The many facets of blackwood

[Rocker]

When I bought about 1/3 of a cube of blackwood a couple of months ago to make a rolltop desk, I was struck by the huge variations amongst the boards. This variability provided an interesting challenge in deciding which boards would best suit the various parts of the desk, since I wanted to avoid it looking too much like a dog's breakfast. So I arranged that, as far as possible, the drawer fronts in the two pedastals matched one another, and that boards that were very different from the rest in colour or grain were used in parts of the desk that were normally hidden or in the back panels that would face a wall.

Photo 1 shows a dark brown board which had such a striking grain that it would have been unduly eye-catching, so I didn't use it at all in the desk;

Photo 2 shows a board which had a striped reddish brown colour, reminiscent of zebrano; and

Photo 3 shows more the typical blackwood that I used in the drawer fronts.

Photo 4 shows an almost yellow board, which I used for one of the drawer boards, since it would have stuck out, if it had been used where it was normally seen;


Blackwood is a wood almost as recalcitrant as Mr Mahartir, but I love it.
Rocker

[theycallmejoe]

When I bought about 1/3 of a cube of blackwood a couple of months ago to make a rolltop desk, I was struck by the huge variations amongst the boards. This variability provided an interesting challenge in deciding which boards would best suit the various parts of the desk, since I wanted to avoid it looking too much like a dog's breakfast. So I arranged that, as far as possible, the drawer fronts in the two pedastals matched one another, and that boards that were very different from the rest in colour or grain were used in parts of the desk that were normally hidden or in the back panels that would face a wall.

Photo 1 shows a dark brown board which had such a striking grain that it would have been unduly eye-catching, so I didn't use it at all in the desk;

Photo 2 shows a board which had a striped reddish brown colour, reminiscent of zebrano; and

Photo 3 shows more the typical blackwood that I used in the drawer fronts.

Photo 4 shows an almost yellow board, which I used for one of the drawer boards, since it would have stuck out, if it had been used where it was normally seen;


Blackwood is a wood almost as recalcitrant as Mr Mahartir, but I love it.
Rocker

Hey Rocker,
Some nice grains. Do you have a photo of the completed desk :) . Would like to see how all the different grains go together? Cheers, Joe.

[Rocker]

Joe,

You will have to wait a week or so. I am still worKing on the finishing.

Rocker

[Clinton1]

Its interesting that you used the same timber throughout the desk.

Is there any reason that you decided to not use "major and minor" species for the desk....i.e. a lower value timber species for the carcass and a feature timber for the panelling?

Or have I ASSuMEd incorrectly?

[Rocker]

Clinton,

In retrospect, I should have used plywood for the back of the desk; but, when I ordered the timber, I was not sure whether the recipient would be using the desk with its back against a wall. As it was I used blackwood even for the web frames in the pedastals, since I had offcuts of suitable width. The only secondary wood that I used was hoop pine for the drawer sides and backs.

Rocker

[zenwood]

Interesting shots Rocker. Do you think your 1/3 cube came from various trees?

I love the individuality of timber, but it can make for lots of time mulling over where to put the different pieces.

[Rocker]

Zenwood,

Yes; I think my batch of timber probably came from five or six different trees. I got the timber slightly cheaper, since I agreed to accept about 1/3 of the batch as shorts, between 600 and 1200 mm long.

Rocker