any idea what kind of wood the middle strip is? the top and bottom pieces are balsa. sorry for the bad picture, it’s from a cell phone.
I would say red cedar.
I’m no guru of any type but for me it’s difficult to tell, if I could see a bit more of it I’d have a guess. Where’s Doc?
here’s another pic. not sure if it’s better or worse…
Like Balsa said, it looks to be red (Spanish) cedar. Common for stringers here in California…
George
paint stained balsa.
Right here, Jase -
Now, I’d tend to agee with the Western Red Cedar. Let’s have another look at it:
Note the red color, the kinda long but not awfully straight grain and that dark grain in there. You’d maybe initially think ‘mahogany’ but it’s a little too dark and that dark grain in there says it’s something else…
Now, compare it to a few pieces out of my scrap bin;
Red cedar ( shingle) at the top, aromatic cedar and then a block of white pine at the bottom. Duno if you can see it, but the grain is similar, the wood color about right if you factor in how resin would darken it.
Pretty wood -
doc…
Hey Doc,
i initially though WRC, but wasn’t sure from the first pic and thought maybe some kind of sapele or other type of mahogany. I hope that the cedar in the board I’m working on at the minute goes that colour when it’s glassed.
Is there any chance of seeing some of what you make? Is there a link to any of your creations?
I thought it might be this first,
then remembered it was a closeout, not a group hug.
Ok, I’ll buy into this one!!
What’s the plane and where did it come from? I did a post a while back about making a plane for stringers but it was in Beech and yours sure looks a whole lot sexier!
Rik
Hi Jase,
The grain doesn’t look quite right for mahogany- say, Honduras mahogany, which would be cheap enough to use in a board, compared to African mahogany lets say.
Brush a little water on the cedar you’re using, ideally an offcut, and what color it turns then should give you a good indication. Yellow( Alaskan) cedar doesn’t go nearly that dark, but I’ve seen cedar strip canoes that did and would assume they were red cedar. .
What I build, these days, is houses, and not very good ones at that. It pays the bills, but I don’t take pictures of 'em. Sic transit gloria mundi, as it were.
Once I get my shop squared away again, maybe, and set up the new ( to me) lathe and a few other goodies, might just turn out some stuff. Have to see what happens.
And nothing as nice as that plane dlock just showed us. I want to see that apart, so I can futz with making one.
doc…
Thanks for the help guys! Kinda thought this looked like cedar. But wasn’t sure since it is used down the center of an outrigger canoe paddle. Front of paddle skinned with glass. Power face skinned with carbon.
If you get past the tool review page, get settled before hitting the home button.
Oh damn.
You’re right, there goes a bunch of formerly free time and it’s a Very Good Thing that I have a few down days coming up; working outside in -15°C and 50kph winds is, shall we say, a little difficult.
Let alone the snow.
Thanks
doc…
http://www.blumtool.com/index.html
reply Rikds - real purty planes etc.
reply to Doc - good readin w pics is tough to beat when its cold.
That really is a lovely piece of toolage Dlock.
Just had a sneaky peak at the blum site, I so need one of those rosewood and jatoba block planes. I’m not sure now whether I’m saving for one of those or the new premium Veritas low angle block plane, both are making me feel funny, but I can’t afford either. mmmmmmmmmmmmmm!
I use this one a lot:
Lie-Nielsen No. 102 Bronze Low-Angle Block Plane
They cost about $115.00 - Highland Catalog
Austin Hardwoods in Santa Ana has them as well!
SD 034205
Yep… I find it hard to combine the terms ‘block plane’ and ‘sexy’, but that $300US premium block plane is.
'Course, if I got to a position where I could afford one, I wonder if I’d be doing enough woodworking to justify owning one. It’d be a shame to just have it as an expensive toy.
Or owning the machine tools to make my own…
doc…