it's not bad - but I try and stay away from it if at all possible.

[pcooper]

I'm like a lot of you all, I really don't have a love-hate relationship with any kind of wood. I've used cherry, red oak, white oak, birch, soft maple, cedar, poplar, pine, walnut, and a very little bit if cocobolo. I'd say the exotic stuff is harder to work with than anything else I've used. For the money you can't do much with it either, costs way too much to make anything very big. My other thought is it depends on what you're making and the wood used for the project, some stuff is not suited well to some types of things, so if your using wood for something it shouldn't be used with, it'll make you hate it.

I guess my all time favorite wood is the "FREE" stuff!!

[bluthart]

My favorite is Brazilian Cherry, because of its beautiful grains. It's also my nemesis because it is very hard to surface and the splinters are brutal. I really like white oak as well. BTW, what is in walnut that gives people a reaction? I have a bunch of it but haven't worked with it yet.

[Kenith]

My favorite has to be olive. I do a lot of pen turning and olive cuts like butter for me. Walnut has not bothered me yet, but the wood that does is cocobolo. It breaks my arms, neck, and hands out like poison ivy. A year ago I sanded some without wearing any lung protection and thought I had gotten pneumonia.


Ken

[5Etek-mike]

Although my current armoire restore/refinishing project is my first experience working with alder; it's quickly becoming my favorite. I also really like ERC, maple (fiddleback and birdseye), and cherry. Can't forget the smoker , where I prefer hickory and apple.

[PurpleThumb]

My favorite is Cherry with walnut close behind. The one I really hate is padauk-creates a fine dust that gets into everything ,clogs it as well as staining any cloth or filter components.

[McRabbet]

Several posters to this thread have raised the issue of reactions to some woods like Walnut and Cocobolo -- indeed, many woods can cause allergic reactions or skin sensitivities in many users. Here is a useful chart from our Link Library that outlines several known problem wood species. Because many of us don't know of our sensitivities until it is too late, I always recommend good dust control and proper personal protection gear (good face mask with replacable filters and eye protection) when working in your shop. With some species like Walnut, wearing nitrile gloves might be a good idea. It's not just about safety, it's also working healthy. I've personally known at least one woodworker who ignored the hazards of Black Walnut dust in his shop and it killed him (lung cancer).

My favorite woods -- domestic hardwoods: Cherry, White Oak and Black Walnut. Exotics: Bubinga and African Mahogany.

[Glennbear]

I agree with several others that the best wood is free wood but as far as a specific species I really like longleaf heart pine. Due to it's rarity in a virgin state most can be found as recycled wood which brings us back to the free part I have my wood rack stacked floor to ceiling with recycled pine I agree with NCscroller my least favorite is the BORG whitewood stuff.

[pcooper]

The reaction to cocobolo and walnut raised an interesting thing in my mind, I seem to react more to aromatic cedar than anything else. I know that there are things in walnut that can kill other plants if you use the shavings for ground cover, so I'd figure a reaction to it by humans not all that surprising. It sure raises the thought that we need to look at the woods and see how to best protect ourselves in the shop. Good filtration is sure very important. I recently made a cedar chest and while sanding found my mask wasn't sealing very well, I had a 'chest cold' for a week afterward, coughed up all kinds of junk, so the next time I do anything like that I'll be more careful.

[Tar Heel]

It's a toss up between cherry and walnut for my favorite. My least favorite is any kind of flat sawn oak...I don't like the bold cathedral grain. I can live with QS oak although it's still not high on my list. Another example of different strokes for different folks.

[WoodWrangler]

Favorites ... Cherry (works beautifully, love aged look), White Oak Quarter Sawn (neat look, easy to work), Maple (does a lot of things good)

In the middle ... Walnut (easy to work, smells good, but dents easy), Poplar (easy to work, but doesn't stain well), Hickory (strong, but hard on tools)

Dislikes ... Red/White Oak Flat Sawn (don't like appearance, dated)

[rbdoby]

My least favorite wood is white pine, too soft, too brittle and if cut the wrong time of year it will gum up everything.

Favorite woods are red or white oak, cherry and southern yellow pine (usually recycled timbers or found at small sawmills).

But let's not forget the free stuff. How can you beat that?

[Mike Davis]

My favorites are Maple and Walnut, together or separate they always look good.

Least favorite are any softwoods (except old growth heart pine), poplar, any chipped/reconstituted wood and anything with lacquer on it.

[Travis Porter]

Favorites
Mahogany - works, sands and finishes excellently
Cherry - burns while cutting, splinters and tears out bad, splotchy for colored finishes, but love the way it darkens
White oak - a staple. Love QS, and it sands and finishes excellently.

Least favorites
Maple - hard, burns, very splotchy. If I am not coloring it, it is ok, but I am sick of working with it on kitchen cabinets with a dark color.....
Eastern Red cedar - too many knots. I use it some on drawer sides and stuff for the smell more than anything.

Just ok
Purple heart - love the color, but hate the splinters. Always picking little splinters out.
Cypress - easy to work and machine, but it tears and chips out bad for me.
Red Oak - Use it a lot, but it is hard and tough to sand. Finishes well.
hickory - way hard and way tough. Only used it on a small project once.


I have never used walnut, alder, beech, sycamore, and a slew of other local woods for the reason I really haven't had a good opportunity to get my hands on it when I have had the space for more wood. I do have some 8/4 walnut that I plan to build a rocking chair out of, I just have to finish the maple kitchen cabinets first!

[Shamrock]

For me so far I like sapele-it smells incredible-my wife thinks I'm a little weird because whenever I walk by a new piece I've cut or surfaced I bend down and take a long whiff. Ambrosia to me!
I also like walnut (although I've only worked with a small amount so far)

I have not tried a wood I didn't like, although some quatersawn red oak tried to get on my bad side this weekend by breaking three screws and three drill bits.


clamps-clamps-why do I never have enough clamps

[TracyP]

Oops, in my earlier reply I forgot to list ash as a favorite wood. I used it to build a couple of tables and loved working with it. It is incredibly hard but works well and is easy on the tools.