Originally Posted by
John Neel
White oak and hard maple are the hardest woods I have ever used. How do you find working woods above 3000 on the attached Janka scale? haven't worked with anything harder than Jatoba so far, but for the most part i've not had any problems. some maybe more prone to chip out (kind like hickory).
What do they do to your power tools? dull them a little faster but not much. Are there particular problems? most tend to change color when exposed to uv light regardless of finish (some darken some lighten other change color.
What about hand tools: saws, planes, chisels, cabinet scrapers? work fine, just keep them sharp (you probably already do this)
How about sanding and finishing? i do my sanding by hand and have not noticed it to be anymore diffucult than maple or cherry. haven't had any problems with finishing them. some are high in oil so you may to wipe them with something like acetone just before applying the finish.
I find myself wanting to use something a little more exotic. What should I expect?