MATERIALS

The wood species shown below are finished with a clear natural lacquer finish.

These are just samples, grains and colors can vary greatly.

It is possible to create numerous colors and shades using stains, tints, bleaches, and dyes.

Custom colors and stains are available at additional costs. 5

We strive to use only Certified Wood .The world has lost nearly two-thirds of its original forest cover and whatever remains is disappearing at the rate of more than 2.3 acres per second – more than 42 million acres annually.


	ALDER aliases Red Alder. This is a medium-hard Pacific Coast hardwood, often considered as a lower cost substitute for Birch. Alder is medium in strength, low in durability and light in weight - about 33 pounds per cubic foot. The lumber is of fairly straight grain, uniform texture and little distinctive figuring. When freshly cut, Alder is almost white, then darkens to a mellow reddish brown after exposure. working Works and turns fairly easily, with some tearing of grain. Glues, sands and finishes well, although difficult to stain evenly. USES Furniture, casework, woodenware, toys, plywood core stock. Readily available
	AMBOYNA BURL Hard to get, veneers are sometimes possible
	AROMATIC RED CEDAR Heartwood tends to be a reddish or violet-brown. Great for the smell
	ASH aliases White Ash, American Ash description This popular hardwood is found in the eastern half of Canada and the U.S. Ash is a light to moderately heavy wood (35 to 42 pounds per cubic foot), strong and stiff, and is well known for its excellent elasticity. Its excellent shock resistance makes this an ideal wood for sporting equipment and tool handles. Heartwood is gray to light brown, with a creamy white sapwood. Susceptible to powder post beetle infestation. working Works well with hand and machine tools. Glues and finishes well. USES, Cabinetry, baseball bats, oars, tool handles, furniture (bent parts of chairs).
	BLOODWOOD aliases South American wood of the same family as Capomo, Ojoche and Breadnut. Weighs 55 to 62 pounds per cubic foot. Blood-wood has a distinctive deep red to pinkish-red coloration which tends to remain bright upon exposure. Its grain pattern is normally plain, but with some lustrous pattern resembling fiddleback noted. Both flat cut and quartered grain patterns are cause of its extreme hardness and brittle nature, grain tends to tear with working. uses Decorative items, game boards, turnings, inlay, marquetry. working Turns and works with some difficulty, as it tends to be brittle. Sands to a smooth luste Cardinalwood description A dense, very hard
	BUBINGA, KEVIZINGO (GUIBOURTIA DEMEUSII) SOURCE West Africa – Cameroon, Gabon, Zaire. DESCRIPTION Bubinga is red with streaks of lines of dark purple. The pattern is stripy and heavy, with conspicuous pores. Pomele Bubinga has a large scale wavy figure. Bubinga is both flat cut and figured. Kevazingo is the rotary cut version of the same species. APPLICATIONS Select logs are sliced for highly decorative uses. Bubinga is a favored choice for cabinetry, paneling and doors. Available. ALTERNATIVES Makore, Mahogany, Santos Rosewood, Pomele Sapele & Pomele Makore.
	CHERRY aliases Black Cherry, American Cherry description This popular furniture hardwood is found primarily in the Appalachian Mountains of New York, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. It is a hard, straight-grained wood with fine texture. Heartwood is reddish brown to deep red, with brown flecks and some gum pockets. Sapwood is pink. Weighs about 36 pounds per cubic foot. Cherry bends well, has moderate strength and shock resistance. working Turns, carves, works and glues extremely well. Holds crisp detail when carved. Difficult to stain evenly. uses Furniture, cabinetry, wood carving, turnery, tobacco pipes, musical instruments.
	COCO BOLO description This dense, heavy, durable hardwood is imported from Nicaragua and western Costa Rica. Approximate weight of the lumber is 68 pounds per cubic foot. Heartwood color varies greatly from light to deep red and the hues of the rainbow. Grain may be straight or interwoven, but the lumber is dimensionally very stable. Works well with hand or power tools and machines to a fine finish. Natural oils in the wood provide a beautiful waxy finish when hand rubbed, but make Coco bolo difficult to glue. uses Accent furniture, turnings, knife and tool handles, brush backs and hand mirror frames, scientific instruments.
	EBONY-GABOON Color is jet black, sometimes with uneven gray to black stripes. This is believed to be the blackest wood grown. Sapwood is pale in color. Grain is straight to slightly interlocked. Texture is very fine. Very hard to work with hand or machine tools. A reduced angle of 20 degrees is needed when planing if irregular grain is present. Pre-boring is necessary. Excellent finish when polished. Used for piano and organ keys, organ stops, violin finger boards and pegs, parts of bagpipes and other instruments, handles on tools and knives, door knobs, butt ends of billiard cues, facing of tee squares, turnery, inlaid work,
