<br /><br /><br />It's mostly .5" birch ply and a piece or 2 of .5" pine. It was harder than I thought to find the birch but it sure looks better than the pine! With the paint though it doesn't seem to matter.<br />Well, the grain pattern can make a big difference, with stain or paint. Birch, maple or poplar are all great hardwoods to use with paint, they have a tighter grain patterns and take paint very well. Pine has a much wider grain and is more "rustic" looking when finished. Of the listed hardwoods, birch is I think the easiest to find here in Texas. Home Depot caries plywood sheets of it.<br /> <br />If you are going to stain the woods, these woods will work as well, but cherry, walnut, mahogany, etc. are more commonly used.... just my 2 cents... if it's even worth that. <br /><br /><br />I painted the stand, I didn't use stain. And yes, there is a noticeable difference in the grain between the birch and pine. I spent too much time sanding the pine because of this....if it was easier for me to cut the pieces I would've replaced the pine with birch. It's only pine on the sides though. McCoys has birch in huge sheets only and they won't cut for you. Lowe's only carries maple and pine, and I did finally get the birch at HD. Btw..the pine was not what SChrisEV suggested I use He recommended the birch and it is definitely better!<br />