BUTTERNUT - juglans cinerea- Also called "white walnut," butternut is a member of the walnut family but is much lighter in weight and color. Softer than black walnut, butternut is ideal for the intermediate woodworker to handle smoothly. It is a butterscotch color with exceptionally attractive flatsawn grain which machines easily and finishes well.
COMMON USES: carving blanks, fine furniture, paneling, turning stock and award plaques.

CHERRY - prunus setotina- The popularity of black cherry as a furniture and panel wood stems from its beauty and ease of use. It is uniform in texture, has a fine grain and machines well. It is moderately heavy, stiff and very strong. The color changes from a golden brown to a rich, deep golden brown with age and exposure to daylight. It turns excellently and works exceptionally well with hand and power tools.
COMMON USES: furniture, paneling, turning stock, toys, novelty items.

MAHOGANY - mahogani- A premiere wood, second only to black walnut. It is moderately heavy, stiff and quite strong with good resistance to wear. Its semi-closed grain is reddish brown which darkens with age. Machines well and stains easily.
COMMON USES: carved signs, furniture, boat decks, plaques, and turning stock.

PHILLIPPINE MAHOGANY - shorea negrosenis- Although similar, it is not a member of the true mahogany family. Soft and easy to work, the wood finishes well when properly sanded. It is coarser in texture than African mahogany and the color tends to vary from a dark reddish brown to a light red color.
COMMON USES: cabinet backs, interior doors and inexpensive furniture.

MAPLE (HARD) - acer saccharum- Famous for its resistance to wear, maple is mostly notably used for flooring and in fine furniture, especially when spindles are needed. Hard, heavy and very strong, its color is a light brown or tan and sometimes exhibits a mineral streak. Due to its fine texture and grain pattern, it stains and finishes nicely.
COMMON USES: butcher blocks, cutting boards, flooring, furniture, turnings, bowling pins and alleys, gym floors.

MAPLE (SOFT) - acer rubrum- Also known as red maple it is less dense than hard maple but slightly harder than cherry. Soft maple is generally very straight grained but occasionally displays birdseye, curly and fiddle-back grain patterns. Color varies from an almost white sapwood to an olive green heartwood (found only in lower grades of lumber). Often preferred by the furniture industry because it is less expensive than hard maple and it works better on a lathe or shaper.
COMMON USES: flooring, veneer, furniture, woodenware, spools and bobbins.

POPLAR - liriodendron tulipifera- One of its most outstanding features is that it takes a stain better than most species. While very similar to pine in density and texture, poplar outperforms pine in almost all respects: it stains and finishes better, is more workable and is of greater quality and stability. It is used extensively in the furniture industry as a secondary wood - drawer sides and interior parts - for all of these reasons. Poplar's heartwood is a yellowish or grayish color, occasionally with a slightly greenish cast or dark streaks.
COMMON USES: use anywhere you might use pine. Highly recommended for beginning woodworkers.

RED OAK - quercus rubra- More coarsely grained than white oak, it is widely favored for its strength, hardness and dependable workmanship. The most popular hardwood in recent years, its reddish brown color and beautiful grain texture add to its attractiveness.
COMMON USES: furniture, flooring, paneling.

WHITE OAK - quercus alba- Hard, heavy and very strong, it is popular among furniture builders worldwide. White oak is respected for having pores which are impervious to water, making it more resistant to decay, as well as for its structural capabilities. The open grain pattern can be left an ash-grey tint or stained to suite a wide variety of tastes.
COMMON USES: flooring, furniture, boat construction, cooperage stock and millwork.

TEAK - tectona granolis- Widely recognized as a hard, heavy, durable wood, it is primarily used for furniture and ship building, especially trim on boats. It is yellowish brown in color. Located in several parts of the world, we generally stock Thailand Teak for its quality and dependability.
COMMON USES: furniture, ship building and boat trim.

BLACK WALNUT - junglans nigra- The premiere American hardwood. Walnut is famed for its excellent shock resistance, works superbly by hand or machine and take a finish easily. After being properly kiln dried, it shrinks and expands very little. Color ranges from an almost white sapwood to a dark chocolate heartwood.

KILN DRIED vs. AIR DRIED
Interior relative humidity changes between fall with its moist air to winter when the house is closed up tight and the central heating system is used- especially northern climates. This drastic swing in humidity can do horrifying things to furniture with the shrinkage properties of wood - examples are a sticky door or a drawer that refuses to open, plus checking (cracks that appear along the grain due to uneven seasoning), splitting, glue joint failure and the cupping of boards.

Unless specified, we try to inventory only quality, kiln dried hardwood and softwoods. All of our lumber is carefully kiln dried for a 6-8% moisture content- a must for fine furniture or any project that will be used indoors. The stock is to be steam bent or used in some musical instrument production.

Kiln dried lumber is hydroscopic- it has the ability to absorb moisture from the air. If you are planning to store the stock for any extended period of time, choose a location which closely matches the environment in which the finished product will be placed. A little concern for storage will avert a lot of problems later. Anything worth cutting a tree down for is worth doing right.