Watch the 10 Woods Rob loves here: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/hbldo9tju-C5Z2w.html

I highly recommend a book, "A Guide to Useful Woods of the World" edited by James Flynn and Charles Holder. It describes 279 commercially important wood species, devoting two pages to each one. The info provided for each species include a description of the tree, physical properties of the lumber, seasoning and drying, durability, workability, common uses, and availability. In addition, there are color photos of the lumber, which are pretty faithful in most cases. The book is expensive for a paperback, but it's available at a steep discount on the used book market.

I built a bedframe out of red oak with purple heart accents about 13 years ago. I put 3 or 4 coats of polyurethane on it at the time. Today, 13 years later, the purple heart still looks as purple as it did back then. The bedframe has not gotten very much direct sunlight, so that may explain why it has not turned brown.

I am primarily a luthier and probably use more exotics than many other luthiers. I also do a lot of segmented bowl turnings as well as furniture, cabinetry , humidors and jewelry boxes. Currently I've worked with 118 different woods but I am always looking to experience more. I like almost all of the woods that I've worked with, with only a few that I don't care much for or have to limit my use of. The unique and sometimes challenging properties of each are what I enjoy about wood. As you have pointed out, many woods exhibit beautiful color when first worked but over time they may develop a displeasing patina, turning to rather dull colors if steps are not undertaken to try and slow or stop the transformation. Some are more challenging than others. A good finish should seal the woods against oxidation as much as possible and have a UV inhibitor when necessary. I've used Purpleheart quite a bit and had no troubles with maintaining the color. Padauk is a little more challenging, but I have chosen to be more limited in working with it as I do experience an unpleasant skin reaction to its dust. If you are looking for a vibrant orange which does is more resistant to color change, you may want to try Chakte Viga. The two woods that I've found most challenging to prevent color change in are Redheart (Chakte Kok) and Peroba Rosa.

Funny- I made all my window and door jams/casings with poplar and finished them with a rub on concoction. We love it- it looks beautiful.

Tulip wood is great if you're going to paint it. It takes paint REALLY well.

I love Purple Heart wood. I learned right away about getting down into the brown color. Purple Heart trees in nature when alive are brown in color . It’s after they are cut and the suns UV light reacts with the wood to change it to purple. If you get down into the brown just put it out in the sun it will darken right up. A matter of fact if your Purple Heart wood isn’t dark enough just leave it out in the sun. Another thing I do with Purple Heart wood is I’ve developed my own tinted varnish color that just adds to it and red oak and other hardwoods. Also my main go to is red oak and in my area is depending on the market is less expensive then popular which I agree with you as a secondary wood. I see issues with all woods and work around them if need be , but I’m a hobbyist and not in the business per se, big difference. And you talk about offensive wood smells , doesn’t bother me. Now I’m a retired heavy duty diesel mechanic and I’ve been around a lot of foul smelling crap. Woods are no big deal to me😂😂😂😂😂👍

When I saw the title I hoped you focused on what really matters in woodworking: species must be harvest sustainably. As a tropical forest ecologist, forester, woodworker and business owner myself, all my efforts have this goal, everything/everybody else I regard as foolish/fools. Btw, alder isn't always alder. Pit wood of Black alder _(Alnus glutinosa)_ is in my neck of the woods considered our local Mahogany and is harvested 100% sustainably.

I use a lot of Paduak, purple heart and yellow heart. A ready supplay was available for my use. So i used them. They caused me severely issues. It took me almost 3 years before i could get back in my shop. I always wear a mask now, no matter what i am doing. Thank you for sharing. Everyone stay safe, happy and healthy. From Henrico County Virginia

