Replies

1. 
   brad805 | Jan 25, 2008 07:11pm | #1

   I just ran 300bd ft for flooring and it does vary quite a lot.  Some is very straight grained and matches perfectly, same tones, and textures.  Some pieces planed/jointed perfectly and I had some where the tearout is so bad I am now considering a small wide belt or a shellix head for the next run.  It is one of the hardest woods you will find.  I recall trying to use some for a jig and I had to pre-drill ever hole otherwise they would break.  Others will chime in with more experience, but thats my take thus far with Jatoba.

   Brad

2. 
   JeffHeath | Jan 25, 2008 07:14pm | #2

   Farkel

   You should be able to find regular cherry without all the figure for quite a bit less than what you paid for the curly.  I wouldn't use the Jatoba and try to pass it off as cherry.  It is too close in the "red" family of woods, and I don't think it would look right.  You'd be better off using a contrasting wood like maple, or walnut. 

   Just my .02, but if you want the table to look like cherry, than use cherry.  Legs and aprons won't consume that many bf of lumber. 

   Jeff

3. 
   Jamie_Buxton | Jan 25, 2008 07:17pm | #3

   Jatoba looks somewhat like cherry, hence the name.  However, it does not actually look like cherry.  Your table will look like it is built from two different, but related, woods.  That's not necessarily bad, if that's what you want.

   In my dealers, jatoba and (plain) cherry sell for roughly the same price -- $6 per bdft or so.

4. 
   dherzig | Jan 25, 2008 09:51pm | #4

   Jatoba is wonderful wood for flooring. I have seen many such. However, it is a bear to use for furniture. It is very hard on tools, is very difficult to get smooth without divots and weighs a ton. I was trying to use it to make an entertainment center and eventually gave up and bought cherry. Other than the red color, it does not really look like American cherry.

1. 
   Farkel | Jan 25, 2008 09:55pm | #5

   Thanks for all the quick responses. I will find some cherry.