Hicksville Planing Mill

Yesterday,  Jeff and I went up to Hicksville mill , nothing fancy here , just hard-working folks and lots of wood , they are not on-line , do not take Credit cards , and can be a bit difficult to get on a phone, they are running around moving lumber and working, BUT if you are willing to make the trip you will be able to buy nice material at VERY reasonable prices , they simply will take the fork lift set off a bundle of what ever species you want and let you pick thru and select what you want , no pressure , and as nice a folk as you will meet …they can also surface your stock , they do turnings, flooring , moulding , and CNC work, you can google them for a map and address , but if you go , you will wonder if you are lost , they are out in the rural area, but it was certainly worth the trip , got some mahogany , got a piece of 16/4 , ribbon stripped, for resaw for a bombe drawer fronts, this way it will all be the same figure , ribbon cut can be tough to deal with , and it can be a challenge to finish , a dye directly on it the soft part of the ribbon will go very dark, quick , like a crotch , but if you know how t work it , it is quite beautiful, the key is to seal it before finishing , i like to use a water based finish , as it dries totally clear , and doesnt distort the figure , I also have some 12/4 genuine mahogany for the bombe sides , as well as all the case work , this ribbon mahogany is african mahogany , the sides and everything else is genuine mahogany, the genuine material is typically Honduran or Santa Domingo , i like the latter , however it is quite expensive , the african is not nearly so, several reasons , there is a plentiful supply , and its more difficult to work with , you can google and find a lot of info on it, color can vary from african to genuine , I can mix them because i will be coloring it , my dominate for using the 16/4 , it to be able to get a consistent and same grain from one tree , and be able to have it the same in 11 drawers …not very often you get to do that…

African ribbon can be quite fuzzy , and can tear out easily , so working it like a high figured curly maple , when it comes to planing will be the ticket , in my case I will abrasive surface it, or better put sand it to dimension , and will grain fill the entire piece using , timbermate filler ( mahogany), but what we will get will be super…when we get into the bombe’s we will tag ya along …here are some photos of Hicksville mill.