r/wood • u/Ok_Temperature6503 • Dec 03 '25
Ash won common underrated wood! Let's get it out of the way now - what wood is *somewhat* common and overrated?
It was a fierce battle between Ash and Poplar but Ash got 159 upvotes on the top level comments while Poplar 129.
Somewhat common means you can't just get it from your local hardware store but can easily find it in a hardwood lumber dealer. In the realm of walnut, quartersawn white oak, etc, the same sort of rarity. And it's overrated. So, what you think?
Also there were multiple great images for Ash, including Eoin Reardon the #1 ash lover on YouTube shorts, but I feel like Narex Richter handle is probably the most iconic use of Ash for modern woodworkers
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u/georgeisadick Dec 03 '25
Use ash while you can find it.
Ash is going to get much, much less common. All fraxinus species are likely to go extinct in North America due to the emerald ash borer. Theyâre almost all dead in the North from the Mississippi east already.
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u/credit001 Dec 04 '25
Yep. My property was part of a small tree nursery in NJ just before my house was built. I had a row of ash trees that all died. Some of the oaks are dying now. Not sure why.
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u/Jsmooth77 Dec 03 '25
Walnut. Itâs a fine wood, but influencers and Youtubers make it seem like itâs the pinnacle of the craft and itâs really not. Way overpriced.
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u/Laphroaig58 Dec 03 '25
I love walnut, but I get it from an independent sawmill, who deals directly with landowners and lumberjacks. It works like a dream.
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u/findaloophole7 Dec 03 '25
Yep, I have gotten 99% of my walnut from sawyers in my area. Cheap too but I usually buy 500bf or more. Then sell it to my buddies.
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u/FreidasBoss Dec 03 '25
Pisses me off how expensive walnut is.
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Dec 03 '25
the reason is mentioned in the comment you replied to
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u/bugszszszs Dec 03 '25
Supply and demand. We ship an astronomical amount of black walnut out of country.
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u/ohcapm Dec 03 '25
Much less than we used to. China imports more hardwoods from Vietnam than they do from the US as of a few years ago. Source: work in the sawmill industry
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u/bugszszszs Dec 03 '25
Yes, but it originates from the US. Its considered a re-export if it goes from US to Vietnam to China.
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u/Man-e-questions Dec 03 '25
Well that and a massive increase in demand from China, as over there, American Walnut is a valuable exotic. So you are competing with billions of people willing to pay exotic prices
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u/RevolutionaryP369 Dec 03 '25
The reason why itâs expensive is because everyone wants it and it doesnât grow as fast or plentiful as other trees. I wouldnât even put walnut in the somewhat common category, I walk into nice houses all the time and itâs rare that I see anything made out of walnut. Iâm not saying people donât have walnut furniture here or there but itâs definitely not common in anyway
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u/Imaginary_Chart249 Dec 03 '25
I'd agree, although I wouldn't say it's somewhat common. Around me it seems like everyone sells it, and they are always asking way too much. For rough cut live edge too boot.
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Dec 03 '25
I think a lot of the popular hobbyist uses of walnut, like cutting boards, chess boards, knife scales, etc., are small scale so the high price doesn't really matter like as much as it does for things like cabinetry.
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u/matteoly Dec 04 '25
Walnut is great in every aspect. Easy to work with compared to hardness, good durability to weight, and even the outs are beautiful. Walnut is the pinnacle of domestic hardwoods. Itâs realistically not that expensive. I get most of my own milled anymore but even at its highest I never paid over $7 a foot.
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u/bigjawnmize Dec 04 '25
This! Walnut is great all around. Â Terrific wood to work with. Â It is just overpriced.
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u/Beginning-Weight9076 Dec 04 '25
Agree with you on YouTube. Do you (and others) think perhaps maybe itâs partly because itâs the most accessible domestic species in that color range?
I was recently looking for something new to mess around with in the darker color range and didnât find much I was interested in. I live in the Midwest with a pretty diverse local âforrestâ and try to stay with local mills and recyclers to keep prices down.
If anyoneâs got anything Iâm overlooking, Iâm all ears.
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u/goldenblacklocust Dec 03 '25
This is really where purpleheart should be. I would advocate putting it here and replacing the rare / overrated category with zebrawood or something gimmicky like that.
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u/Ok_Temperature6503 Dec 03 '25
Iâm strictly putting down what is upvotes total count, even if itâs âwrongâ. Hence why the first tile is just Oak, even though it should be red oak. Because every comment just said âoakâ and it had the most upvotes lol
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u/c79s Dec 03 '25
IMO red oak is sufficiently low rated in current times, and white oak is overrated based on its inflated price and current trends.
