Information - County Heritage Forest Products Ltd.

Information
Wood Species

Ash, White

FAMILY NAME	Fraxinus americana
AVERAGE WEIGHT	41 to 43 pounds/cu. ft.
USES	Baseball bats, hockey sticks, furniture
OTHER RELATED SPECIES	Black Ash, Brown Ash, Green Ash, Oregon Ash
MACHINING	Sands smoother than Oak, 2% harder than red oak - 1230 Janka table
BACKGROUND	White Ash is strong, hard, stiff and has a high resistance to shock. It is cut into veneers, but its capability of being steam bended makes the wood valuable in the making of bent parts for chairs. Ash is used in furniture as a substitute for oak due to the similarity of its grain and its slightly lower price. It finishes to a smoother finish than red oak.

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Cherry, Black

FAMILY NAME	Prunus Serotina
AVERAGE WEIGHT	36 pounds/cu. ft.
USES	Furniture, veneers, trim, doors, carvings
OTHER RELATED SPECIES	American Black, Cabinet, Rum, Whisky, Wild Cherry
MACHINING	Excellent, 26% softer than red oak - 950 Janka table, stain finishing is difficult
BACKGROUND	Cherry is a beautiful wood that develops a rich deep red patina with age. It has low stiffness, medium strength. The heart wood is darker than the sapwood. The wood contains small gum pockets creating a natural marking of the wood. The wood is very difficult to stain as areas of the wood will absorb more than others yielding a splotchy appearance. The use of a wash coat is recommended minimizing this effect. Wood can be steamed to make the colour more uniform.

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Maple, Soft

FAMILY NAME	Acer macrophyllum
AVERAGE WEIGHT	41 to 43 pounds/cu. ft.
USES	Furniture, millwork, trim and doors
OTHER RELATED SPECIES	Species include Big Leaf, Red, & Silver Maples
MACHINING	Easier to machine than hard maple. Less tendency to chip out.
BACKGROUND	Soft maple is approximately 35% softer than the similar hard maple. Many of the uses of hard maple are also used for soft maple. It is in less demand and therefore is about 35% less expensive than hard maple.

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Maple, Hard

FAMILY NAME	Acer saccharum
AVERAGE WEIGHT	44 pounds/cu. ft.
USES	Wood flooring, paneling, doors, furniture & turning
OTHER RELATED SPECIES	Hard maples include a group of species including Sugar, Rock, Hard Rock, White, & Black Maple
MACHINING	Very dense, knife angle should be less. Wood has high tendency to chip out when milling. 12% harder than Red Oak -1450 Janka Table, does not stain uniformly.
BACKGROUND	Hard maple has a high resistance to abrasion and wear, and finishes to a beautiful smooth high gloss shine. Hard maple is a good choice for steam bending. However the heart of the maple wood may be a darker colour and is not as durable as the sapwood. Exotic sub-species include birds-eye, quilted, blistered and burled maples.

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Pine, White

FAMILY NAME	Pinus strobus
AVERAGE WEIGHT	24 to 26 pounds/cu. ft.
USES	Post & beam construction furniture, millwork, paneling, boxes, coffins, boats, doors and trim
OTHER RELATED SPECIES	65 species of pine exist in North America. The characteristics of pine vary widely from species to species.
MACHINING	Wood is soft and machines very easily but will bruise easily. Finishing is difficult. Hardness 690 to 800 Janka table.
BACKGROUND	White Pine is a very workable, lightweight, soft and even textured wood. It is too valuable a wood to be used as dimension lumber. White pine machines well. One has to be careful when finishing white pine as it will absorb stains in localized areas giving a blotchy appearance. This can be minimized by the use of a pre-wash coat. Clear-finished pine develops a deep yellow colour with age. Sap pockets occasionally hidden within wood; reveal themselves as the wood ages.

