Reply by pmayer

As long as you don’t fall asleep with a stogie burning in it, I think it should work fine. I would go with a dark wood, like walnut, that didn’t show much of the ash stain. I would finish it with a penetrating oil (such as tung) to bring out the richness of grain, and then top with lots of coats of oil based poly, so its easy to wipe clean.

Good luck!

-- PaulMayer, http://www.vernswoodgoods.com