Afternoon everyone.....

Today I am going to show you how I pick the hidden gem pieces of wood for my special projects. It a very big secret......

Can you keep a secret?????

Having knowledge in the species of wood you are trying to use is a must for this to work. But it can be done, and can save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars on material if you can spot it.

So I have been commissioned to build a one of a kind piece by a former client who is looking for something impressive for his office. I don’t know exactly what he does, but the company he works for represents high end professionals. His office is a nice size and he wants something that is impressive.

The only criteria that I must meet is the height and width he recommends. He left me complete control of the design and the woods chosen for this piece.

It’s going to be a desk, but not your normal run of the mill desk. I haven’t totally decided on a design, but I do know the style and the woods I’d like to use one it.

I want to use exotic woods on this piece, so off to the supply house I went today. I happen to have a very good rapper with everyone at this supplier and get free rain on anything.

So iI spent the better parts of 3 hours going through solid exotic veneers looking for the hidden gems. And this is what I came across.

The piece I am going to show you is a wood called Bubinga it is native to Africa. It is a very beautiful wood with a deep reddish brown color when finished.

So here is one of the sheets I chose....

Looks nice right? But doesn’t look like anything special. Not unless you know what to look for and how to make sure.

This is what it looks like after I misted it with a spray bottle of water.

While no supplier is going to let you spray water on their product, there are ways to tell if it’s a hidden gem without giving it away.

If the supplier knew that the 3 pieces I took were highly figured Bubinga I would have paid nearly $800 per sheet. Instead I got it as straight grain Bubinga which was just over $250 my price per sheet.

As I stated earlier know about the species of wood is required to find these hidden gems. But here is home you can check without giving it away. You either carry a bottle of water like you are drinking it and wet your thumb really well and then run your thumb over a part you think is figured. You will know right away.

Unfortunately I didn’t have any water with me and had to use my saliva to do my checking. But it works and I bought all three sheets for what one of them should’ve cost.

Lessons in wood by Silverd510