Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

Why Hardwood

See the Value

Hardwood vs Look-alikes

Hardwood Lifestyle

Species Guide

Hardwood in Culture

Projects

Sustainability

About

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

Hardwood Lifestyle

Hardwood
possibilities

As a resource, American Hardwoods are abundant, renewing and sustainable, and an excellent choice for eco-effective design and building. Explore more than 20 the most abundant and most often used Hardwood species.

Species Guide

Get to know hardwood

Recognize and take advantage of the beauty of the entire palette of species, and find fresh expressions for this plentiful resource.

Care & Maintenence

00

Alder

No items found.

Alder

Species Profile

Overview

Alder, a relative of birch, is almost white when freshly cut, but quickly changes with exposure to air, becoming light brown with a yellow or reddish tinge. Heartwood is formed only in trees of advanced age and there is no visible boundary between sapwood and heartwood. The wood is fairly straight-grained with a uniform texture.

Physical Properties

Alder is a relatively soft hardwood of medium density that has low bending strength, shock resistance, and stiffness.

Usage

Furniture, kitchen cabinets, doors, shutters, moulding, panel stock, turnings, carvings, and kitchen utensils.

Working Properties

Machining

Nailing

Screwing

Gluing

Finishing

00

Ash

No items found.

Ash

Species Profile

Overview

The sapwood is light-colored to nearly white and the heartwood varies from grayish or light brown, to pale yellow streaked with brown. The wood is generally straight-grained with a coarse uniform texture. The degree and availability of light-colored sapwood, and other properties, will vary according to the growing regions.

Physical Properties

Ash machines well, is good in nailing, screwing and gluing, and can be stained to a very good finish. It dries fairly easily with minimal degrade, and there is little movement in performance.

Usage

Furniture, flooring, doors, architectural millwork and moulding, kitchen cabinets, paneling, tool handles, baseball bats, sporting equipment, and turnings. It is particularly suitable for food and liquid containers since there is no odor or taste.

Working Properties

Machining

Nailing

Screwing

Gluing

Finishing

00

Aspen

No items found.

Aspen

Species Profile

Overview

Sapwood is white, blending into the light brown heartwood. The contrast between sapwood and heartwood is small. The wood is straight-grained and has a fine, uniform texture.

Physical Properties

Aspen is light and soft, with low bending strength and stiffness, and medium shock resistance.

Usage

Furniture parts (drawer sides), doors, moulding, picture frames, millwork, toys, kitchen utensils, and matchsticks. Specialized uses include sauna laths, due to its low conductivity of heat, and chopsticks.

Working Properties

Machining

Nailing

Screwing

Gluing

Finishing

00

Basswood

No items found.

Basswood

Species Profile

Overview

The sapwood of basswood is usually quite large and creamy white in color, merging into the heartwood, which is pale to reddish brown, sometimes with darker streaks. The wood has an indistinct grain that is straight and has a fine, uniform texture.

Physical Properties

Basswood is light and soft with generally low strength properties and a poor steam-bending classification.

Usage

Carvings, turnings, furniture, pattern-making, moulding, millwork, and musical instruments. Specialized uses are Venetian blinds and shutters.

Working Properties

Machining

Nailing

Screwing

Gluing

Finishing

00

Birch

No items found.

Birch

Species Profile

Overview

Birch has a white sapwood and light reddish brown heartwood. The wood is generally straight-grained with a fine, uniform texture, and is generally characterized by a plain, often curly or wavy pattern.

Physical Properties

Birch is a heavy wood, hard, and strong. It has very good benign properties, with good crushing strength and shock resistance.

Usage

Furniture, millwork and paneling, doors, flooring, kitchen cabinets, turnings, and toys.

Working Properties

Machining

Nailing

Screwing

Gluing

Finishing

00

Cherry

No items found.

Cherry

Species Profile

Overview

The heartwood of cherry varies from rich red to reddish brown and will darken with age and exposure to light. In contrast, the sapwood is creamy white. The wood has a straight-grain, a fine, uniform, satiny and smooth texture, and naturally may contain brown pith flecks and small gum pockets.

Physical Properties

Cherry is of medium density with good bending properties, has low stiffness, and medium strength and shock resistance.

Usage

Fine furniture and cabinet making, moulding and millwork, kitchen cabinets, paneling, flooring, doors, boat interiors, musical instruments, turnings, and carvings.

Working Properties

Machining

Nailing

Screwing

Gluing

Finishing

00

Cottonwood

No items found.

