My favorite is probably Pacific Madrone. Wonderful color, always in the pinkish range to purple, black, maroon, and browns as well. Most difficult wood to dry that I have run across because of extreme wood movement. Wonderful smooth even grain.

Mountain Mahogany is another, very hard (18 on the Janka scale, lignum is 20, bubinga is 12), lovely reddish brown color, and the only green wood that I have turned where I needed a dust mask.

Also any fruit wood, apple, cherry, pear, plum, haven't gotten any peach yet.

Dog wood is another favorite, wonderful grain, and colors can be great. Osage is great, and black locust, and honey locust. Walnut, both English and Black, butternut as well. Haven't done to many exotics, but have some lignum, pink ivory, and cocobolo waiting. Myrtle is nice as well. I have only had a few pieces of sugar maple, and loved it but we don't get much of it here. Silver maple is nice, but tends to be kind of stringy. A 30 year old tree here is 30 inches in diameter. Chinkapin (golden chesnut) is wonder for its smell. I am sure there are others, but I get lost some times. Too many to choose from, and so little time.

robo hippy

I don't like Cottenwood, too stinky, and palm, too stringy.