I recently retired after 43 years in the hardwood lumber business, I also piddle around in my wood shop a bit. I heartily agree with you about Padauk, I usually tried to talk people out of buying it. Poplar is the least expensive wood that we sell. It's not only a good secondary wood but it makes an excellent paint grade wood. I had a customer that needed something more stable, so I came up with the idea of getting rift and quarter sawn Poplar. It mills well, it's stays really straight. It's great for moulding. An overlooked property of Purple Heart is that it's holds up very good outdoors. The purple color will fade to a nice silver color in a few months. Huge pieces of Purple Heart were used for the keel of sailing ships. It's rot resistant, hard and durable and has the weight needed at the bottom of the boat to add stability. We used to sell a lot of Philippine Mahogany, mostly because it was cheap. The last time it was offered, in full container quality, the price was as high as African Mahogany and Sapele. It's just not worth that much. We used to sell a lot of Jatoba, mostly to stair builders who were matching Jatoba flooring, which the flooring suppliers sold as "Brazilian Cherry". I agree that it is too hard for a furniture wood, it's a good flooring wood and also holds up well outdoors. Alder used to be called "The poor man's cherry" because with the right stain it could be hard for most people to tell the difference. These days though Cherry is pretty inexpensive, so there would be no reason to use Alder instead of Cherry. Knotty Alder is popular for kitchen cabinets, it has a nice rustic look and even though it's a bit soft. it's still harder than Ponderosa Pine that used to be used a lot for that purpose. Alder also has a very pleasant smell when worked.

Rob nixed southern yellow pine, red oak, and tulip poplar. Welp, there goes a healthy chunk of historic southern furniture woods. I suppose this hillbilly just has to rough it. 😂 Cheers, Rob and thanks for all that you do for the craft!

LOL! All I can get at my big box lumber supply store are yellow pine, poplar, and red oak. Occasionally fir, but unlike the old days the fir is second growth with wide growth rings and very splintery. Easy to work of course. I made a large bookcase out of red oak and finished it with Watco Danish oil golden oak color, and it turned out very nice from my amateur hands, but it was really hard on the tools. I also had to wax all the screws because even in counterbored pilot holes they tended to snap off. I have one other small project going now, (in Padauk of course!) 😉. Hopefully a poly finish will keep the color from fading…

I like all ten...😊 They each have their place, poplar paints wonderfully.

We remodeled our kitchen and my wife wanted white, with a few red accents (fire engine red range). As I couldn’t cook for months, I made a cutting board out of “reddish” woods (separated by white holly veneer). One was padauk. It stayed more or less red for about 3 years. Most all the other reddish woods except tulipwood also turned brown after about 3 years. I ran it through a belt sander and refinished it, so far after 2 years it is still more red than brown. The secret is no exposure to direct sunlight.

Great video well described and explained as always. The characteristics of wood is always good to learn from someone who has worked with it. Thank you and take care. 👍🏻

«I love wood». That's something I identify with. Thank you for the precious information. A hug from Portugal.

I did my wife's music room and our living room in Jatoba and let me tell you it is an amazing choice for hardwood flooring. It is more beautiful and durable than any oak. When you look on the Janka hardness scale it is one of the hardest woods around. There is nothing in North America that grows that is close to the hardness of Jatoba. It did annihilate a pretty good saw blade on my miter saw, by the end of the job the blade was just smoking when I would cut a board. I saved all the scrap and use it for various projects, I'm a big fan of this wood, it's very beautiful. By the way this wood also does not rot. But I'm a power tool guy and the stuff is very hard. It does sand just fine and does not have rough grain like red oak. By the way if you see anything called Brazilian cherry, there are no cherry trees in Brazil and it is Jatoba with a different name. Jatoba is a legume tree..

Jatoba is used as hardwood flooring here down in the states, so the hardness is expected. the reason i don't use padauk is that when sanding, if you're not careful, it's really easy to dye the other wood (think, maple) that you might be using in your project

I love the color change that comes with padauk. I hate the bright orange state but the final darkened stage is loaded with grain subtleties that you don't find in other woods. The sapwood areas and their surrounds are some of the most desirable areas for me. I made 4'x3' sheets out of it and it worked very well and has held up for 30 years very very well. The wood I got was about as hard as cherry and does mar but not more than even maple. Beautiful wood.

Thanks Rob. I'm glad to have come across your channel. Been doing woodworking for eons but am still a hack. Always happy to learn from experts.

Great content as always. Thanks for your experienced opinion

Years ago I made several projects with a stack of Lauan harvested from discarded kitchen cabinet drawer sides. The wood was softer than mahogany but easy to work and finished nicely, giving off a little sheen and character. I also used vermillion with the Lauan in a few projects, which still look good after 25 years. I can't remember how they were finished. I like to think that any wood, especially that which would otherwise be headed for the landfill or fireplace, can be useful for something!

I love the smell of Spanish cedar lol ❤ paduk is a incredible tone wood for guitars. Thanks for your input rob😊🙏

I knew three of them. Thanks for taking time to share your list!

Very informative. Thanks!

