It depends on what you want to do.

Superior might not be the best for your purposes ...

e.g.

1. Belian door - Fantastic and super strong but you wood need a b**** of framing + heavy duty hinges to hold the weight of the door (especially if the door is 8 feet tall x 3 feet wide type). Good idea but might not be feasible.
2. Flooring - some woods do not have very apparent wood grains hence might not be good for flooring.

Belian - yes getting harder to find as only processed belian can be exported from Sararawak or Sabah but this has also been limited supply. Wood expansion is not as high as other woods, termite resistant and wood colour changes over time (turns darker)

Balau - lighter colour wood primarily used to built nelayan boats. More water "resistant" (I think it is due to the wood oil which provides a layer of water resistance). Wood density is also quite high, so wood is heavier.

Cengal / Merbau / Nyatoh - more easily accessible and tropical wood. Handles our humidity better. Some might not like the yellow colour of the wood. Its actually cheaper (per feet) vs pine wood in Malaysia even though it is "considered" a more superior wood (using Janka rating as a guide). Merbau has quite high Janka rating ... e.g. very strong wood.

White Oak / Maple - Temperate climate wood, nice grains, primarily used for flooring. Would be suitable for areas which doesn't have moist or high water retention (think 2nd floor of a house or condominium). If you are staying near a forest and want to install this as flooring for the ground floor ... better make sure the waterproofing for your foundation is solid.

... again it depends on your purpose.

Furniture? Flooring? Shelving? Dining table? Cabinets? Woodwork? Building a boat?

Greetings to Sifu Kayu Sekalian,

Being fascinated with the beauty of wood, i would love to incorporate wood element into the kitchen through open shelf and on the worktop just like as below :



Before discover this thread, I've only found that Ikea had been selling these solid woods for the above project and choices are limited to either birch or pine.

So my questions are:-

1) Are there any better locally sourced wood that is better than what i can get in Ikea for the mentioned project?
2) is it the case that, the harder the wood, the better/long lasting it is?
3) Are there anymore alternatives to non toxic wood finishes other than bee wax, all the non rancid oils and shellac?

Thanks you for your patience to read through all these. Your insight is highly appreciated.

Let's do the easy bits first ....

1) Are there any better locally sourced wood that is better than what i can get in Ikea for the mentioned project?
Most definitely! Ikea stuff are nicely designed but their materials are not the best (Ikea stuff doesn't last that long comparatively). If you take the KARLBY worktop as an example, its not hardwood but rather particleboards (similiar to compressed wood boards but different manufacturing process) sandwiched by a top layers of wood. So basically...

1. Ikea woods boards are not full hardwood but rather a layer of oak / birch glued on top of particleboards
2. The oak / birch used are strips not single a continuous piece
3. Ikea boards are going for RM600 - 8 feet x 2 feet countertop. Basically a plug and install with no further wood curing required

For Malaysia, best to use tropical wood (local Malaysian wood are best) - chengal, balau, teak, belian, etc.

As reference point (I bought some recently).
- Balau wood 6/8" x 2 6/8" is selling for 2.60 per feet
- Balau wood 6/8" x 3 6/8" is selling for 3.60 per feet

There are wood planks which you need to put some effort to planned, joined and finished to make a nice countertop. Joined wood are cheaper vs single piece of solidwood. Downside is the joined wood might warp or split over time.



2) is it the case that, the harder the wood, the better/long lasting it is?
For kitchen countertop you would want a wood that is stronger AND water resistant to a certain level - this shortens the options to belian (the best belian are those that was left at the bottom of the lake and resurfaced but those cost a fortune), balau and chengal are used to make outdoor decks so they are reasonably hardy to water and sunshine. Again for countertops, you want to have a nice colour or grain for show ... balau doesn't really have nice grain and tends to be more greyish in colour (can always stain it to a different colour) ; teak is more yellow-ish, doesn't follow currently design trends.
When you source for wood, you would also want it to be kiln treated - moisture content of the wood is reduced so the wood is more stable and won't crack due to expansion and contraction of the wood. Remember, wood is / was a living thing, hence it will crack as the fibres expands and contract.

For wood tops, excessive water left on top will cause water rings on the wood and you can't put pots direct from the stove on top of the wood top (will cause dark burn marks or for the wood to potentially crack - sudden heat applied to a concentrated area). Notwithstanding all of this, if you put it as part of your dry kitchen or shelvings it would look good - just not as hardy as tiles / granite / solid surfaces .... ahhh, the price to pay for having a wood countertop. Oh yes, your kitchen should also be well ventilated as dampness in the air (from heavy water source) might cause the wood to warp

All said above, using wood countertop for a standalone kitchen island or at certain parts of the kitchen will look very good.


3) Are there anymore alternatives to non toxic wood finishes other than bee wax, all the non rancid oils and shellac?
Wood stains, finishing wax, teak oil, decking oil, polyurethane wood stain ... plenty of options. You can go to Ace Hardware (I prefer the one at IPC near The Curve or at basement of Starling Mall) and check our their wood care section, there is plenty of selection there. If you are using wax, you probably need to apply it every 6 months once.

