# Joining Maple & Walnut for table top - wood movement precautions?



## keith204 (Nov 5, 2013)

I've been doing some googling, and it seems that gluing up different species of wood is a bad idea due to differences in wood movement.

However, I saw a post on here a few months ago (can't find it now!) where a guy made a real impressive bartop by joining Cherry, Maple, and Walnut. Nobody seemed to give him grief about joining the different species.

I'd like to build a coffee table, and am a sucker for the contrast between walnut & maple. What are some precautions I ought to take when gluing these up and preparing for the project?


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## Manitario (Jul 4, 2010)

no worries joining maple and walnut, it is a match made in wood heaven, and done all the time.


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## keith204 (Nov 5, 2013)

> no worries joining maple and walnut, it is a match made in wood heaven, and done all the time.
> 
> - Manitario


Great news. Is Cherry also a reasonable match with Maple & Walnut?


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## TheWoodenOyster (Feb 6, 2013)

Agreed. I don't see any issues. I think cherry would go well with them as well. Americans have been using that trio for a long time with good results.


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## jdh122 (Sep 8, 2010)

I can't imagine why gluing up different woods in a panel could cause a problem. Even if part of it expands and contracts a bit more than its neighbors it'll only do so across its width, causing the panel as a whole to move. I can see how it might be an issue in a butcherblock-style glue-up. If you made a solid box out of very different species it could pull apart the dovetails or boxjoint at the corner. But (unless I'm missing something) it wouldn't be a concern at all in a panel glueup with long-grain to long-grain joints.


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## bondogaposis (Dec 18, 2011)

There really is no problem joining different species of wood as long as you glue long grain to long grain. Wood doesn't move lengthwise.


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## bigblockyeti (Sep 9, 2013)

Those two don't move much at all relative to each other. Gluing balsa to ipe might pose a few problems.


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## Manitario (Jul 4, 2010)

> Those two don t move much at all relative to each other. Gluing balsa to ipe might pose a few problems.
> 
> - bigblockyeti


lol, my next table will be balsa and ipe…


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