Cottonwood

Species Profile

Overview

The sapwood is white and may contain brown streaks, while the heartwood may be pale-to-light brown. It is a diffuse, porous wood with a coarse texture. The wood is generally straight-grained and contains relatively few defects. Cottonwood is a true poplar, it has similar characteristics and properties to aspen.

Physical Properties

Cottonwood is relatively light in weight. The wood is soft, weak in bending and compression, and low in shock resistance.

Usage

Furniture, furniture arts, millwork and moulding, toys, and kitchen utensils. Specialized uses are Venetian blinds, shutters, and caskets.

Working Properties

Machining

Nailing

Screwing

Gluing

Finishing

00

Cypress

No items found.

Cypress

Species Profile

Overview

The sapwood is pale yellow white with the heartwood varying in color from light to dark or reddish brown.

Physical Properties

Cypress is a softwood, but it grows alongside hardwoods and traditionally has been grouped and manufactured with hardwoods.

Usage

Exterior siding, shutters, shingles, trim, fence posts, interior paneling, moulding, millwork, cabinetry, flooring, furniture, beams, and columns.

Working Properties

Machining

Nailing

Screwing

Gluing

Finishing

00

Elm

No items found.

Elm

Species Profile

Overview

Red elm has a grayish white to light brown narrow sapwood, with heartwood that is reddish brown to dark brown in color. The grain can be straight, but is often interlocked, and has a coarse texture.

Physical Properties

Elm is moderately heavy, hard and stiff with excellent bending and shock resistance. It is difficult to split because of its interlocked grain.

Usage

Furniture, cabinet making, flooring, millwork, paneling, and caskets.

Working Properties

Machining

Nailing

Screwing

Gluing

Finishing

00

Gum

No items found.

Gum

Species Profile

Overview

The sapwood tends to be wide and is white to light pink, while the heartwood is reddish brown, often with darker streaks. The wood has irregular grain, usually interlocked, which produces an attractive figure with a fine, uniform texture.

Physical Properties

American gum is moderately hard, stiff, and heavy, and has a low steam-bending classification.

Usage

Cabinet making, furniture parts, doors, millwork, strips and moulding, turnings, and rail ties. Good substitute for walnut when stained.

Working Properties

Machining

Nailing

Screwing

Gluing

Finishing

00

Hackberry

No items found.

Hackberry

Species Profile

Overview

Hackberry is closely related to sugarberry (Celtis laevigata) and is a member of the elm family. There is little difference between sapwood and heartwood, which is yellowish grey to light brown with yellow streaks. The wood is very susceptible to blue staining before and after kiln-drying, and has irregular grain, occasionally straight, but sometimes interlocked, with a fine, uniform texture.

Physical Properties

Hackberry is moderately hard, heavy, and has medium bending strength, high shock resistance, but is low in stiffness. It has a good steam-bending classification.

Usage

Furniture, kitchen cabinets, millwork, doors, and moulding.

Working Properties

Machining

Nailing

Screwing

Gluing

Finishing

00

Hard Maple

No items found.

Hard Maple

Species Profile

Overview

The sapwood is a creamy white with a slight reddish-brown tinge, and the heartwood varies from light to dark reddish brown. The wood has a close, fine texture and is generally straight-grained.

Physical Properties

The wood is hard and heavy with good strength properties. In particular, it has high resistance to abrasion and wear. It also has good steam-bending properties.

Usage

Flooring, furniture, paneling, ballroom and gymnasium floors, kitchen cabinets, worktops, table tops, butcher blocks, kitchenware, and toys. Can also be used in millwork, stairs, handrails, moulding, and doors.

Working Properties

Machining

Nailing

Screwing

Gluing

Finishing

00

Hickory/Pecan

No items found.

Hickory/Pecan

Species Profile

Overview

The hickories are an important group within the eastern hardwood forests. Botanically they are split into two groups: the true hickories and the pecan hickories (fruit-bearing). The wood is virtually the same for both and is usually sold together. The sapwood of hickory is white, tinged with brown, while the heartwood is pale to reddish brown.

Physical Properties

Hickories are well-known for their very good strength and shock resistance, as well as excellent steam-bending properties.

Usage

Tool handles, furniture, cabinetry, flooring, wooden ladders, dowels, and sporting goods.

Working Properties

Machining

Nailing

Screwing

Gluing

Finishing

00

Pacific Coast Maple

No items found.

Pacific Coast Maple

Species Profile

Overview

Its color is pale pinkish-brown to almost white. Generally there is no marked difference between the sapwood and the heartwood. Its fine grain is similar to birch and cherry with respect to growth-ring contrast. It dries easily with little degrade and has good dimensional stability after drying.

