Have a customer that wants a vanity built.
After her description of what she would like the finish to look like, I took some shop scrap of 3/4 luaan and threw some” red mahogany ” stain on it, just to get in the ballpark. She said “perfect” – hmm now what should I use for lumber? ( face frames, rails, stiles) ?
I wasn’t expecting her to go for the luaan. Can’t say that I’ve ever built a stain grade cab from luaan before.
Or do you know of another suggestion? – Extremely tight, straight grain?
Remodeling Contractor just on the other side of the Glass City
Replies
At my regular yard, I can get t&g lauan decking. They call it mahogany, but it's not.
You might want to check your yard to see if they have some. You may have to pick through the lumber a bit to get things to match, since lauan covers several species of wood.
You should be able to rip your stiles and rails out of the decking.
I'll check - thanks.Remodeling Contractor just on the other side of the Glass City
Luan is AKA , Meranti, Obeche, and sometimes Mahog.
If you ever installed a basic handrail like a basement stair type, it stands a good chance of being Obeche, but I have yet to see it in board config.
Maybe, just maybe, a boat yard up there on a lake may have acess to some sort of a mahog species that is in plank form.
Another Ideeer I just had..I used to get my exotics from a hardwood supplier in Asheville, NC. Thier dumpster was filled with shipping chocks ( 4x4, 2x2 etc.) from the bunks of plywood and such from Indonesia, those chocks were OFTEN Obeche, or Genuine Phillipene Mahog...if face frames is all yaneed, I'd be looking at that option..even Lowes or HD has shipping chocks, just ask a person with some pull in the forklift area.
edit: Also Motorcycles shipped from Japan, Kawi,Honda, Yamahaha are crated in some pretty cool mahogonies soemtimes..time to dumpster dive.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
"People that never get carried away should be"
Edited 12/17/2007 9:37 am ET by Sphere
Dumpsters are full up here - of snow -;)
Thanks for the venacular of what to ask for though.
I will check some of the big boxes when I'm in there also.
thanks man.
Happy Holidays.Remodeling Contractor just on the other side of the Glass City
Give the boys at Laborie Enterprises in Portage, Oh. a call. 686-6245. A nice operation.A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
Hmmm o.k. I'll try.
Was going to see if the guys at Kencraft had any ideas too.
Thanks again.Remodeling Contractor just on the other side of the Glass City
boeing surplus here a year ago had 4x12x25'mahogany beams that had been used for shipping skids for a huge machine,i heard the guy that bought them [they was like 35.00 each] took them to a saw mill and had them cut.who would of thought about that wood being used for pallets.if a man speaks in the forest,and there's not a woman to hear him,is he still wrong?
Thats why we use oak and poplar..we have plenty.
Over there, oak and poplar is like us getting mahog. They have plenty of mahog, but covet oak and Pop, and pine..
What goes round comes round.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
"People that never get carried away should be"
Iheard that about Kubota tractor crates also...
might have been from an old FWW.
.
.
.
.
.
I have Transcended the need for Pants....oooohhhhmmmmmm......
Yup. I sorta used MC's as an example, almost any thing from "Over there" is fair game.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
"People that never get carried away should be"
butternut is a domestic, if uncommon, wood that would stain similarly to your luan -
Cool, thanks.Remodeling Contractor just on the other side of the Glass City
Poplar, with the appropriate stain, would work just fine.
Keim Lumber in Charm Ohio - http://www.keimlumber.com/ sells genuine mahogany, if she can afford it. They have shipped to me in NJ - they can ship to you near Toledo.
Jeff
We built a vanity out of luan and Ipe deck boards recently. That Ipe is a little gritty feeling until you get a couple coats of sanding sealer on it but readily available. Made a matching stool for stepping in and out of the bath tub.
The sink traps are concealed in the wall behind the luan access panels for wheelchair access.
My apologies for the file size.
M
------------------
"You cannot work hard enough to make up for a sloppy estimate."
Edited 12/17/2007 11:00 pm ET by ShelterNerd
24441.75