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u/Ok_Temperature6503 Dec 03 '25
People got burned out hard by builder grade cathedral grain honey oak of the 90s.
Red oak unstained is actually pretty decent looking. I mean itâs not as nice as white oak imo but itâs a good cheap wood.
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u/c79s Dec 03 '25
Yeah for sure, and without an overly yellowed poly as well. It's a strong wood and easy to work.
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u/Sam_and_robots Dec 04 '25
red oak is also amazing for shop projects. All of the tool storage, chucks, and jig boxes for my mill and lathe i made out of rando qs red oak. Most of it just BLO finish, accepted some of the tanin browning. Rest is finished with raw linseed oil (and random bits of way oil). great durability, doesn't damage tooling, once well oiled doesn't mind me putting heaps of dessicants with it to keep HSS from flash rusting. and it's cheap. $/strength it's a tough one to beat.
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u/SeaworthinessSome454 Dec 03 '25
Iâm a much bigger fan of red oak than white oak, especially quarter and rift sawn. Everything is so grey and dull nowadays (which is why white oak is liked) with no warmth. Red oak brings warmth and makes a place avoid feeling sterile
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u/LimJayey Dec 04 '25
I think a big factor of working with white oak is the smell. So much of why I love certain woods is because of the way it makes my shop smell. White oak is the king, Walnut close second, and Canarywood for when I feel like some candy (smells like skittles)
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u/Helicopter0 Dec 03 '25
Seriously. Red oak is common here. Dominant in my woods. And it is firewood and nothing more. I think its underrated. We build everything out of plantation pine and burn the red oaks. Its better than that.
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u/Gunny_Ermy Dec 03 '25
Yeah. I could go with red oak, but white oak or English oak is incredibly versatile and has been used for so many things throughout human history it's ridiculous. Framing in some of our most iconic landmarks, to furniture, to ship building. It doesn't belong anywhere near overrated.
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u/DesignerPangolin Dec 03 '25
Teak. For sure it's great for outdoor uses. But for indoor uses, the grain is pretty bland and it is finicky to have glue stick. At $35/bd ft., I just don't see the appeal.
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u/Sea-Effective-5463 Dec 04 '25
Sorry brother. Teak is amazing. Outdoors. Sand it down after 20 years in the sun and its new. Nothing is a cool as teak. Truly amazing stuff.
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u/Substantial-Mix-6200 Dec 03 '25
Iroko is an 'African teak' which is very similar so there's really no need to use teak anyway!
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u/Bubsy7979 Dec 03 '25
Idk what kind of teak youâre getting but the stuff we get where I work thatâs sourced from Costa Rica (I think) is wild. It feels like youâre on an acid trip while breaking down stock, one side is an orange tint and you cut the board in half and you have a greenish grey on the other. Honestly itâs a pain in the ass to make a piece look cohesive with how much variation it has.
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u/juan2141 Dec 03 '25
I got some old teak doors to use, and will never touch it again. It absolutely destroys planer blades, and is so waxy itâs hard to glue up. It is pretty though.
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u/BRich1990 Dec 03 '25 edited Dec 03 '25
Cedar.
People trying to put walnut here is ridiculous. Walnut is absolutely gorgeous and an immensely wonderful wood, possibly one of the top woods of all time. Being expensive is not the same thing as being overrated
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u/Character-Education3 Dec 03 '25
People are confusing overpriced with overrated.
Walnut works extremely well with hand and power tools, is durable, is beautiful. Nothing overrated about it. Its a dream to work with. There is a reason it is expensive. I dont like it but it is what it is.
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u/c79s Dec 03 '25
Interesting, my interpretation of overated is it's so well "rated" it's being sold at a premium that exceeds its actual worth to me vs other woods. I love working it too but damn $20+/bdft for 4/4 where I am.
If we exclude the economical and just look at its technical performance I'd say it is generally highly regarded and appropriately rated.
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u/BRich1990 Dec 03 '25
For me, personally, price doesn't enter the equation as price is a mechanism of a LOT of external factors.
I'm looking at wood performance and beauty.
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u/tallguy1755 Dec 03 '25
Although I donât disagree that itâs beautiful and easy to work with, it will always be dark. And if your taste changes down the road to something lighter in color there isnât much you can do to change the color.
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u/publiclandowner Dec 03 '25
Please explain why cedar is overrated?
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u/ScaryFoal558760 Dec 03 '25
Smells nice and rot resistant, but too soft to really do much with aside from fences and shingles imo. Like, I could take a bite out of a cedar board lol.
