Hello group

I have a customer that would like me to make a wooden crucifix for his sister's grave. I can think of lots of hardwoods to use but would eventually lose their color and of course, I might be just gambling on the hope I used the proper hardwood. So I wanted to run it by you guys first and find out from you for the best hardwood for the job.

He wants a white color wood like maple or ash but something that would last for many years and still look good. I hope there's something that you guys are aware of and I would be happy to use for this project for my customers so very much passed on and with the Lord sister.

I'm thinking that the base of the crucifix should not touch the ground but be set in a brass holder with weeping ports and ground spike beneath it.

Thank you, group!

Nope, no magic wood that does not exhibit the properties inherent to the material.

Teak is not light colored, but will last a good long time. It will go to gray within a year, but can be renewed with a bit of sandpaper.

Yeah, it's my thinking. Teak wood is probably the best way.

Plantation grown teak only has a fraction of the weather resistance that old growth did. Black locust or osage orange are far superior to modern teak. Seen any old barns with no paint on them? That is what all wood does with aging in the weather. All wood returns to the earth over time.

RichC, You are absolutely right but I wanted to check with this woodweb because even though I am a cabinet maker I don't know all woods. But if I was a betting man and did not rely on this forum group I would bet that any wood left in the exteriors would return to an earth tone and darker before depleting into the ground. Funny you talk about barns not being pained. I still see them around Pennsylvania and New Jersey and always catch my eye!

Thanks!

What about solid surface? Any wood will deteriorate.

Nate Cougill, the customer would only want wood because the Son of God Jesus Christ who is God the Father was crucified on a wooden cross. I also think but I'm not sure but what I gathered from the customer it's something that they just want to use the crucifix when visiting the gravesite. Solid surfacing would break. Good thought though thank you!

Rich is spot on with osage orange which you could spar varnish and have it last a couple years? It lasts a long time in direct contact with the ground and well build historic homes will have foundation members of the hedge apple producing tree. Its hard as a rock & straight grain is very elastic which is why high priced non laminated self drawn archers bows use this wood.

Thomas M Diel, Yeah I like the Osage orange and I just called around to various lumber yards and they don"t have it. I do have Sapele in my shop. I talked to my customer about the Sapele and since he's going to do some engraving on the crucifix I suggested that he might want to think about gold leaf engraving. He thinks the gold leaf is a great idea so I think the darker Sapele wood is going to be okay. This way the gold leaf in the dark wood would stand out. I want to thank you group for your input and your efforts in helping to build this crucifix.

In short order the osage will be as dark as the sapele.

RichC, I did not know that. I looked at pictures of the Osage Orange on the web and I just assumed it would stay its original color. Never used it before. Glad I know now! I think the Sapele will work well. Thanks for letting me know!!

Attached is a picture of an osage bowl I turned 25 years ago

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RichC, after seeing the highlighted lines in your Osage Orange bowl I will need to pass that picture along to the customer. Thanks for the picture!

I should have clarified that is an indoor piece of course. So just an example of color change. In a direct outdoor application, osage will weather to a more gray color from the direct sunlight and rain.

RichC, no need for you to explain interior or exterior because I have already relayed the differences in the environments to the customer. I just thought the customer should see the beautiful grains in the Osage Orange wood. Thanks for bringing the point up as it is greatly appreciated. It is a very beautiful bowl!!

Hi Michael,
I did apprentice with a company in Switzerland that always a a few unfinished crucifixes on hand. They only produced one stile. Sorry I don't have a picture.
They where always made of white oak. This was in the eighties so I cant remember the exact detail. On graveyards they used a standard concrete base that had 2 metal bars in it to bolt on the wood. So the wood was not in contact with soil. They had a narrow copper clad pitched roof to protect them from the elements. Attached a picture of similar situation.

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Fred Frehner, Thank you for posting! I was actually thinking of White Oak or Maple but with your knowledge of using White Oak and of course, the bottom of the crucifix not coming in contact with solids is very good news. But at this point, I think the customer is just going to stay with Sapele and have engraved with goldleaf. Thank you again for your input!

If you can stand the fact that it will need yearly maintenance, cypress or juniper (Atlantic white cedar) will work well. Juniper is very soft but light and very easy to work with. It weathers to a very silvery gray and is very weather resistant. Cypress also grays but has more pronounced differences in the early and late wood. The new growth cypress is not as weather resistant as the old growth.

I use cypress for rough house trim and stain with high dollar semitransparent stains from Proluxe and top coat with their best tinted clears. A good cleaning and refreshing coat of their maintenance product every few years is recommended. Probably needed once a year out in the open. I think juniper with this schedule would be perfect for your cross.

Dan

Dhahr, thank you for the Cypress and Juniper and other choices! The customer has made up his mind and he's going to stick with the Sapele with engraved gold leaf lettering. Thanks again.

I was going to say White Oak but Fred beat me to it.

Leo G, White Oak was one of my thoughts since I work with it in the shop so much but then again I don't have a clue how it would hold up in exterior use. I just may make the customer a second one in white oak. They kind of like became friends of mine.

For what it's worth. It's my choice of wood for exterior thresholds for entryways when I make them. So it's really in the worst position it can be in. Laying down near the ground, sun beating on it, water laying on it, snow too.

Refinishing the wood every 2 to 3 years and I go by them a decade or more and they are still in good shape.

Alaskan White Cedar would be a long lasting domestic wood. It is used for decks.

Pete Anderson, thank you for the Alaskan white cedar!

BH Davis, the crucifix has already been built out of Sapele and I advised the customer to put three coats of marine varnish. The size is 20''x32''x3'' with a thickness of 1 1/2''. I also made them a Sapele post stake with a 1 1/2''x4''x1/2'' dowel that they can hammer in and just above the earth so no water absorbs into the crucifix A nice project it was and of course, it was a gift at no charge. I had the Sapele in the shop from a previous project. They purchased a trashcan pullout cabinet from me months before the needed crucifix and as all customers of mine, they became my friends.