Sometimes things don't turn our exactly as planned.
A few years ago I bought a fairly large quantity of African Bubinga. I made table with a walnut base and Bubinga top. Unfinished the Bubinga has a deep red color that I thought would look great with the walnut base, but when I finished the top, it turned a darker reddish brown that just didn't look right with the walnut base. It sat in my dining room for a while, but I never got used to the combination.
Eventually, I made a maple base to go with the Bubinga top and a new curly maple top for the walnut base and all became right with the world.
The maple on the base is some nice straight grained, hard maple that was difficult to shape, but made a very strong base.
Here's the Bubinga top. I love the color and grain of this wood, but it's exceptionally difficult to work. It's very hard and dense and really beats up tools; I felt like I was working with stone rather than wood. The wood itself takes a real polish with a scraper and fine sandpaper. The final finish is a super-blonde shellac and wax.
For availability, prices, questions or comments, please email me harvwoodwrks@geocities.com and I'll get back to you soon.