You can also check out other wood care options here - ATKC Warehouse - Wood Care

Wow thats a huge amount great information right there. Tqvm for taking your time to share your knowledge with us.

Ikea does actually have solid wood worktop, but there are only two options which HAMMARP is the most common one (AKA the butcher top).

I think i can consider chengal. it does look good as a worktop Dont really mind joined wood thou, but a single slab can be quite tempting if the price is within my budget.

no such thing as best wood.
i got a pile of belian/chengal/local mahogany in my store. so far i didnt have any mood to even make indoor projects using it. the colors are dark brown/ dull.
but u know what, i still use white oak for my projects. cos you can cut and machine it properly and plenty of finishing options. for me, i prefer those. yesterday, just finish a Hard maple butcher block, superb grain pattern. although started woodworking using nyatoh, begining to move away from it also. local sawmill quality control, not so good. even its KD schedule is unknown whether properly done or not.

for outdoor, the local woods would be a good option since its suitable for our climate. can use balau (yellow or red) as promoted by threadstarter. use them to make fencing/pergola/awning etc.

This post has been edited by ar188: Aug 5 2018, 12:53 AM

The wood you offer has been kiln dry or not?

I would appreciate it if TS can show us the pictures of woodgrain for each wood species that you sell.

Because noob like me dont know anything about wood and dont know where to start with local timber.

Planning to build my own wardrobe, which wood is suitable? Would love to use wood with beautiful grain.

Yup, me too.

Ts, i m planning to do a bench for my dining table.
Maybe 1'plus x 6.5'
Though my wife dont like dark colors
Do u have anything to recommend ?

This looks good !



The bench need 3 legs ? 2 cannot ?

This post has been edited by brapa?: Aug 20 2018, 02:25 PM

2 legs is possible I did a similar chair - 14" x 6" but had a steel frame structure for the wood to "sit" on.

If the wood is 2" thick, then you might not need the steel frame but just 2 steel legs on each end.

hi bigred, how much did it cost to do your steel frame + legs ?
Can be done at the grille shops ?
where r the places in kl i can go look for wood ?
many questions ha ?

The steel frame (it was actual mild flat bar steel frame) cost me RM250. Actual photo attached.



More pics here

Yes, grille shops can do it as they would only need a welding machine and mild flat bar steel. Just a note that if you are doing this frame, make sure you have transport. It won't fit behind a car.

Depends on what type of wood you are looking for ... read the earlier part of the thread. Wood to be placed in-door / out-door / nice grain? Budget? I am only familiar around the Petaling Jaya area ... you can try one of the below areas,

a. Hoctrade Damansara Uptown
b. Chin Chun Hardware, Kampung Melayu Subang
c. Solid Wood Table, Sungai Buloh
d. Waysian Enterprise, Sungai Buloh New Village

The above are in no particular order. For #D, there are several shops within a 500 metre radius that sells timber (these are used to make wooden doors or house roof structures). I am sure you can find other areas in Klang and Cheras that also sells these woods.

Thanks for the info & resource man,.
Took a look at your project thread, syok la can diy at home. Am gonna bookmark it for future reference.
I am trying to save some $, use a bench for 1 side instead of getting so many bar stools for my island bar dining table, so some presentable wood with not too deep color is in my mind.
For the bench, how is it attached to the metal ? Do u bring the plank to the steelframe maker to fabricate, then bring them home to screw yourself ?

Yup, passed them the wood plank and they just fabricate the frame.

The wood just "drop" into the frame. There is no screw holding it to the frame. It doesn't move as when I lift the bench, I am actually holding the metal frame (not the wood) from below.

It was intentionally designed that way so I can swap the wood in the future if needed (so far not needed).

thanks for sharing dude.

if you have budget you can also check out art of tree.
google Art of Tree HQ.
No 11, Jalan Utarid U5/12, Mutiara Subang, 40150 Shah Alam, Selangor

quite impressed with what they offer. but pricey tho, sometimes they have items on offer.

will check out the list you mentioned above.
Balau slab offer by TS is very value for money, but u will need some add on effort before can turn it into something nice

Boss can you do like a wood frame for mirror?

Considering solid wood for your home renovation? Then you might need to know the difference between natural wood and faux wood before making your purchase.
Read this blog for more information.

hi Ijan, i am also from Kuchin. Which sawmill do you get your wood from? I am interested in wood working so plan to get a few pieces of wood but not sure where to source for it.

there is one from meranek samarahan to Batu 7
one at the boulevard/batu 5 traffic light
they are a few further down demak sana

quite a number, price lebioh kurang, but quality and choice of wood are very limited

i love solid wood finish as well. My house is using rose wood flooring. However for our climate its hard to use wood besides belian that can withstand our weather outdoors. if not i would be using alot more pine / maple which is really nice. Our hard wood here is mainly very dark brown and those that can used outdoors like belian will turn black.
But im planning to do some interior finishes using maple /pine but its hard to find them here unless imported. In australia their whole roof framing is using oak wood.

This post has been edited by metaloid: Oct 11 2018, 11:42 AM

nice! i will check it out. thanks!