Whats the Whitest White wood out there?

I agree with a lot of the other guys.
Holly, but have it stabilized. Find some that has been kiln dried.
Otherwise it will look dirty after time. Unstabilized will look dirty off white in time. If it get's damp it can turn a dirty gray. Both would look ........well, dirty.
 
I have a piece of stabilized holly I got from Larry Davis at Gallery Hardwoods. It is aged white/creamy in appearance just like slightly aged ivory. It has been sitting in the shop for about 5 years now and has not changed color at all. It might have something to do with the stabilizing material used. I have heard it has been confused with true ivory.
 
American holly from Arkansas and Texas is the commercial wood cut and sold here. It's harvested in the winter cooler months and kiln dried immediately to preserve the white color. Air dried holly will generally stain to some shade of gray thru and thru. Natural holly will not change color other than normal photo-degradation one might expect with wood surfaces. Much holly is used for intarsia and guitar bindings and holds it's whiteness well.

Acrylic infused (stabilized) holly color is very much dependant on the processor you choose. Professional impregnation resins are expensive and we all re-use them so your holly might end up being processed with a batch of dark wood and/or processed with pre used resin that is darker due to extractives leaching into it. It can come back looking like dark amber maple instead of the antique ivory we want from it. When I process holly I use only new pristine resins on it to preserve the color and as the resin is re-used I process darker woods and on down the line to ebony and African blackwood and adding dark dyes. I just built a jigging tool and the jigged holly looks great IMO.

DISCLAIMER: I do not do any custom stabilizing, but only my own materials.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top