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Myrtle
Maple
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Types of Specialty
Woods Used
WOOD SPECIES
- What is the difference?
They look different. Some are smooth, some
have bold grain and some have knots or bird eyes. They finish
differently. The density of the various woods change the depth
and tone of the color. The region where the furniture is made,
the style, and the historical period of the price determine the
wood used.
Hardwoods:
Hardwoods are deciduous, the botanical group of trees
that have broad leaves, produce a fruit or nut, and
generally go dormant in the winter. There are hundreds of
hardwood species in the United States. Together, all the
hardwood species represent 40 percent of the trees in the
United States.
Softwoods:
In contrast, softwoods, or conifers, from the Latin
word meaning "cone-bearing," have needles. Widely available
softwoods include cedar, fir, hemlock, pine, redwood and
spruce.
The following is an
alphabetical listing of the most popular hard and soft woods.
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.
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.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.
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.
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