I've used Mahogany, Walnut and Cherry for shaping/carving before with good
results. I think genuine (Honduran) mahogany has always been a favorite of
carvers. Good straight grain pieces usually work pretty well and easily.

Gary in KC


"dave_in_gva" wrote in message
...
Hi,

I am building a low coffee table out of a lovely piece of burled Swiss
pear.

The top will be around 2.5 cm (1") thick and supported by 4 legs with
a gentle curve and an oval cross section. The look I'm after is
something elegant and feminine (the table is for a single mother
friend of ours). I do almost all my work with hand tools and have a
few spokeshaves but have not had reason to use them really till now.

To give a better idea on dimensions the overall height of the legs
will be somewhere around 35 cm (14"), with a curve deflection of
around 5 cm (2") at the apex point of deflection which will be at
about 8 cm (3") off the floor. Maximum dimension of the cross section
should be around 4 cm (1.5").

Any ideas on woods I should consider for the legs? I want to minimize
problems with tearout so don't want anything with interlocking
grain.....basically the ideal for me would be a good beginners wood
for getting into spokeshave work that also is stable and suited to
table construction. Visually I am not after anything to compete with
the table top as the focus will be on the burled figure of the pear.

Spokeshaver gurus....what say you?

Dave M.