source for pretty wood?

[AlabamaNewbie]

Below is a picture of my current bash. This ugly thing is NOT going back in my boat. I am doing a new wheel, gauges, switches, etc. I am wanting to mount it all on a wood with a nice grain. I'd really love a piece of burl wood, but that is a bit too expensive. Around here though - a solid piece of wood is super easy to find - as long as you want pine. If you want anything with a good grain that will take a stain and really pop, you are out of luck.

So - any of ya'll have a secret online source for a piece of hardwood about 20 inches by30 inches that has a decent grain that isn't in the triple digit price range? I'll take any thickness at this point. If its too thin I can laminate to a backer, if too thick I can mill it.

Thanks

(edit) P.S. - The reason I am asking here is because if I do one more google search for "piece of pretty hardwood" at work, I will probably get fired.

 

[AlabamaNewbie]

[No message]

 

[Chris1956]

Gee, I can get oak and birch plywood, solid oak and poplar, as well as clear pine at my local Home Despot.

 

[briangcc]

Rockler? You'd need to biscuit join a few pieces to get the size you want.

Otherwise, I'd be looking at a vinyl overlay. Pop the gauges/switches out, apply vinyl, and then reinstall.

 

[wahlejim]

Any reason you can't make it out of plywood and stain and finish the exposed part?

 

[wahlejim]

If you want a different/exitic wood, a veneer sheet would be a lot easier to track down online than an actual plank of wood. Glue it right to a piece of plywood.

 

[AlabamaNewbie]

Not interested in vinyl overlay because I am changing up the gauge layout. Don't really want to do a plywood because of the way the edges will look when stained ( I don't like the look of seeing the layers of ply). A veneer is my second choice, but same ply issue.. My home depot and lowe's both are very limited in anything other than pine building materials.

I have an oak tree that needs removed in my yard, I may end up just cutting it down and milling out a piece from it, but I would have to wait for it to dry out.

 

[Scott Danforth]

you could kiln dry the wood (put in oven on low for 4 hours)

regarding the dash, I have seen many dashes where the actual dash material is done in polished acrylic with a layer of veneer laminated on the inside. that way it gives you depth via the clear polished acrylic.

 

[AlabamaNewbie]

That's actually a pretty good idea, I'll have to think on that. I've actually been wanting to make a new dinner table out of rough cut imperfect wood in resin. I could do this as a trial run. hmmmm.

 

[southkogs]

Do it out of plywood and keep the same "depth" of the original build. Stain/paint the exposed edges a darker color, and then stain the interior in a way that makes the grain look a little exotic or use laminate. Router a channel in the top cowl, and bury some LED lights to give you a cockpit light at the helm.

 

[Ned L]

Where do you live (gives me an idea of what is native in your area). What type of boat is this?

"Generically" speaking, mahogany would be the wood used for something like this (dimensionally stable, rot resistant, attractive).

I would stay away from particularly birch, poplar & maple. They are very poor in rot resistance.

I would not bother with anything at a 'big box store'.

Oak would be heavy, and as a wood is rather unstable dimensionally.

Depending on where you are a cherry or walnut would make good choices. For something native I would probably go with cherry.

Do you have any custom cabinet makers near you? I would search some of them out and see what they might have.

You may well have a hard time finding any nice dimensional lumber that is 20" wide. I have some 24" wide mahogany and they are some BIG planks. You will probably have to edge glue two pieces.

 

[AlabamaNewbie]

I actually don't need a piece as big as I stated. Probably more like 12" by 20", I just was stating a bigger piece so I could be more choosy about the section of grain that I liked the best and cut out. It only needs to be like 1/4" thick, then by the time I cut out for the gauges and steering, it wouldn't add much weight at all. Attached is a picture of what someone else did on the exact same model boat I have. I am not real crazy about the grain/wood choice or the stain color, but this is sort of what I am going for.

Although the more I think about it, the more I am liking the idea of rough wood/resin like the second pic only a lot smaller. I could mill out 2 pieces of wood from some old 8 inch limbs I have. I know its not traditional, but this is the spot of the boat where I get to make it unique.

 

[72fj40]

We used 3/4 Oak ply and biscuited 3/4x1 1/2 solid oak to the edges for our seat boxes. They also offer 3/4 x 3/4 solid oak too. you could just frame the ply with solid oak and then rout the edges or not

 

[JASinIL2006]

I would look for something like cherry or walnut, too. Those species would be pretty stable and not too hard to work with normal woodworking tools. Mahogany would be nice, too. For the amount you need, price really should not be an issue. Rockler sells hardwood blanks in varying thicknesses. I would just be prepared to seal whatever you use extremely well after shaping it.

If you weren't worried about a grain, poplar is very stable and easy to work, and sands quite smooth. I'd go with cherry, myself.

 

[Ned L]

I will say that 1/4” dimensional lumber will be a bit prone to splitting in that size with those cutouts. You would be better off going with a ‘ply’ if it needs to be so thin.

 

[Lowlysubaruguy]

Myself id use dark mahogany its affordable very durable better looking than most woods. Its very strong when its dried out. Ive worked with it for many uses and find you need to buy it freshly cut joint it cut it sand it before its hardened off. I especially like it for transition pieces between rooms its held up to shoes with gravel and mud water and looks like new. It takes 5 times the effort to sand a year later. I have it it my bedroom and bathroom for trim and the phrase my wife likes to use is “ I look pretty oh so pretty”

another option if you wanted a burl type finish you could joint some hardwood and laminate that with a burl layer rocker sells them in sheets and many other options on line will have a variety for you to choose from. We have a woodcrafters in portland they have an isle of options.

 

[fishrdan]

For pretty, I'd find some mahogany, or quarter sawn white oak.