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From: anand@utastro.UUCP (Anand Sivaramakrishnan)
Newsgroups: net.rec.wood
Subject: hardwoods, finishes
Message-ID: <282@utastro.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 25-Jun-85 18:32:44 EDT
Article-I.D.: utastro.282
Posted: Tue Jun 25 18:32:44 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 29-Jun-85 03:01:57 EDT
Distribution: net
Organization: U. Texas, Astronomy, Austin, TX
Lines: 27

[]

I am in the process of making some furniture, I made
a box for my puppy as a warmup exercise (I did say that
I was inexperienced),  then a maple king-sized
bed. I am contemplating making a second bed (smaller),
and some heavy padded chairs (not all done up in upholstery,
but with straight legs and back, patterned after some chairs 
I saw in a museum here in Austin).

I am looking for cheap hardwoods to do these in. 

I learnt from a friend of mine that cypress is a relatively
inexpensive but very strong wood. His ceiling is done is
thick planking of cypress. He said it was what Old Ironsides
(U.S.S. Constitution?) was made out of.  Cypress is a nice
colour, much darker than the white of maple.

I would be very interested in learning about other woods.
Could people post articles about their favourite woods,
and how they finish them? I have not finished the maple bed,
as I still do not know what I'd like to do with it (or
what I can do, even). I thought of oiling it, I've heard 
about tung oil, linseed oil and some synthetic (?) Danish
oils. I know little about the merits and demerits of these...

Why is most maple stained a reddish or yellowish colour?