Any woodworkers?

My wifes desk is already covered in dice making supplies.

 

First off, never buy lumber for quality projects at Home Depot. Never.
As for favorite wood, Walnut is it for me. I love how it pairs with curly maple too. Cherry is nice too and works well, but the occasional sap pockets wreak havoc when using the drum sander. I used to like Oak, but that was decades ago, long before a neighbor gave me a Walnut tree that I had cut up into lumber

 

Fwiw, I've used both of those finishes and while they do work, I've found General Finishes oil based Arm-R-Seal to be easier and more consistent.
https://www.woodcraft.com/products/arm-r-seal-top-coat-semi-gloss-pint

 

Can't see much of the desk, but I love the flag on the left!

 

I've seen Arm-R-Seal come up a lot, as well as other products from General Finishes. I mean to give them a try as well. My understanding is its top coat urethane, while the oils penetrate the wood. Do you find they give a similar appearance in your experience?

 

Idk, it seems to penetrate just fine. I give it 3 coats, maybe thin out the first coat so it penetrates more betterer.

ETA: I think they call it a top coat because it's not a staining type of finish. It penetrates fine, but it's mostly clear. (being a varnish, it does tint things a bit yellow). They have stains that are uses under it if you wish to change the color of the wood. I prefer the natural color of wood, so I don't do the stain part.

 

For the experienced woodworkers - have you ever seen a piece of wood and just thought "I need to get that. I don't know what I'm going to do with it, but I have to get it"?

Despite my previous comments about HD wood (and others on here), I bought walnut from them. Last night I was out and had to burn some time, so having just gotten a bandsaw, I stopped by HD to look at blades. I also wandered over to the hardwood lumber and dug through the mahogany and walnut piles.

I found this piece and it just struck me as unique and my imagination kicked in. Being new to this I realize this could be considered junk or undesirable. There is a lot of sap wood in it. It didn't matter, I couldn't stop thinking about it. I tried to talk myself out of it. Thought I could bury it in the very back and go, then if I changed my mind I could come back later. I told myself it's likely bowed, warped and/or twisted. Next thing I knew I was over in the tool section with a 6 foot level checking to see how distorted it was. It wasn't. 5 ft long and there might be a bow of 1/16 from end to end. So it went home with me. Not yet sure what it's going to be, but it will let me know at some point.

 

For steamed walnut I'd think adding some color (warmth) would be desirable. Of course, air dried or non-steamed kiln dried would be nice as well.

Thought you might get a kick out of this Google search result.

 

Varnish the girlfriend! Right! Nice

 

Turned out really nice, unfortunately theres a stain run on the left edge of my desk, but not a big deal. We did two coats of Kona Verathane. Wife wanted it a little darker but wanted it done. If we did it again we'd do 3 coats of stain and maybe find a sealer that setup quicker and wasn't so tacky. Also probably not do it all in a cold garage lol
I'd also use a track for my saw so the edges didn't get squirrelly when I cut the butcher block in half, and hold on to the router better on the corners.

 

It's all a learning curve brother.

 

Sure is. I don't really have time or space or money to practice much, so it's just sporadic projects and new tools.

 

Yeah, I learn more with every project I do.

 

Curly Maple and Walnut.

The first stuff I built was with home depot red oak, and 3/4 plywood oak veneer.

Post a general idea of where you are, and people will offer local hardwood dealers.

I use these guys. Chad is a good dude, and will call you if you tell him what you like. https://crlumber.com/shop/

I buy from mills in Baxter TN and Bowling Green KY.

 

Another shelving unit almost ready to be glued up. Then it’s on to 14 walnut stair treads for my spiral staircase. It’s currently carpeted but my damned cat has been destroying the carpet and there no way she could damage hard wood!

 

Thanks guys!! A lot lot lot of good information here. Not sure i will get into the exotic woods anytime soon but you never know and its definitely good to have that knowledge! I just bought my first home so im looking to make some functional things for around the house. Floating Shelves, Patio Sofa, garage cabinets, etc.

 

Thanks for this!! I m looking to make some functional things around the house like floating shelves, patio sofa, garage cabinets, maybe shed eventually among some other various things in/outside. I already did the usual workbench build everyone usually starts out with and from what i learned since building that, i can definitely make some alterations for the better.

Luckily, tool-wise i am pretty set already from things i accumulated over the years. I just bought a tabletop pocket hole jig. Only things i dont have that i see alot of people use in woodworking is a table saw, Router, or tabletop planer. But eventually they will come as i progress and if i keep at it.

Good to know! That was the only place i really ever knew to buy any kind of wood lol but have been trying to find some wood suppliers around here.

 

Thanks! Im located in Central New Jersey a town over from Asbury Park. I found a couple wood suppliers im gonna check out this weekend.