Replies

1. 
   jonsherryl | May 18, 2002 04:05am | #1

   A rule of thumb (among many) in design is: If you can't match, contrast. Since you are trying to stay with Northwest woods, how about yellow-cedar, AKA Alaska-cedar? It has a soft yellow color that ought to stand out next to madrone.

1. 
   observer | May 18, 2002 05:00am | #2

   Sorry, a little off topic. I've always wondered how Chamaecyparis nootkatensis came to be called Alaska cedar. It was named nootkatensis for it's point of discovery in Nootka Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island in Canada.

   Bengst, I have had some very dark Red Cedar heartwood that would match well. Rich, dark reddish brown and had to be old growth, probably butt log, 30+ rings per inch. Haven't seen a lot of it lately, but I used to pick the piles of fenceboards at the local building supply store whenever they got a delivery. I had to pay them a premium to select, but I found a lot of clear, tight grain boards with wonderful colour and intricate grain. Had to dry them, but got wood that I haven't ever found at my current suppliers and at ridiculously low prices.

1. 
   jonsherryl | May 18, 2002 08:18pm | #7

   Dick, I think common names and common sense are mutually exclusive concepts in the lumber trade. Not only is the epithet of Alaska-cedar's botanical name based on a location outside of Alaska, this species isn't really a cedar...it's a cypress...and by that I don't mean it is closely related to baldcypress...because baldcypress isn't really a cypress, it actually belongs to the redwood family and has about the same right to be called a cedar as does Spanish cedar...which is actually a mahogany. If you ask me, this whole cedar thing stinks.

   Seriously though, yellow cedar (which is the preferred common name for this wood) is one of the nicest of the so-called cedars for cabinet making. With an average specific gravity of 0.44, it's relatively strong and, because of its fine texture, it shapes well.  

1. 
   observer | May 19, 2002 03:45am | #8

   If you ask me, this whole cedar thing stinks

   If only I could come up with some way to bottle that Yellow Cedar 'stink' I'd use it as a cologne every day except Sunday when I would use Paduak.

1. 
   jonsherryl | May 19, 2002 05:49am | #9

   Dick, I sure agree with you regarding the pleasant scent of yellow-cedar. It reminds me of ginger. In small doses, it has a mellow spicey aroma, sort of sweeter and far less harsh than aromatic cedar.

   ...But what's with the padauk on Sundays?...You figuring it might help make the sermons shorter? The fine dust of that species is downright irritating.

2. 
   observer | May 19, 2002 07:53am | #11

   Jon, I've never found that Padauk is irritating, I find it quite fragrant. I have never used it in large quantity though, just mirror frames and jewlery boxes and other small items so I may not have the full effect.

   I did run into one species sold as Bullet Wood that seemed to close my throat after one cut. I have no idea what it was (a beautiful brownish red and very hard) and neither did the sales staff at the dealer, perhaps you have some idea?

3. 
   jonsherryl | May 19, 2002 03:31pm | #12

   Dick, bulletwood is another one of those common names that cause trouble. There are some African species that go by this name, but I suspect the one you're describing is the tropical American variety cut from several species in the Sapotaceae family (genus: Manilkara.) This is the family that produces dilly fruit and chicle used in chewing gum. Some of these species have a very irritating latex-like sap. The woods vary a little, but most of them are reddish brown in color, fine textured and on the hard side. Other common names include; beefwood, balata, sapodilla, nisperilla and wild dilly, depending on the country of origin and they're spread all over the tropics from southern Florida to Brazil.

4. 
   observer | May 19, 2002 06:18pm | #13

   Thanks for the info. The wood was just about the colour of an uncooked steak - Beefwood is an appropriate name.

   Edited 5/19/2002 11:19:59 AM ET by Dick

2. 
   sschefer | May 19, 2002 07:10am | #10

   Dick, I just happen to have (4) 6/4 x 8 1/4 x 8' pieces of the redwood that you are describing. Mine is salvaged wood from a barn and sawn locally on the property I suspect. Tight rings and a little wormy but absolutely gorgeous pieces of wood. I've got it in the rack letting it settle before I do anything with it but you are right, it would look great with the manzanita.

   However, I think the best wood for this application would be dark walnut. I think it would give base to the color transistion much better than another red colored wood.

   Jumping on the other side of the fence, you could use a maple to pop the manzanita out and into focus. The wood choice depends entirely on what you want the viewer or beholder to focus on when they look at the piece.Steve - in Northern California

2. 
   wbwood | May 18, 2002 05:04am | #3

   Jefrey,

   If you like figured woods (who doesn't?) you might consider quartersawn American sycamore. It has great figure, is light in color, from light tan to off white, and grows in lots of places including the northwest. I recently finished a project in qas and it is a beautiful wood that machined well and with a tung oil finish, it just jumps and shimmers. wb

1. 
   Bengst | May 18, 2002 05:31am | #4

   These are all great suggestions.  Thanks!

   Jeffrey  

1. 
   Upraiser | May 18, 2002 03:52pm | #5

   Jeffery

   Just to follow up. Madrone will darken guite a bit in a short time.  The nice pink will turn to a rich brown. 

   You might want to keep that in mind when choosing the other wood.

   Curt

2. 
   Jamie_Buxton | May 18, 2002 07:26pm | #6

   How 'bout tan oak?   It grows in the same ecosystem as madrone, so you get a nice tie-in there.   To my eye, it is a little like sycamore, but different.   Look for quarter-sawn lumber -- it has much more character and ray fleck than flatsawn.   (Tan oak, despite the name, isn't an oak according to the botanists.   It is someplace between oaks and beeches.)