For full details about each species of wood, including pictures with various stains applied, click the thumbnail picture of that wood.  Close that window to return here.

General Notes

At Smoky Mountain Woodworks we celebrate the natural beauty of genuine hardwoods.  In so doing, we consider things like dramatic graining, small tight knots, worm holes, mineral streaks and non-destructive spalting, to be features that add character when properly used, not defects.  If you feel that all wooden furniture should look like the mass produced, plastic veneered pieces you see in a lot of commercial show rooms -- you don't want to buy from us.

Likewise it is our own preference not to hide this beauty by staining it.  However, we recognize that you may want to match a new piece of furniture to what you already have, and therefore staining is required.  But, some woods stain better than others, and a few woods should never be stained.  So, read the information below very carefully.  It will help you select the wood best suited to your project.  If you're still not sure, ask... we're always willing to offer our opinions.

Composite or Engineered Woods

We never, ever use chipboard or particle board in our products.  On occasion, when circumstances dictated that it's special properties were an asset, we have used MDF.  However, if we use this we'll certainly discuss with you why we feel it is appropriate, and you have the right to veto the choice.

Plywood has it's uses, but we keep it to a minimum, and usually only in hidden places like drawer bottoms.  In some cases, like the tops of larger tables, It may be preferable to use furniture grade veneered plywood instead of solid wood because of it's stability.  However, if we use plywood, it will have a natural wood veneer, a hardwood core, and the edges will be covered with band boards, not just edge banding.

ASH

Ash is a popular species for food containers because the wood has no taste. Its main uses include furniture, flooring, doors, architectural millwork and moulding, kitchen cabinets, paneling, tool handles, sports equipment and turnings. The sapwood is light-colored to nearly white and the heartwood varies from greyish 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. Ash machines well and can be stained to a very good finish. Ash has very good overall strength properties relative to its weight.

CHERRY

The heartwood of cherry varies from rich red to reddish brown and will darken with age and on exposure to light. In contrast, the sapwood is creamy white. The wood has a fine uniform, straight grain, satiny, smooth texture, and may naturally contain brown pith flecks, mineral stripes and small gum pockets.  Click here to read our notes on the use of cherry in commercial furniture, and how it may affect your decision in custom furniture.  Cherry weighs 3.5 pounds per board foot. See it in use.

HOLLY

The wood of American holly is tough and hard but not strong. It is close-grained and moderately heavy, weighing about 640.7 kg/m³ (40 lb/ft³). Specific gravity is 0.61 (oven-dry) and about 0.50 green. It is one of the whitest woods known, with white sapwood and ivory-white heartwood. Growth rings are almost indistinct. The wood is used for veneer and to a limited extent as pulpwood and lumber. Greatest use of the wood is for specialty items such as fancy cabinet inlays, small pieces of furniture, brush backs, handles, novelties, wood engravings, scroll work, woodcuts and carvings, and measuring scales and rules for scientific instruments; when dyed black to resemble ebony, it is used for piano keys, violin pegs, and fingerboards. Description from wildwnc.org.

HONEY LOCUST

Honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos), also called sweet-locust or thorny-locust, is a moderately fast growing tree commonly found on moist bottom lands or limestone soils. The wood is dense, hard, and durable but used only locally. The wood of honey locust possesses many desirable qualities but is little used because of its scarcity. The sapwood is generally wide and yellowish in contrast to the reddish-brown heartwood, providing an attractive grain. The wood is dense, very heavy, very hard, strong in bending, stiff, resistant to shock, and is durable when in contact with soil. It is used locally for fence posts, and also as lumber for pallets, crating, and general construction. Description from wildwnc.org.

HICKORY or PECAN

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. Hickory is the hardest, heaviest and strongest American wood. The sapwood of hickory is white, tinged with inconspicuous fine brown lines while the heartwood is pale to reddish brown. Both are coarse-textured and the grain is fine, usually straight but can be wavy or irregular. The hickories can be difficult to machine and glue, and are very hard to work with hand tools. The wood can be sanded to a good finish with some effort. The grain pattern welcomes a full range of medium-to-dark finishes and bleaching treatments.  Hickory weighs 4.4 pounds per board foot. See it in use.

MAPLE

Sugar Maple also known as hard maple or rock maple.  The sapwood is creamy white with a slight reddish brown tinge and the heartwood varies from light to dark reddish brown. The amount of darker brown heartwood can vary significantly according to growing region. Both sapwood and heartwood can contain pith fleck. 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. Because of it's tendency for wilder graining, it can be difficult to stain.  Hard maples average 4.0 pounds per board foot.  See it in use.

Silver Maple In most respects soft maple is very similar to hard maple. It is only 25% less hard than hard maple. 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. Soft maple machines well and can be stained to an excellent finish. It polishes well and is suitable for enamel finishes and brown tones.  Soft maples weigh 3.2 pounds per board foot.  See it in use.

OAK

Red Oak has a slight pink-ish cast to it and tends to be finer grained than white oak which allows it to stain better.  It is not quite as hard as white oak, but plenty hard enough to make fine furniture.  Red Oak is quite plentiful, therefore one of the less expensive hardwoods.  This wood weighs 3.58 pounds per board foot.  See it in use.

White Oak has a more tan, yellow or even greenish tone to the wood.  It is harder, and more open grained.  This makes it difficult to stain properly or obtain a glassy smooth finish for pieces requiring a high gloss finish.  However, because it it impervious to water, White Oak is well suited to outdoor furniture as long as it doesn't sit directly on the ground.  White Oak is more difficult o find, therefore more expensive than Red Oak.  Quarter Sawn White Oak is used almost exclusively when building authentic Mission style furniture.  This wood weighs 4.2 pounds per board foot.  See it in use.

POPLAR

The sapwood is creamy white and may be streaked, with the heartwood varying 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; has a comparatively uniform texture.  It takes and holds paint and enamel exceptionally well.  This wood weighs 3.2 pounds per board foot. See it in use.(unfinished)

SYCAMORE

Did you now that the sycamore has the largest leaf of any tree native to North America?  The sapwood of sycamore is white to light yellow, while the heartwood is light to dark brown.  The wood has a fine close texture with interlocked grain.  Sycamore contrasts well with other species.  It weighs in at 2.8 pounds per board foot.

WALNUT

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.  Walnut is sometimes supplied steamed, to darken sapwood. The wood is generally straight-grained, but sometimes with wavy or curly grain that produces an attractive and decorative figure.  This species produces a greater variety of figure types than any other.  Because of the beauty if this wood, pigment stains are not recommended, for these hide the graining and figure of this wood.  Walnut weighs 3.75 pounds per board foot.  See it in use.