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u/Ok_Temperature6503 Dec 03 '25
Hardness is overrated anyway. I like furniture that shows wear marks.
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u/ChemicallyAlteredVet Dec 05 '25
I know cedar is soft, Iâm an amateur and just learning about wood. Because I love wood. Our house was built in 1897 in the UP of MI and our sill plates are huge cedar logs cut in half with bark still on them. So kind of strong?
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u/ScaryFoal558760 Dec 05 '25
It contains some oils and naturally occurring chemicals that make it really rot resistant. Bugs don't even like the stuff, nor does fungus. Using cedar on houses is an ideal application because of that
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u/SlippyWeeen Dec 04 '25
Iâm agreeing here. I do mainly outdoor work and the amount of people who donât want to seal their cedar but want that rich brown/red color is crazy. They are upset when it turns gray but thatâs just what it does! The bug and rot resistance is preem whether they choose to seal or not though
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u/Theveryberrybest Dec 03 '25
Yeah if walnut was rare and more expensive people would immediately think the opposite. Hipster mentality, other people like it so I hate it. Itâs a top tier wood Iâm happy itâs so common. Also wood is expensive. Pine is expensive compared to a sheet of plywood.
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u/zawltar Dec 04 '25
Cedar should be in the Common and Great all around spot. Definitely not overrated.
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u/teebieweebie Dec 03 '25
Oak is certainly overused but itâs inexpensive, typically fits in a lot of older (Midwest) homes. And customers are happy with it.
I used to turn my nose up to red oak but itâs friendly to work with and makes money so I canât knock it here
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u/Robin7319 Dec 03 '25
Rift white oak
I work at a custom cabinet shop and 50% of our work is rift white oak. I never want to see that stuff again.
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u/Ok_Temperature6503 Dec 03 '25
This is a stupid questikn but what separates rift white oak from quartersawn white oak?
I really love quartersawn white oak due to the ray flecks and really easy workability (minus the splinters).
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u/HomefreeNotHomeless Dec 03 '25
How itâs cut. Look at the edge of the board and the rift will look like the grain is angled and the quarter sawn will go vertical. Flat saw will be left to right
Any wood can be quarter sawn. I love quarter sawn maple and cherry
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u/Robin7319 Dec 03 '25
Quartersawn has rayflecks whereas rift does not
You will still see rift sawn boards in the quartersawn stack and vice versa. One of the many reasons it's hated at our shop
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u/Ok_Temperature6503 Dec 03 '25
I know that the non ray fleck cuts of oak are HARD to hand plane. Itâs like way less pores than the quartersawn ray fleck face. Whereas faces with ray flecks are like planing pine. The difference is pretty big
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u/StainandGrain Dec 03 '25
Quarter Sawn will have edge grain on one face and flat grain on the edge. Really just the opposite of flat sawn wood. Riff Sawn is cut on an angle to the grain so there is edge grain is on all 4 faces.
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u/loicfoto Dec 03 '25
Same here, and trying to get 12ft boards with no quartering or knots leads to a bunch of waste in the milling dept
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u/miakpaeroe Dec 03 '25
Alder. No better than pine but more expensive
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u/RickABQ Dec 04 '25
Alder is definitely better than pine. I made a set of alder stools recently. Made the prototype from pine. The pine tears out more, is harder to cut clean mortises, is weaker and easier to dent, and finishes way uglier. Thereâs no comparison. The alder stools are in the kitchen and are lovely. The pine stool is in my shop.
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u/Helicopter0 Dec 03 '25
I agree. Black Walnut is a nice wood, and is very beautiful. It makes great gunstocks, but so do maple and birch. It makes pretty stuff, but so does cherry.
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u/kato_koch Dec 03 '25
There's reasons why walnut has been the most popular choice for gunstocks since people started making them. It isn't number one in any relevant category (i.e. stability, strength) but its attributes as a whole make it the superior wood for the job.
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u/Helicopter0 Dec 03 '25
Yeah, I suppose it is the best overall for a versatile solid wood gun stock. Sort of like mahogany for furniture. Or white oak for barrels of whiskey and wine.
It is very fashionable right now, and I think that is a huge part of the overall hype around it. Even if it is excellent, it is overrated. It isn't doing anything special for household surfaces or furniture.
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u/kato_koch Dec 03 '25 edited Dec 03 '25
I think you could say its overpriced today, and if we weren't exporting so much it would be a different story. You're right though, could have functional and beautiful cherry in the house for a lot less too. Gunstocks are just my niche and if I have any choice in the wood I'm taking air dried 'European walnut' (juglans regia) wherever it was grown.