Yep it’s a pretty good list of what I normally use 😆 stinky alder, southern pine, Purple Heart, tulip poplar and retired folk love when I make their projects out of red oak!

Hey rob and the team watching from Birmingham uk and I’ve built your bench love you guys I’ve learned so much from watching rob!! ❤️👍🏻❤️👍🏻

Thank you for your expertise

Informative. Thank you.

Interesting how different each person's choice of wood is. I love working with cedar of all types. I love it mainly for the smell. And my second favorite is red oak. I love the grain and ability to make big changes with stain. I did learn something here. I have always wanted to build something with purple heart because of the beautiful color. But I did not know it turned brown with age.

Red oak… grew up in Oklahoma, red oak is still everywhere. I am so sick of it and when we were looking for a house here, after 23 years in MN, the options were depressing. But in our budget. I don’t have the $$ to remodel, and painted red oak looks like paint with a lot of trashy wood grain. Ever paint pine plywood? And pore filling would take forever. Glad you included it.

Great video Rob! Thanks 😊

Great video. Thanks, Rob!

Understatement of the year "Purpleheart doesn't plane well"!!! Love how it looks and have tried many projects with it but it is just a world class pain in the butt to get to the thickness you want without signif tear-out someplace on the surface! (I suppose I'd have a diff opinion if I had a drum sander).

Poplar isn't necessarily a pretty wood, but it typically is clear and relatively easy to work. A rough-sawn 4/4 piece makes a great project board for learning to plane 4-square, chamfer, and quarter-round using hand planes, hand saws, and chisels only. Boards are generally readily available in the big-box DIY stores, and because they're free from knots for the most part, Poplar makes for great wood to use when building cabinets and similar projects when the final item will be painted rather than left in some natural state. I also use poplar for jaw-faces on my tail vise for my bench. It's strong enough to hold well when the metal jaw face is a little below grade, and still softer than most of the hardwoods I'd typically put in the vise. The jaw faces are reasonably cheap to replace when they get dinged up.

I recently made a video restoring my dads 50's Stanley hand plane and wow this video makes me want to get some work in with it. Thank you for sharing your experience with the wood species.

Interesting and helpful. I will try to keep those in mind.

As a bespoke humidor builder I use a lot of Spanish cedar, and you are absolutely correct the taste is terrible.

If you ever had the opportunity to work with old growth longleaf pine, I’m sure you would love it. It’s hard, strong, straight grained, and beautiful with an oil finish. The heartwood is very resistant to decay, and makes beautiful furniture in my opinion.

Great Video. Thank you.

Thx Rob, i like your analysis and opinion, usefull tutorial👍

Bloodwood was the first wood that gave me a slight rash from the sawdust. The grain also made it difficult to plane without getting tear out.

Indoors must really help the wood keeping color. Parents put purple heart flooring in 30 yrs ago and still looks gorgeous. I'd only use it for indoor pieces anyways.

Interesting commentary on each one. Some I agree with you on, others I don't. To each his own. Thank you for sharing. Have a great day and stay safe.🙂🙂

Thank that was very informative, just got back into woodworking again been a long ten years

For handtool wood working I'd add Bocote. Has to be the most inconsistent grain of any wood - super hard to super soft and off in every direction.

I have used Purpleheart and African Paduk for knife handles. I'm not a wood worker, I'm a knife maker. So far, the knife handles I have made from these woods haven't changed color. I use abrasives to shape my handles, so the hardness of the wood doesn't matter as much to me. Over time, I have decided that knife sheaths that cover most of the knife handle are my favorite, so the knives I sell do not see much sunlight.

Rob, Recently, I retired with 38 years as a forest technician with a federal agency. I'm starting to get back into woodworking again. The south yellow pines are usually grouped into one category. There are several species in that group. Loblolly, Longleaf, Slash, and Shortleaf pines are grouped together. Longleaf pine is a fine wood to work with depending on what you're try to build such as dressers, tables, and desks. However, I wouldn't recommend it for building a comb back chair.

Great information.

Thanks for your thoughts on these wood types. One trick I learned to get the color back on Purple Heart and Padauk is to use Acetone after sanding and place in the sun for 20-30 min. Do this multiple times.

Living here in the pacific northwest (Western Washington) Cedar and Alder are real common. I have made many things out of both and do not have any problem with either. I agree with you about red oak, definitely overrated. I use it as sacrificial parts on many of my lathe projects. Thanks for the list, I enjoyed hearing your rational for your choices.

