Found East of the Mississippi River, Ash has a pronounced & open grain that takes stain, glazing, and pickling well, It dries fairly easily with minimal degrade, and there is little movement in performance. The wood is generally straight-grained with a coarse uniform texture. Ash is mainly used in furniture, flooring, doors, architectural millwork and moulding, kitchen cabinets, paneling, tool handles, baseball bats, hockey sticks, skis, oars and turnings.
Basswood
The name comes from its inner bark, or bast, used by Native Americans to make rope. Basswood is mainly used in Carvings, turnings, furniture, pattern-making, mouldings, millwork and musical instruments. An important specialized use is Venetian blinds and shutters. The wood has a fine uniform texture and indistinct grain that is straight. Basswood machines well and is easy to work with hand tools making it a premier carving wood. It nails, screws, and glues fairly well and can be sanded and stained to a good smooth finish. It dries fairly rapidly with little distortion or degrade. It has fairly high shrinkage but good dimensional stability when dry.
Beech, European
The sapwood is white with a red tinge, while the heartwood is light to dark reddish brown. The wood is generally straight-grained with a close uniform texture. Beech is mainly used in furniture, doors, flooring, millwork, paneling, brush handles, woodenware, bending stock, toys and turnings. It is particularly suitable for food and liquid containers since there is no odor or taste. Beech works readily with most hand and machine tools. It has good nailing and gluing properties and can be stained to a good finish. The wood dries fairly rapidly but with a strong tendency to warp, split and surface check. It is subject to a high shrinkage and moderate movement in performance.
Cedar, Aromatic Red
Heartwood tends to be a reddish or violet-brown. Sapwood is a pale yellow color, and can appear throughout the heartwood as streaks and stripes. Has a straight grain, usually with knots present. Has a very fine even texture. The lumber has a high natural resistance to both decay and insect attack. Responds well to all types of tooling and yields a clean, smooth finish. Most commonly used in Fence posts, carvings, outdoor furniture, pencils, small wooden specialty items, and closet & chest linings.
Cedar, Spanish
Cedar, Spanish- relatively uniform light pinkish to reddish brown; colors tend to darken with age. Random pockets of gum and natural oils are commonly present. Grain patterning and figure tends to be somewhat bland. Spanish Cedar ranges from durable to moderately durable regarding decay resistance, and is also resistant to termite attack; the wood is also reported to have excellent weathering characteristics. Spanish Cedar is easy to work with both hand and machine tools. However, due to its low density and softness, Spanish Cedar tends to leave fuzzy surfaces if not machined with sharp cutters; extra sanding up to finer grits may be required to obtain a smooth wood surface. Most commonly used in Veneer, plywood, cabinetry, musical instruments, humidors, and boat building.
Cherry, Appalachian
Also known as Cherry, Black Cherry, Wild Cherry, and American Cherry. Cherry is a light pinkish brown when freshly cut, darkening to a medium reddish brown with time and upon exposure to light. Sapwood is a pale yellowish color. The grain is usually straight and easy to work, with a fine even texture with moderate natural luster. Very durable and resistant to decay. Most commonly used in cabinetry, fine furniture, flooring, interior millwork, veneer, turned objects, and small specialty wood items.
Hickory
Because of its hardness and shock resistance, Hickory is an excellent choice where durability is a concern. A favorite for flooring manufactures and produces a unique attractiveness in cabinetry & paneling. Some lumber may contain a high volume of bird peck that adds to it’s rustic beauty. NOTE: The NHLA makes no distinctions between Hickory & Pecan.
Jatoba (Brazilian Cherry)
A Central & South American hardwood native that is commonly referred to a Brazilian Cherry. It provides an excellent choice for flooring because of its high density, but also commonly used in furniture, cabinetry, tool handles, shipbuilding, and railroad ties. The heartwood is a consistent reddish brown, sometimes with contrasting darker grayish brown streaks. Jatoba is rated as being very durable in regards to rot resistance, and is also resistant to termites and most other insects, making it an excellent choice for doors, shudders, and windows.