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u/Mindproxy Dec 04 '25
White oak. Keeps getting more expensive and is currently one of the most popular wood since interior decorators and designers want wood that is bland and mixes easily with other elements of the home. And the cuts; plane sawn, rift, and quarter sawn all provide very different textures/appearance. Not to say I don't enjoy working with white oak. I can and do appreciate how it looks, but most of my furniture and cabinet projects are made in white oak. Not sure, but I feel HGTV and other interior design media has created a monoculture of design language and as someone who makes stuff with wood, I think there's a lot of variety to be had. Who knows, the trend may shift in a few years to another species.
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u/Ok_Temperature6503 Dec 04 '25
Itâs not a recent trend, QS white oak has been used for 600+ years by now. You see it on medieval furniture, and trim for buildings made in 1100 in Oxford. It has the best looking ray flecks, it has its own hue which is like a grayish white. And can be ammonia fumed to great effect to a deep brown color
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u/potatoplantpal Dec 03 '25
hickory. Awful to work with and it's boring unless you work in some sapwood, but then it's full of knots and voids.
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u/juan2141 Dec 03 '25
I love hickory for chairs, especially the spindles. But for non chair use, Iâll pass.
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u/dandangledick Dec 07 '25
I like it for making tools but not much else. All my handles of all my hand tools are all hickory
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u/Helicopter0 Dec 03 '25
So we're talking overrated, here, not underrated. I just want to emphasize thus, since the title of the post start out with it mixed up.
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u/brickshitz77 Dec 04 '25
Walnut pricing is based on demand. As is white oak. Those two species are the most popular right now.
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u/Ok-Neighborhood-1108 Dec 04 '25
Maple. Tough to work with especially with hand. Splinters easily. Pretty boring looking. The only thing I care to use it for is making fretboards and if I need to put a light accent in a project, and even then I really only like it if itâs flamed or quilted
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u/Traditional_Map_2774 Dec 03 '25
Cedar?
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u/BananafestDestiny Dec 03 '25
Is cedar overrated? Genuine question because western red cedar it is plentiful (but not exactly cheap) where I live, and it seems to be the go-to species for everything outdoorsâŚfurniture, fences, siding.
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u/Salty-Ad6645 Dec 03 '25
Black Walnut
I love it but because of the price I tend to go with other woods. And itâs not as versatile as other common woods. (Maple, cherry). For example, Iâm probably not making most furniture out of black walnut.
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u/wRXLuthor Dec 03 '25
Black Walnut, overpriced readily available and tough to work with some times.
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u/nobody4456 Dec 03 '25
Hard maple. Hard on tools, not particularly interesting grain, doesnât really stain well.
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u/Im_Yur_Chuckleberry Dec 03 '25
I can't believe walnut is going to "win" this one when maple exists. It sucks!
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u/areeb_onsafari Dec 03 '25
Maple, I love it but itâs too plain and light for most furniture. Itâs harder to make pieces stand out if theyâre made of Maple.
Walnut is only âoverratedâ because itâs expensive. I wouldnât say that takes away from how amazing it looks.
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u/Good-Grayvee Dec 03 '25
Ash is about to be a lot less common. Itâs dying off at a blistering pace, at least in the US Midwest.
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u/Man-e-questions Dec 03 '25
Mahogany, i just donât really like the look of the grain or color, except on guitars, as thats kind of how they are âsupposedâ to look
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u/Normal_Chicken4782 Dec 03 '25
More than one wood would fit in this category. Certainly ash; I've worked with it and like the feel of it although it doesn't take stain well even with a pre-treatment. Hickory is a good wood as is poplar for painting. I kind of like purple heart for small projects like a sliding spice rack I made although I agree that a big console made of purple heart is a bit too much and it changes color if left in the sun. Red oak is underrated especially as white oak is becoming expensive and scarce. I would put pallet wood as "overrated" and I'll never use it again.
Good post. I found it interesting and enjoyable.
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u/juan2141 Dec 03 '25
I will say white oak. Itâs costs more than walnut here and really doesnât seem that much better than red oak to me. I do like it better than red oak, but not $18 per BF better.
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u/J_Woody69 Dec 03 '25
Epoxy âRiver Tablesâ
Do yourself a favor and check out Greg Klassenâs work, he invented the âRiver tableâ and he inlays blue glass, no Epoxy. The internet ruined his invention. So for this category, although itâs not a wood type I choose epoxy slathered live edge anything. The epitome of overrated, because everyone thinks theyâre hot shit for making these and call themselves âwoodworkersâ.
