Let's talk about alder

[William Young (SE BC)]

gmackay;
I agree that alder can be a nice substitute for cherry especially with a light staining. But I got about 110 bd ft of it that I wound up making shelving units and such because of the grain pattern in it. I don't know if all the little dark lines are common with alder or just with the batch that I got. It saws, planes, and sands very nicely and the little dark lines that resemble cracks didn't show up much at a distance on fretwork clocks but when I tried using some for turning bowls I have to explain to everyone that picks them up that they are not cracks at all but just natural coloring in the grain of the wood . Therefore I don't use it anymore.
Hope the picture shows clear enough for what I am referring to.
I worked on a giant bandsaw in a furniture factory for a few years in another life and they used alder for all of the framework in sofas and chairs etc but they were all covered with upholstery.
W.Y.