I'm in the process of designing a new piece of furniture for a family member and the desired wood is Alder. Unfortately, Alder is not easily accessible to me here in western Pennsylvania, based upon searches on Woodfinder & Google.
My question to someone more knowledgeable than me is: what wood would make a fairly good substitute for Alder?
From what I see on the internet, pine should do the trick, with a very light brown dye job. The grain and appearance of pine seem to mimic alder, especially knotty alder.
Any experience you might offer will be appreciated. Thank you in advance.
Tom, interestingly enough I used alder as a substitute for cherry on my William & Mary Prie Dieu. The trim around the top of the desk is alder. The face and edge grains are remarkably similar … end grain not so much. Perhaps you could use some plain Jane cherry for your project. I would imagine cherry in your neck of the woods costs what alder does in mine.
Tom, interestingly enough I used alder as a substitute for cherry on my William & Mary Prie Dieu. The trim around the top of the desk is alder. The face and edge grains are remarkably similar … end grain not so much. Perhaps you could use some plain Jane cherry for your project. I would imagine cherry in your neck of the woods costs what alder does in mine.
Tom, interestingly enough I used alder as a substitute for cherry on my William & Mary Prie Dieu. The trim around the top of the desk is alder. The face and edge grains are remarkably similar … end grain not so much. Perhaps you could use some plain Jane cherry for your project. I would imagine cherry in your neck of the woods costs what alder does in mine.
I'm not saying you haven't checked everywhere near you but I live in DFW Texas and can get alder out the yin yang at the lumber yards here, and it's fairly cheap. Western PA has nothin? Even Pittsburgh?
Again, not accusing you of being lazy. Just askin.
I m not saying you haven t checked everywhere near you but I live in DFW Texas and can get alder out the yin yang at the lumber yards here, and it s fairly cheap. Western PA has nothin? Even Pittsburgh?
Again, not accusing you of being lazy. Just askin.
Colonel Travis
Pittsburgh and the surrounding county it is in (Allegheny County) has no sawmills, or lumber yards, except the big box stores. Now the surrounding counties have some sawmills, but the vast majority are in the eastern half of the state. The problem is, alder only grows on the northern west coast, up into Canada. Trucking logs across the country costs, appearantly too much for the mills to deal with it.
Cherry on the otherhand, is everywhere, but it will darken with age and this project is supposed to match existing pieces.
Interesting, thanks. Agree pine could get you pretty darn close to knotty alder. If I were trying pine I'd get the conditioner from Charles Neil. I have used it on poplar and cherry, not pine, but it works wonders with blotchy wood.
Call a lumber supplier in Pittsburgh, and order it. If they say they can't get it, they are not doing their job. I have no idea what it would cost there, but in Tucson, without any forests nor mills to supply our demand, it's over $3 bdft for superior 4/4 s2s. Hood distribution is our local supplier. Just a guess, but they bring in at least 5,000 bdft per month. Good luck locating a substitute, but like Fridge said, there is no substitute. .......... Jerry (in Tucson)
The knotty aspect is the curve ball. Cherry is a great substitute for alder (actually, it's the opposite like DW said, but hey). I think your idea for knotty pine is the closest you'll find readily available, but still, there's no comparison. Plan on lots of test boards if you go that route.
Our local Woodworker's Source store gets great reviews online. I'm fortunate to be in town and shop there directly, but the reviews indicate that they do a lot of online ordering. Since knotty alder is super cheap, and depending on the quantity you need, it might be affordable to ship.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
LumberJocks Woodworking Forum
2.5M posts
96K members
Since 2006
A forum community dedicated to professional woodworkers and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about shop safety, wood, carpentry, lumber, finishing, tools, machinery, woodworking related topics, styles, scales, reviews, accessories, classifieds, and more!