Hi! I just joined. I have done a little woodworking. I made an aquarium stand. It's main structure was made of industrial-type chrome wire shelving. The woodworking involved making the sides enclosed in the upper lighting area and a lower cabinet-like area. I didn't have a workbench, so I made that also before beginning the aquarium project.

Anyhow, I have a new project in mind. Nothing complicated. I've had it with my ironing board! And commercial ironing boards in general. I want to make an ironing board that absolutely will not tip over. I have the lower portion of a wire shelving unit on casters (same industrial-looking type used for the aquarium stand). I intend to make the top shelf into an ironing board top by attaching a shaped piece of wood. My question is what type of wood would be good to use? What would be heat resistant, hold up to steam and not leach any type of resins into the padding? Should I use any type of finish or leave unfinished. I would like to use a wood that would not need to be finished. Thanks for your help.

Mercy! Almost any wood would warp if you use a steam iron, I think.

What if you disassembled a commercial ironing board and attached the "board" to your base?

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Johanna - in the Land of Enchantment

I think that they used to be made from wood, many years ago. But I think Johanna's suggestion is a very good one. Plus you have the advantage of using the base for storage.

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Barbara

Some I would consider:
hard maple (used in butcher blocks and counter tops)
parawood (again, butcher blocks and counter tops)
olivewood (used in cooking utensils)
teak (known for moisture resistance but is oily)
bamboo (cooking utensils)
hickory (known for hardness and stability but would probably impart a hickory smoked smell)
cypress (although soft, it might stand up to a certain amount of steam/heat

Olivewood is expensive and I don't recall ever seeing it in lumber form, only turning/carving blanks but it is used for the best kitchen utensils - spoons, spatulas, etc, so it would stand up to heat and moisture.

I think my top 3 choices would be maple, parawood and bamboo though I don't know where you'd find a suitable bamboo in lumber form. You might try calling the folks here - http://www.calibamboo.com/bamboopaneling.html and talking to them if bamboo is a real possibility in your mind.

Parawood (from the latex producing rubber tree) is used in a lot of kitchen items, including butcher blocks, cutting boards and counter tops. I have no idea where you might find stock to create something of that size however. You might try a google search. While I finish a lot of pieces made of parawood, I've never had a reason to build anything from it.

That would leave me with maple - probably laminated and cleated on the bottom.
It's easy to find in standard lumber widths, thicknesses and lengths, it's easy to mill, stands up to some pretty harsh use.

Thinking a bit more about this -- I wonder what people use in those home-use steam rooms. The ones I've seen have always been wood lined with wooden benches.
That might be something to research a bit.

cubequeen:
This has been on my mind since first reading it a couple weeks ago because it presents a challenge.
Finally today, I found info on saunas built in the Finnish style and the woods they recommend are clear softwoods like western red cedar, hemlock,and white spruce. Also European alder but in researching that species, I doubt you'll be able to find any suitable for your project. It's listed as best for 'fuelwood and pulpwood' products. I'm thinking if these are the woods used in saunas, they would surely stand up to a steam iron.

I hope you return here and update your progress.

Hey cubequeen, I like RandomOrbit's idea with the alder. We use the knotty variety to make kitchen cabinets. My dining room table is alder. I believe it's red alder. Anyway, I 'm sure I'll get booed out of the stadium for this, but have you considered 3/4" exterior plywood. Pretty stable stuff as far as moisture goes. Regards, vixbit50

I'm interested in the red alder you posted about.
I've had occasion to finish several pieces of furniture built from alder and it finished beautifully - in fact, I liked it so much I'd buy that over oak for some things.
Wondering though -- is red alder different from European alder?
Guess I could google it myself (lol!) but it's always better to get real life opinions when possible.

Hey RandomOrbit, greetings to you. I was taking an educated guess as to the proper terminology for the knotty alder we use at work. It has a red hue to it and if it weren't for the knots you could mistake it for cherry. I was curious after reading your piece on the European variety, so I did google it. Red alder seems to be the species they harvest out west and I know this knotty stuff came from out west. I can find out from our purchasing agent for sure. I do know that it is relatively inexpensive, let me make a couple calls and I'll get back to you. Off the top of my head, I believe our purveyor was Mann and Parker, located in southeast Pennsylvania. I'll get the details. Hopefully soon! Regards, vixbit50

That sounds very much like what I've finished - light red hue, could be mistaken for cherry at first glance, knot free however. I work with an unfinished furniture store and the alder they get in is just fantastic for taking a stain and varnish/lacquer.
I look forward to hearing what you find out - I'd love to have some on hand.

Hi RandomOrbit, how are you? This is hot off the press; the knotty alder we use is a lower grade of red alder. Mann and Parker is the lumber company we get it from, although we have not purchased any recently. Their number is 800-632-9098. This is a commercial lumber company and we are a custom cabinet shop so I'm not sure on purchasing details, however you can probably get a quote and go from there. Keep up the good work. Regards, vixbit50

I like your idea of using the wire shelf base. They are so sturdy! I have a couple of thoughts on your project. If you are set on using wood, try looking into getting a marine grade plywood. It is designed to withstand moisture. You could also consider coating any wood with marine grade epoxy. West System's epoxy by Guogeon (spelling?) is easy to use, extremely durable for an incredible number of applications, and is impervious to water--BUT is very pricey.

If it were me, would lean towards Johanna's suggestion to use a commercially produced ironing board & attach it to the base. If you do not want it to overhang the edges of the base, you can cut it off at the wide end and make some type of end piece to make the end smooth. Also, think about how to make it change positions for ease of use. I was thinking you could brace the center of the commercially made ironing board with a plywood insert & mount it to the base with lazy susan hardware. That way you can turn it crosswise to the base when necessary. If you are still set on making it a woodworking project, you could make some type of cover to go over the top to conceal the ironing board.

Somebody had suggested bamboo. You can purchase bamboo plywood from a full service lumberyard. They'll probably need to order it. It is very attractive and ecologically a good choice. However, I priced it out for a desk building project and almost fainted dead away from the price. Probably not the route you want to go for an ironing board.

Jackie