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You didn’t say where you were located, but ash to me , is one of the most affordable woods for finish work. It may be too flat-grained for you, but I would choose it any day over oak. It is not what I’d call traditional Arts-and-Crafts, but looks awlful nice.
A great wood on the west coast, and extremely affordable is alder, a.k.a. poor man’s cherry. I use it for trim all the time-very stable, accepts finish uniformly, attractive.
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Hi Rob, If your from New England please tell me where they're giving away black walnut. Thanks Ken
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Hey....
It seems to me that cvg fir is a beautiful trim material, although not cheap, it certainly isn't pedestrian. Takes finish nicely too. It is an appropriate choice for period trim as well as new construction replicating traditional arts and crafts ideas. IMO.
Brad
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Many of the older craftsman or arts and craft style homes in the pacific northwest us clear edge grain fir
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Input needed, please. I am building an arts and crafts house and would love to use extensive wood trim throughout the house. Problem, I would like to use a fine grained wood that accepts a stain and finish well. Quarter sawn oak is to expensive i'm sure and plain sawn oak is not only too expensive but has a bolder grain than I want. Any one know of a more reasonably priced wood with a fine grain? Thanks for your time Nick
*Maple - currently cheaper than clear pine around here. Call a local saw mill and see what they say (if they are local). Our local mill is presently giving away black walnut - no one buys it. So he is building demonstration stairs, moldings, wainscoting, balusters with his stock.-Rob
*Nick,Black Walnut is beautiful, but not cheap here. I find maple bland unless it's curly. I love cherry. Q-sawn oak is really what is most appropriate for Arts and Crafts though.Steve
*Try sassafras if you can find it. While the flatsawn grain might be too coarse for your liking, it is still not as garish as red oak. Stained properly (water stain followed with a depth adding oil stain), I think it's a good match for chestnut, another common trim wood in bungalows.
*Time permiting, have you checked local sawmills? I can't say I've gone this route yet, but I've heard very favorable price reviews. The main problem seems to be in drying of the wood and thus the time factor.
*You didn't say where you were located, but ash to me , is one of the most affordable woods for finish work. It may be too flat-grained for you, but I would choose it any day over oak. It is not what I'd call traditional Arts-and-Crafts, but looks awlful nice. A great wood on the west coast, and extremely affordable is alder, a.k.a. poor man's cherry. I use it for trim all the time-very stable, accepts finish uniformly, attractive.
*Local sawmills here in the Adirondacks are a real bargin. Rough sawn 1" cherry goes for $1.00/bf. Paint the ends and dry properly ( I like to sticker it 1 year outdoors, 1 heating season indoors, hang in spring). I know people who bring back trailerloads to Boston and NYC for the savings.If you have the patience, its an amazing deal. I've been cutting my own cherry and pine trees for this - then it's $0.15/bd ft. !
*In S. Illinois, S. Indiana & Ky. you can get catalpa fairly reasonable. I think one of its nick names is "poor mans teak". L. Siders
*The Greene brothers favourd Redwood,Frank Lloyd Wright used Oak. I'm going to be doing some Craftsman style interior details soon using Western Red Cedar with a red mahogany finish. It's generally straight grained and accepts a finish well. It's easy to mill, cheaper than hardwood and readily (pardon the pun) available in many locales.