Sapele vs. Oak for beginner

[Silly_Billy]

I'm a beginner and solely using hand tools. Which wood do you think's easier: sapele or oak?

 

[Racers]

Oak, Sapele can have reversing grain which will be difficult to plane.

Pete

 

[Tasky]

Oak, Sapele can have reversing grain which will be difficult to plane.
Pete

What Pete said...!!

I don't know how true this is, but I understand sapele grain can change direction as often as every 2".... which would be an absolute **** to work with!!

 

[MikeG.]

Oak, but ash is easier. Watch yourself on the oak: splinters are something of an issue.

 

[Silly_Billy]

Many thanks. I nearly bought sapele - very glad I asked first! Oak or ash it is.

 

[Racers]

Oak looks good with a coat or 3 of Danish oil Ash looks pants after the same treatment.

Occasional tables in Brown oak Pippy Oak and Bog Oak 3 coats of Danish.

Occasional tables by Pete Maddex, on Flickr

Pete

 

[Paddy Roxburgh]

Oak, but ash is easier. Watch yourself on the oak: splinters are something of an issue.

I find oak much easier to plane than ash, particularly English oak, infact the only thing I find easier about ash is the price.

 

[Paddy Roxburgh]

Silly Billy, it depends on what your making but I would personally suggest that you start with soft woods. You get a little more flexibility with joint accuracy, it's gentler on your tools (apart from the knots), it's cheap and is often grown sustainably. Avoid the low grade white wood from BandQ and the like and find a supplier of decent softwood. Don't be fooled into thinking that only hardwoods can make quality projects,

 

[D_W]

Buy whatever looks good and is a nice price. Build something small out of a bit of each, dimensioning by hand, and see what you like.

Figured wood generally isn't an issue if you learn to use a cap iron, but it will slow down the jack work somewhat. The rest of the work isn't hindered.

 

[D_W]

Oh, I nearly forgot. The lovely compliant ripping that you get out of straight grained wood doesn't really exist on wood filled with reversing grain, so that can be a pain in the rear, too, generally solved by a saw with more relaxed or smaller teeth. A little bit of curl isn't an issue, but interlocked wood or wood that's running out into the surface will prove to be a significant challenge sawing, and the lack of a predominant grain direction can get you in real trouble on joints like half blind dovetails.

Your oak and our oak aren't the same thing. our red oak is kind of garish with huge powdery pores, and our white oak is generally not that pleasing unless it's quartered (but it still has a stringy tough feel in cross grain work).

 

[custard]

I'm a beginner and solely using hand tools. Which wood do you think's easier: sapele or oak?

There's a lot to be said for American Cherry.

Widely available and not hugely expensive, fine grained (unlike Oak or Ash) so takes layout lines well, reasonably stable and tool friendly, glues well, patinates quickly and colour improves with exposure to sunlight, low tannin levels so (unlike Oak or Sweet Chestnut) doesn't stain your hands black, looks great with simple to apply oil based finishes, doesn't need grain filling. In many ways it's the natural successor to the better Mahoganies that are virtually unobtainable now.

You don't say where in the South you are, but if you're around the New Forest PM me and you're welcome to some decent sized off-cuts of all the timbers mentioned so you can have a play around and see what suits you best.

 

[John15]

+1 for American Cherry. I've made a few things from it. It's easy to work and has some really nice grain patterns and turns a beautiful golden chestnut in time.

John

 

[ED65]

I'd actually vote for the sapele. Oak's fine but it's a bit hard for the absolute beginner while sapele is much more easily worked. Yes you are likely (almost certainly?) to encounter some tricky grain but for my money this is a learning opportunity, a plus, not a minus since it'll force you to learn to scrape and sand or use the cap iron the way it's intended to be used. I've never regretted working with some recalcitrant wood early on for this exact reason.

 

[ED65]

I don't know how true this is, but I understand sapele grain can change direction as often as every 2".... which would be an absolute **** to work with!!

The stripes can be a little as 10-15mm wide, or about 1/2" if you want it in old money

Anyway, grain like this in easy-working woods like the mahoganyalikes is easily conquerable.

 

[memzey]

Of the two options you give I’d definitely say oak. This was the last thing I made in Sapele after which I promised myself that I’d avoid using it again as much as possible!

 

[thetyreman]

better quality pines aren't bad either, pine is almost always easy to plane, providing you get the quality stuff, not had many problems with it, you can not knot like it, and if it's ugly as hell, slap paint on it.

 

[D_W]

Of the two options you give I’d definitely say oak. This was the last thing I made in Sapele after which I promised myself that I’d avoid using it again as much as possible!

what did you not like about sapele? It looks quite nice.

Cherry is dirt cheap where I live (because i'm in the middle of where it's harvested), often $2 a foot locally for #1 common, so i haven't spent extra on something like sapaele, but it looks wonderful.

 

[D_W]

Jeez - it's expensive here! (sapele).

I recognize it now, I think. Someone sent me a ribboned piece to plane once, and the surface was very fragile and difficult to plane due to the fragility of the wood in the ribboning. I was able to plane it to finish, but it reminded me of a softer version of quartersawn cocobolo, which is also a pain because of the weakness of the earlywood.

 

[Ttrees]

Memzey
Curious to know why you'd prefer oak over sapele
Too dark?
Thanks
Tom

 

[Tasky]

Oak's fine but it's a bit hard for the absolute beginner while sapele is much more easily worked.

I'd think the two biggest factors are the cost of the wood (I assume I'd measure Sapele using month-of-salary per board foot? ), and how easily the beginner can get a satisfactory end result.
If Sapele is as awkward to plane as seems suggested I'd certainly not be keen on tackling it, lest the bag of ball-locks I ended up with was SO dishearteningly bad that I was discouraged from further endeavour.

Besides, Sapele looks a bit dull and boring. Reminds me of cheap veneered furniture from the 70s! :lol:

Anyway, grain like this in easy-working woods like the mahoganyalikes is easily conquerable.

Is there a short answer as to how?
I can't even begin to think how you'd do it with hand tools...