wood chassis

[aragorn723]

My quickie is coming Friday, so of course that is very exciting!  I decided not to buy a base, and break out the table saw and miter saw instead.  Home depot sells oak, maple, and poplar, but i'd like to work with something a little more unusual.  Any suggestions?  Thanks!

Dave

[howardnair]

there are quite a few woods that you may use but home depot is not the place-is there a regular lumberyard within driving distance-bloodwood -sapele-mahogany-cherry -walnut-butternut-
http://www.hearnehardwoods.com/hardwoods/exotic_domestic_wood.html
the above link will show all the cool woods-hearne hardwoods has a 300 minumum so that won't do
there are sites on the net that cater to people that need a small amount-here is one

http://www.woodworkerssource.com/pp-sap10-p-sapele.html

have fun

[azrockitman]

Agree on Home Depot or Lowes...they won't have anything super cool.

I don't know where you live but if there is a Rocker store in your area, be sure to check it out.  They have a great hardwood section in their stores. I'm sure you could order it through their online store too.

http://www.rockler.com/wood

This is a list of some of their exotic hardwoods.  Go crazy.

[Tubejack]

You might be surprised what you can find on eBay.  There are many hard and soft "exotic" woods available in various board dimensions, from high feedback rated suppliers.

I had one supplier cut to dimension solid 3/4" walnut and cherry boards with 45 degree vertical cut ends, ala the Bottlehead alder bases, cutting my own top plate recess as needed.  The cuts were extremely accurate with fine, smooth edges, and I felt at reasonable cost, even with shipping.

[Mike B]

One time at Lowes I was looking for some nice clear white pine and of course they had it.  It needed to be structural, so I didn't get the "interesting" piece I saw.

There was a board there, 3/4" pine that was riddled with "branch" marks.  Small little dots all over the place.  Reminded me of "full quill ostrich" boots.

If I was going to make an "arty" piece instead of structural I would have bought it.  Now that you have reminded me I'm going to go there and see if they still have it -

[aragorn723]

Thanks for the tips guys!  It might take me a little while to go thru all of the different types of wood, but the ones i've seen are really cool    I like the burlwood a lot, is that harder to finish than regular wood like oak?  Normally you sand with the grain, but I don't really see a grain on that, how do you work with this stuff?

Dave

[howardnair]

orbital sander

[Paul Birkeland]

I'd buy something super stable (plywood or maybe hemlock) to practice on.  When you nail the cuts and have four perfect base pieces, then go snag some hardwood and use your practice parts as jigs. 

When you go to pick out exotic woods, try chatting up the employees to see what they would recommend - they may turn you onto something you hadn't even thought of.

[aragorn723]

I'd buy something super stable (plywood or maybe hemlock) to practice on.  When you nail the cuts and have four perfect base pieces, then go snag some hardwood and use your practice parts as jigs. 

When you go to pick out exotic woods, try chatting up the employees to see what they would recommend - they may turn you onto something you hadn't even thought of.

That sounds like good advice, how about 1/2" particle board?  I'm thinking about setting up the wodden box a little different though, going to make the inside dimensions of the box the same as the outside dimensions of the plate, then joining the miters on the inside with pieces of wood vlock (and using that to set the height of the plate flush).  (To avoid using a router).  Any potential issues with that idea?  Worst case, I have a friend who is a finish carpenter and might be willing to help.  Thanks in advance! 

Dave

[Paul Birkeland]

Since you are going with the outside plate dimensions, different thicknesses won't present you with much of a problem.

In this scenario, I would consider not mitering the corners, but instead letting the edge grain be visible and using a router for a nice flush trim.  I'm sure your finish carpenter would give you a hand.  With glue, clamps, and a table router, you'd be looking at an hour tops for this.

-PB

[aragorn723]

I found a nice piece of oak 1 x 4, would it be better to cut it with a table saw or miter saw?  Thanks,

Dave

[Paul Birkeland]

The miter saw will be a lot safer, and probably give a more accurate 45 degree angle.

[aragorn723]

ok, thanks