I'm getting back into woodworking after a long break and I'm currently in the process of building a shoe and coat rack for my wife. I've finished the design but now I need to select wood materials. The local stores mostly have fir project panels which are fine, but I'm looking for something harder. I want to engrave some designs into the face boards for a nice touch. Can anyone help me with the right terminology to use when searching for solid wood panels? Is "Project Panel" the correct term, or are there better phrases that can help narrow my search? I often come across irrelevant results, especially for laminated plywood, and am keen to find quality solid oak panels with better search terms to shop locally.
2 Answers
You’re right that "panels" often leads to engineered products like plywood. What you really want are solid hardwood boards. They don't typically come in "panels"; instead, you might look for boards that can be jointed and glued together if you need larger pieces. I'd suggest seek out a local hardwood dealer rather than the big box stores, as they often lack solid options for what you need.
Just a heads up, when you mention "panels," it might pull up results for MDF, plywood, or OSB, which isn’t what you want. For solid wood, try searching for boards instead. There’s a limit to how wide a panel they make from quality woods. Most times, people just make their own from individual boards.