# What is your favorite wood to build with? And to mill?



## deeker (Mar 25, 2011)

I like to run Spruce/pine/juniper/elm/cottonwood/box elder through my NorwoodLM2000 and have lots of uses for each of the woods listed.

Other favorites are walnut/cherry/pear/apricot.

What do you guys like to mill and build with?

Kevin


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## SDB777 (Mar 25, 2011)

Geographics will be interesting here....

From the south, so we have a lot of Eastern Red Cedar growing everywhere.....so that would be juniper for me!



Scott


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## dbol (Mar 25, 2011)

White oak and walnut right now. 
But, that will change with my next project.


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## huskymac (Mar 25, 2011)

*deeker*

What do you use the Cottonwood for, and how well does it take to machining?

I have only been milling a couple of years now but the farm where I get my firewood has a lot of dead and dieing Ash, so I have been stocking up on it. I mill mostly to keep a supply of wood for my other hobby, cabinet and furniture building. The Ash works very well and the color and grain are striking with nothing more than a clear coat.

I really like the Eastern Red Cedar as well, but I have only been lucky enough to find one that was large enough to mill. Same story with Walnut and Red Oak.


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## Timberframed (Mar 25, 2011)

Hemlock seems to work well in a lot of applications although the knots appear to be the hardest of any.


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## djones (Mar 25, 2011)

I prefer free wood, my last 2 or 3 projects were completed with wood that was thrown out at my last employers discard bin. They threw out enough wood to build my 10 x 12 chicken koop, completely cover the rebuild in my living room, and I still have enough left over to redo the leanto shed on my barn. Over the years they have thrown out enough wood to build dozens of small homes or a couple of castles. Luckily I was stationed close to the dump site and always had a saw in the back of the truck.


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## betterbuilt (Mar 25, 2011)

The weekends log is a 48 inch sycamore . I'll post pictures on Sunday or Monday. 

I'll mill just about any log that's* Free and Big *enough to make sense. 

Walnut, Ash, Butternut, Elm, Cherry and Maple


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## brookpederson (Mar 25, 2011)

Love__ Red cedar, white cedar, Red elm, cherry, Black walnut, butternut, catalpa, bass wood, maple "soft or hard", red and white pines, mullberry, white birch.

:msp_confused: Ok___ Ash, elm "american ", hackberry, spruce,red oak, osage orange river birch.


:msp_mad: Hate____ cottonwood, locust, piss elm, bur oak, poplars, little leaf linden.

Notice that most of my favorites are light and stable woods.


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## oldsaw (Mar 25, 2011)

Kind of with brook here. I live milling and working with walnut, cherry, butternut, maple, and the rest of his list. But I put ash and oak in the "more than okay" file. They can be a bit troublesome, but in the end, they aren't that bad if you follow their rules. Osage orange, not so much luck there. That moves down a notch.

But, like betterbuilt says, I'll mill anything that is big enough, at least once, and "big enough" is about an 8' run of a 15" or larger log...depending on species. I'll go smaller on some.

Going to do some serious milling this year. Been too long.


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## deeker (Mar 25, 2011)

huskymac said:


> What do you use the Cottonwood for, and how well does it take to machining?
> 
> I have only been milling a couple of years now but the farm where I get my firewood has a lot of dead and dieing Ash, so I have been stocking up on it. I mill mostly to keep a supply of wood for my other hobby, cabinet and furniture building. The Ash works very well and the color and grain are striking with nothing more than a clear coat.
> 
> I really like the Eastern Red Cedar as well, but I have only been lucky enough to find one that was large enough to mill. Same story with Walnut and Red Oak.


 
The cottonwood has some very nice looking grains and almost burls in it. Table tops for the better looking stuff.

Makes fantastic trailer decking. 

Works great for horse stalls....they won't chew it, twice. 

Works for shed siding...must be protected from rain or direct water...but lasts a long time.

It is very light when dried and flexible....hard to nail....pre drilling is required.

Kevin


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## sachsmo (Mar 25, 2011)

I have not did alot of milling, but most has been Oak, red and white.