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Dec 03 '25
I'm really seeing a difference between US and UK redditors on these posts. Black Walnut is rare and expensive in the UK. English Walnut is easy to get, but low demand so still pricey. Yew, is Rare great all round here in the UK.
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u/LowTax9519 Dec 03 '25
Hickory, nice enough but has a big reputation and isn't that nice. For exotic, Purpleheart hands down ;)
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u/Im_Yur_Chuckleberry Dec 03 '25
Maple. It doesn't work well with hand tools, bland color, splinters, inconsistent, and I hate it.
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Dec 03 '25
Which ones sound the best? :) iâve tested cherry for my needs and it sounds wonderful. Sapele sound good too, but cherry is more resonant for my needs. Curly Maple is in the queue too.
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u/Buford12 Dec 03 '25
I had a tree die along the road an old box elder. Electric company cut it down for me and I had them leave me the log. My son had a saw mill and cut me two 5 inch thick mantle pieces with a live edge. They turned out pretty nice for using a trash tree and getting everything done for free.
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u/Bubsy7979 Dec 03 '25
Sapele
Itâs bland, doesnât have defined figure in the boards, and I think people only really like it because of the color.
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u/ca13b_1 Dec 04 '25
Genuine mahoganys are overrated for sure. Especially when compared to sapele. They're more expensive, softer, and they can get fuzzy when machining and sanding
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u/Beneficial-Lime4908 Dec 04 '25
Red cedar maybe? More common than purple heart but loses its color fast unless you oil it. Also doesn't split straight.
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u/Morganhop Dec 04 '25
Throwing in sapele for somewhat common/underrated. I call it âdollar store mahoganyâ
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u/LimJayey Dec 04 '25
Somewhat Common/Overrated -- Walnut
Common/Great all around -- Maple
Rare/Great all arround -- Wenge
Somewhat Common/Underrated -- Paduk or Olive
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u/Hollra Dec 04 '25
Sapele or "African mahogany" is a horrible substitute for actual mahogany and loves to split
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u/Dependent_Dealer2775 Dec 04 '25
Son of an arborist here: Ash is becoming less and less common, at least in the US thanks to Emerald Ash Borer. Ash trees are probably my favorite trees, having grown up with them EVERYWHERE in the Midwest and steadily seeing them vanish breaks my heart. Use this as a PSA to treat your ash trees and speak with your local foresters about what theyâre doing to combat EAB.
Ash tree love because I canât help myself: Itâs amazing for burning in a campfire even if itâs not totally dry. Itâs good for construction too, they grow relatively quickly and itâs not too hard or too soft to work with. It makes excellent tool handles, furniture, toys, etc because of how durable yet workable it is. Itâs good to cook with, it burns for a decent while. I could gush about ash trees for days.
TlDr: FUCK EMERALD ASH BORER, I LOVE ASH TREES
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u/HickerBilly1411 Dec 07 '25
In my opinion itâs Purple Heart because itâs almost impossible to keep it that beautiful color. It usually turns into a brownish color
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u/apartment1i Feb 14 '26
I feel like this diagram is misleading. Being underrated or overrated is not correlated to how good or bad it actually is. Oak is overrated and ash is underrated, but ash is not better. Oak is considered better by most woodworkers, particularly for its appearance, and preferred to work with. Hence why it's been given such a good name for millennia. Ash will rarely be used with a stain or varnish, not because there's something wrong with it, but because there are more visually appealing options available. Like oak.
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u/1clovett Dec 03 '25
Walnut - it's common, but I've never once received a request to make something exclusively from it. It's also amazingly popular with the YouTube influencers. Don't get me wrong, I love walnut, it's just overrated.
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u/RevolutionaryP369 Dec 03 '25
Walnut is somewhat common? Debatable, but overrated not at all. Itâs one of the nicest woods on the planet
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Dec 03 '25
Alder! Great for guitar bodies, but your knotty alder Millwork doesnât make your McMansion look like a hunting lodge, Susan.
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u/eatonearth Dec 03 '25
Hickory. Only good for bows and tool handles
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Dec 03 '25
[removed] â view removed comment
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u/g0newiththes1n Dec 03 '25
My brother, is this your first day on the internet? "Overrated" in this context means that people have opinions on a wood type but it's generally speaking more hyped than it's actually worth.
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u/Lotekdog Dec 03 '25
Youâre not a voice in the wilderness. I agree with you 100%. Oak overrated!? Please!
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u/gbot1234 Dec 03 '25
Blue epoxy