How much difference in finished Red Oak vs. White Oak Ply

[Keith Beck]

Yet another question regarding my planned TV console build...

It's going to be an Arts and Crafts design built with QSWO. But, the price of QSWO ply made my jaw drop and my plans call for two sheets of 3/4" and a sheet of 1/4". That's going to be a lot of money! I've been thinking about using plain-sawn Red Oak ply with shop-sawn QSWO veneers on the two ends, where it would be the most visible.

If I were to do that, but leave all the shelves, partitions, etc. Red Oak ply with QSWO face frames and edging, would you be able to really notice the difference between the two woods if I used the same finish throughout?

Keith

[CPeter James]

I use a lot red oak and just did a project with red oak lumber and red oak ply. There was a difference in the way they look because the ply was rotary cut.

CPeter

[Wade Lippman]

I wouldn't mix them; they look different.
If WO is too expensive use RO. I have made mission furniture with butternut, red oak, sycamore, and mahogany. Some would say it isn't mission, but who cares?

30 years ago, before supermarkets started stocking exotic ingredients, I read a cook book that suggested substituting parsley, walnuts, and parmesan for the basil, pine nuts, and sardo in pesto. She said it couldn't be called pesto, but was still delicious. Same idea.

[Bert Johansen]

I agree with Wade. Don't mix red oak and white oak. And I wouldn't suggest mixing flat-sawn ply panels with QSWO frames either. You probably won't be happy with the result.

My first choice, given your dilemma, would be to resaw QSWO and make your own veneer for the panels. You will need a well-tuned jointer to get the edges perfect, and, of course, a decent band saw, but this beats the heck out of mixing two such dissimilar woods, or mixing quarter-sawn with flat-sawn.

[Keith Beck]

Thanks to everyone for their input. I kinda figured the answer would be not to mix them because they'd be too dissimilar, but I was keeping my fingers crossed.

I think it would probably be more trouble than it's worth to veneer all the faces, so I guess I'd better just suck it up and buy QSWO ply.

On the other hand, I guess I could make the entire thing out of solid QSWO, but I'm not sure I could adequately compensate for wood movement at every connection. Or, is the movement of QSWO so minimal that it's not too big of a concern?

Keith

[Michael King]

QSWO is very stable, one of the main benefits of using quartersawn stock.
I'm glad you came to your senses about not mixing woods. My suggestion is to suck up and pay the price for the QSWO now, then have fun with the build. In the years to come you will forget about the $, and every time you look at the console you will feel good about having done it right.