Wood Matching

[laserlady]

I am making a pen and letter opener set but can't seem to get 2 pieces of tulip wood to match well enough to consider them a matching set. Since the wood color isn't really revealed until after the pen is turned, how can I match 2 pieces? Any help is appreciated. Thanks.
LaserLady

[dougle40]

The best way I know of is to cut your own blanks . Start with a piece of wood big enough to cut into square blanks , then cut 2 blanks from 1 longer piece , that way the 2 blanks will come from the same piece of wood and should be close enough to call a match. If all else fails and you are either selling or giving them away , just explain that no 2 pieces of wood are ever the same.
The other way is to cut your wood into mirror image blanks, that involves starting with a piece of wood that is better than twice the thickness required and re-sawing it to the size you require - EX- start with a piece 1 1/2" thick and saw it down the middle to end up with 2 - 3/4" pieces , of which the 2 halves will mirror image each other and you can cut your blanks accordingly .
I hope that this helps you out in matching your wood.
Doug:)

[laserlady]

Thanks for the advice! I'll try both methods and see what works best.

[dougle40]

You're welcome ,
If you try the resaw method , it works best on a bandsaw although a scroll saw will work seeing as you don't need the pieces to be perfectly straight .
Doug