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Poplar, Yellow

FAMILY NAME	Liriodendron tuliyifera
USES	Plywood veneers, non exposed furniture parts, painted trim and doors
OTHER RELATED SPECIES	Yellow and Tulip Poplar related to Aspen, Tulip, Willow but they exhibit different characteristics
MACHINING	Softer hardwood grows quickly with a straight grain. Machines easily.
BACKGROUND	The yellow poplar is a quick growing hardwood, now planted in plantations in the southern US. It is an inexpensive hardwood, soft compared to oak, but an excellent painted wood more resistant to damage than pine. It is lightweight but it is durable, can be stained with care (wash coat recommended), or painted. Sapwood is cream coloured and the heart wood can vary from pale brown to deep purple.

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Walnut, Black

FAMILY NAME	Juglans nigra
AVERAGE WEIGHT	40 pounds/cu. ft.
USES	Furniture and veneered panels, turned pieces including gunstocks
OTHER RELATED SPECIES	Arizona Walnut, Texas Black Walnut, Southern California Black Walnut, European Walnut
MACHINING	Good working wood but may not take a stain uniformly. Softer than red Oak - 1010 Janka Table.
BACKGROUND	American Black Walnut is rated hard, stiff, very resistant to shock and suitable for steam bending. It has an inherent oily nature and will cut clean and finish to a high sheen. With age the black walnut develops a rich patina becoming darker. The heartwood of the walnut is darker than the sapwood.

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Oak, Red

FAMILY NAME	Ouercus rubra
AVERAGE WEIGHT	44 to 48 pounds/cu. ft.
USES	Flooring, furniture, doors, trim, millwork, boxes, caskets, construction
OTHER RELATED SPECIES	450 related species of Oaks, including Black & Pin
MACHINING	Sands well but open pores will lead to grain raising when finishing. Hardness basis - 1290 Janka Table. Finishes yield strong grain contrast.
BACKGROUND	Red oak is fairly uniform in colour with a slightly coarser grain than white oak, with larger open pores that makes it less suitable for exposure to moisture such as in exterior doors or barrels. Wood grain pattern is very dependent on cutting of lumber yielding, flat cut with flared grain, rift cut with straight grain and quarter sawn with a flaked pattern.

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Oak, White

FAMILY NAME	Quercus alba
AVERAGE WEIGHT	47 pounds/cu. ft.
USES	Furniture, joinery, heavy construction, boat building, wagons, coffins, wine barrels
OTHER RELATED SPECIES	Bur, Swamp White, Chinquapin
MACHINING	Machines well, Sands smother than red oak, less grain raising upon finishing. More colour uniformity when finished than red oak. 5% harder than red oak 1360 Janka Table.
BACKGROUND	White oak has medium bending and crushing strength with low stiffness. The heartwood is durable. White oak is slow to dry and has a tendency to crack, split and honeycomb. White oak is different than red oak as its pores contain tyloses. The tyloses prevent the moisture penetration into the wood, making white oak suitable for the construction of barrels, and the ribs of wooden ships. Oak contains natural tannic acid. Food and beverages stored in barrels made from oak are reported to help develop their flavours during aging.

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FAMILY NAME	Meliaceae
AVERAGE WEIGHT	42 lbs/cu.ft Dry
USES	Stain Grade Doors
MACHINING	Macines realativley easily with minimal strain on tooling
BACKGROUND	Sapele is reported to be readily available as either veneer or lumber, with prices ranging from average to valuable. Specified grades of Sapele are also reported to be easier to fill. Quartered sapele is reported to yield beautiful straight stripes. Flat cut wood produces attractive cathedrals and cantilevered hearts and Sapele pommele, a wild blisterered grain pattern present in some trees. Sapele pommele is reported to be a highly popular veneer, and is used by designers for architectural interiors, table tops, and wall paneling. The best grades of Sapele are reported to feature a fine pencil stripe of uniform width. Sapele is reported to be comparable to Oak in strength properties, and is stronger than either African (Khaya ) or American mahogany (Swietenia ).

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