Thank you Rob, great advice.

Thanks Rob. That was an interesting video.

Only one that I disagree with is Jatoba. It's definitely hard to plane because it has interlocking grain and it's so dense, but it can be gorgeous. It has amazing color preservation - if you find a piece that's red or orangish it'll stay that way (unlike Padauk). Incredibly tough, crazy rot resistance makes it great even for outdoors stuff. It's really striking as an accent wood. I made a table out of walnut with bright red jatoba stripes and everyone asks what kind of wood it is, especially if they're a woodworker. I know this is heresy on this channel but . . . Just sand it. ;)

I actually agree with the entire list. I work a lot with soft curly maple because it’s easy on the blades, readily available and fairly cheap and has a decent amount of drama when finished.

I love that your opinions have reasons Also love that you're not telling *us* to have *your* opinion :)

New woodworker from Ontario here if only I could apprentice for someone like you and learn so much. Nice Apron friend.

Interesting view on southern yellow pine, as I have a complete kitchen made from it (commercially manufactured as I'm not at that level yet, or wasn't in 2015 when purchased) here in the UK & love it. Yes, it's hard but the little I've used has planed OK & is certainly stable. I think the alder you have in the west of the Americas is different to the species here in the UK, which is quite highly regarded for furniture use. Your content is great - thoroughly engaging & educational.

Padauk is also an oily wood that can interfere with your glue up. I always wipe down padauk with acetone before glue up.

Thanks for the interesting info. I have made furniture over the years and use what is readily available and affordable. I also like to find furniture that has quality to it and is cheap. For instance I found a Walnut desk with a 5' X 3' top. It stood in water so that the bottom portion of the sides was ruined. The rest was in great shape. I had some Sassafras (not the best wood, but it worked) to replace the damaged portion. I turned this $10 desk into an enjoyable computer desk.

Yes, sorry I just found that post and am about to watch it. Thanks

So agree with you about the paduk, I found my self falling into that trap more than once. Trouble is that you learn about the colour change long after you have finished the project when there is nothing left to do about it. Along with its horrible dust. (I used only a breathing protection not taking in consideration its poisonous affect on the eyes), its definitely the worst choice of wood in my opinion.

Hi Rob, I've heard that one of the unique qualities of Padauk is the fact that when it grays in the sun, it retains its grain pattern (unlike other species).

Thanks Rob. Guess I'm not crazy as I have run into the same issues with some of these. Great analysis of each! Thanks

Great videos

Sure, Padauk and Purple Heart don’t retain their bright colors as they age. However, friend of mine used PH as trim, along with maple and darker woods. It absolutely is still noticeably purple in contrast with the others, ten years on. When you use a variety of woods, the relative color tones remain distinguishable and these exotics still stand out. OTOH, if you want an orange or purple chair, then make it out of pine and paint it.

Thanks for the info and interesting reasons. I agree with Padauk but for different reasons (actually like the dark-chocolate brown color it changes to). What I don't like is, when using with other woods, its dust seems to settle into the grain and pores of the other wood and it's very hard to get rid of it.

Wow you’re an encyclopedia of knowledge thank you I def subscribed

Thanks

So interesting seeing the contrast between desirable species for furniture and musical instruments (which is what I make). Right off the bat, padauk. Yes it loses it's colour, but in general it is straight, even grained, and it is light weight compared to some of the more exotic rosewoods. It works great for the bridges on some of the finest classical guitars in the world and as a back and sides it has similar tone to rosewoods which are much more expensive and harder to obtain. Spanish cedar, the absolute preferred wood for the necks of flamenco guitars. It can be hard to carve because of it's sort of furry grain structure. but it is light and resonant and fairly stable in service. Alder! one of the great electric guitar woods. It's got good weight and machines extremely well. So many of your favourite songs were probably recording using a fender strat or similar guitar made from alder. So I guess "Not to use in woodworking projects" might depend a lot on what the project is. Also...not being critical. i like your video. it's horses for courses.

I have probably used red oak more than any other wood, though mostly for budgetary reasons. I rather like the look of it myself, but I can't deny that it is very splinter prone. Hard to plane a table top smooth without some spots with major tear out.

