Replies

1. 
   JohnH | Feb 07, 2006 01:10am | #1

   I have experience using basswood for drawers and in model ship building (where it is a preferred wood). As you say, its main deficiency is that it is soft and easily dented. With a clear finish, the grain is almost invisible. In fact, I have added grain by dissolving burnt umber artist color (oil-based) in varnish. When brushed on, the color forms long filaments that represent fine-structured, straight grain patterns. Any other oil color will work, too.

   IMHO for paint grade work, I prefer poplar as it resists splitting, too.

2. 
   highfigh | Feb 07, 2006 02:35am | #2

   Basswood was used extensively for drafting boards but now that CAD has pretty much taken over, there's less use for it, other than carving, etc.

   "I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
3. 
   AlanWS | Feb 16, 2006 05:26pm | #3

   It's quite lightweight, and therefore appropriate for woodstrip canoes.

1. 
   JohnWW | Feb 16, 2006 10:43pm | #4

   Basswood is notorious for rotting very quickly if it gets wet, as anyone who has ever tried to use it for exterior trim on a house learned to their dismay. 

   Since no finish for a boat can ever be 100% waterproof forever, basswood probably isn't a good choice for canoe building.

   Another possibility is that the wood in question is in fact poplar which occcasionally is mistaken for and sold as basswood.  Poplar also rots very quickly when exposed to dampness.

   John W.

   Edited 2/16/2006 2:57 pm ET by JohnWW

1. 
   K1500 | Feb 17, 2006 09:33pm | #5

   Thanks for all the responses.  It is almost too cheap to pass up ($0.30/BF) but I may only buy around 500 BF.  I typically don't do much painted work, so I am not sure what I would use it for, but $150 for 500 BF of lumber isn't bad.  I do have virtually unlimited, out of the way weathered in storage space.  On the other hand, If I don't have a use, why spend the money on it, no matter how cheap.  Oh well, decisions decisions...

   Keep the uses for basswood coming if you have any.  Thanks.

2. 
   AlanWS | Feb 18, 2006 08:17pm | #7

   John:You are likely right about basswood for wooden boat construction in general, but I don't think it is as much of a problem for these canoes.The woodstrip canoe approach seals the hull between layers of fiberglass/epoxy, much more continuous and protective than any ordinary finish. Cedar is considered more desirable, being both lightweight and decay resistant, but basswood and many other types of wood have been used with success. It is actually a composite construction, but building methods and appearance are wood. Trim should be of more water resistant wood, but if water gets to the hull, you have a significant repair on your hands in any case. Those uninterested in appearance have used balsa with success; in glass sandwich hulls it's actually strongest with grain oriented perpendicular to the surface to best complement the strength of the glass.When you consider weight, looks, and workability, western red and eastern white cedars are almost universal first choices. But basswood is among the close second rank of choices, and heavier but beautiful and functional canoes are made of almost any wood. That low density wood is so prized for these canoes is a lot easier to understand just after a long portage.

   Edited 2/19/2006 3:35 pm by AlanWS

4. 
   user-66500 | Feb 18, 2006 04:38am | #6

   hi, I'm about to use some in a chester draw piece and was told by a relyable wood worker tha he prefered it over whiye pine and I notice that all his creations are stained in dark mahogany stain and polyurathaned.