# Sapele: 5/4 x 21" x 12' now what?



## Buckethead (Apr 14, 2013)

I bought this piece with the intention of building a hutch for my darling wife, but she intends to do a distressed finish on what I build. I am NOT going to put this lovely chunk of Sapele through the wringer like that. Some pine will do there.

So… That leaves me with this awesome chunk of wood which I got for what I consider a steal (in FL) of $5 per BF.

Any suggestions? I could use it for a work bench, but others have already chided me for considering such. Hard maple will cost me another $1.50 per BF, so that isn't really the problem there. Perhaps Sapele is too soft a wood for a bench?

Truthfully, I want to make something worthy of this piece of lumber. Currently I have no resaw capability. Again, the workbench wouldn't require such. I did just pick up a delta thickness planer for fiddy bucks! 









It works!

So I'm looking for ideas here. I'm anxious to begin my first real hardwood project (I've built a ton of things from softwood and scrap, and have been a carpenter for longer than I'll admit). I'd hate to cut this up into jewelry boxes. So I'd love to get any ideas you guys are willing to offer.


----------



## Howie (May 25, 2010)

How about a "sofa" table?


----------



## renners (Apr 9, 2010)

The one plank challenge. I don't know what you can make with that Buckethead, what do you need? coffee table? bedside locker? bathroom cabinet?
It may look like a lot of timber but you should allow plenty of waste when cutting it. It can have a mind of it's own and is liable to tear out if your knives are dull or you feed it through the planer the wrong direction.


----------



## Buckethead (Apr 14, 2013)

Thanks for The responses, fellas!

Our house is basically furnished, and my better half is not fond of my wood selection. "Orange" was her single comment.

A coffee table would be a good start, I suppose. I could give it to my son, who needs complete home furnishings, but then again, with his track record of caring for his possessions, it would not endure for long. (Maybe that's why he is in need of the full monte?) Bring him in and let him help design and build it. Whatever piece he wants. There's a thought…
Orrrrrr…

I'm seriously leaning towards using it or a bench top. I have no bench, it cost less than hard maple locally, the same as birch, but I did have my heart set on that Scandinavian looking bench. I wanted to do walnut accents, but hard maple or birch as the primary material. This would just look wrong, even if it worked well.

I went to play with my new $50 delta portable planer… And upon attempting to adjust the head height…. (Need the price is right failure sound here)...

Just a quick look at her undercarriage (I was quick…. I am a gentleman) revealed a missing pin in the axel which transfers the crank action to the opposite side. Surely there is a term for this type of pin. I dismantled, and the other side seemed to be repaired in an ad hoc manner. I did the same. I inserted a finish nail and wedged it in the slot then cut it off with a trusty hack saw.









Put it back together, checked the bed and blades for parallel, and fired her up.








I'm a happy camper!

So… Still trying to contemplate what to do, or to just wait. The guy I bought this from has another piece just like it, so I could double the amount. It is 1-3/8" to 1/1/2" thick so re sawing would be an option if I had the means, and if it suited a particular project.


----------



## sixstring (Apr 4, 2012)

Sapele is used in newer acoustic guitars as an alternative to mahogany… using it as a workbench, at least to me, either honors the workbench too much or doesnt honor the nice wood enough. But I'm crazy like that so please do what you see best with that wood.

But it looks to me like you can use a planer cart.


----------



## kdc68 (Mar 2, 2012)

I have a simple solution ….I'll take it off your hands….Then for You… it will be out of sight… out of mind…. All your focus can be spent on a hutch for your wife…. *;-)*


----------



## lateralus819 (Mar 24, 2013)

Sapele is BEAUTIFUL. I just finished a dining table using 8/4 sapele. Some of it has pomelle like figure. Good luck.

Maybe a dining/coffe table or end stands?


----------



## madts (Dec 30, 2011)

I would save it, until you just get the bingo moment. That might be tomorrow, or in 5 years time.


----------



## tefinn (Sep 23, 2011)

I agree with madts. Sit on it! When the right project come along you'll know it.

About three years ago I got some old growth honduran mahogany salvaged from a 130 year old house. 3/4×8" x 9'. I got it for $1/linear foot for 10 planks! I'm still sitting on 8 1/2 of those.


----------



## WillAdams (Dec 8, 2012)

Tool box / chest.


----------



## Buckethead (Apr 14, 2013)

There's a good idea. Well done Will!

I have been acquiring hand tools. Organization is becoming a problem.

A tool box would suit the situation, allow me to practice various joinery types, and be a useful addition as well.

I have seen some boxes that made me drool. Perhaps I need to take this on.

I think I'll look at some of the box types here and commit to designing something that suits my needs.


----------



## zzzzdoc (Mar 6, 2010)

I build most of my furniture out of sapele, so I could think of lots of possibilities.

Where did you get the board around here? I don't find many wide sapele boards around Tampa.


----------



## Buckethead (Apr 14, 2013)

I bought it in Jacksonville from a lumber supplier who doesn't normally carry hardwoods for resale. They do purchase them occasionally for the purpose of special orders such as moldings, corbels, accents, etc…

I happened to be near, and since I had done business with them previously for framing lumber, I dropped in.

