Best wood to stain out of this group

[pghmyn]

I want to find a good species of wood to work with and make some small-time "production" items like shelves and such. I am looking for the best species that will be easiest to finish. I have narrowed down a few choices by price at my hardwood dealer.

These are all "select & better" prices.

Poplar $2.00/BF
Soft Maple $2.00/BF
Red Oak $2.35/BF
Ash $2.14/BF
White Pine $3.15/BF

So, if I was to go with one of these species, which would be the easiest to apply a finish at the end?

 

[Scott B.]

Just for fun, I'd take the ash. Or the red oak. Definitely not the others.

 

[pghmyn]

Just for fun, I'd take the ash. Or the red oak. Definitely not the others.

What would be a benefit of the Ash? Does it take the stain well without blotching/etc?

 

[mouppe]

I'd be tempted to go with a closed-pore wood such as maple but it's hard to answer the question without knowing which finish you are planning on using.

 

[waho6o9]

Red oak

A wood conditioner should be used to prevent blotching. Good luck.
Use scrap pieces first as a test run.

[big grin]

 

[pghmyn]

I plan to make a couple of these shelves with a similar finish:

 

[Brandon]

Out of your list, oak without a doubt

 

[Scott B.]

Just for fun, I'd take the ash. Or the red oak. Definitely not the others.

What would be a benefit of the Ash? Does it take the stain well without blotching/etc?

The old timers taught me to think of ash as "fools oak." Its very similar to oak, from a stain and clear finish standpoint. This doesnt mean it is an easy species to work with. Oak and ash are both very dense, but also open grained, which makes them a challenge. I dont know how dark you are going with the stain, but with some trial and error on scraps, you will figure that out. Sealing out the grain on the clear finish component is where its tricky. Pick your finish system well.

 

[pghmyn]

Just for fun, I'd take the ash. Or the red oak. Definitely not the others.

What would be a benefit of the Ash? Does it take the stain well without blotching/etc?

The old timers taught me to think of ash as "fools oak." Its very similar to oak, from a stain and clear finish standpoint. This doesnt mean it is an easy species to work with. Oak and ash are both very dense, but also open grained, which makes them a challenge. I dont know how dark you are going with the stain, but with some trial and error on scraps, you will figure that out. Sealing out the grain on the clear finish component is where its tricky. Pick your finish system well.

That doesn't make Ash seem to reassuring as a good candidate because I was looking for the easiest to finish wood However, I think I will give it a try.

 

[Scott B.]

Just for fun, I'd take the ash. Or the red oak. Definitely not the others.

What would be a benefit of the Ash? Does it take the stain well without blotching/etc?

The old timers taught me to think of ash as "fools oak." Its very similar to oak, from a stain and clear finish standpoint. This doesnt mean it is an easy species to work with. Oak and ash are both very dense, but also open grained, which makes them a challenge. I dont know how dark you are going with the stain, but with some trial and error on scraps, you will figure that out. Sealing out the grain on the clear finish component is where its tricky. Pick your finish system well.

That doesn't make Ash seem to reassuring as a good candidate because I was looking for the easiest to finish wood However, I think I will give it a try.

Ok, time out...I just saw the picture you posted. If you are talking paint grade, over the hills we go...poplar all the way!

 

[pghmyn]

No paint for me

I dislike painting wood, unless the client really wants it. I would prefer a nice stain to show off the grain.

 

[Scott B.]

No paint for me

I dislike painting wood, unless the client really wants it. I would prefer a nice stain to show off the grain.

Ok, then ash it is. Sand to 180, use Old Masters gel stain and report back with photos for instructions on how to proceed with closing down the grain.  [big grin]

 

[pghmyn]

Have to purchase the wood tomorrow, so will report back soon with my progress. Thank you for the help

What's a fair price ballpark for this shelf? I'm not looking to strike it rich, but to make enough money over time to cover new tools as they are needed

 

[Brandon]

[attachimg=#]

 

[Brandon]

The above picture is something I made for a customer. It's quartered white oak and cherry. I just wanted to put in another vote for oak over ash. The deep grain of the oak is half the fun and what makes oak interesting

 

[nehardwoodfloors]

Def. red oak.
We use Rubio Monocoat to make it grey.
If you use the fumed solution, it will turn grey. Then you cover it with a grey or silverish oil. All while being zero voc.

this is fumed with %5 white oil on red oak.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ecooptions/6447385093/in/set-72157629016963769

 

[junk731]

IMHO, use a tight grained wood like poplar or soft maple. Stain with General Finishes Expresso stain and a top coat of Endurovar. Simple  and not expensive wood to get. Waterbased finish readily available  in small sizes. No stain bridging problems associated with open grain woods.

John

 

[davee]

I recently build some cabinets and shelves with soft maple and was impressed with the wood.  Stay away from the sap wood and you should have a very consistent product. I've used the other species as well and would go with the maple.  My two favorites, hard maple and white oak aren't on your list.

 

[deepcreek]

What's a fair price ballpark for this shelf? I'm not looking to strike it rich, but to make enough money over time to cover new tools as they are needed

1) To be competitive with the cost of the same shelf imported for the retail market, I'd plan on recouping about 75% of your material costs with free labor.

2) If you are talented enough to charge as a "custom furniture maker", add the minimum wage rate against your actual hours to the amount from item 1.

 

[pghmyn]

I have worked with Soft Maple before, and I feel I did quite well with it. However, I only put a clear finish on it because of all the worry of blotching. With recent comments about the open grain problems, I think I might just go back to Soft Maple. I have seen videos of finishing Soft Maple that included sealing the surface with Shellac, then a gel stain on top of that. Seems easy enough.

The reason I am looking for ease of finish, is to cut down on the time it requires to apply the finish. The sooner I can get these finished, with a QUALITY finish, I am happy. I understand finishing can take time, but since I am not building for a client that requested a certain wood, I want to pick the wood that will give me the least trouble.