I have two questions. Well, one-and-a-half, as my thoughts on the second aren’t well organized. First, I’m seeking suggestions for a species to use for a bed I’ve promised my daughter. It will have drawers and bookshelves in the headboard. In keeping with her enjoyment of reading, I’d like to make parchment fold panels for the footboard. I made a small bookshelf with parchment folds on the side panels and the theme worked well. It is in walnut, which shapes and carves well, making the parchment fold making a joy. A bed in walnut will be too dark for her room. I’d go as dark as cherry, and have done other things in koa, the color of which I like. I’m in the west. Any suggestions for a species which carves well and is in the middle tone-wise? I prefer to finish with french polish, and suppose I can add transtint to darken the tone of a light wood, but really prefer to leave a timber’s color alone if possible.
Second, and I’m maybe hoping Jon will see this one as well, I’m looking for suggestions/sources for good, responsible species in more of a tropical vein. I’ve made small boxes in koa and love the color and shimmering effect of the more figured stuff. It’s easy and more affordable to make boxes in such unusual/interesting species, sometimes combining them when complimentary. Krenov’s “With Wakened Hands” pictures several student projects in such things as Kwila, which is sometimes prefaced with a remark about its being from responsible sources, which is appealing. The look of this species is beautiful to me, both in terms of its grain and color. I like the look of some of the things our Aussie friends use. What else is out there? Are there useful up-to-date references to help provide guidance? How to learn more and actually locate some to try? Thoughts are appreciated.
Cheers,
Greg
Replies
Greg,
I'm not familiar with koa, but as I read your post I kept thinking that with your carving skills mohogany would be a wonderful wood for such a project.
Jeff
For a carving wood from the West Coast, you might look at madrone. It is softer and easier to carve than many domestic hardwoods. The color ranges from something that is often mistaken for cherry to a tan/straw color more like beech, so if you pick your boards carefully you can pick your color. It isn't the most stable wood under humidity changes, but for carved panels that isn't an issue.
Greg, if you like koa, you might want to try mesquite. Although they belond to different genera, they are both members of the Acacia-like clan of the legume family. So, being closely related they have similar working properties and appearance. Mesquite only comes in small dimensions and short lengths, but for decorative boxes and small accent pieces it's a very nice wood. It's plentiful throughout the Southwestern states and, while not exactly cheap, it's certainly affordable compared to koa or some of the tropical exotics.
As for the bed, if you want a middle tone, cherry-like wood that's easy to carve and inexpensive (...and native to the West Coast), you might want to consider red alder. Being a member of the birch family, it's a fine textured, diffuse-porous wood that looks superficially a little like cherry...and it holds sharp detail pretty well when shaped. It's rather soft (about as dense as aspen; i.e., even a little softer than yellow poplar)...so, if you decide to use it for making a bed, you'll want to beef up on the stock dimensions a little to compensate for its relative weakness.
Greg, there are literally scores of exotics you might want to consider, but I think it hinges more on what you can find through your local lumber dealers. Shop around until you come up with some affordable options that you think look interesting and then we can kick around the pros and cons of what you've found.
Thanks, Jon and everyone.
I had considered red alder in the very beginning, mostly because of its color. Had no idea of its detail holding capabilities, so that certainly is a plus. The parchment folds carved into the walnut bookshelf side panels were amazingly easy to make, using round and block planes along with chisels. Not only did the walnut hold the detail well, but the free hand planing was smooth and predictable. No sweat; only fun. I'll get some red alder and see how it does.
As for the other "almost" question, the answer was always in going to my suppliers and seeing what they have. I knew that.... Funny, it is not unheard of to have one of the plentiful black acacias in my area to fall during a winter wind/rain storm. They are usually no more than 14 inches in diameter and sometimes appear to have been growing other than straight up, making me think they may be full of reaction wood. I've been tempted to drag one home and try and figure a way to saw and dry some, but haven't yet. I'm dying to find out how timber from an across the street tree would do. Anyway, thanks as always. I'll let you know.
Cheers,
Greg
Jon, what about the issue of "responsible sources" (tropicals) as posed in the original question. forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
FG, koa is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands (which isn't a particularly big place to begin with) and it has been a much over exploited species since the late 19th Century...So, I don't recommend it. It's a very nice cabinet wood, but there are other much more plentiful, domestic acacia-like timbers that are credible substitutes (mesquite, honeylocust, Kentucky coffeetree) and also some relatively unthreatened exotics like carob and the Latin American mesquites, etc. Some of the denser, lesser known "mahoganies", like andiroba and a few of the Asian counterfeit mahoganies in the lauan family are also vaguely similar in appearance to koa. Unfortunately, even they are a now getting to be over exploited as well, although they're not yet in as bad a situation as koa is.
