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Wood types are separated initially into two categories, hardwood and softwood. Believe it or not the terms hardwood and softwood have nothing to do with the actual hardness of wood. Hardwood comes from deciduous trees, which produce either a fruit or a nut, have broad leaves, and generally become dormant in cold weather. Softwood comes from coniferous trees (conifers), which are for the most part cone bearing evergreens that have needles.
Different woods species provide color and texture, strength and beauty to custom wood products. Each wood species has strong and weak points unique to itself. Some species are best used for exterior applications, while other types are exclusively for interior usage, some species are best for painting, others for staining. The type of wood that will best suit your specific need will depend on how and where the wood will be applied, and your decorating taste.
Every wood has a distinctive grain structure. Woods such as white and red oak, ash and walnut have "open-pores". These woods have small holes in their surface that give the piece a textural quality. When a stain is applied to this type of surface, the stain tends to collect in the "open-pores" and appears darker than the rest of the piece. Tight grained woods include maple, alder, and cherry. These woods are smooth to the touch and can take finish evenly.
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Cherry has a rich, reddish brown color and darkens considerably with age and exposure to sunlight. The grain is more subdued than other hardwood species, with very interesting character. 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. |
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Fir or Douglas Fir is generally straight, sometimes wavy grained with a medium to fairly coarse texture. Yellowish to orange-red heartwood (inner layer of wood in the tree) and whitish to reddish white sapwood (outer layer of wood in the tree). Fir is typically free of knots. Stains and varnishes easily but takes paint poorly. |
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Hickory is white to tan to reddish-brown in color with inconspicuous fine brown lines. It has a fine grain and is extremely tough and resilient, quite hard and only moderately heavy. The grain pattern welcomes a full range of medium-to-dark finishes and bleaching treatments. |
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Select Alder is moderately light with a smooth surface. Its color ranges from
white to tan, and at times, a pale pinkish brown. Alder has no distinct grain pattern and has good working properties. Alder finishes smoothly and takes stain well. |
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Knotty Alder is normally light brown with hues of red or peach; knots vary in
size, shape and color. Alder has no distinct grain pattern and has good working properties. Alder finishes smoothly and takes stain well.
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Clear Pine is white to pale yellow in color with a reddish tinge. It darkens with age exposure, eventually turning to a deep orange color. The wood is light, soft, straight grained and with very uniform texture. It works very well and is easily shaped with hand and power tools. Pine takes most finishes well. With some stains, a sealer helps prepare the wood to achieve a more even look.
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Knotty pine has a more rustic look with natural knots that vary in shape and size. Knotty Pine is white to pale yellow in color with a reddish tinge. It darkens with age exposure, eventually turning to a deep orange color. The wood is light, soft, straight grained and with very uniform texture. It works very well and is easily shaped with hand and power tools. Pine takes most finishes well. With some stains, a sealer helps prepare the wood to achieve a more even look. |
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Maple is valued for its strength, beauty and resistance to wear. The texture is fine with a uniform grain and a fairly clear white color. Maple is best when left natural with a clear seal coating. The wood has a close fine, uniform texture and is generally straight-grained, but it can also occur as "curly," "fiddleback," and "birds-eye" figure.
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Mahogany varies from light red or pale tan to a rich dark deep red or deep golden brown, depending on country of origin. It is generally straight grained but is prized for its figures which include stripe, roe, curly, blister, fiddleback, and mottle. It is extremely strong, hard, stable and decay resistant. It finishes and stains to a beautiful natural luster. |
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Red Oak - The oaks are the most abundant U.S. hardwood species. 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. Red Oak ranges from nearly white cream color to a beautiful warm, pale brown heartwood, tinted with red. Oak can be stained beautifully with a wide range of finish tones.
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White Oak - The oaks are the most abundant U.S. hardwood species. 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. White Oak- ranges from nearly white sapwood to a darker gray brown heartwood. Oak can be stained beautifully with a wide range of finish tones.
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Poplar trees grow taller than any other U.S. hardwood species. 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. Poplar has a white to yellowish cast, sometimes with slightly greenish cast and occasionally with dark purplish streaks. It is straight grained and evenly textured. 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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Walnut is one of the few American species planted as well as naturally regenerated.
The sapwood of walnut is creamy white, while the heartwood is light brown to dark chocolate brown, occasionally with a purplish cast and darker streaks. The wood develops a rich patina that grows more lustrous with age. The wood is generally straight-grained, but sometimes with wavy or curly grain that produces an attractive and decorative figure. It holds paint and stain very well for an exceptional finish and is readily polished.
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