# Help with Canary Wood.



## onhillww (Sep 14, 2012)

Yesterday I was at my local lumber supplier and I found a piece of Canary Wood. I had never heard of this before but this piece spoke to me and I took it home. What I now realize is that I have no idea how to finish this with out adulterating the coloration. For those, who like me are unfamiliar with this wood, it is generally light in color w/ subtle graining, think birch / beach like. What sets it apart is that it is insinuated with sections that fade into slight yellowness while other sections exhibit streaking in various shades of pink. I would very much like to brush or rub on a finish that does as little as possible to change the appearance of the wood in the raw as the beauty lies in the subtlety this wood displays. For my application, wear resistance and durability of the finish are secondary to maintaining the purity of the woods appearance - however shielding UV may be desirable as I have no idea how the coloration will age w/ respect to light exposure. 

Thanks


----------



## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

I do love the look of canary wood. The streaks of reddish colour.

I used this as part of a pepper mill I recently completed.

For readers who do not know the wood, posting a picture. This is walnut with canary wood in the middle. The picture does not show all the hues of the canary wood very well.









This is finished with a wood turning friction polish called Shellawax, a combination of bees wax and shellac.

Any oil / wax based finish will make the wood tones "pop" but will slightly darken. I did not feel the finish changed the colour much.

If you need UV resistance then you will be looking at an exterior polyurethane.

Ideally you would avoid placing the project near a window. Most woods will oxidize and change colour, espcially with UV.

Try Zinssner Seal-a-coat for initial finish. This is a dewaxed shellac product. Get the Clear which has the least pigment.

You can then apply oil or water based poly for the final coat(s). The water based products normally go on clear.


----------



## firehawkmph (Apr 26, 2008)

onhill,
canary wood is one of my favorite woods. I always finish it with several coats of lacquer, which doesn't change its color. Here's a pic of my humidor made of canary wood to give you an idea. 
Mike Hawkins


----------



## onhillww (Sep 14, 2012)

Hay,
Thanks for your help, I appreciate it. You both do very nice work, I'm impressed. My board is more subtle than yours firehawkmph, I will have to pick through the remaining pieces now that I can see what is possible with this species. What did you use for those dovetail inserts, Purple heart, Rosewood?


----------



## firehawkmph (Apr 26, 2008)

Those dovetailed splines are made from bloodwood. I used the jig from Texas Timbers. Whenever I go to the local Woodcraft store, I always check the canary wood. If there are 6 or 8 planks, maybe one will have some of the maroon streaks in it. If it does, I buy it, take it home and store it until I have a suitable project for it.
Mike Hawkins


----------



## johnnyReb (Aug 27, 2019)

firehawkmph said:


> Those dovetailed splines are made from bloodwood. I used the jig from Texas Timbers. Whenever I go to the local Woodcraft store, I always check the canary wood. If there are 6 or 8 planks, maybe one will have some of the maroon streaks in it. If it does, I buy it, take it home and store it until I have a suitable project for it.
> Mike Hawkins


Firehawkmph I just happen to work at a lumber mill. And me and my friend are building a coffee table stash hope chest thing for my 7 month old son who is full of life but at the same time is about to be placed in a hospice care center for his last few weeks with us. 
Anyway I have hand pick 60 board ft out of 1500 board ft pack to make this chest. I luv that finish u got on your cigar box! How can i get my chest to look that good without it getting to dark? I would actuallylike it alittle lighter but beggars can't be choosers! My friend has been woodworking for 15 years and has never worked with the canary wood ! And has no idea how to finish it! And by the looks of it that box it perfect ! Can you help a brotha out? Which stain did ya use and what was the materials plz. I want this thing to be beautiful ! And when ppl see I want there mouths to drop!

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk


----------



## Pineknot_86 (Feb 19, 2016)

Not familiar with canary wood. Beautiful colors and grain! Bet you can get it real "cheep.":laugh2:


----------



## John Smith_inFL (Jul 4, 2018)

OnHill - excellent post !!
a few weeks ago, I picked up about two 5 gallon buckets of shorts
from my local WoodCraft store. I have not seen this wood before
but it has mesmerized me as my new favorite wood. the pieces
I got are more on the "yellowish" side with beautiful markings.
I got several 2x2" pieces that will make beautiful tool handles.
can't wait to get something made from it.
my "goal" is to make a large set of carving knives [in my lifetime].


----------



## Tool Agnostic (Aug 13, 2017)

About once or twice a year my local Rockler gets a big stack of canarywood boards. The variegated colors fascinate me, but I have not bought any yet. The most colorful boards disappear quickly. 

Canarywood is one of those woods that change color over time, like padauk and purpleheart. What you see now is not what you will have years from now. According to the wood database, it fades to a more uniform color. 

https://www.wood-database.com/canarywood/

The wood database website is a very useful resource for learning more about a particular wood and how it works. Besides detailed descriptions of most woods of the world, they also have useful articles, like this one about color changes in wood over time:

https://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/preventing-color-changes-in-exotic-woods/


----------



## firehawkmph (Apr 26, 2008)

johnnyReb;2068149! Can you help a brotha out? Which stain did ya use and what was the materials plz. I want this thing to be beautiful ! And when ppl see I want there mouths to drop!
Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk[/QUOTE said:


> Johnny,
> I don't ever use any stain on exotic wood. My humidor is made from canary wood with blood wood for the dovetail inserts on the corners. I used clear lacquer for the finish. Also, for the record, someone else mentioned they thought canary wood fades out and loses the contrast in its grain, it doesn't. My humidor is over 5 years old and looks the same as the day I finished it.
> Mike Hawkins


----------



## Tool Agnostic (Aug 13, 2017)

According to the Wood Database link that I posted above, canarywood "Colors tend to desaturate to shades of brown, still maintains contrasts." On a scale of 1-5 for color stability, canarywood rates a "3". I have worked with padauk, purpleheart, and bloodwood, and they got a "2" (less stable color over time than canarywood). I have seen changes in those woods.

5 years is a relatively short time, and I bet the humidor is kept in a relatively dark room. The finish will slow down the change, too. Let's get back together in 50 years and see whether the colors are as vibrant as when the humidor was originally built. The change is slow, and you may not notice from day to day or even year to year.


----------



## gj13us (Apr 19, 2016)

johnnyReb said:


> my 7 month old son who is full of life but at the same time is about to be placed in a hospice care center for his last few weeks with us.



:surprise2:


----------