Mahogany, African
A tropical hardwood that provides an attractive savings to Genuine Mahogany. This lumber is easy to work, glue, and finish. The tree grows in a clockwise to counter clockwise rotation with grain reversal producing a “wooly” grain. African Mahogany is commonly used in veneer, plywood, furniture, boat building, and interior trim.
Maple, Hard
Also known as Sugar Maple and Rock Maple. Unlike most other hardwoods, the sapwood of Hard Maple lumber is most commonly used rather than its heartwood. Sapwood color ranges from nearly white, to an off-white cream color, sometimes with a reddish or golden hue. The heartwood tends to be a darker reddish brown. Hard Maple is the primary source of maple syrup. One of the hardest & densest of Maples and is prized for furniture, flooring (basketball courts, dance-floors, bowling alleys, and residential), musical instruments, cutting boards, butcher blocks, workbenches, and baseball bats.
Maple, Soft (Red Maple is pictured)
Very similar to Hard Maple in color & consistency, but less dense. The term “Soft Maple” does not refer to any specific species of maple, but rather, it’s a broad term, which includes several different species of maple. The term “Soft Maple” is merely used to differentiate these species from Hard Maple. Some of the most common species that fall under the grouping of “Soft Maple” are Bigleaf Maple, Box Elder, Red Maple, Silver Maple, and Striped Maple. Machines well and can be stained & polished to a superb finish. Conditioning is recommended to avoid splotching during staining. Similar grain pattern to Alder & Cherry.
Oak, Red
Red Oak is the most commercially important hardwood lumber in the U.S. due to its abundant quantity and reasonable cost. Heartwood is a light to medium brown, commonly with a reddish cast. Grain is straight, with a coarse, uneven texture. Most commonly used in furniture, cabinetry, interior trim, flooring, and veneer.
Oak, White
Heartwood is a light to medium brown, commonly with an olive cast. The pores contain tyloses, which prevents water penetration, and tannic acid, which protects it from insects and fungi. These characteristics make White Oak extremely weather resistant and most commonly used in cabinetry, furniture, interior trim, flooring, boatbuilding, barrels, and veneer.
Pine, Eastern White
Heartwood is a light brown, sometimes with a slightly reddish hue, sapwood is a pale yellow to nearly white. Color tends to darken with age. Eastern White Pine is an excellent choice for stain grade furniture, cabinets and paneling where a rustic look is desired. Contains solid, sound, tight knots, and falls under the group of Soft Pines.
Poplar
The perennial choice for paint grade applications, Poplar has a white cream colored sapwood, while the heartwood varies from light green to purple, or even black. This provides a unique & beautiful alternative for stain grade applications. The grain pattern is non-descript, easy to work with and paints or stains well.
Sapele
Sapele is a more refined member of the Mahogany family. Heartwood is a golden to dark reddish brown. Color tends to darken with age. Grain is interlocked, and sometimes wavy. Fine uniform texture and good natural luster. Sapele is highly sought after as flooring, cabinetry, doors, and windows.
Sassafras
This unique hardwood has many uses and once was second, only to tobacco, in exports to Europe. This lumber is a medium to light brown, sometimes with an orange or olive hue and tends to darken with age. It has an open grain with a nice soft texture that stains well and is a favorite for pickling. When machines, the lumber has a pleasant aromatic odor. It provides an excellent alternative for exterior applications being very rot, fungi, and insect resistant.
Walnut, Black
Prized for its deep and rich color & caramelized hues. Black Walnut has a grain that can be worked from either direction & takes a rich finish. Walnut oxidizes to become lighter with age and is commonly used in furniture, cabinetry, gunstocks, interior paneling, and veneer.
Willow, Black
One of the largest and most commercially important species. The heartwood is a reddish or grayish brown, sometimes with darker streaks and the sapwood is white to tan. Willow isn’t an overly common furniture wood in the U.S., thought it seems to be in abundant supply at a much more economical price. It is mostly used in baskets, crates, utility wood, and carvings.