Designing a Plinth

Prpixel, there are may varieties of Lignum Vitae, but wow!. Where do you go that charges for wood by the pound?

I find it interesting the fact that it is more costly to use acrylic than certain exotic woods...if there is a method to the madness of using acrylic, perhaps there is a madness to the method of using wood.

I certainly like the look of wood.

Jimbo,

I'm curious about the design of the plinth. Are you trying to model it after the WT table or come up with a different design? Also, do you have a jointer, planer to work down raw wood and also be able to glue joint smaller widths? If so, your possibilities could be real interesting. I was thinking of an Ebony Top, Rosewood middle and a Ebony bottom. I would also consider using the WT feet.

Quite a few years ago, the square motor days, a guy in the Chicago area was custom painting the tables & some looked very sharp.

Steve

4yanx,

I buy wood regularly from about 6 different suppliers on line and two local suppliers and they all sell tropical lignum vitae by the pound because it is so rare. One local supplier charges $95.00 a foot for 1" dowels! However, I did find one supplier that was selling Argentine lignum vitae for $15.00/ft.

Mara is not very stable, although it is very beautiful. Looks similair to chestnut.

DESCRIPTION: Heartwood is light brown in color, soft, easily worked, but not durable. Member of the rubbertree family. Typically used for crating or as a secondary wood in cabinet making.

Cebil looks like a winner, but I've never worked with it.

Quina has a spicy scent that is used in perfume making. It tends to burn and tear out like purple heart. I made a jewelry box one time from Quina and I swore I would never work with it again.

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I have a passion for rare and exotic woods. I have a little 6'x6'x7' wood shed that has about $10,000 worth of exotic and rare woods in it. Although, it's probaly less then 300 boardfoot of wood. Some of the species include amboyna burl(extinct), fiddleback japanese peanut wood, pomelle cherry, pomelle white oak, curly avodire, quilted bigleaf maple, beeswing satinwood, quilted and pomelle bubinga, fiddleback koa, madrone burl, turleback koa, quilted sapele pomelle, quilted douka, quilted makore and sequoia burl. BTW, I keep the "common" wood in a different shed.

It's an obsession for me. Sometimes I spend days tracking down a rare species of wood. It takes a lot of time to decide what to make. Somtimes I only have enough material to make a small jewelry box, or a clock, or maybe a book rest. Somtimes I have enough to make a stunning occasional table. I usually end up giving away about half of these items to family members as gifts. And, I never throw away the scraps. You never know when you'll need them to make a knob or for inlay.

Hey, some people collect art. Some people collect audio gear. I collect wood.

Now, if you will excuse me, I just found some gorgeous Quartersawn Curly Shedua that I need to purchase before I go back to bed.

BTW, hickory is one of the the strongest woods on the planet. Incredible high shock resistance and stiffness. Hear's an idea, make the plinth from hickory (no sap wood) and cover it with 1/4" or 3/16" exotic veneers.

Good luck,