Wood selection is where intarsia becomes an art form. The pattern provides the skeleton, but your wood choices give it a soul. Here's a working reference for the species most commonly found in intarsia workshops.
Light Woods
Hard Maple — The go-to for bright highlights. Its creamy, tight grain reads almost white from a distance, making it perfect for snow, clouds, animal faces, and water foam. Extremely stable, takes a fine edge.
Holly — The whitest of all domestic hardwoods. Reserved for critical highlight pieces like eyes, teeth, or star points. Expensive and prone to checking — buy kiln-dried and work quickly.
Butternut — Warm honey-cream tone, easier to cut than Maple. A softer hardwood that sands beautifully. Great for mid-light areas like sandy beaches or autumn grasses.
Mid-Tone Woods
Wild Cherry — Warm amber that deepens to a rich reddish-brown with UV exposure. Smooth, satiny grain. One of the best all-around intarsia species. Works perfectly for animal fur and wooden architecture.
Osage Orange — Electric yellow-gold that patinas to a rich golden brown. Excellent for sunsets, flowers, and tropical birds. Very hard — use sharp, new blades.
Lacewood (Leopardwood) — Its striking flecked ray pattern makes it ideal for fish scales, reptile skin, and abstract feather textures.
Dark Woods
Black Walnut — The intarsia standard-bearer for dark tones. Deep chocolate-brown with occasional purple hints. Easy to work, takes a gorgeous oil finish. Use for shadows, hair, and outline border frames.
Wenge — Almost black with very coarse grain. Dramatic for high-contrast focal pieces. Splinters easily — handle with gloves and work carefully.
Ebony — The blackest option available. Reserve for small accent pieces like eyes or button details; its density makes large pieces impractical and expensive.
Choosing for Contrast
A finished intarsia piece needs at least three values: light, mid, and dark. Map your pattern's shading to species before buying lumber. Photograph your reference image in black-and-white to read tonal relationships clearly.