which wood is best, for beginner / amateur?

Keep your practice to hardwood, softwood is a totally different ball game. Softwood like pine and cedar has lots of knots and the fiber just falls apart when you try to do anything fine with it. Hardwood like oak and walnut cut like putty and rarely splinter or flake in precise corners. If you use any power tools the softwood will just snap off when you try to mortise anything under 3/4 of an inch. Plus not that many real life uses for fancy joinery with pine because most of your furniture makers use hardwoods.

-- Failure does not stop me, it makes me try harder..... because I'm crazy.

I see lots of people on here use (or repurpose) old pallets. If there’s a motorcycle dealership near you, pop in and ask if they have any packing materials you can have – lots of oak pallets apparently.

-- Do or do not, there is no try

pine , fir ,poplar etc. is great wood to practise with
just grap the cheapest you can get
maybee there is knots in it but that is possiple to work around
thugh you shuold beaware that softwood like pine will tell you if your chisels is sharp enoff
or need to be honed when you do endgrainwork dovetails or tennonwork
many will tell you that its sometimes easyer to work with hardwood when it comes to endgrainwork
maybee I do not know yet

don´t forget scappieces/cutoffs to practice on later in your journey :-)

good luck
Dennis

I think one of the best woods for practicing joinery is poplar. It’s cheap and just hard enough to stay together when doing intricate cuts. I’m sure there are others, like ash, beech, etc. but poplar is the one we seem to get down here in Texas.

The issue with the pines, firs, and spruces is that they tearout when doing machine joinery. They are enjoyable to work with hand tools…really sharp tools can reduce some of those issues.

-- jay, www.allaboutastro.com

Poplar works like typical hardwood. The mistakes and efforts I make in poplar are the same I make in cherry and maple and beech. Poplar is very very much like soft maple. Oak is different from all those and gave me some new learning when I first started with it.

Unfortunately the box stores charge as much for poplar as I pay for cherry at a hardwood yard.

-- Dave, New England - “We are made to persist. that's how we find out who we are.” ― Tobias Wolff

I’ll second going for pallets or call around to some cabinet shops and see if they will sell their scrap for cheap and tell them why you need it, they may just toss it your way. Industrial places and repackaging places get some really heavy duty pallets. Best is if you have a sawzall, I find the runners half the time aren’t worth the trouble with the nails they use, so slice out the middle for actual lumber and slice off the ends for practice pieces. I’ve got 2 pieces of 1.25×6x36” pieces of clear white oak and another 3 that are only 4” wide, just make it battery powered and you don’t even need a truck.

-- --Rev. Russ in NY-- A posse ad esse

I don’t know why but those stores that sell wood stoves and pellets for wood stoves have great piles of pallets.

-- Dave, New England - “We are made to persist. that's how we find out who we are.” ― Tobias Wolff

For starting out, I would strongly suggest POP ( Plain Ole Pine ). I can often get it Free from dumpsters where they are building houses. Those loooong dumpsters. I rather like the knots:

You can make finished pieces, or just use it for practicing. Yes, it has its limitations. However, LOTS can be done with it. One big reason I suggest Pine is that you are not as afraid to mess it up. And if you are successful, then you can have a usable piece when you finish. Poplar & Mahogany would be best for practicing hand-cut dovetails. Oh, and have scary sharp chisels.

What tools do you have? What kind of proejcts would you like to concentrate on? Do you need already dimensioned lumber or do you have a Jointer & Planer?

-- Backer boards, stop blocks, build oversized, and never buy a hand plane--

free stuff!!!!!

-- Joel -- http://diversitywoodworks.wordpress.com

I have been using white pine for more than 30 years with no regrets.
1) Corner hutch made in 1983 (recent pic)

2) Toy Box made recently

3) Shelf

And then there is cedar bought milled on one side and both edges…some 1×3 pickets.

And Red Oak. I buy as much as I can at the hardwood seller when they have short pieces (<48 inches) on sale 50% off.

Gitchasome and get to slinging sawdust.

-- Handcrafted by Mike Henderson - Channelview, Texas

rance: i have a joinery book, planer, joiner, router, table saw… lots of goodies. but what i dont have are chisels. I guess that is next on the shopping list.

i’m not worried about knots or strength, as these will be expendable training exercises. seems popular is a good choice to start with.

there is a “cabinet finishing” shop infront of my work. i’ll have to ask them next week for bottom-feeding spare parts.

I think pine is a perfectly fine wood to start with. Pine is a lot softer than hardwood but it’s not crepe paper. Sharp tools can usually cope with the knots.

As far as starter hardwoods, I too suggest poplar. It’s probably the cheapest of the hardwoods. It’s also not so terribly hard that it will be impossible to shape.

Cherry and walnut are nice but they cost a lot more and you won’t feel free to screw things up (i.e. learn) on such expensive wood.

Don’t get poplar at Home Depot though. It costs an arm and a leg there.

Unless you are using construction type lumber, HD and Lowes wood prices are quite high compared to hardwood suppliers. Always look on CL for some scores, and online as well. I think poplar, as mentioned is a good wood to start with. Beyond that, Birch in my area is not too expensive and can have a nice appearance. I am really not a red oak fan, but that is just me.

Pine or poplar are good for practice and finished pieces. I see from your profile you are near Reno. Google hardwoods reno see what comes up and then visit some of the cabinet shops see where they get thir wood. Reno is big enough there should be a couple of hardwood suppliers.

Bruce
Boise, ID

-- Bruce

+1 on poplar or pine.
If you’re making serviceable projects, go with pine. It takes on a great look as it ages. Just for practice, poplar. Both are great starter woods. Poplar is excellent for shelves.

-- He who dies with the most tools... dies with the emptiest wallet.