What’s Your Favorite Wood Species?

About eight years ago, I built a dovetailed blanket chest project for the magazine. I had the good fortune of acquiring some really beautiful curly cherry lumber to build it. The grain is swirly and interlocked. It would have been a blotchy nightmare to stain, but under a clear finish, it has aged to a remarkably beautiful, dark red patina. I was admiring the wood in the sunlight the other day, and it occurred to me how wonderful cherry lumber can be. Sure, sometimes you’ll get boards that have a greenish tone to them or are so filled with creamy sapwood that they’re just too distracting to put in a panel. But when you’re lucky enough to score some beautiful heartwood, cherry is about as good as it gets!

Which brings to mind a question: What’s a favorite wood of yours? Whether it’s pine, purpleheart or anything in between, I hope you’ll share your favorite species and a few sentences about why you like it so much! We’ll publish your comments in next week’s Feedback section.

Chris Marshall, Woodworker’s Journal

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