I have, I now recall, a box of assorted (and unidentified) hardwoods for carving that I bought and never used. I've had them for I guess close to 30 years. Is there any reason not to try these? They're all pretty dark, and I'd like light-colored, but they have the virtue of proximity...
No reason not to try them, at the very least you know that they are
well seasoned and so they should be dimensionally stable.
If you’re after lighter coloured woods fruit woods might be a viable
option, four dead white try citrus, hardness is “medium”, i.e. not as
hard as pear or apple, but not as soft as tropical fruit woods
Cheers, Thomas Janstrom.