It is pretty slow going, and the knots will slow you down quite a bit.

I see someone is milling a big Sycamore, I have milled a small twisted one with great spalting towards the bottom. It has some crazy speckling too.

I wish I had my mill when I dropped this one a few years back, here's a pic of a round we noodled. 

After seeing how nice that wood looked, I built my first mill attachment. Sure don't want to buck up nothing this nice again.


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## huskymac (Mar 25, 2011)

*deeker*

Thanks , I had heard of trailer and barn decking. I just assumed that the way it shreds in a splitter it would make planning and sanding a nightmare. 

So is it the same stringy dental floss quality that keeps the horses from coming back?:hmm3grin2orange:


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## Sawyer Rob (Mar 25, 2011)

My by far, most fav project/fine furniture wood is american bik. cherry! I was given these cherry logs,






And even though they aren't huge,






I still got some nice lumber out of them,






Some of it was nicely figured too,






BUT, for construction lumber, i like to mill aspen poplar.

Rob


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## MR4WD (Mar 25, 2011)

Western Red Cedar. I've milled a bit of Douglas Fir, but I've only really built 8x8 cant's for a 10x30 firewood shed and two days ago I built 2 13' 8x8 gate posts. 

This summer I'd like to try some Hemlock or more Fir, but I don't have a LOT of stuff I need to make around here.

Maybe more some more Cedar for a parking shed for my trailer?

I use untreated Cedar poles salvaged from work; Real nice tight ringed old growth pulled out of the forest over 70 years ago and been standing in the air drying out since. It's stable and takes no drying time and doesn't move around at all after milling.


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## pwoller (Mar 26, 2011)

Walnut.

I like to roll around in the chocolate colored chips.

Oh and it dries nice and finishes very well.


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## Daninvan (Mar 27, 2011)

I think my favourite woods to mill up are the ones that smell nice. Yellow cedar, Port Orford cedar, Monterey cypress, catalpa, deodar, cherry are ones that I like.

To build with, I mainly (try to) build furniture, cabinets, etc. so I prefer interesting hardwoods that play well with hand tools. Catalpa is up there, so is elm (mostly stinks tho), walnut, cherry, oak, maple, fruitwoods.

My neighbour and I have to repair the fence that separates our properties this summer, so I am keeping my eyes open for some red cedar to mill up into a half dozen 4x4 posts.


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## mikeb1079 (Mar 27, 2011)

i'm just a beginning woodworker but i'll side with sawyer rob. air dryed black cherry is a really nice wood to work, both with hand and power tools. plus it smells nice.
black walnut is an awfully close second. still waiting to work on the honey locust and mulberry i've got in the pile.


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## Walnut33 (Mar 28, 2011)

I am still yet to find a wood that planes and machines better than Black Walnut. It almost seems that its "social value" will never vanish, just because of how much consumers love it. It moves very little when drying, even with some of the big slabs. But in the end, every wood can be found looking better than any other if you just build the right thing with it.:msp_biggrin:


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## BlueRider (Mar 29, 2011)

Its interesting how opinions of favorite woods can be formed and changed over time. The first time I milled an elm I was not particularly fond of the smell. Each time I use elm for a piece of furniture I like it more and more. While the smell of freshly milled elm is stil not one of my favorite smells I find it much less objectionable now.

If I could I would use nothing but port orford cedar. Unfortunately it is not hard enough for most furniture but it dies plane and carve nicely and I would love to make some doors for my house with it. My second favorite is probably sugar pine which is even less of a good choice for furniture, even though I have used it to make two really spectacular cabinets. 

Continuing with the favorite smells theme I really enjoy working with montery cypress but it is one of my least favorite woods to mill because of how quickly it dulls a chain and how the saw dust gunks up a chan quicker than any other wood.

