Hi, I am wanting to build the channing desk ( http://ana-white.com/2012/01/plans/channing-desk ) but I am having an issue finding matching wood. I thought I might use oak or maple for the desk top and I can get sheets of that at the local lowes but I cannot find matching boards. They have 3/4 sheets of oak but then all I can find for my 1x's and 2x's is red oak. I can't find any boards in maple or cedar. I plan on staining and I was wondering if i used regular oak for the desktop and red oak for the trim, will it be noticeable? I am open to using other types of wood as well, I just want to build a good quality table. Any suggestions or comments are greatly appreciated. Thanks.
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claydowling
Fri, 07/20/2012 - 05:21
Matching types
There's no such thing as "regular" oak. What you've probably got is red oak. The oak that I usually find for plywood veneer is different than the red oak I get locally, but they're close enough that I can match them together.
The easiest way to ensure you have red oak is to look at the little black grain patterns. In red oak, the black marks are hollow tubes. In white oak, the black marks are not hollow.
The best way to be sure is to apply stain to scraps of both your trim and the main material and see if they match. If they do, you can use them, even if they aren't the same species.