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Send to friendI am making the tryde media console and am looking at wood choices for the cut list. I am planning in staining the wood a dark brown/espresso finish and wanted to know what type of wood I should be looking for.
I notice most of the pieces I need come in poplar but the 2x4's and 4x4's do not. What is the best wood to look for that is available in all sizes?
The best choice for a nice, dark color is Walnut (Juglans Nigra). It is an easy to use wood, finishes very nice and is very elegant. It is durable and affordable.
No. 2 walnut is moderately affordable, at only twice the price of No. 2 pine. However No. 2 walnut isn't the same quality wood as no. 2 pine. Once you get into the nicer grades of walnut, the price goes up considerably.
It is everything that Tom says though. It's beautiful, a joy to work, and even a simple finish like shellac will make it truly stunning.
The other problem you'll have is finding it. You have to find a hardwood dealer. You'll also have to surface it. Not hard, but not trivial either.
I much, much prefer FAS (First and Seconds) hardwoods over the lower grades. You spend so much time on a project that the cost of the wood disappears in comparison. When you buy quality, you only cry once. If you go for the lower end woods, you will see it every time you look at your project.
Yes, walnut is clearly much harder to find than construction grade pine or fir, but once you see your project in walnut, cherry, oak, maple, or mahogany, you will swear off pine for any primary surface.
I recently took on a commission for a friend. He really wanted the walnut, but for firsts and seconds of walnut, he first needed to work out which of the children he was going to sell. He settled on hard maple, which has made me very happy. This is the first time I've used it for joinery, and the beauty of the wood and the crispness of the cuts is making me very happy. Of course, the weight of the book cases may make me regret that choice during installation.
I no longer build with pine now that I have tried the higher quality woods like oak. I get oak boards at Lowes. The pine does not take stain, especially dark stain, well at all. It's always been a disaster.
I also highly recommend using the Minwax Pre-Stain Wood Conditioner before applying stain - especially if you do have to go with a lower priced wood that doesn't stain as well.
Check out the section on "Staining different wood types" on this page. It's really helpful. http://www.minwax.com/wood-finishing-101/staining-interior-wood/
Location
No. 2 pine from a reputable lumber yard is your best choice. If you plan to stain, avoid poplar unless you're doing something like my Making Your Own Stain trick.
Where ever you wind up buying wood, check it over carefully for straightness and cracking. A good lumber yard, with honest No. 2 pine, should have mostly straight wood without gnarly edges or cracking. Even there you should check it.
When you've built more, you can look at other woods, but hiding nice hardwood under a dark espresso stain probably isn't what you're going to do.