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I'm doing some pricing for a few project I have planned for next month, and as always, looking for ways to cut cost without reducing quality. My question is, what's wrong with ash compared to oak? Hardness-wise, it sits between red and white oak and is more stable than both. Why it is priced 1/3 less than oak and why is oak still popular for furniture and cabinets?
Oak is for furniture, Ash is for Louisville Sluggers. Popular Wisdom. Oak Means Mission which has always been popular and it means kitchen cabinets. The grain is just right. Ash has a much more pronounced, "busier" grain and never caught on. Also harder and more difficult to work back in the days of hand tools. For a clean lined project like a speaker the grain should be fine.
True about the grain, but most builders build on the cheap and don't even bother with quartersawn. Not even rift. You end up with FC patterns from oak that's just as busy as ash. I guess if I can live with busy grain, or can use it as a design element, ash seems like a good option to oak. Come to think of it, ash might be a good choice where dark dye is used.
Hi Bill: I have seven acres of heavily forrested land in the pocono mountains. Recently we had two soft maple trees downed in a storm and had them cut into boards of 1.25" thick, 7 to 8 inches wide and 8 foot in length. Any experience, comments, musings on this maple for wooden chassis or other audio housing projects? I also have a Babe Ruth sized Ash tree that is on it's last leg... and we have two or three cherry trees that must soon be harvested due to damages to them. it's getting to be a bit of fun stockpiling these woods... though a new learning curve for me. we've also harvested a lot of hemlock... though all of that wood has been sawn into structural lumber that we are building our cabin with. cheers, msl
Re: Buncha guys on the Tweaks Asylum..........
.........think shelves are more important than circuits so pay you top dollar! Soft Maple is soft 'cause it has a much higher percentage of sapwood than hard maple. That gives it more color contrast in the grain too. Kinda like Poplar. So clear finishes are out but darker stains and painting is in. Other than that it machines and wears like it's big brother. Have you got the space and patience (2 years)to air dry that lumber? Both the Cherry and Ash would be special. Hardwoods.Org
thanks Bill for the reply and the url on hardwoods. you asked; ::::Have you got the space and patience (2 years)to air dry that lumber? Both the Cherry and Ash would be special.:::: the soft maple has already been airdrying for about 12 months. I have it stored (temp) in my cabin... which actually looks a lot more akin to a wood shed. I'm looking forward to sawing some of the cherry and the ash (if the tree doesn't find it's good health again)... any of these woods good for speaker cabinets??? Mike
I've just completed staining the Poplar on Edgar Horns (650Hz) for Speakerman. Would be great for the soft maple: 50/50 boiled linseed oil/mineral spirits wiped on and set for an hour followed by Minwax 'English Chestnut', a reddish dark brown. Cherry also tends to take finish unevenly so it too benefits from a pre-stain or wash coat; then build layers of colors. The first item under "Highlights" is a link to 'Dyes and Staind For Oiled Finishes' Merry Pranks Website Ash really looks good "pickled" and this is hte best/easiest stuff to use: Behlen Pickling Stain Almost as many opinions on Woodworking as Audio and these are just mine.
Bill, thanks to you, I discovered water-based aniline dye this Spring and now I have at least 8 different tones at home that I mix and match. Depth and clarity is unmatched by the stuff I used to use from HD. The only pain is grain raising. Uneven finish on some wood is still an issue with this stuff but I find lightly spraying the piece with water first lets the dye soak in more evenly. I finished by Tangband bookshelves with black aniline dyed oak and it looks incredible. With the cherry, I read in a recent magazine that the best way to finish is just a clear coat with no dye or stain, and just let it darken with age.