Physical Properties

Pacific Coast Maple has medium density, but is slightly harder than eastern soft maple. It has medium-bending strength, shock resistance, and stiffness.

Usage

Furniture, kitchen cabinets, doors, shutters, moulding, panel stock, turnings, carvings, and kitchen utensils.

Working Properties

Machining

Nailing

Screwing

Gluing

Finishing

00

Poplar

No items found.

Poplar

Species Profile

Overview

The sapwood is creamy white and may be streaked, and the heartwood varies from pale yellowish-brown to olive green. The green color in the heartwood will tend to darken on exposure to light and turn brown. The wood has a medium-to-fine texture and is straight-grained.

Physical Properties

Poplar is a medium-density wood with low-bending, shock resistance, stiffness, and compression values. It has a medium steam-bending classification.

Usage

Light construction, furniture, kitchen cabinets, doors, paneling, moulding and millwork, edge-glued panels, turnings, and carvings.

Working Properties

Machining

Nailing

Screwing

Gluing

Finishing

00

Red Oak

No items found.

Red Oak

Species Profile

Overview

The sapwood of red oak is white to light brown and the heartwood is a pinkish-reddish brown. The wood is similar in general appearance to white oak, but with a slightly less-pronounced figure due to the smaller rays. The wood is mostly straight-grained, with a coarse texture.

Physical Properties

Red oak is hard and heavy, with medium-bending strength and stiffness, and high-crushing strength.

Usage

Furniture, flooring, architectural millwork and moulding, doors, kitchen cabinets, paneling, and caskets.

Working Properties

Machining

Nailing

Screwing

Gluing

Finishing

00

Soft Maple

No items found.

Soft Maple

Species Profile

Overview

Soft maple is very similar to hard maple in most respects. Generally, the sapwood is greyish-white, sometimes with darker-colored pith flecks. The heartwood varies from light-to-dark reddish brown. The wood is usually straight-grained. The lumber is generally sold unselected for color.

Physical Properties

Soft maple is about 25 percent less hard than hard maple, has medium-bending and crushing strength, and is low in stiffness and shock resistance. It has good steam-bending properties.

Usage

Furniture, paneling and millwork, kitchen cabinets, moulding, doors, musical instruments, and turnings. It is often used as a substitute for hard maple or stained to resemble other species.

Working Properties

Machining

Nailing

Screwing

Gluing

Finishing

00

Sycamore

No items found.

Sycamore

Species Profile

Overview

The sapwood is white to light yellow, while the heartwood is light-to-dark brown. The wood has a fine, close texture with interlocked grain. It contrasts well with other species.

Physical Properties

Sycamore is classified as moderate in weight, hardness, stiffness, and shock resistance. It turns well on a lathe and has good bending qualities.

Usage

Furniture, furniture parts (drawer sides), millwork, paneling and moulding, flooring, kitchenware, butcher blocks, toys, and fruit crates.

Working Properties

Machining

Nailing

Screwing

Gluing

Finishing

00

Walnut

No items found.

Walnut

Species Profile

Overview

The sapwood is creamy white, while the heartwood is light brown to dark chocolate brown, occasionally with a purplish cast and darker streaks. It is usually supplied steamed, to darken the sapwood. The wood is generally straight-grained; sometimes with wavy or curly grain that produces an attractive and decorative figure.

Physical Properties

Walnut is a tough hardwood of medium density, with moderate bending and crushing strengths, and low stiffness. It has a good steam-bending classification.

Usage

Furniture, cabinets, architectural millwork, doors, flooring, paneling, and gun stocks. It is a favored wood for use in contrast with lighter-colored species.

Working Properties

Machining

Nailing

Screwing

Gluing

Finishing

00

White Oak

No items found.

White Oak

Species Profile

Overview

The sapwood is light-colored and the heartwood is light-to-dark brown. White oak is mostly straight-grained with a medium-to-coarse texture. Having longer rays than red oak, white oak has more figure.

Physical Properties

White oak is a hard and heavy wood with a medium-bending and crushing strength, low in stiffness, but very good in steam-bending. It has great wear-resistance.

Usage

Furniture, flooring, architectural millwork, moulding, doors, kitchen cabinets, paneling, barrel staves, and caskets.

Hardwood Lifestyle

Hardwood possibilities

Species Guide

Get to know hardwood

Care & Maintenence

00

Alder

Alder

00

Ash

Ash

00

Aspen

Aspen

00

Basswood

Basswood

00

Birch

Birch

00

Cherry

Cherry

00

Cottonwood

Cottonwood

00

Cypress

Cypress

00

Elm

Elm

00

Gum

Gum

00

Hackberry

Hackberry

Hardwood
possibilities