Alder
Alder, a relative of birch, grows from Alaska to
Southern California. It ranks third behind oak
and pine as the wood most commonly used for
ready-to finish furniture.
Color: Very consistent in color - pale pinkish-brown
to almost white.
Grain: No distinct grain pattern
Characteristics: Good working properties,
moderately lightweight, low shock resistance.
Finishing: Finishes smoothly and takes
stain well.
Ash
There are several species of American ash: black, brown, and white. Like most
other hardwoods the timber of the white ash is heavy, hard, strong and
durable. What sets ash apart and makes it valuable for many special uses is
its exceptional flexibility. Ash is among the most easily steam-bent hardwood
species. Early windmills were made form Ash. Ash is also used extensively in
the manufacture of sporting goods. We all know that baseball bats are made
from white ash. Ash is a popular species for food containers because the wood
has no taste.
Color: Nearly pure lustrous white, ranging
through cream to very light brown.
Grain: It has an attractive, straight,
moderately open, pronounced grain.
Characteristics: Heavy, hard, strong
and stiff excellent bending qualities.
Finishing: Because of its large pores
it is seldom painted but takes all other finishes
very well.
Aspen
Both quaking and big tooth aspen are readily available as lumber in the
western U.S. Because of it's neutral odor and taste, it is used for food
containers and other food industry needs. In recent years it has become
increasingly important in the manufacture of wood furniture.
Color: Very light and white in appearance.
Grain: Very even grained.
Finishing: Ideal for non-penetrating
finishes such as water based stains and paints.
Beech
Related to the oak and chestnut, beech is most
common in the higher altitudes of the Appalachian
Mountain chain. Elegant and attractive, the
American beech is a medium tall tree with the
smoothest of all bark. It grows, naturally,
along mountain slopes and rich uplands in nearly
pure stands. It tolerates shade well making
it one of the forest trees that can thrive beneath
the canopy of taller species. American beech
is an important timber species. It is highly
adaptable to steam bending while retaining its
strength. It is excellent for woodturning, wears
well and takes preservatives well. Because beechwood
becomes slick with wear, it is perfect for drawer
sides and runners. Because it bends well, it
is used in bent wood chairs and other bent wood
furniture. It does not impart flavor, odor or
color to food so it is good for food utensils
and containers.
Color: Wood ranges from nearly white
to deep red brown.
Grain: Close and straight grained, with
little figure and a uniform texture, identified
by its dark pores in conspicuous rays.
Characteristics: Hard and strong. Good
resistance to abrasive wear.
Finishing: Easy to paint, stain or bleach.
Birch
Yellow birch is a deciduous hardwood which grows
principally in the upland, hilly terrain of
the Northeastern and Lake States forests: There
are nine species of birch native to North America,
including the very distinctive and familiar
white trunked paper birch. But the species named
yellow birch is the most common and important
commercial lumber birch. It is identified by
its bright, yellowish bronze colored bark that
peels in long, thin horizontal strips.
Color: Cream or lightly tinged with red.
Grain: Fine grained (often curly or wavy).
Characteristics: Heavy, strong, hard,
and even-textured.
Finishing: Birch takes paints and stains
well.
Cherry
Like all fruit trees, cherry belongs to the
rose family and was used as early as 400 B.C.
by the Greeks and Romans for furniture making.
Cherry helped define American traditional design
because Colonial cabinetmakers recognized its
superior woodworking qualities. Today, cherry
helps define Shaker, Mission and country styling.
The wood from the cherry tree can be described
in a single word: beautiful. Its rich red-brown
color deepens with age. Small dark gum flecks
add to its interest. Distinctive, unique figures
and grains are brought out through quarter sawing.
It has an exceptionally lustrous appearance
that glows. The finish is satiny to the touch
Color: Rich, reddish-brown. Cherry darkens
considerably with age and exposure to sunlight.
Grain: Straight-grained and satiny. Small
gum pockets produce distinctive markings.
Characteristics: Light, strong, stiff
and rather hard. Cherry's grain is more subdued
than some other hardwood species, with very
interesting character.