...As to why I didn't address this question earlier, I try very hard to avoid the topic of "responsible sources"...especially when potentially in the presence of Liberals (meaning anywhere in public)...because my attitude on this subject (Certification Progams in particular) isn't what you might call politically correct...And life's too short to be fighting all the time...Even when you know you're right.
Jon,
Thanks for the mention of a few more species. I do like the appearance of Koa and saw some "black acacia" at one of my local dealers which looked very similar. I'm actually storing a pile of Koa for a friend (taken from his property on Kauai). It's about 4'x5'x10-12', some especially beautifully figured. In the Kahului airport this August I was shocked to see so much paneling and counter tops in Koa. Maybe from hurricane damage? We have had other threads here concerning the other issue. Stupid of me not to have remembered. As life is indeed short, here's to a wonderful one!
Cheers,
Greg
Greg please describe, define parchment fold panels. Intreresting. I can't envision what you're describing. Thanks Rick
I think he means linen fold panels.
Parchment fold was a precursor to linenfold, according to some web page which I have now lost. Both are decorative carvings. An image search on Google will give examples of linnenfold.
Rick,
Parchment fold is similar to linenfold. It is a lot simpler and has a somewhat different appearance. While linenfold ultimately gives the appearance of a bit of cloth folded/draped onto the panel, the parchment fold appears as a piece of paper or, more descriptively, like a magazine or paperback book, opened, lying face down. Remarkably simple to make and delightful, thematically, for bookshelf end panels. I have seen lots of examples in magazines over the years, the most recent being here in FWW. Graham Blackburn authored the article (can't remember exactly when, offhand) within the last couple of years. He starts with a description of the parchment fold, which is quite easy, as the baby step toward a proper linenfold. A streaming video of the technique used to be available as an "Online Tip" here on the FWW homepage. No idea what happened to it. I had thought a more expanded video, including the carving of a detailed linenfold might have been a good seller.
A simple explanation is as follows: Take a panel (my first experiment was only 8"x12" or so) and make a rebate of, say, 1.5" wide and .5" deep around the perimeter, thus fielding a panel. Cut a piece of paper to the same size as the field, then fold it in half. If you are righthanded, put the paper down horizontally in front of you, with the fold down near you and the open end at the top. Take a pencil and draw a line on the paper in sort of a sweeping "s-like" shape (far easier to show than describe in words), starting at the top right corner, moving gently in, then out, finally ending with the bottom of the "s" near you on the lower right of the paper. It is not a dramatic "s", but more like the trail left by a skier having gently moved through powder. Do the same at the other end. Cut to the line with scissors and unfold. Kind of looks like a book, doesn't it? Give a couple of tries until you get the shape you're after. Place the paper flat on the field of the panel and trace around its edge. Make a line for the centerline. Now just use a couple of round planes to hollow out the hollows. Freehand works just fine. (I like to start at the far side, making a couple of shorter strokes, then move back towards me, rather than trying to take a complete stroke at first from the near end to the far) A block plane can be used to round over the outside portions. The only rather sharp transition is at the centerline, which is left as a peak, just as an open magazine lying face down would be. In profile, it looks like this: } (kind of). Next, just take some sharp carving gouges and waste away the field right up to your drawn lines, finally undercutting a bit so as to make it appear more realistic. I never used sandpaper, preferring the feel and appearance of the very small facets left by the various plane irons. People never fail to be delighted with the appearance when finished. Similar impression to what you see at a magic show.
If I can figure out how to do it, I'll attach a picture of a really stunning cabinet which expands the basic technique in an extraordinarily creative way. It is at http://www.finefurnituremaker.com/ in the gallery portion.
Cheers,
Greg
Thanks for an interesting explanation. Can you post an example of parchment fold?
Ben,
I wish I could. Just searched FWW and found the Blackburn article I mentioned is In #136, from 1999, in the "Master's Class" section. I don't have it in front of me now. Searching Google, I came up with only the following site, which requires Adobe Acrobat Reader. The link is below. As you can see, it calls the parchment fold a precurser to linenfold. I think both techniques gave the craftsman the ability to field a panel to allow for wood movement and make it decorative rather than flat and boring. You get the added stiffness in the panel's center, while its thin edges can fit into the grooves of a frame. I've seen whole rooms paneled in linenfold, to breathtaking effect, as well as the outside panels of church pews. I just liked the idea of using the book-like appearance as a consistent theme for a bookshelf. If the appearance makes the thought of making one seem daunting, think again. It may have been the easiest process I've ever tried. I used a safe timber, walnut, because of comments I'd heard from Wayne Barton about the ease of carving and detail holding qualities of walnut. I sure would like to know what happened to the online video tip here at FWW. Would have saved on a lot of words here....
Cheers,
Greg
Sorry, here is the link:
http://www.elijahslocum.com/pdf/Autumn%2099%20news.pdf
Thank you. I have bookmarked the site.
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