Wood for Painted Furniture

[Mel Fulks]

Lots of good stuff has been made from North Eastern white pine and its softer than poplar. Yes, poplar can be dented. Don't let people dent it.

[Jim Becker]

OH man.... the confusion of naming conventions.....
So Populus which includes aspens are not so good for painting.... to soft?
That's unfortunate as I might be force to use more expensive "prettier" wood

Vince, in most cases when folks refer to poplar for projects, they are talking about Tulip/Yellow Poplar not the "populus" family including Aspen. In my personal experience, the Aspen is a bit fuzzy. Home centers sometimes sell is as small project boards, however, if you want to test things out on a small scale. Tulip Poplar isn't expensive in the scope of things.

I will add that the Radiata Pine sold in many of the home centers as their Select/premium pine (no knots, etc.) is nice to work with and only slightly softer than Tulip Poplar in my experience. But since it's from the 'borg...it's also "not cheap"... Lumber is best acquired from a lumber seller, not a big-box retail store.

[Osvaldo Cristo]

Hello all,
What kind of wood is recommended / used for furniture pieces (night stand, coffee table) that will be painted?
I assume cheaper species.... maybe dimensional lumber or mdf .... certainly not going to paint tiger wood
My wife hasn't said yet but lets go with the assumption that she is looking for very smooth surface i.e no wood grain showing

Thank you

I think MDF would be great for painted furniture but I do not like its dust when worked (I do not have a shop vac)... I use high grade (no knots or cracks) pine. I love it and it is very comfortable to work with. It accepts also routing with no problems. I have several pieces made 25 years ago and they are like new, yet!

[Justin Ludwig]

I order paint grade soft maple (is cheaper because of discoloration and some voids). I used to order poplar but just don't trust it for longevity and durability (this is my own opinion and experience). Any voids or knots in the maple are filled with bondo after primer coat. I prefer to bondo after primer because it shows all voids and defects I need to correct and reduces steps to final finish.

We've painted alder and knotty alder with success. Knotty alder is $1.70 bf here, while FAS Alder is $3.30. It's currently by far the most popular wood in my location. "Poor man's cherry"

[Jim Becker]

I think MDF would be great for painted furniture but I do not like its dust when worked (I do not have a shop vac)... I use high grade (no knots or cracks) pine. I love it and it is very comfortable to work with. It accepts also routing with no problems. I have several pieces made 25 years ago and they are like new, yet!

MDF is great for certain components of painted pieces, but doesn't totally substitute for solid wood as it isn't very resistant to fasteners pulling out nor will it handle excessive stress that comes into play for certain furniture components. Caution also has to be used if there is a "moisture rich environment" involved. But that (factory) surface is great for paint!

[John Lankers]

Vince, nothing wrong with SPF lumber, Home Depot sells 2x12x16 with around 11% moisture content, all other places that I'm aware off are 17% and up. You can build beautiful furniture from construction lumber and as long as you finish it with care and treat it with the same respect as your cherry, walnut or mahogany furniture it will last you a lifetime. European craftsmen have used (and still do, more than ever) softwood for custom kitchen and furniture projects. If you're planning to paint your piece start with stabilizing the knots with epoxy, apply a seal coat of BIN sealer and then a few coats of oil based paint from Benjamin Moore or Cloverdale Paint. For a smooth surface with no wood grain showing use drywall spackle and sand it smooth. For a more natural finish start with a shellac sealer and then apply a few coats of bater based poly, you can add a small amount of water based stain to achieve a richer look. Whatever you do, a shellac seal coat is a must IMO to prevent sap from seeping through. Be aware that wide pine boards usually contain the heart of the tree (pith), it must be removed. Also, resawing 2x seldom turns out ok unless you're planning to build a barrel, better to remove equal amounts of wood from both sides. Especially now where the price of hardwood is through the roof (at least in our neck of the woods), softwood is a very viable option.

[Chris True]

A big box pine "2*12" is about a dollar a board foot if you figure it out. I just returned from a lumber run, paid $1.95 a bf for 4/4 $2.25 for 5/4 and $2.50 for 6/4. Not dirt cheap but particularly for the 4/4 stuff the better workability is worth it to me over construction lumber.

The thought of milling PT for furniture is horrifying <g>. Wear a hazmat suit and a mask if you are doing that

[Tom Bender]

If you spend a little more for the Poplar or Alder and it is clear and dry you will never want to save money by using 2x construction lumber again. It works and finishes beautifully (when painted). It doesn't look like much under varnish.

