Wood you like to work with the most?

Walnut for me. Hard enough, machinable, cuts nicely, is beautiful when it’s plain, stunning when it has figure, and I love the richness of the color.

Any of the mahogany or mahogany-like woods would be second.

-- ian | "You can't stop what's coming. It ain't all waiting on you. That's vanity."

I love the rosewoods, indian, bolivian, honduran, etc. Their characteristics vary widely, but I love the look. I also love walnut and it’s hard to beat the looks of figured maple, though in reality I don’t like the actual working of it much (finicky).

-- Brian T. - Exact science is not an exact science

Ipe is a new favorite for me. Hard , dense and sands to a sheen without any finish. Wonderful dark rich grain. And it is supposed to last forever outdoors.

-- Fine Custom Woodwork since 1978

Honey mesquite and maple.

White oak for me. If I can get the quarter sawn. I am in heaven.

-- Thor and Odin are the greatest of Gods.

i work with a alot of poplar, i mainly do furniture like dressers and nightstands that are to be painted mostly….but i do like cherry.

-- You can get alot further with a kind word and a hand gun, than just a kind word alone

Cherry is my preference. It looks great with the variance in color. I know lots of folks don’t like sap wood, but I love it in cherry. It can tear out easily and the saw can burn it easier then any other wood I’ve worked with. But cabinet scrapers can remove the burn marks and because of cherry’s light and dark markings, it is very easy to fill in any flaws with melt sticks.

-- Bernie: It never gets hot or cold in New Hampshire, just seasonal!

Cherry, maple and walnut.

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

Well, fine mahogany, but it’s costly and few clients will pay for it,

I haven’t worked with it a ton but I’d say Alder. It’s soft enough that it’s not a horrible pain to work. It looks nice and seems to stay (usually) pretty straight. The only downside is the grain is kind of boring.

Free.
And welcome to LJ’s.

-- "Actions speak louder than words but not nearly as often." - Mark Twain

QSWO, QSRO

-- Willie, Washington "If You Choose Not To Decide, You Still Have Made a Choice" - Rush

Anything headed for the dumpster but especially old growth douglas fir. I cant believe how much good wood is abandoned. Thankfully, sites like Craigslist give folks the option of finding people like me who is glad to help clean out their garages.

There is something great about milling reclaimed wood. Crusty on the outside, and useable goodness on the inside.

-- JC Garcia, Concord, CA : "It's easier to ask forgiveness than permission..."

I really like Honduran mahogany. It is straight and soft and has a beautiful patina. It machines beautifully, unfortunately it is it quite expensive so I don’t get to use it much.

-- Bondo Gaposis

Cucumber Magnolia

-- "Good artists borrow, great artists steal”…..Picasso