Walnut
Black Walnut
Sapwood
Heartwood
Heartwood can range from a lighter pale brown to a dark brown chocolate and can even be found with purplish streaks.
Grain and Structure:
Black Walnut has a tight open grain and is usually flat sawn and thus often has a cathedral pattern. However, other grain patters and figures can be found in black Walnut such as curl, crotch, and burl. Black Walnut is considered hardwood which is medium density. While it is hard and usually stable, furniture made from black walnut is generally not as heavy as compared to furniture made from varieties of Oak.
The Sapwood of Black Walnut is softer and lighter than the heartwood and is usually cut out of furniture but can be
kept if desired. Sapwood ranges in color from white to yellowish brown.
Genus: Juglans
Genus: Prunus
Heartwood
Black Cheery is another wood commonly found in Western Pennsylvania which is
desired for furniture. The heartwood has a light pale brown color when cut, but the color changes over time with exposure to light. With time, the heartwood becomes a rich reddish-brown color. Putting the wood in direct sunlight will speed up the darkening process.
Structure and Pattern
Black Cherry
Like Black Walnut, cheery is usually flat sawn and thus often has a cathedral pattern. Black Cheery can have curl patterns, but these patters are not commonly found. Generally, cheery has a straight closed grain which makes it desirable to work with.
Maple
Genus: Acer
Background
Maple trees are very common tree in the northeast of the USA and there a wide variety of
species which are used for lumber. For the purposes of woodworking Maple is usually classified by how hard it is and is usually referred to as “hard maple” or “soft maple”, rather than by its specific species. Maple is also sometimes referred to by its grain pattern such as curly maple, birdseye maple, quilted maple, ambrosia maple, or spalted maple. These grain patterns can usually be found in different varieties of maple and are not necessarily unique to a single variety.
Hard Maple
Hard Maple is also referred to as sugar maple and is the same tree which maple syrup is extracted from. Its wood is stronger, stiffer, harder, and denser than all other species of maple readily available in lumber form. Hard Maple is very dense and very heavy. For these reasons it’s considered the most desirable variety of maple for furniture.
Soft Maple
Despite the name, Soft Maple is not exactly soft. It’s similar is density to Black Walnut and Black Cheery and is completely appropriate for furniture. Soft Maple is only a relative term which
differentiates its density in comparison to hard maple.
Hard Maple Grain
The Grain of Hard Maple is generally straight but can also be wavy. The lumber generally has a fine uniform texture which is less distinguishable than grain patterns found in varieties of Oak.
Soft Maple - Color and Grain
In the Northeast of the USA, Soft Maple can come from a variety of trees. Most commonly soft maple comes from Silver Maple, Red Maple, or Box Elder Trees. The grain and color will vary according to the exact species of tree the lumber comes from, but the species have general
characteristics in common. Soft Maple ranges in color from blond to brown and usually has uniform
grain pattern.
White Oak
White Oak heartwood is light to medium brown and has more of an olive cast when compared to Red Oak. However, determining the variety of oak by the color is not always reliable. The coloring
in white oak is varied. White oak lumber may be dark brown, light brown, or brown with yellow tones. White Oak is closed grain hardwood, making it almost impervious to water. White oak is fairly
straight-grained and is usually available quarter sawn (Although quartersawn material is more expensive).
The grain in quarter sawn white oak is more stable and can display a striking flake pattern. Similar to Red Oak, White oak is strong, heavy, reasonably abundant, beautiful and rot-resistant
making it desirable for furniture and cabinets.
Oak
Genus: Quercus
Red Oak
Red Oak is one of the most popular wood varieties for furniture in the United States, especially in the Northeast. It’s color and patters are ubiquitous and even replicated in vinyl and imitation wood products to give these products the look or real wood. Red Oak trees grow large and are common in the forest making the wood abundant compared to other species.
The Heartwood is Light to medium brown and can have a reddish tint. The sapwood is of red oak is similar in color to the heartwood and is not always distinguishable from the heartwood.
Red Oak is hard and heavy making it durable for use in furniture, especially when quartersawn.