Easiest hardwood to work with?

[bkreigsr]

I'm going to tackle a simple 5 board bench/table. Our local wood guy has ready access to cherry, oak, mahogany, and probably several more.
I'll be using hand power tools, including my new router, and need a wood that has a low splinter rate (?) as it is being cut. On a scale of 1-10, I'm probably a solid 7.5 in woodworking skills.
My dad made me the same piece from a drawing he made at Deerfield Village in the 60's, but he used pine, and I've had to repair it, replacing the end boards (legs) with oak.
These are going to my sons, and their kids eventually, so neatness counts.
Thanks in advance.
Bill K

[oldE]

What will the bench/table be used for?
I've never worked with cherry, but enjoy working with oak.
Mahogany will be a bit softer.

Best
Les

[sammyg2]

Maple. Tight grain, smooth, awesome.

[Dpmulvan]

Durability wise oak,ash or maple

[flatbutt]

Maple for work-ability, durability and loveliness. Oak is very nice too but is kinda heavy.

[Charles Freeborn]

Maple. No question. Keep your tools sharp.
charlesfreeborn.com

[BlueSkyJaunte]

^^^ Something tells me you should listen to this guy. Just a hunch, you see.

[bkreigsr]

Thanks Guys
Looks like it's going to be maple.
Funny, maple never crossed my mind. My dad made each of my boys a jumbo (80 pc) set of blocks (that their kids use now) from one inch maple stock and left them unfinished. They look as good as new, maybe better, with 30+ years of patina.
Bill K

[LEAKYSEALS951]

Ahhhh.. maple...Don't forget some quilt!



And how bout' some walnut action- here's an island I made:

[Charles Freeborn]

Sweet!
Just putting together a desk for my wife now out of Western Quilted with Burl and Ebony inlay. Incredible stuff...
-C

[intakexhaust]

Great pics!
Don't know whether the OP is looking to make a 'work'bench or general use but certainly agree with maple as a fine choice. However cherry is fun to work with and machines clean.

[slodave]

Good to see I lost my post....

Mahogany, though classified as a hardwood it is soft and will dent easily. Maple is called "hard rock" for a reason, but is easy to work with. Walnut is another good choice. I think oak is very blah, though very hard. I go with maple as well. All figured maple will cost a small fortune. Plain make is fairly cheap and what I use for my shift knobs.

[look 171]

If you like sharpening hand tools, then use Maple. Don't get me wrong, I love the stuff and cut miles of it over the years. Still one of my favorite, but I love Cherry( I build my folk's kitchen in Cherry). Its not as hard, and much easier to machine. Patinas very well with oil and wax. Depending on the purpose of the bench. Mahogany, Cherry then Maple would be the order for me. Walnut falls in there somewhere depending where the piece is going. Due to its natural dark colors, it doesn't always fit into the decor well. Machines very well BTW.

[Christien]

When we redid our kitchen last year we went with maple butcher block for the counter and kitchen table and we couldn't be happier. The island countertop was intended as a work surface, so it's full of knife marks, etc. - patina. It was treated with 10 or 12 coats of pure tung oil, so it's food safe. The table has several coats of varnish (probably 7 or 8, can't remember) so everything wipes off with no problem. I did put a light stain on the table before varnishing in hopes of colour matching, but the oiled portion has darkened and they no longer match. Still looks fine though. Admittedly this is all straight cuts, so very easy to do. But it looks stunning, is very durable, and was actually one of the less expensive options.

You can't see it well (and I can't find any other pics) but the countertop along the walls is walnut with a live edge. This is oiled, not varnished, and because of that isn't as durable as the maple (plus we want to keep it looking pristine) so it functions more as a "flat surface" for setting things down on, rather than an all-out work surface.

[Drisump]

One aspect of maple you should look out for is it's tendency to burn when using a router. It's kind of APITA when you're using a bit with a more complicated profile since it's difficult to sand the burnt areas out. The burning is caused by sugars in the wood caramelizing at a certain temperature. Cheers

[Charles Freeborn]

Originally Posted by Drisump

One aspect of maple you should look out for is it's tendency to burn when using a router. It's kind of APITA when you're using a bit with a more complicated profile since it's difficult to sand the burnt areas out. The burning is caused by sugars in the wood caramelizing at a certain temperature. Cheers

Quite true, but avoidable. Sharp cutter, of course, and sneak up with multiple passes, and climb cut to avoid tear out. Newer variable speed routers help too - you can find the rpm that gives the best combination of cut and finish.

Beautiful kitchen Christien - I'm jealous...

-C

[Nostril Cheese]

Mahogany is a b***h to grain fill if youve never done it before. Maple is much easier to finish.

[Hawkeye's-911T]

Some serious woodworking skills at play here.
Very nice guys.

Cheers
JB

[dyount]

I'd go with Cherry .... almost as hard as certain Maples , easy to work with as far as routing etc as long as you aren't taking too much off in one pass. Best thing is that it will age quite well and deepen in color unlike most woods.
Mahogany is probably the nicest looking material with ease of working "if" you get materials either from S America or Africa. Stay away from the Indonesian stuff...
Part of the equation here is what style of bench/table are you building?? For example, you wouldn't be building arts and crafts style out of anything but quartered W/oak.

[look 171]

there has been some problem with African Mahogany. They don't dry their lumber enough so there's lot os twisting going on. Be careful with that.