A year ago, Woodshop News wrote the following about the status of domestic wood markets: "Wood dealers have a 'wait-and-see' attitude when it comes to forecasting how wood markets will perform in 2010. Here is a sampling of wood alternatives, most with some environmental advantages, for home construction and remodeling projects. The plywood core provides rigidity and holding power for screws while keeping the weight to a more manageable level than MDF-core sheets. Here are four of our favorites. But any mention of a substantial rally taking place was greeted cautiously by even the most optimistic of dealers.". © 2020 Meredith Corporation. You can even find Lyptus plywood in a variety of thicknesses, colors and core options. When finished properly, ipe makes a striking choice for outdoor furniture, planters, arbors, and footbridges. For more related content, subscribe to our newsletter! " of material at a time. June 8, 2008. Big and small manufacturers have used Baltic Birch in various thicknesses, white pine, MDF (boo hiss), and marine ply. To maintain a rich walnut color, apply an annual treatment of a penetrating oil finish containing UV inhibitors such as Penofin (800-736-6346, penofin.com). WATCH OUT FOR: Splintering. Maple Cabinets. (Some woodworkers choose to wear gloves when handling Lyptus to avoid the small splinters.) Bamboo is fast-growing but at least as strong as some slow-growth woods. It has a little tighter grain. Autumn Introspection Sunday Afternoon. The wood has a straight grain and is considered easier to machine than hard maple. Poplar. I suggested beech instead of maple (her suggestion) because I … Although few pests impact the wood, tuliptree scale suck sap from twigs and leaves then deposit their ample, sticky discharge on cars and lawn furniture. A eucalyptus hybrid grown in sustainable-growth plantations in Brazil and distributed by Weyerhaeuser (800-320-9720, lyptus.com), Lyptus reaches maturity in about 15 years—2 to 4 times faster than similar hardwoods in colder climates—keeping its price low and its availability high. Use carbide-tipped blades and bits and make sure that they are sharp to reduce splintering and tear-out. "As I said, poplar has a tendency to be fuzzy and you can usually get through that process by priming it and scuffing it, but we do lot of doors and one of the driving forces is the guy runs our mill department is way more in favor of soft maple than poplar because of its stability and machinability," Harris says. For a foolproof, apply on anything clear wood finish I only use the award winning General Finishes topcoats .Simply wipe on, let dry, and sand. Question. "We still use soft maple quite a bit; we do a lot of paint-grade material and obviously it is more expensive than poplar," says Dave Harris, president of Parkerville Wood Products, a retail and millwork company in Manchester, Conn. "But if we do paint-grade doors and paint-grade millwork, soft maple is a little less fuzzy [than poplar] and it just works well. Take a look at ipe (pronounced EE-pay). While Lyptus's hardness, durability, and price are on par with hard maple, its fine grain resembles genuine mahogany. Add to … Bamboo is often considered a wood, but this grass is really a wood alternative. Hemp is a fast-growing and sustainable crop that generates more construction-grade fiber per acre than most trees and other crops. Our advice: Take a look at combination-core sheet goods. The various African and South American substitutes that rise to the challenge often become increasingly unavailable and pricey as they gain prominence. Hemp . These sheet goods are perfect for desktops or other surfaces that need a high-gloss finish where surface irregularities might otherwise stand out. So we use it a lot in production. You'll pay from 5 to 20 percent more for combination-core than for veneer- and MDF-core sheet goods. Album Themes . Luthiers Mercantile International we offer over 40 species of wood for use in the construction of stringed instruments To avoid surface checking, immediately treat the ends of ipe with a wax-based end-grain sealer after cutting it. I'm pricing out a kitchen right now. Seal surfaces against moisture with an oil finish or polyurethane to avoid warping and swelling. R (programming language) R is a free software environment for statistical computing and graphics. Naturally resistant to decay, moisture, insects—even fire—it's so dense that it actually sinks in water. I suppose consistency is the most important factor for them. Alternative Singer/Songwriter Alternative/Indie Rock Alternative Country-Rock. Be sure to use sharp, carbide-tipped blades and bits. And, though its price runs about twice that of cypress or cedar, with proper treatment, outdoor projects made from ipe will long outlive these less-durable woods and may very well outlive you. From an appearance standpoint, there is not a lot of big difference, but there is pricewise, absolutely. The MDF layers ensure that the imperfect plies don't telegraph through the top layer of veneer, giving you a smoother surface and a void-free substrate. When it comes to bringing out the natural beauty of a highly figured piece of wood, such as quilted maple or quartersawn oak, nothing beats a hand-rubbed Danish-oil finish. Percent cheaper than hard maple. `` fire—it 's so dense that actually! To accidentally sand through that thin outer skin are alternative to maple wood to reduce the thickness of on! 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