What Wood Would U Choose

[DNK]

I have decided to take a chance and redo my dash. I have almost unending selection of wood from my supplier. What Wood,wood U choose?

 

[KVH]

I used this, just as an example. French Fiddleback Walnut.

 

[TR674]

European Beech.........

 

[rotoflex]

Are you doing the woodwork yourself?
Is your car dark green?

I vote for Rosewood. Get a busted piece of old furniture made of rosewood from ebay or a junk/antique store with a side long enough to cover a dash.

Mahogany is beautiful w/dark green, but filling the grain is a pain. If you leave the grain open, it doesn't look as nice on something you want slab-like (like a dash).

It's tempting to throw polyurethane on anything that will be outside or in a high-traffic area, but wood *never* takes on the glow it should under polyurethane. Most other finishes will do well, if maintained. Shellac is surprisingly water proof, & very easy to 'freshen' the finish, but don't spill your beer on it.

 

[BritBox]

I think you should use clear plexiglass--that way, you can keep the look of your sig line photo.

 

[PeterK]

... and use a UV protectant varnish/finish. SUn can really ruin the wood as well as the finish.

I like the repurposed/recycled rosewoood idea. It's really a beautiful wood.

Maybe a nice birds-eye maple, or tiger maple.

 

[kodanja]

there are limitless choises


https://www.certainlywood.com/woodmenu.asp

 

[foxtrapper]

My personal take is that these cars look best with a simple grain. Complex patterns, like burl, don't balance well with the simplicity of the car. Burl wood can look superb in a Rolls, bit it's unbalanced in a Triumph.

 

[Mickey Richaud]

My personal take is that these cars look best with a simple grain. Complex patterns, like burl, don't balance well with the simplicity of the car. Burl wood can look superb in a Rolls, bit it's unbalanced in a Triumph.

Great point - never thought of it that way.

Along the same line, the darker woods are more "formal" than lighter. White Oak, teak, and ash would all be good choices.

 

[Andrew Mace]

What do YOU like? That's all that matters here. I love oak, but not on a Triumph dashboard. Maybe you'll like oak, maybe not. It's YOUR car, and YOU are the one who will be staring at this dash more than anyone else.

I've seen many different woods used, some whose names I never could pronounce! Whatever you choose, though, I suggest choosing it in a veneer you'll then put over your original dashboard or a replacment made of a proper marine-grade plywood. Solid wood dashes are simply more prone to warping and splitting no matter how well they're sealed and finished.

Oh, and veneers are also usually much cheaper than a solid piece of the same wood. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif

 

[NickMorgan]

My personal take is that these cars look best with a simple grain. Complex patterns, like burl, don't balance well with the simplicity of the car. Burl wood can look superb in a Rolls, bit it's unbalanced in a Triumph.

I absolutely agree, but I suppose the choice is up to the individual owner.

 

[vagt6]

I'm with Foxtrapper on this one. The original wood was perfect. Possibly it's best feature was that it didn't stand out significantly: simple, nicely-finished hardwood.

There are a number of woods that look good on these cars. Stick with something that approximates the original wood and finish. The French fiddleback walnut in the photo, above, looks fabulous, IMHO.

I've seen the gamut on dash woods, from light and grainy to dark and gloomy; with no finish at all, to shinier than a mirror with ten coats of polyurethane (yech!). None seem to look right, and most pale in comparison to the beauty of the OEM wood grain, finish and color. A fair number of them end up looking like a pimpmobile.

Stick with a wood that approximates the original grain, color and finish, you simply cannot go wrong!

 

[swift6]

Another vote for Walnut. Not the smooth French Walnut in my case, a bit more grain 'action' in my dash. I like it a lot and it gets plenty of compliments.

 

[tomshobby]

I tend to favor European or French walnut with a highly figured grain. American walnut seems to run a little dark for my taste, especially when there is a lot of figure and the stump cuts especially so.

Maple can be beautiful but for a TR dash it is to light for my taste.

I prefer to look at the actual piece of wood before purchasing if possible because there are exceptions to every kind. I have a piece of Koa on hand for a gun stock and it has a very nice fiddleback grain. I also have a nice piece of birds eye maple but like I said it is too light for my taste for a dash. For a birds eye gun stock I generally use rosewood or walnut to make the forearm tip and pistol grip cap to help with the lightness and give some contrast.

My original refinished dash.

 

[roofman]

This is a to each his own issue unless going for 100% originality. While some may not like oak, I chose red oak to get a color dash close to matching my wood steering wheel. I like it and that's all that matters. Choose what YOU want. By the way a number of venders sell veneer on ebay.

 

[tomshobby]

Roofman,
Your oak looks great. I see your gages have black rims. Is that original for a '72 or did you paint them, either way I like the way they look.

 

[Tinster]

For a TR6:

I personally like the sleek, clean look of
the simple grained hardwoods. To me, they
match the look and feel of the TR6.

Lean and mean. Roofman's red oak is at the top
of my list of favorite woods in general , followed
by species from the teak family. I opted for local
rainforest teak for mine since it is a wood that
weathers well here.

I like the fancy woods for the "older" cars. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/thumbsup.gif

 

[roofman]

The guages were black, but I repainted them, so not sure about originality .

 

[kodanja]

heres a vote for black walnut

 

[YankeeTR]

I refinished my 1990 Peterbilt dash...it was a rosewood veneer. I used a rosewood stain and finished it with a gloss polyurethane finish...beautiful!

The hardest part was removing and reinstalling 21 gauges...