[John Lankers]

A big box pine "2*12" is about a dollar a board foot if you figure it out. I just returned from a lumber run, paid $1.95 a bf for 4/4 $2.25 for 5/4 and $2.50 for 6/4. Not dirt cheap but particularly for the 4/4 stuff the better workability is worth it to me over construction lumber.

The thought of milling PT for furniture is horrifying <g>. Wear a hazmat suit and a mask if you are doing that

I was quoted $5.20 cdn. (~$3.80 US) less than 2 weeks ago for 4/4 clear pine with a minimum order of 300 - 500 bf from a reputable wholesaler here in Alberta and $2.50 for knotty pine. 1x6x12 construction grade SPF goes for under $1.00 / bf but its wet, twisted and undersized; 2x12x16 SPF at the HD goes for $31 (~$22.70 US) per board and at least it is dry.
You just can't win.

[Vince Rosypal]

Thanks again everybody, looks like a couple different opinions on this topic.
I think one of the challenges that I face (and probably John Lankers) is that some of the species that maybe very common in the USA are just not available here.
The common ones available from Timbertown and Windsor Plywood are Pine, Aspen, Fir, Oak and Maple.
They do have other "fancy" species in stock but I am not about to paint them. The box stores are not as diverse.
I had an opportunity to go into Windsor yesterday and talk to the guys there and check out the stock..... for S4S the 5 above where in various sizes except Aspen and pine only in 1x material
They did have some rough lumber there in oak, maple, sepia and a birch/alder pile...... If I had the time (kinda kicking my butt I didn't make the time) I should have pick through the birch/alder pile as it was a pretty good price.... maybe next weekend

My thoughts on MDF.... FWIW..... I have worked with it a lot on speaker and subwoofer builds
The dust is a major pain and has resulted in me being way more focused on dust collection.... I just got a track saw and mfd dust what one of the driving factors in my decisions to get one.
For speakers we have a 6 sided box which can lock everything together.... but like Jim Becker said it is very poor with fasteners
The cut edges of MDF are very susceptible to damage and chipping..... thus I would wrap the edges with real wood
The flat sides do paint like a dream and are very tough.... takes a good amount of force to dent

SPF lumber
Looks like some people are pro and some con
I'm still on the fence.....
Every board (mostly 2x4's) that I have gotten from a box store has had movement to some degree.... sometimes workable other times brutal
However for the smaller projects that I am talking about I think that I can take our any movement that occurs from drying

John, where are you getting lumber in Alberta?

[John Lankers]

Vince, I get all my hardwood lumber from PJ White in Calgary, they are a wholesaler but do cater to the public. I usually phone my order in and have a local trucking company pick it up for me.
I have had no success with SPF lumber from local retailers/home stores (to wet, to crooked), only 2x12x16 at Home Depot, if you have a moisture meter take it with you on the next shopping trip. Your best chance of finding perfect boards is when they take down a new skid from the rack. However, I will most likely get my softwood lumber from a small local sawmill from now on and dry it here at home.
Ultralight MDF is a good choice for painted (raised) panels if you can control the dust.

[Ted Reischl]

I am in the process of building a bookcase. Making it out of that cupped, twisted, bowed, sappy, pithy big box construction lumber. It will probably collapse or tip over because it will be so crooked. Maybe I can get a video of it falling apart and tipping over?

Seriously, I just completed the finish milling and all the mortise and tenons for the frame and panel construction. I a still looking for all those faults some of the folks have posted about. Maybe I need new glasses? I was careful when selecting. I did wind up with one twisted board somehow. Noticed it when I put it up on the RAS, so it was set aside and chopped up for smaller pieces. If a board feels heavy, I reject it. Those are the ones that have caused me fits in the past. Any boards with weird swirly grain are also set aside.

[Vince Rosypal]

Thanks John, always great to add another potential source for wood to the list. Unfortunately, I do not have a moisture meter as of yet. I typically look at weight, temperature to the touch and visual indicators for dampness.... not very accurate but it does weed out a lot of boards.

Thanks Ted, good to hear you are having success with SPF lumber...... the impression I am getting from comments and feedback is..... is the juice worth the squeeze?

[John C Cox]

One thing you see with commercial furniture thats painted... They have no qualms about mix-matching based on what the specific parts need and the duty they will see...

Match the species of wood to the function you need... Its not uncommon to see oak/ash legs, poplar/aspen/soft maple stringers, and veneered plywood flat panels. A thick coat of pore filler/bondo and paint...

They may even faux grain it to make it look like its the same sort of wood.

[lowell holmes]

I have a moisture meter. I use it so much I can't find it.
I guess I really don't miss it.