Anyone worked with parawood?

[glatt]

Originally Posted by Pie

The Cellar is such a wealth of information! So glatt, what wood would you recommend?

I'd actually ask the place you deal with. Tell them what you want in the table. And what color you want it to eventually be. They might have a glut of one species that would end up being cheaper than another.

Maple is nice, cherry is too, but expensive. I'm partial to walnut, but it's a taste thing and has similar open pores. Oak is good too, but you might want to consider filling the pores before finishing it. There are several ways to do this. You can use a filler like this. Or start off with a thick layer of shellac, or just build up multiple layers of varnish or poly, sanding between each application.

I tend to think of historical Shaker furniture as being made of maple, but I'm not sure if that's actually true.

[dar512]

Originally Posted by glatt

Maple is nice, cherry is too, but expensive. I'm partial to walnut, but it's a taste thing

I had to chuckle at this. I don't do woodworking, but I do bbq regularly. So when the talk turns to wood, my mind wanders away from woodworking and I start thinking about what I'd cook with it.

But you're correct in either situation. Choice of wood is a matter of taste.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by glatt

Oak is good too, but you might want to consider filling the pores before finishing it. There are several ways to do this. You can use a filler like this. Or start off with a thick layer of shellac, or just build up multiple layers of varnish or poly, sanding between each application.

No, nay, nix, do not fill the pores. That's what makes oak, um oak. It's what gives it character, without grain it might as well be Formica.
That would be like painting curly maple white, spackling a pressed tin ceiling, or doing a Leopard with Miss Clairol.
You can do from a light (natural) finish all the way to a deep mahogany red, and it will still be oak and beautiful.