What would you build with this?

Sent it to the following address ….

-- http://www.woodsongsfurniture.com

wow.. if it were mine, I would cut veneers from it and use it for many things… Otherwise, think of some cool artistic piece like a special box… That wood is a treasure. Please treat it right

-- making sawdust....

with out much work you could sit it on a couple concrete blocks and use it for a coffee table … or you could even more creative !

welcome to lumberjocks

-- a legend in my own mind ...

If that particular piece of wood were mine, I’d probably rip it down the center, then resaw each piece and have four pieces roughly sized for the center of hall tables or sofa tables. I’d “frame” each piece, probably with darker wood, and have some striking table tops.

Of course you could hang it on the wall of your shop until inspiration strikes. I’ve had three pieces of cherry (1” x 16” x 13’) that I’ve kept for 25 years. I plan to make a “wake table” from the pieces, but it hasn’t happened yet. Those three pieces were rough-sawn SHELVES in an old electric company. They had rolls of cable stacked on them.

On your shop wall, it can be a good conversation piece, and you can study it a while until you’re really ready to put the tools to it.

-- Earle Wright, Lenoir City, Tennessee

Wow… very nice…

I love Bubinga… I think I’m going to have to agree with motthunter… I’d cut it into veneer and use it for a lot of projects. David Marks made a coffee table with a waterfall bubinga top on it on his “Woodworks” show. It was fantastic. Chest of drawers (all with consecutive grain from the matched veneer), jewelry boxes… all would look great. ... aahhh… did I mention that I reallllly like bubinga… ?... lol We’re all looking forward to your finished project… Good luck!

-- As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)

I would not cut it into veneers. One can find very wide Bubinga veneer all ready to go and for a very reasonable price. I have some sheets of waterfall Bubinga that are 26” X 120”. That is a nice piece of solid and can be used for a wide variety of projects. A nice hall table top would be one thing that comes to mind. Use some Ebony accents to pop it out.

-- Oldworld, Fair Oaks, Ca

Save it for something special! It will always be there. Practice on cheaper stuff.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

One thing for sure, you will find a use for such a nice piece. I would not hurry into it.

-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python

Ditto Grumpy and others. Wait for the right project. You will know…

-- Maplewood, MN

Take your time and wait for the right project to present itself to you. A nice box would be an excellent choice – but I think that I would use it for inset tops and accent pieces, that way you can spread the beauty further.

-- Bill - "Suit yourself and let the rest be pleased." http://www.cajunpen.com/

Take your time and wait for the right project to present itself to you. A nice box would be an excellent choice – but I think that I would use it for inset tops and accent pieces, that way you can spread the beauty further.

-- Bill - "Suit yourself and let the rest be pleased." http://www.cajunpen.com/

Kevin.

This is a gorgeous piece of wood. I can well understand why you just had to buy it. But I agree with the others in that you should just put is aside until later. The right project will eventually come to you.

If I had a piece like that I probably would be working on a box. It would make a gorgeous lid for a keepsake box.

Thanks for the post.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

Without doing anything to it, I’d use it for a coffee table with simple legs.

Then when you think of a more complex project, it’ll be waiting for you.

This would be much better than setting it on a shelf.

-- Dick Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1

I agree with others that suggest waiting for the right project. Magnificent wood figure.

-- Only the Shadow knows....................

Thank you all for the comments! I will be thinking over all of the ideas today. I am leaning towards the resaw idea, but may end up with is decorating the garage, I mean SHOP wall.

Just in case you all did not know. Rockler has some Waterfall bubinga for sale. Very costly though! $50 a BF. Check out the pictures on there website.

-- Kevin

I just purchased four sheets of bubinga veneer 20” x 50”. It has a similar grain pattern and I plan to use one sheet to make the top for a hall table. I will probably use the rest of it for small projects.

-- "A goal without a plan is a wish."

That’s a fantastic piece of wood – just hold on to it till the right project(s) come along.
I’ve ordered some of the waterfall bubinga from Rockler. Some will be used for a box top and some will be held back until something very special comes along.

It shouted “Box lid” to me. But boxes are my fascination…

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

I’m with most of the other commentators. Wait until it speaks to you. Eventually it will!

Regards,

Rob

-- http://www.damnfinefurniture.com

I don’t have anything new to say; only seconds, thirds and fourths of what has already been said. Maybe in different chronological order…. 1) find a dude with a biiiiiiig bandsaw or a WoodMizer and cut it into some hefty 3/32” veneers, and then 2) hang one of them on the wall until something inspiring lands a left hook to the dome and 3) dive in.

-- Jarrod, Eagle Nest, NM

as a follow up….

i would recommend saving mortises & tenons, dovetails, etc… for something a little softer. that bubinga shtuff is hard as a billy goats nipples.

-- Jarrod, Eagle Nest, NM

Don’t you just hate it when something special comes along and then you can’t decide how to use it! It is a great piece, I agree with the rest of those here, save it and wait, you’ll know when it is time. Consider it a fine wine.

-- Dan in Central Oklahoma, Able to turn good wood into saw dust in the blink of an eye!

Just treat it like a fine wine.

-- Pyromedic602, free wood is always good wood

Beautiful big piece of wood. You could make about 100 turned wine bottle stoppers with this, attend a craft show, sell them for $25 each, then go buy 5 or 6 more of these and make a great blanket chest.

-- Bob A in NJ

Be patient as many have said. This is a great “big” piece of wood. Personally, I’d most likely turn it into several small decorative boxes or something of the like. Veneer as many have said, isn’t a bad idea, just not my thing. It would make the nice grain go further!

-- Jeff, South Carolina

Kevin,

I think I understand what you are implying by pointing out this would be your second project. I am new also. I assume you mention that so the project ideas thrown at you would be of the sort that a begginer could handle. That being said, have you tried your hand at resawing much? I’ve tried it twice and the second time worked much better than the first but I am still not to a point to where I would attempt to resaw any thing “precious”. A sweet piece like that may be better off acclimating in your shop for a while and waiting for your skills to catch up?

oh forget all that crap I just said and cut that sucker up!
Pogoda box
follow that link, click jigs, click the second page, make the box they show you in the video.

-- Total Freakin Newbie

Why do anything with it? It just looks to darned pretty to cut. Let it grow on you and someday it’ll say what it wants to be.

-- Made lots of sawdust and pounded some nails. Haven't finished anything, though.