Each wood species has their own unique characteristics which can impact the finishes that can be applied, and also impact the cost of the raw materials and manufacturing time.

OAK

The oak we used is called red oak; you may notice small knots, burls and color variations and so forth.  These are not considered defects; but rather they add desirable character. Oak is durable, hard and elastic and is the wood of choice for value & durability.

QUARTERSAWN OAK

These logs are cut into quarters, instead of evenly, to expose a different side of the grain, which creates a beautiful pattern of flecks in the wood. It looks best with a cherry stain. Visit our FAQs page for more information on what the term Quartersawn actually means.

CHERRY

 A very elegant wood species with handsome pink heartwood has a smooth grain. It is enjoyed in both light and dark stains. You may notice several small “cherry pits” on lighter stains, which is normal. This is the select grade of the cherry.

SAP CHERRY

Cut from the same tree, however when grading this lumber at the mill, we allow the lighter “sap streaks” to be used, which adds more variation, and keeps cost down, because we can use most all of the tree.

RUSTIC CHERRY

 Same as Sap Cherry, except we allow heavy knots to be used, thereby creating a more “rustic” look.

MAPLE

Also called Hard Maple or White Maple, Maple has almost no grain, very light, almost white in color.  Because of the density of the wood, darker stains may appear splotchy, we recommend a natural stain.

BROWN MAPLE

Brown Maple is a straight-grained, fine textured wood. Derived from silver or red maple trees, brown maple is not as durable as it’s hard maple cousin, but more capable of accepting stain.  The brown streaks often come from the heart wood of the tree, and will add distinctive variation into the wood. This is also the wood of choice if painting, as the Brown Maple paints smoothly.

HICKORY

A hard and durable wood, this is the most characteristic of any of the woods we use. No effort is made to color sort. The finished piece is an awesome piece of natural art. We do not recommend anything but a natural stain.

ELM

 Elm has an exquisite grain that is very unique from the rest of our hardwoods. It looks best with darker stain, which “pops” the grain