I am very allergic to wanut. I once had a severe reaction while milling it to the point that it gave me what looked like secomd degree chemical burns on my forearms. Even so it is hard not to be enamored with how well it works. It planes and machines well and is a dream to carve. When it is highly figured there are few woods that are more stricking and it seems to never go out of style. It is easy on chains when milling and considering how hard it is, it is relatively easy to mill

Chinese elm is another favorite of mine. It lacks the barn yard smell of the other elms and instead has a spicy peppery scent. when milling it can be almost over powering in its spiciness, but it tones down a bit and has a nice peppery smell when dry. It's color and figure are nothing special but it makes the best handles, mallets, and rolling pins.


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## northwest coast (Apr 15, 2011)

it goes by a couple different names, scientifically, chamycyparis nootkatensis, but whatever you want to call it, yellow cedar is my favourite to mill and work with. 

tight grain, 36" wide, clear slabs. i've traded some to first nations carvers and made a couple small projects but i would like to start selling doors and tables made from it. anyone interested ?


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## dustytools (Apr 16, 2011)

I guess mine would have to be Eastern Red Cedar. It turns and finishes nicely. I have recently used it to put a new bottom in my small trailer that I move my water tank around with and I made a nice bottom and box for my three point carry-all. It smells nice too!!


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## SDB777 (Apr 16, 2011)

Favorite wood from the other day!

Makes for a nice writing instrument!









Scott B


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## john taliaferro (Apr 16, 2011)

betterbuilt said:


> The weekends log is a 48 inch sycamore . I'll post pictures on Sunday or Monday.
> 
> I'll mill just about any log that's* Free and Big *enough to make sense.
> 
> Walnut, Ash, Butternut, Elm, Cherry and Maple


 yep free and big


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## peterrum (Apr 17, 2011)

I don't have much of a choice where I am but tight grained fir is right at the top. Some I have been able to get with 40 rings/inch, nice stuff. I have also started doing some Juniper and like it in the shop because it makes it smell like a mouse cage.


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## redoakneck (Apr 18, 2011)

Osage orange- because I like to sharpen chains.

Black Walnut with extra poison ivy...because I like to itch when I sharpen


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## hautions11 (Apr 22, 2011)

*Fovorite*

Ash with friends helping. I love to make things from Walnut but do like to mill ash.


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## cedarman (Apr 28, 2011)

red oak, cherry, and heart pine


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## JS929 (Feb 13, 2015)

So far the southeastern species that I've milled have been red oak, white oak, pin oak, overcup oak, red maple, eastern red cedar, american black cherry ( a big one!), elm, hickory, cucumber tree, tulip poplar, and yellow pine. The cherry has been my favorite so far. The smell is amazing, and it mills rather easily. The oaks and hickory seem to slow down the milling with my 660 a little bit.

Here are some pics of figured black cherry, spalted red maple, tulip poplar eastern red cedar and elm.


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## SDB777 (Feb 13, 2015)

FREE!


Scott (I like all of them) B


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## sixteenacrewood (Feb 13, 2015)

I'm gonna feel a bit odd for saying this, but.

I like any twisted tortured gothic knarled log I can get for free!

walnut, cherry, sycamore, sweetgum, red gum, all found a good use in my shop.

I have tons of short leaf pine I am about to start milling. This will be my first time milling pine!

So I think rather than "whats my favorite" its what am I going to mill first!


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## lone wolf (Feb 13, 2015)




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## CR888 (Feb 13, 2015)

l don't think the lone wolf will have trouble staying warm during the cold winter. Nice slabs and wood stack!


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## lone wolf (Feb 13, 2015)

CR888 said:


> l don't think the lone wolf will have trouble staying warm during the cold winter. Nice slabs and wood stack!


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## lone wolf (Feb 13, 2015)




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## steve easy (Feb 14, 2015)

sixteenacrewood said:


> I like any twisted tortured gothic knarled log I can get for free!


Me too, always milling the ugly ones no one else will. Macrocarpa is the most common, favourite is matai.

One matai tree, been on ground for about 50 years.


