Lumber Terms & Species Guide

Also called Virola and Sangre. The wood is light pinkish-brown with medium to high luster, weighing about 2.5 pounds per board foot. Banak is generally straight grained, easy to work, glues without difficulty, holds nails well, and accepts finishes readily. Used in production of mouldings.

Other names include Mutenye and Libengi. The color is pale yellowish brown to medium brown with a faint reddish tint including black veining. This is a heavy weight wood with an interlocked and sometimes wavy grain which gives off a highly decorative appearance. Working properties are good but some difficulty may occur because of the grain pattern. This lumber is

Also called Betula Wood and Yellow Birch. The color ranges from a light yellow sapwood to a reddish brown heartwood. Has a medium weight density with a straight and close grain. This wood weighs 3.6 pounds per board foot and is easily worked with a moderate dulling effect. It glues and takes stains well. Uses include furniture and cabinets. Available

Also known as Cardinal Wood, the color is a deep rich red. Very heavy wood with grain that varies from straight to variable. This is a strong, hard and tough wood that is quite durable. Works fairly easily for all tooling operations – glues and stains well. Used in fine furniture and inlay work.

Bocote is also known by many other names with the most common being Cordia. The weight of this wood is medium and the dull golden brown color mixed with flecked rays on quartered surfaces make for an attractive lumber. Very good to work with – minimum dulling effect on tooling, while gluing and finishing well. Has been used in boat

Other common names are White Walnut and Oilnut. Heartwood is light brown or fawn, sapwood is lighter. The lumber weighs 2.65 pounds per board. The texture is rather coarse and the grain straight to irregular, carrying a strong resemblance to Walnut, though it is softer and lighter in color. Butternut is easy to work, machines, turns and sands well. A

It’s color can be yellow, or orange, but usually variegated yellow, orange and red, some with purplish streaks, and some turing uniformly dark red with age. Luster usually high, odor and taste not distinct. Hard and heavy weight 47 to 63 lbs. per cu. ft. Grain straight to roey. Texture fine. Used for furniture and cabinets, interior finish, flooring.

Actually a juniper, Eastern Red Cedar is best known for its unique scent and use in Cedar chests and Cedar closets. Standard length is 8 foot long and wide boards free of the white sapwood are not available. The numerous tight knots add to the novelty and character of the specie. Lightweight at only 2.8 pounds per board foot, machines

Lumber is a reddish brown color, weighing about 2 pounds per board foot air dried. Light weight, remarkably durable under exposure to rain and sun, heat and cold. Stains well for exterior purposes, machines and seasons readily. Commonly used for shingles, exterior millwork and construction of all types where durability is important. Also used for sash and doors, small boats,

The fragrant wood of cedar is soft, straight grained and brittle. Color is white to yellowish brown. Lightweight and durable when in contact with moisture. Used for fence posts, outdoor furniture, birdfeeders, paneling and cabin logs. It weighs only 2 lbs per board foot.

Pronounced CHOHK-tay COKE, this is a very bright red wood. It is a lesser known species that has surprisingly good working characteristic. Since it is less known, it has no historical significance, and no real prevalent use. But, it seems to stand on its own as a nice colored, unique wood.

Of the 25 to 30 species in the U.S., only Black Cherry or Prunus Serotina is important for lumber. The rich reddish-brown heartwood of Cherry has made it one to the most popular cabinet woods available. Cherry weighs from 3 to 3-1/2 pounds per board foot and has a fine, straight closed tight grain. Machines, glues, finishes very well and

Also know as Granadilla in Mexico, color varies from dark brown streaks to orange-reddish zones. Heavy wood with an irregular and variable grain pattern. This helps create a very strong wood and tools must be kept very sharp while working with it. Decorative items such as turnings, handles and trinkets are its main uses. May cause skin and eye irritation.

Heartwood varies with conditions of growth, from pinkish-yellow to reddishbrown, sapwood lighter. Weighs 2.6 pounds per board foot. Soft, course textured and straight grained, the strongest of all American woods in comparison to weight. Used for construction of all types, planing mill products including doors, sash, interior trim, flooring and ceiling moldings.

Other common names are African Ebony, Black Ebony, and Macassar Ebony. Typically black in color, weighing 6 pounds per board foot. Extremely hard and dense, with straight to irregular grain patterns. Comes from small trees and is inclined in any size to develop checking after the project is finished. Used for inlays, small articles of turning, handles, and marquetry. May

Reddish-brown with dark brown streaks. This hard, heavy, dense wood is strong in all categories. A real heavyweight at almost 5 pounds per board foot, but still described as easy to work.

Also called Shagbark and Pignut. Heartwood is light reddish brown and the sapwood white. Hickory weighs 4.4 pounds per board foot, rough and kiln dried. Medium coarse texture and straight grain, very hard, elastic and strong. Machines, burns, and steam bends well. Used for vehicle and implement parts, cabinets, flooring and is famous for smoking meats.

As white as wood comes and a fine even grain that polishes with ease, Holly is a favorite for inlays. Sometimes difficult to work with, keep your tools sharp and you may need to reduce the cutting angles. Other uses include musical instruments, keys for pianos and organs, and turnings.

Also called Lapacho; olive brown with lighter and darker streaks, Ipe is a super heavyweight at over 6 pounds per board foot. Heavier and two to three times harder than Oak makes a superior outdoor decking. Uses include tool handles, archery bows, fishing rods, carpentry, cabinet work and the Atlantic City Boardwalk. Possible skin, eye, respiratory irritation.

Golden orange to brown, grain is interlocked and irregular, texture is course. May contain large, hard deposits of calcium corbonate in cavities and the wood around them is dark in color. Used for ship and boat building, furniture making, and carving. Possible skin, eye, respiratory irritation.

Other common names include Brazilian Cherry, South American Locust and Courbaril. