My workshop is full of wood and the floor is covered in shavings ! I chose to use Tulip wood, also called White Poplar. It is a light coloured hardwood with a fine grain and an even texture that carves very nicely. It came from a sawmill in Midhurst, West Sussex where it was cut into boards and dried in a kiln to make it suitable for internal use.
I planed the edges straight and glued the planks together to make up a large panel. I had to use some huge clamps to hold them together while the adhesive dried. The picture above shows the first boards being joined. We call this laminating.