Wood Types

Below are the different wood types I like to use in my work, along with some information about them.  Whenever possible, I use found items, scraps and repurposed materials.  My wood stash is about as varied as my fabric stash!  

Some of the information below was taken from Wood Identification & Use:  A field guide to more than 200 species, written by Terry Porter.

Maple - I like all types of maple - curly, spalted, hard, white, soft - it is one of my favorite woods to use!.  The light color and grain makes a compliment to the other darker woods I use. The softer species are easy to turn on the lathe. 

Black Walnut - Black walnut is one of my other favorite woods - I particularly like to pair it with maple because it creates a great contrast.

African Padauk (pterocarpus soyauxii)- The heartwood is a reddish orange and the sapwood is dark brown once seasoned.  It makes beautiful pens!  

Osage Orange (Maclura pomifera)- This wood is a hard wood to work with, but the results are worth the effort!  Properly finished, osage orange has a yellow/orange color and almost has a holographic effect.