Thank you for the video and thank everyone else for the comments!!!!! Didn’t read them all, but I read a lot and I’ll probably come back for more later……. Just interesting!!!!! Thanks again everyone

Very Interesting-a few woods that I never even heard of. I am however very familiar with red oak-which make a beautiful floor.

I think it’s cool to put a lot of shellac on red oak. It has a lot of depth and a shimmering effect in my opinion.

Great video as always Rob. My absolute favorite wood is waterfall Bubinga. And from there it’s walnut, especially the figured variety, curly or fiddleback maple, birdseye maple, then cherry. I’m also fond of Osage orange. There are a few others as well. Unfortunately waterfall Bubinga is out of my price range these days. Maybe as an accent piece or for a very small project…

So glad you share my distaste for red oak, it’s all that’s left in big box stores (along with poplar).

I have fond memories of using alder back in shop class. A wonderful almost burnt popcorn smell would fill the air.

I have over 100 different woods in my intarsia work, and I agree with Rob nearly 100%. Spanish cedar is awful to sand; it would find its way through my professionally fitter n95. My favorite is Brazilian tulipwood; the best wood fragrance I’ve experienced. I like a lot of the really pretty/colorful woods (Purple Heart, red heart, pink ivory, padauk) but they would change color the all the colors of the “ugly tree”. Great video, Rob!

I have to agree on Red Oak - water runs right through it and it moves like crazy with seasonal moisture change. It’s course - IMHO - best as firewood. Popular is fine as paint grade interior building trim if you want painted trim!

Interesting video, Brother. Beautiful tool cabinets behind you and, as a 4th generation carpenter who's made many handmade reproductions over nearly 50 years, I admire your prowess with a jack plane! A well tuned plane is a beautiful thing. Your comments on the different qualities, or lack of, in different species of wood are insightful, not that I agree with all. I am quite fond of Poplar, as a secondary wood and especially in interior trim and casework. Living in the S.E. corner of the Vollunteer State, we grow some really nice Poplars around here and is one of my favorite woods. I make a fair amount of custom trim, a lot of outdated stuff that is no longer in production, and Poplar is usually my first choice. Recently I made several hundred feet of trim for the facia and soffit of an Antebellum home on Signal Mt. above Chattanooga, TN. It works very nicely as bent wood in curved jambs for doors and arched windows. As a custom gun stock maker, my first choice is Black Walnut and we grow a lot of that here, as well. Now, that is one stinky wood! But, the workability, longevity, and absolute beauty of it is worth donning a mask or, weather permitting, turning on a fan.

I turned a Purple Heart pedestal bowl for a friend, turned out spectacular. I finished it on a Thursday and was going to give it to them at a party on Saturday. When I went to get it from my shop, I was crushed when I saw my beautiful purple bowl had turned plain Jane brown. I didn’t want to take it to the party. But I was proud of my work so I threw it in a brow paper bag and went to the party. I was shocked when my friend pulled it out of the bag and the bowl had turned back to purple. Now all of my projects are delivered in or wrapped in brown paper bags. Oh and I haven’t used Purple Heart since.

How could you NOT mention the sap/resin in Southern Yellow Pine. That's what I hate about it! However, just harvested 150 acres of 30yr old SYP and i do like the check. 😅

I've got to say red oak most definitely has it's place. Yes very coarae grained. I like the look of that. Quite strong, not terrible to work with, and most importantly, affordable and available. Stain it or fume it bit darker than the ubiquitois 90s 'golden oak' or keep it light with a non yellowong water based finish so it doesnt look dated, or at least lols 70s vintage and not 90s old and tireee and its very nice.

45 years ago got a job in a furniture factory that made motel and church furniture exclusively out of red oak. I've spent most of my life sick of red oak. Recently did a dresser, though, where all I had around for drawer fronts was a red oak board -- don't even know where it came from. I milled it down pretty thin, then bleached and Osmo'd the red oak so that it was paper white with completely transparent grain. It's very striking. The red oak's gawdy, porous grain was an asset.

thanks for sharing! i’d put ipe on that list for those outdoor furniture guys

I am always trying to avoid rare woods who harvesting is depleting and doing damage that is hard to recover from. If you could address that problem I'm sure many would be very interested. Thanks! (and interesting that you dislike the woods that are in my locale...)

Completely disrespect anyone that calls you out for speaking your mind. All good points and things to keep in mind. Thank you for sharing!

Interesting video! Only worked with a few of the woods. I personally like Alder and use it a lot. I thought about buying a couple of the others you mentioned and will hold off. Now to see the woods you like!