Finishing: Cherry is unsurpassed in its
finishing qualities-its uniform texture takes
a finish very well.
Eucalyptus
The eucalyptus genus represents more than 300
species. They have been successfully planted
in South America, South Africa, Europe and the
United States.
Color:It is pinkish-brown in color and
turns to a reddish-brown with age and exposure
to light.
Characteristics: Its' resistance to decay
is relative to teak. Eucalyptus is a heavy hardwood
that earns high marks for strength.
Eucalyptus is a renewable resource with high
productivity in relatively short harvest rotations.
The wood in these products comes from well managed
forests, independently certified in accordance
with the rules of the Forest Stewardship Council
(FSC).
Hickory
A Native American tree, hickories are members of
the walnut family. Hickory is the hardest, heaviest
and strongest American wood in common use. Westward
trekking pioneers allegedly made hickory a prerequisite
for their wagon wheels.
Color: White to tan to reddish-brown
with inconspicuous fine brown lines.
Grain: Fine grain.
Characteristics: Extremely tough and resilient,
even texture, quite hard and only moderately
heavy.
Finishing: The grain pattern welcomes
a full range of medium-to-dark finishes and
bleaching treatments.
Mahogany
The heavyweight of all woods, mahogany is one of
the most valuable timber trees. Popular in the
'50's, mahogany is making a comeback due to
the new attraction to the "red" woods.
On an interesting note, new model automobiles
were originally carved, full sized, entirely
out of mahogany! Each piece, no matter how big
or small, from the front bumper, to the engine,
the dashboard, the drive shaft, back to the
lock on the trunk is first fashioned from this
very stable hard wood.
Color: Varies from light red or pale
tan to a rich dark deep red or deep golden brown,
depending on country of origin.
Grain: It is generally straight grained
but is prized for its figures which include
stripe, roe, curly, blister, fiddleback, and
mottle.
Characteristics: Extremely strong, hard,
stable and decay resistant
Finishing: Finishes and stains to a beautiful
natural luster.
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Maple
The American species of maple are divided into
two groups: Hard maple, which includes sugar
and black maple; and soft maple, which includes
red and silver maple. Until the turn of the
century, the heels of women's shoes were made
from maple, as were airplane propellers in the
1920s. Maple has been a favorite of American
furniture makers since early Colonial days.
Hard maple is the standard wood for cutting
boards because it imparts no taste to food and
holds up well.
Color: Cream to light reddish-brown.
Grain: Usually straight-grained and sometimes
found with highly figured bird's-eye or burl
grain. Bird's-eye resembles small circular or
elliptical figures. Clusters of round curls
are known as burl.
Characteristics: Heavy, hard, strong,
tough, stiff, close-grained and possesses a
uniform texture. Maple has excellent resistance
to abrasion and indentation, making it ideal
flooring as well as cutting boards and countertops.
Finishing: Takes stain satisfactorily
and polishes well.
Oak
The oaks-red and white-are the most abundant U.S.
hardwood species. It would be difficult to name
a wood with a longer and more illustrious history
in furnishings and interior design. Oak was
a favorite of early English craftsmen and a
prized material for American Colonists. White
oak is just one of 86 oak species native to
this country, but it is the classic oak of America.
Although prevalent throughout the eastern half
of the United States, from Maine to Texas, white
oak lumber comes chiefly from the South, South
Atlantic and Central States, including the southern
Appalachians.
Red oak grows only in North America and is
found further north than any other oak species.
A big, slow growing tree, red oak takes 20 years
to mature and lives an average of 300 years.
Color: White Oak- ranges from nearly
white sapwood to a darker gray brown heartwood,
Red Oak-ranges from nearly white cream color
to a beautiful warm, pale brown heartwood, tinted
with red.
Grain: The grain is distinguished by
rays, which reflect light and add to its attractiveness.
Depending on the way the logs are sawn into
timber (rift-cut, flat sliced, flat sawn, rotary
cut, quartered), many distinctive and sought
after patterns emerge: flake figures, pin stripes,
fine lines, leafy grains and watery figures.
