A. Rob Johnstone: "Working with multiple species has been done for ages and ages. Mixing them for aesthetic reasons is simply a matter of personal choice. Walnut accents on a cherry cabinet, for example, add drama and flair. Knowledge of the characteristics of the wood you wish to use is important.

Purpleheart will turn dark brown over time ... teak should have its glue joints wiped down with acetone before glue up (to remove natural oil that can impair the glue bond). One piece of advice I have comes from personal experience. My coffee table at home is of my own construction. It is square and has a glued up top consisting of an outer frame made up of cherry surrounding a matching frame of curly birch that, in turn, surrounds a field of Carpathian elm burl. In my mind, it was a beautiful thing. Once it was completed, it looked a little like an archery target. My advice: go easy and experiment before you build."