I was given some 100+ year old, old growth southern yellow pine salvaged from a 1920's era movie theater in Williston, Florida. That stuff was hard as a brick and had some 90 growth rings to the inch! I used it to make the top for a stone carving table I built for my son as I wanted something really tough. Speaking of a wood that is terrible to work, I once tried to plane some live oak. It has all the disadvantages of red oak plus it is extremely hard and full of silica that quickly dulls plane blades.

I’m surprised you didn’t mention ipe. It’s common in the “exotic wood stores”, and it’s very popular among people building decks, because of the rot resistance and the fact that it’s very pretty for a while. But then it changes color, and people keep trying to chase that high, so it’s probably like crack or heroin. What a sad story. There are also people who try to use it for traditional woodworking, only to find that it’s destroying their tool sharpness in short order, and giving them awful allergic reactions. But the exotic wood stores keep selling it. I’m happy that it has flown under your radar. But the warning should still exist. People who are about to breathe, dispute this? :^)

Rob, you'll always get a thumbs up from me - thank you for all that you do for the woodworking community. HOWEVER, I'm sure I'm not the only one that recognized some of their favorite wood species in this video. Poplar?! Alder?! Are you nuts? What do you think we are building with! Jokes aside, maybe someone can get some ideas from my choices - or at least relate. Jatoba - great for knife scales or gun grips. Poplar and Alder - great for Japanese blade scabbards and handle (tsuka). Forgiving woods that cut and glue up easily. They also can be stained to look like mahogany. Most furniture makers have a TON of these woods for carcass builds/upholstered furniture frames/etc. SIDE NOTE: poplar is "tonal" - it's great for traditional woodwinds such as fifes and piccolos. Poplar is also a great choice for "Taiko drumsticks" (Bachi). Maple is another "tonal" wood. Red oak - if you're good with stains - you can create magic with red oak. Seriously, you can go from "whitewash" to "natural" to "antique" to just...anything really. The open pores in Red oak give you options that you just can't get with other woods. You can literally take an offcut of red oak, put it in a glass of water and blow bubbles. The opposite of this would be hard maple - impossible to stain in my opinion. Laun - can't build a skiff or sail pram these days without it. Southern yellow pine - how many of our workbenches are built with this?!!! I can understand not using it for HEIRLOOM FURNITURE but run of the mill woodworking projects? - It'll make a fine stool, bench, shop furniture, jigs, etc.

I'm blown away by how nice your shop looks. As for your list of woods... it's funny to hear your reasoning and how it contrasts to woods I use as a guitar builder. Case in point is a Jatoba fret board I recently made. All I can say about it is "WOW". Another example is Alder, which has been a standard tone wood for many decades. And I have a half complete Tulip Tree (not a poplar) guitar built - Tulip Tree has an amazing tap tone.

Awesome videos as always. I’ve been to exotic woods in Burlington twice. Picked up some snakewood and Verawood there. The Verawood had an amazing aroma to it

My favorite wood by far is Olive Wood, but it gets bought up by turners so fast they normally don't even cut boards out of it, just cookies.

My experience with Padauk is different. I just checked some pieces i made more than 7 years ago.Coated in Danish oil twice...they are lovely red orange.A bit darker but certainly not "ugly brown". Toxic it is though, protection required.

Interesting to hear a different perspective on these woods. As someone who at least tries to build guitars, I love Paduk, Alder, tulip poplar, mahogany and purple heart... that said, I also am not a fan of how the color of these woods gets lost over time - but still makes for beautiful guitars. Thanks Rob

Absolutely right about red oak. White, however, is a wonderful wood.

I know this is pretty blasphemous in these parts, but in the kitchen industry solid colours are in right now. Almost no one is making kitchen doors out of actual wood, hasn't been in style for years and the cost has gone way up as of late. But Poplar is a really good wood for priming and painting, if your doing base board or crown work its good for that and sure beets the MDF junk you get at the big box stores.

HI rob thank u most helpful

Thank you Rob! This is such great information. In my own shop, I’ll keep using poplar for internal pieces (I have lots of it and it’s relatively cheap). I use it for structure where I need some. I completely agree with your opinion on red oak. Just don’t like it. The rest you went through I’ve not used or used very little, so I’ll trust your opinion there. Thank you so much for taking the time to make this video.