I just retired and would like to do some woodwork with the exotic wood ie: curly maple,birdseye maple, mahogany, cherry, cocobola,etc. I have bought some equipment and would like to know how those of you that do these woods started and where you went to learn the do’s and dont’s working on this expensive wood? Any advice happily received.
sappy
Replies
Practice your techniques and refine your design by doing a mock up in less expensive, and readily available, hardwood from your local area. When your mock up is what you want and you feel comfortable, dive into the final piece with your choosen wood.
thnx
scottd.
scottd
Damschroder Scott Furniture
[email protected]
A craftsman needs three things: Accuracy, Technique, and Quality. Accuracy can be set; technique can be learned; but quality must be bought and built.
Assuming that you are just starting out I would have to agree with Scott, refine and perfect your technique on less expensive more forgiving woods. Those beautiful exotics are tempting. Mistakes though get quite costly when using them though. I have had the wonderful opportunity to work with many wonderful woods. Mother nature is truly awesome. They can be very problematic and murder on your lungs though (I have asthma and most of the exotics just reek havoc if I don't use my mask)
I would give one piece of advice and that is to learn what type of glue is appropriate for each species. I unfortunately learned this the hard way when I first worked with Padouk. The joints failed due to using the wrong glue. After much research I learned that many of the wood species and especially exotics have special requirements in order to execute strong joinery. Just FYI
Hope this helps and keep us posted on your projects. Best of luck
Robby Phelps RP Custom Woodworks
OOps!, forgot to mention I have had a little experience on walnut making cutlery boxes for Gerber Legendary Blades. Tough wood on blades but finishes nice.
Hey, thanks for the advice on this everyone, it really helps me narrow the options down, and I have subscribed to the fww. sappy
I just retired and would like to do some woodwork with the EXOTIC wood ...
ANY wood can be exotic wood to some...
Not a joke.. Been there and did that.. Wear a GOOD dust mask AND SHOWER after.. I learned the HARD way.
best advise I can think of is to get decent tools, tools that are caapable of dealing with delicate and wild grain at the same time... learn how to unleash their potential too; trying to rush things generally leads to frustration....
Mike Wallace
Stay safe....Have fun
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