	EBONY-MACASSAR (diospyros insularis) Uses: Macassar ebony is the wood of choice for many decorative turners. Its amazing striped pattern of real blacks and dark chocolate browns is an irresistible draw for those in the know. Other Names: calamander wood, variegated ebony. The Tree: Ebony is the Greek word for "fruit of the gods". Macassar lumber is less brittle than the gaboon and thus less prone to splitting. The grain can be dramatic and variable from one board to the next. Weight: approximately 65+ lbs per cubic foot
	HICKORY (CARYA GLABRA) SOURCE South Eastern USA & Canada. DESCRIPTION The color can range from white to reddish-brown to brown. Typically straight grained, but may be wavy or irregular. May also have a rather course texture. APPLICATIONS Architectural veneers, furniture uses and paneling. AVAILABILITY Available. ALTERNATIVES Pecan, Ash.
	KOA Hawaiian Koa is one of the world's most beautiful hardwoods, which grows only in Hawaii. Koa is world renowned, and used for the highest value finishes in furniture and commercially used products. Koa tree are rare, tropical hardwood generally found at elevations of 2000 plus feet on the upper slopes of the islands of Hawaii (Big Island) and Maui. Koa tree reaches in height of 100 feet or more, with trunk diameters as large as 5 feet. This unique, native wood is prized for its beautiful range of color and lustrous grain from near black through reds, orange and russet tones to yellow and gold. The grain with its wavy lines and swirling color, give luster and a sense of depth of Koa unequaled by any other exotic wood in the world.
	MADRONE is primarily found in northern California and southern Oregon. Distinguished by a very consistent salmon color, beautiful knot patterns and a smooth grain. Prized for exotic flooring, furniture, cabinetry. Madrone is a hard, heavy and strong wood, and is one of the best machining of all hardwoods. It may be stained, but to retain the wood's naturally exotic figure and color, clear finishes are usually desired.
	MAHOGANY HONDURAS (SWIENENIA MACROPHYLLA) SOURCE Central and parts of South America. DESCRIPTION Honduras Mahogany is lighter in color ( pink to golden brown), firmer in texture and straighter in grain than African Mahogany. This wood produces a straight to plain stripe when sliced on the quarter. APPLICATIONS Honduras Mahogany can be used for rich traditional designs in plain, fiddleback, mottle or crotch forms. Flat cut veneer is very popular in high end office and reproduction furniture. AVAILABILITY Plentiful. ALTERNATIVES Makore, Sapele, Anegre, African Mahogany. I'm allergic to some mahogany
	MAPLE aliases Rock Maple, Sugar Maple description Native to the northeastern U.S. and Canada. A strong, heavy wood (44+ pounds per cubic foot) with cream to reddish-brown heartwood. Often found in Birds Eye, burl, fiddleback, quilted and other figured grain patterns. working Works well with hand and machine tools, although highly figured grain may tend to tear. Glues satisfactorily, somewhat difficult to stain, but sands and finishes well. uses Furniture, cutting surfaces, paneling, kitchenware, flooring, molding, industrial applications where stability and toughness are required.
	MAPLE BIRDS-EYE occurs primarily in Sugar Maple. The Latin name for Sugar Maple is Acer Suchrum. Sugar Maple is also called Hard Maple and Rock Maple. The properties of any wood define its suitability for various products. Birdseye Maple is a very hard wood with divergent grain structure caused by the presence of the Birdseyes. If there is also Flash Figure, or Buff, with the Birdseye; the grain can be wildly divergent.The divergent grain that makes Birdseye Maple beautiful also makes it difficult to work. This limited the use of Birdseye maple to projects whose value could justify the extra labor cost. Examples of this are fine furniture and musical instruments.
	OAK RED (QUERCUS RUBRA) SOURCE Eastern U.S., primarily Appalachians, Ohio & Kentucky. DESCRIPTION Slight reddish tinge, more uniform in color, with a less prominent flake than White Oak. A course grain, with large pores. Red Oak is available flat, quartered or rift cut. APPLICATIONS Domestic Red Oak is among the most extensively used species, Its applications run the gamut of millwork and furniture uses. Architectural veneer uses are generally limited us exceptionally clear or figured logs. Plentiful. ALTERNATIVES Red Elm, White Oak.
