anyone build anything with sycamore?

allen levine

Member
Messages
12,344
Location
new york city burbs
Im about to build another box, this one a TV/entertainment unit.
Just a 5 foot long top, with some doors, and shelves.
Im going to use maple for top, maple for legs, spalted maple for door panels and sides.
And I want to mix it up a bit and use sycamore for the the faceframe and door stiles and rails.
Is this stuff easy to work with? Does it plane and joint easy enough?
Will it take stain or will oil finish it nicely?
any info would be appreciated, I never touched sycamore before this.
 
Allen,

I used qs sycamore for the top and bottom of this shaker box. It was easy to work with and I'll use it again if I get the chance. I did notice that the color of the wood varied widely. Some of it was really white like this box and some had a red, redish brown hue. This box has no finish. I have finished it since the picture with arm r seal and it looks great.

We have a bedroom set from the 20's and all the drawers are qs sycamore and they look really good.

I don't think qs would look good for frames. I think it would be busy.

Just my opinion, for what it's worth.
 

Attachments

  • qs top (Medium).jpg
    qs top (Medium).jpg
    46.1 KB · Views: 45
Last edited:
Allen,

I used qs sycamore for the top and bottom of this shaker box..



thats some pretty wood, I dont think the sycamore I have is anything like that.
I paid 2.00 per bf for the uncracked boards,and 1.00 a bf for the cracked boards.
I figured its good use without glueups to use the cracked boards and pull out all the stiles and rails. I did notice some of the boards seemed a a few shades darker than some of the others.
I also think the price was low because the cut is not generous, even though its almost smooth, so maybe it was planed a bit already.
 
My cheapo approach to wood buying again bit me on the butt.
I might have paid 1.00 a bf for the sycamore that was cracked, but most of the 15 inch, 10 foot board is firewood.
42 dollars down the drain.
You get what you pay for.
I miss my wood guy the boatbuilder, wish he would give me a call.
 
Sycamore works nicely but is prone to warping and moving a fair amount. I use it in quartersawn form to help increase the stability.

Ray

I loved the way birch looked also, but noticed alot of movement with the birch tabletop I made. I think when it comes to white woods, Ill stick with oak, ash or hard maple in the future. thanx for the info.
nice unit rickey.
 
Top