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## mad murdock (Feb 14, 2015)

I like building outdoor furniture, timbers and framing lumber out of Douglas Fir. WRC for the siding. I like how they both mill. The WRC for some reason has a gritty www to it that will dull the chain a little quicker, though it mills faster than the fir. I am looking forward to some projects this year that I want to incorporate maple and arbutus, so I will get to kill some big leaf Maple, madrone and hopefully a few sticks of red alder too.


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## pastryguyhawaii (Feb 14, 2015)

lone wolf said:


> View attachment 403341



Beautiful table!


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## Mike Van (Feb 15, 2015)

Basswood has to be the only wood smell I don't care for - Black locust, fresh cut has a sour smell right under the bark, but when the slabs are dry burning in the stove, it smells really good. Hemlock has to be my favorite saw log for framing lumber, cherry for furniture type. The black locust has to be my least favorite to saw, hard as a stone, a fine dust that gets into everything. Money maker though, I've sold it for sills, trailer decks, posts & raised beds.


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## KiwiBro (Feb 15, 2015)

steve easy said:


> Me too, always milling the ugly ones no one else will. Macrocarpa is the most common, favourite is matai.View attachment 403521
> 
> One matai tree, been on ground for about 50 years.


Mills like butter, smells like money ;-)

We are blessed in NZ to have some utterly wonderful native timbers.

Looking forward to the pics of the matai opened up, and also that big totara. That said, Kauri is top of my list for the combo of milling to drying to furniture. Rimu I like best for furniture if I don't have to mill or work with it, and if I did have to I'd much rather use Matai. Totara top of my ease of use list but a bugger to season properly and I am not a fan of the way even the deepest pink/crimson heart can bleach over time, but boy oh boy it can have some epic figure. Puriri if you want the furniture to survive everything but a nuclear attack and love sharpening tools and blades more often than not. Kahikatea can be nice to take from log through to furniture. Rewarewa rewards the careful and patient but is a bit too in your face for me. Tawa I just don't understand the hype.

Rimu:




Totara:


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## agrams (Feb 15, 2015)

probably my favorite overall wood to work with is mesquite. Bugs can be a real pain, but it has some of the most unique grain character around, and you could throw green slabs in a pile and they would dry without warping or cracking. I wish I had more experience with walnut, but around here it is pecan, mesquite, oak, the occasional ash, and then random stuff... Heaven help my bank account If I can ever find a place to buy some walnut logs at reasonable prices....

From this:





to this:





plus, the oddball pieces that aren't worth milling can be turned in to some really unique bowls:


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## BobL (Feb 16, 2015)

I really like the bowl, but I'm not convinced about the table top design. I can appreciate the amount of work involved but the middle board doesn't seem to fit in with the others and overall it's just a bit too busy for my taste. Sometimes it depends on what else is in the room with it.


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## agrams (Feb 16, 2015)

Bobl, I kind of agree with you on the table top, but the table was made from a specific tree that the owner provided, so I had to make it from those logs that they provided. Believe me, as much epoxy work as that middle board required, I would have rather found another solid board like the ones on each side.


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## BobL (Feb 16, 2015)

agrams said:


> Bobl, I kind of agree with you on the table top, but the table was made from a specific tree that the owner provided, so I had to make it from those logs that they provided. Believe me, as much epoxy work as that middle board required, I would have rather found another solid board like the ones on each side.



Sure I understand. As they say the customer is always right ;-)
Are they happy with it and what did you do for legs?


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## agrams (Feb 16, 2015)

The owner is providing the base, they just wanted me to make the top. I am going to mount it to to the top to check fit and everything, but they are taking care of it.


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## KiwiBro (Feb 16, 2015)

Has anyone tried to set up a wood exchange amongst like-minded people? I'd love to share some of our native woods with turners around the world, for example. There'd be all sorts of phytosanitary requirements and certificates for larger shipments, and we have a few rules about exporting native timber, but if there's a legal way to, for example, pop a few kiln dried pen blanks in a courier bag and send off to turners on the other side of the planet or ditch, who'd be keen on a selection of our timbers? If anyone is keen, please PM me and I'll check the rules to see if possible.


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