Hard wood

[filsgreen]

Listen guys..... your comments are about a gizillion light years beyond me...could you please speak English? Right now I am getting my head around using Hardwood and you are extolling the virtues of... something that I don't understand! The important feature for me is the ability to make "something" out of wood, the cheaper the better. I'm sorry if this upsets the puritans of the MB, but unfortunately I can't afford it any other way I am trying though! Please help a newbie understand the principles of woodwork?

[Scrit]

Hi Phil

Fundamentally American yellow poplar = tulipwood. Poplar is a light, but very strong timber with very mild working characteristics, i.e. it doesn't blunt your tools too rapidly and can be planed and machined easily. When sanded it won't give you the greatest finish, as I said before, but it won't be too bad. It has the advantage of being relatively cheap against oak, ash, beech, etc. I'd say a good first step up from pine.

Does that suffice?

Scrit
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[Colin C]

[Steve Maskery]

[Colin C]

[Scrit]

[DomValente]

Totally agree Scrit

John Boddy do supply and deliver quality goods.

Yes please, may I have a 1000cubes of that £17.00 stock?????

Dom

[Philly]

Phil
To boil all this down for you-
If you are not yet comfortable with your skills or want to try new techniques without wasting expensive timber then locally available softwoods like pine from B+Q or Jewsons are perfect for getting stuck in.
Hardwoods are more expensive than pine (some are very expensive!!) and also you have to search to find a suitable timber merchants to supply it. My nearest is about 30 miles away.
But hardwoods are a pleasure to work and when you want a project to last forever its worth building it from hardwood. They are more expensive but you will be putting in a lot of time-no point skimping on materials if you spend 100 hours building it
You will also find hardwoods are a real pleasure to work with sharp tools-it becomes addictive
Hope this is of use (and you lot-slow down! )
Philly
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The PhillyBlog!

[Steve Maskery]

[filsgreen]

Thanks once again everyone, good solid advice which has clarified a lot of points for me. You've hit the nail on the head, sorry no pun intended, when you say that you have to pay the price if you want to progress. At the moment I'm making a scratch built adirondack style chair out of Pine and the material has cost about £30. If it looks good I will get some Tulip wood and make another, I like the idea of using Tulip wood because it isn't harsh on tools. As you have probably guessed from my work shop pics I am at the lower end of buying tools, having said that they have still cost me a few bob. At the end of the day, what is the point of spending a load of money on tools and then scrimp on the final product? I'll keep you posted with pics of WIP
Phil

[Alf]

[gidon]

Hardwoods are definately worth the price - you'll get a lot more pleasure working with them, they generally look better and are, well, harder so your hard work will last longer - dig your thumbnail into your pine boards and then try the same with some Oak ... Although they are harder on your tools (ie your tools may need more regular sharpening) - hard woods like Ash, Beech, Oak (etc) are very easy to work with - a sharp chisel leaves a nice crisp cut.
Try making a smaller project with some hardwood like Ash or Oak (tends to be cheaper) - you'll be hooked. Wood for a small project needn't cost much and if you use a nice wood a simple oil finish is all you need and you're done.
If you have a woodworking evening class in your area the course tutor may be able to help you with your hardwood supplies.
And Tulipwood (or Yellow Poplar) does have a lot of variation but really isn't that bad - and I can get it almost as cheap as I can get softwood (~£13 / cf).
Cheers
Gidon

[dennyk]

Hi Scrit

Just a bit of info wanted

Where do you live? are you in the Liverpool area?

Could you send me a PM, as I would like to meet you

Thanks
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Denny

[Bean]

filsgreen
I use a fair amout of reclaimed hardwood, you need to be careful as there may be hidded nails or screws. But it can be as cheap as simply asking for it. I recently picked up a very good oak table from a school, they didnt want it and a fiver got the table. the table frame went to make my bench and the top will be converted into some cabinets soon. If you keep your eye open it does not have to be expensive.

Bean
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Bean

Whoooppsssss

[Colin C]