Ron - thank you. I'm learning a bit from each one I've built (and still have a few issues...but that's part of the journey!). I had shown her picture of mine (I did walnut splines on walnut) and my husbands (his has maple splines on walnut). We decided to go with the walnut and then have just the cross be maple. I like each option in its own way. Creates different looks even with similar construction.
SplinterGroup - although I like some other wood types, walnut is my favorite. I love the color when the finish goes on, and it is overall pretty good to mill.
Ron - thanks for reading along with my blogs!