Selecting a stylish timber for a work desk

[Steele]

I am in the process of designing a corner workdesk and need to decide on a suitable timber to use. My requirements are simple.

1. Stylish
2. An attractive grain.
3. Resistant to marking (medium to hard)
4. Not too heavy.

I like the appearance of Jarrah but cost may well be a deciding factor.

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance...

Steele

[Great Poo Bear]

Hi Steele

There is some beautiful African flame mahogany being brought into the country at the moment it should be avaliable in most yards that specialise in furniture timber. It is a deep rich browny red with flashy golden highlights that have almost a much refracted light as a black opal.

Cheers
Neil http://ubb.ubeaut.com.au/ubb/smile.gif

[Steele]

Poor Bear,

Thanks greatly for that! Are you aware of any retailers in Melb?

Many thanks

Steele

[Great Poo Bear]

Me again, The Great Pooie one

Australian Furniture Timbers plummer Rd Port Melb will have it but do not as a rule sell shorts so if the only size they have is 5 metres long you have to take the whole board. They will dock it to smaller pieces but you must take it all. Mathews Timbers in Rooks Rd Nunawading should have some and will cut to length so long as they are left with at least a 1.5mt length or something like that. You could also try Adams Timbers in Canterbury Rd Kilsyth but they are usually a little dearer in price but also carry a pretty good range of furniture timbers.

Poo

[Jamin]

Hi Steele,

I am writing from Perth, where Jarrah is reasonably priced and readily available. As I am sure you are aware it grows in our southwest.

What I could suggest is sourcing recycled jarrah, which I have managed to pick up (living really close to the city centre) for free from housing renovations. At this time of year there are a lot of housing renovations going on and as such plently of old wood available (particularly from roofing structures).

Almost all houses pre 1980's are Jarrah framed in Perth.

If you can arrange the transport I would be happy to investigate finding some jarrah for you. The previous owner of my house (which is Jarrah weatherboard) is a builder, and has a pretty much unlimited supply (which he sends to the tip more often than not). Unfortunately I do not have a big enough block or shed to store heaps. It is tragic to see this beautiful wood go to waste, especially when big companies (Bunnings) woodchip our old growth jarrah (much to the disgust of most of the state).

The only problem with the old stuff is the warping (which is not significant, but still a problem), which can easily be machined out. I myself have been able to redress a heap of wood using only a triton workcentre.

The only other issue, (which I would argue is a bonus) is the marks of age, nails holes and the like. Most of the wood will also be rough sawn.

Let me know if you would like me to look into it further.

One last point all of the timber I am suggesting will be in timber framing sizes, and may require some work on your part to get it to size.

Before you get me to look any further please ensure you can justify the potentially high transport costs, as Jarrah is very heavy and the lengths I can get are likely to be at least 2 to 3 metres.

Just a final note, I have very little time to do my own woodwork due to long work hours, therefore I likely to take a little time to pull this together, but would be more than happy to help if I can.

cheers Jamin