Replies

1. 
   ring | Dec 05, 2005 08:31am | #1

   I'd have to say that there's no such thing as "usually used" to complement bubinga.  And as always, it's a matter of personal taste.  But I would suggest that you go to one extreme or the other - either a very dark, ebony-like wood; or the palest maple you can find.  Don't compete with the color and grain of the bubinga.

   DR

1. 
   CWilson | Dec 05, 2005 06:13pm | #2

   Thanks for the help.  Does the maple tend to expand and contract at about the same pace as the bubinga?  Thanks again for the advice.

1. 
   ring | Dec 05, 2005 10:05pm | #4

   I don't have any real expansion coefficients, but my "senses" tell me that they would be compatible.  Post us a photo of the project in the end.

   DR

2. 
   danmart | Dec 19, 2005 10:05pm | #13

   bubinga and maple: the maple will expand at almost twice the distance across a 12" board in the same setting. Maple and cherry(like most fruitwoods) can move and twist at surprising points. Leave some extra play and you won't regret it. Trying to compress maple(sugar) is a risky proposition. I know-- after a dissappointment. Good Luck DO

1. 
   CWilson | Dec 21, 2005 12:49am | #14

   Thaks for the reply.  What kind of spacing do you recommend?  Thanks again for the help.

    

    

2. 
   Thew | Dec 05, 2005 09:24pm | #3

   I agree with Ring - maple looks great with Bubinga. I recently made a table with bubinga and curly maple. A light finish, and the contract is quite nice.

   Thew

3. 
   Pondfish | Dec 06, 2005 12:19am | #5

   I made a coffee table using bubinga and yellowheart (pao amerello).  The grain and golden yellow color go nicely with the chocolate brown bubinga.

    

   Recommending the use of "Hide Signatures" option under "My Preferences" since 2005
1. 
   CWilson | Dec 06, 2005 05:35am | #6

   Thanks everone for the help.  I appreciate it greatly.

1. 
   mudman | Dec 08, 2005 12:35am | #7

   I usually use Cherry. Dosent contrast like maple, but compliments the natural tones nicely without stain. Dont worry about matching expansion rates. If you use sound joinery and account for the movement all will be fine.

   Mike

1. 
   CWilson | Dec 09, 2005 09:40pm | #8

   I appreciate the help.  I am really glad to hear this suggestion.  I have used cherry once before and really liked it, but wasn't sure how it would go with the bubinga.  How much of a gap should I allow for movements.  Would 1/8th be enough or not enough?

1. 
   mudman | Dec 15, 2005 07:55pm | #11

   Depends on the size of the panel. I have noticed a lot of movement in some of the bubinga I have used. For normal sized raised panel doors I follow the router bit manufacturers recomendations. For larger table tops there are web sited that will list the max movement for sepcies per foot across the grain for plain sawn and quarted sawn.

    With unstained Maple and Bubinga you get a more Euro look, your choice should be based on the archaetechure of the piece and the room it will go in. Clean scandinavian or japanese lines tend to look good with lots of contrast, whearas traditional contempory, or period work can look overly flashy or gaudy when the contarst competes with the desigd elements. Here is Cherry and Bubinga. I think that the tones compliment each other in a more traditional classy way, even though I'd describe the piece as being more comtemporary.

   Mike

   Edit: I forget to mention that the Cherry is stained darker on this piece. If it was left natural there would be more contrast. I have a cabinet with bubinga and natural cherry doors but cannot find the images.

   Mike

   Edited 12/15/2005 11:58 am ET by mudman

   
2. 
   CWilson | Dec 15, 2005 11:53pm | #12

   Thanks again guys, and let me say that I am really impressed with ya'lls work.  Hopefully mine will turn out half that nice.  Thanks again.

    

   Chad

4. 
   SgianDubh | Dec 13, 2005 02:50am | #9

   CWilson, bubinga, like nearly all woods, can be very attractive when properly prepared and polished. However I do caution you that, as an admitted beginner, bubinga is not generally the easiest wood to work.

   It is hard and dense (50- 60 lbs/ft3) anyway requiring lots of sharpening where the slightest bluntness in your tools will require remedial action on your part. Bubinga often has interlocked grain too,or grain reverses which makes working it challenging, and watch out for gum pocket exudation that can cause problems under finishes.The texture is fairly coarse meaning fairly open pore characteristics, but not as open and coarse as a white oak say. The wood is classified as 'stable' in service meaning small movement, i.e., 3% or less. 

   As long as you are aware of that information and still willing to proceed then that's fine.

   Looking at your original question of complementary woods you can either look for similar characteristics or look for dissimilar characteristics. For example, american black walnut has a somewhat similar grain coarseness but obviously different colour. Hard maple or american cherry both are fine grained woods, and again of different colour. White oak might make an attractive complement to bubinga.

   None of the suggested options I listed are 'right'. On the other hand none of them are 'wrong' either. You'll need to make that aesthetic judgement for yourself by comparing some finished samples of the woods you're thinking of using. I know which woods I would mix with bubinga and which I'd prefer not too, but that doesn't make me correct because we all have different aesthetic values. Slainte.

    

   Richard Jones Furniture

5. 
   Russell | Dec 15, 2005 06:09pm | #10

   I would have to agree with the majority of posts here. Bubinga and maple (especially curly maple) go very well together. Here's a picture of a coffee table I made a while back, it has curly maple, quilted maple and bubinga in it. Hope the project works out for you.

   Russ Jensen

   http://www.homestead.com/jensenfinefurniture