Characteristics: Heavy, very strong and
very hard, stiff, durable under exposure, great
wear-resistance, holds nails and screws well.
Uses: Flooring, furniture, cabinets,
ships and decorative woodwork.
Finishing: Oaks can be stained beautifully
with a wide range of finish tones.
Parawood
Parawood is A Native tree of the Amazon Region
of South America. Information about Parawood
can be traced back to Christopher Columbus.
It was during his second visit to South America,
that he wondered at the heavy black ball the
natives were using in games. This black ball
was made from the vegetable gum of the Parawood
tree. Later historians would also marvel at
this substance, which bounced so much when thrown
to the ground it appeared to be alive. In the
19th century an Englishman named Henry Wickham
transported some seeds to England for germination.
The seeds germinated and these small seedlings
were then transported to the Malay Peninsula
for planting; there to start the Great Rubber
Plantations of Malaysia. After 25 to 30 years
of latex production, tapped in the same manner
syrup is tapped from the Maple trees, the tree
ceases to produce sufficient quantities of latex.
The tree is cut for processing in the manufacture
of fine furniture and a new tree is planted
in its place.
Color: Pale yellow.
Grain: Open grain similar to mahogany.
Characteristics: A very hard wood.
Finishing: Takes a very even stain.
Pine (Radiata)
Radiata Pine is a plantation-grown wood from South
America and New Zealand that is harder than
other pines and has fewer knots.
Color: Pale cream color.
Grain: Has a distinctive grain pattern.
Finishing: Takes most finishes well.
Pine (Southern Yellow)
Southern Yellow Pine is actually a species group
that is made up of primarily four trees: loblolly
pine (Pinus taeda), long leaf pine (Pinus palustris),
shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata) and slash pine
(Pinus eliottii) Loblolly Pine is the most important
and predominant of the four. It grows throughout
the Atlantic Coastal Plain, often in commercial
stands, from Maryland south through all the
Carolinas and Georgia into Florida, and westward
to East Texas. It is classified as a hard pine
and is harder than white pine.
Color: Warm pale yellow with brown knots.
Grain: Distinctive light and dark grain
pattern.
Finishing: Pine takes most finishes well.
With some stains, a sealer helps prepare the
wood to achieve a more even look.
Pine (White)
Found in the uplands of Newfoundland, Ontario and
Manitoba in Canada, south throughout New England
and the Great Lakes Region to South Carolina
White Pine is the state tree of Maine and Michigan.
A very large tree with relatively few horizontal
big limbs, the Eastern white pine is one of
the tallest timber trees in the Northeast.
Color: white to pale yellow with a reddish
tinge. It darkens with age and air exposure,
eventually turning to a deep orange color.
Grain: The wood is light, soft, straight
grained and with very uniform texture.
Characteristics: It works very well and
is easily shaped with hand and power tools.
This wood accepts many types of glue well, making
for tight bonding.
Finishing: Pine takes most finishes well.
With some stains, a sealer helps prepare the
wood to achieve a more even look.
Poplar
Also known as yellow poplar, tulip poplar, tulipwood
and hickory poplar, -poplar trees grow taller
than any other U.S. hardwood species. The yellow
poplar grows quickly into a tall straight tree.
It is found alone in open, rich, moist soil.
Because of its fast maturity the lumber from
poplar is lightweight and soft for a hardwood.
But it is strong, durable and seasons well resisting
warping once it is dried. Because the trunk
has no limbs or branches, except at the very
top, the wood has no knots.
Color: White to yellowish cast, sometimes
with slightly greenish cast and occasionally
with dark purplish streaks.
Grain:. It is straight grained and evenly
textured.
Characteristics: Comparatively uniform
texture, light to medium weight, excellent strength,
and stability. . It cuts and sands well, keeps
its' edge and resists splitting.
Finishing: The wood stains well and can
easily be made to resemble walnut or maple.
Because it takes paint exceptionally well, it
is often painted. |