	OAK WHITE Quercus albaWhite oak is relatively rot resistant. It was a signature wood used in mission style oak furniture by Gustav Stickley in the Craftsman style in the Arts and Crafts movement. White Oaks have cellular structures called tyloses. Tyloses give the wood a closed cellular structure, which does not allow water to pass. The white oaks, with tyloses, are used in making wine and whiskey barrels as well as outdoor furniture. Red Oaks do not have the tyloses, thus white oak barrels are used in wine and whiskey production to prevent leaking. It has been used for construction, shipbuilding, cooperage, agricultural implements, and interior finish of houses.
	PADAUK (Pterocarpus soyauxii) Also known as barwood, comwood, corail, African coralwood, muenge, mbe, mbil, mututi, ngula, vermillion, and yomo. Grows in central and West Africa. Its Appearance Straight to interlocked grain with a moderately coarse texture and large pores. Rich red to purple red heartwood and pale-beige sapwood. Physical Properties Hard, heavy, and strong with exceptional decay resistance and dimensional stability. Not suitable for steam bending. Works well with hand and machine tools. Glues easily and holds nails and screws well. Finishes to a beautiful sheen without the need for stain. Uses Excellent turning wood - used for fancy turnery such as knife and tool handles. Also prized for high end cabinets, furniture, carving, veneer, inlay, joinery.
	ROSEWOOD-honduran descript ion A coarse-textured, tough, durable member of the Rosewood family, Honduras Rosewood has been exported from Central America since the 1840's. It is one of the heavier hardwoods, weighing 60 to 70 pounds per cubic foot. Color ranges from pink to purple-brown with black markings. Many pieces have a distinctive wavy grain. working Somewhat difficult to work, dulls tools. Use care in gluing due to waxy resins. uses ments (marimba and xylophone bars), piano parts, turnery, marquetry, small decorator items.
	SAPELE Native to tropical Africa is reminiscent of Mahogany. Medium to dark reddish brown or purplish brown. Color tends to darken with age. Besides the common ribbon pattern seen on quartersawn boards, Sapele is also known for a wide variety of other figured grain patterns, such as: pomelle, quilted, mottled, wavy, beeswing, and fiddleback. Some common uses of Sapele include: veneer, plywood, furniture, cabinetry, flooring, boatbuilding, musical instruments, turned objects, and other small wooden specialty items.
	TULIPWOOD description This beautiful, even grained Brazilian hardwood is distinct in its appearance rom the other rosewoods. It is remarkable for its color: creamy yellow, with pink to reddish purple stripes. The colors fade somewhat on exposure, but the wood remains decorative. Tulipwood is as Heavy as the denser rosewoods, weighing about 55 pounds per cwood emits a pleasing fragrance resembling the flower for which it is named. working Tulipwood turns and works with some difficulty, as it tends to be brittle and splinters; sands to a soft luster. uses Inlay, marquetry, game boards, small turnings and decorative items.
	TEAK (TECTONA GRANDIS) SOURCE Burma, Java, East India, Thailand DESCRIPTION Teak color varies among the hues of tawny yellow to dark brown and is characterized by mineral streaks that provide a contrasting grain structure. Teak has a strong, tough, oily texture. This wood can be cut flat or quartered. APPLICATIONS Historically, Teak has been the primary species used for ship building, decking and rails. The veneer is used in all major categories of architectural paneling, door and accent applications. ALTERNATIVES Koa, Papao.
	WALNUT (JUGLANS NIGRA) SOURCE U.S. Central States DESCRIPTION Color range is light grey-brown to dark purplish-brown. This one species produces a greater variety of figure types than almost any other wood. Longwood that is flatcut, quartered or half-round has characteristics that include plain, figured, pin knots, mineral streaks, mud flair, and knots. APPLICATIONS One of the most familiar and revered domestic woods, walnut is used in all types of furniture, doors, casework and accents. This wood lends a classic feeling to any design. Readily available. ALTERNATIVES Orientalwood, Butternut, Wenge, Mansonia.
	ZEBRAWOOD aliases Zebrano, Zingana description Zebrawood is a coarse, stable, heavy African hardwood weighing about 47 pounds per cubic foot. Heartwood is a light yellow-gold with narrow veining or streaks of dark brown to almost black, giving a zebra-stripe appearance to quartered material. The grain is interlocked or wavy and produces alternating hard and soft grained material which makes the lumber difficult to work. working Turns and works with difficulty, because of variation of grain hardness. Glues, sands and finishes well. uses Accent furniture items, veneer, marquetry, small boxes and other decorative items.