I asked if they had any hardwoods such as walnut…. No was the answer, but he said he had a opulent pieces of sapele left over from an order a couple years ago that he'd love to sell to me. Both were in excess of 20" in width, 5/4 in thickness, and 12' in length. I bought one, and the other remains there. I really should have kept the pair together.

I can give you contact info if you're interested, but it seems like a long drive for a single piece of lumber.


----------



## Buckethead (Apr 14, 2013)

Edit for above: "opulent" should have been "couple".

Autocorrect wins again.


----------



## rickf16 (Aug 5, 2008)

Here's what I did with a piece of Sapele.

http://lumberjocks.com/projects/10230

sixstring has a good point. IMO this is a wood that should be displayed.

Just mt two.


----------



## pctechmgr (Sep 17, 2012)

Save it until you find the project that suits you. But totally agree that there is no point in using it for a piece that will be 'distressed'. Makes me cringe.


----------



## planeBill (Oct 21, 2011)

send it to me.


----------



## JSilverman (Mar 31, 2011)

Look at Tommy MacDonald's web site for his version of the North Benet School toolbox. That would look great using Sapele.


----------



## Buckethead (Apr 14, 2013)

Nice one, JSilverman. A daunting task. I did a bit of intardnet perusing and saw a few. I do find that box quite appealing, and would be inclined to expand its size. I suppose that would be breaking the rules.

So many tails to cut by hand for this beginner, might be a deal breaker though. When I'm doing a set small now, I get all nervous as I near completion. One bad move ruins quite a bit of work. It might take me a year to build that toolbox.

Ahh the impatience of a recovering framer. We tend to enjoy seeing rapid progress.

And I do want to build something that afterwards my wife decides should be indoors. In fact, a beautiful toolbox might fit that bill perfectly.

Perhaps birch as a complimentary wood for the drawer fronts?


----------



## Buckethead (Apr 14, 2013)

Rick, your display case is lovely. Great design, and the grain is fabulous. I hope the piece I purchased is as nice.


----------



## DanYo (Jun 30, 2007)

how about a few dozen small thin walled boxes?


----------



## Buckethead (Apr 14, 2013)

Lol! I like it, Dan'um.

Sadly, this piece has been sitting all these months. It's worse. I've gotten three more, although smaller width, pieces. No project planned for it except a gerstner type tool box which is barely under way.


----------



## Buckethead (Apr 14, 2013)

I should add that I believe I misidentified this as Sapele, when it is African mahogany. The Janka scale has Sapele listed as harder than hard maple, and this is much softer.


----------



## OnhillWW (Jan 10, 2015)

Sapele can be very attractive, nice find! To my mind it would be a waste to make a workbench top with this. 5/4 alone isn't thick enough for a work surface unless you were going to laminate it over something else. If you have never worked with sapele take care with machining, watch the grain. It is a hard wood but can also be brittle, corners can splinter easily, take care and you will not have a problem. Planing in the wrong direction can be hard and create a lot of pull out, just looking at the grain may not tell you the "right" way to proceed. I would suggest that you test first with light / shallow passes in both directions to determine the most favorable direction to work in.


----------



## ric53 (Mar 29, 2014)

Hold on to it. IT will eventually tell YOU what it wants to be.


----------



## Buckethead (Apr 14, 2013)

Ric53… I do believe you're right. This is a very old thread, one bumped by someone perusing my sparse profile, I suspect, and which motivated me to actually start cutting dovetails for one project: a gerstner inspired tool chest. Why should machinists have all the nice things? ;-)



















The delay started when I was having trouble thickness planing without snipe on my lunchbox planer, (I cut them too exact to just cut the sniped portion off) coupled with my lack of sharpening skills. I just stopped as to not waste the material. Those skills have since improved sufficiently to manage finishing up with the hand planes. I like planing.


----------



## Iguana (Jun 22, 2011)

If you are looking for a challenge, make yourself a Greene & Greene style piece.


----------



## newwoodbutcher (Aug 6, 2010)

A storage chest? Several small jewelry boxes? IPad charger station? Step stool? Picture frames? Tool box?
That's what on my list. Hope it helps.


----------



## Buckethead (Apr 14, 2013)

I really like the Greene and Greene look, but sadly, my better half prefers shabby chic, romantic, abused looking, painted white furnishings. If I nail some poorly cut boards together, she thinks its a masterpiece. If I make something with expensive hardwood, she politely compliments me and asks where in the garage is that going. 

I've three pieces now, and the smallest (12" x 5/4" x 10') is becoming a gerstner inspired tool chest for my planes, chisels, and marking/measuring tools. Just posted a shot of my feeble attempt at dovetails a couple posts above.


----------



## AlaskaGuy (Jan 29, 2012)

> I would save it, until you just get the bingo moment. That might be tomorrow, or in 5 years time.
> 
> - madts


+1 Just put it away and you'll magically know when and what to use it for.


----------



## ElChe (Sep 28, 2014)

A medium sized box with wrap around grain. Dovetailed or splined miters.


----------

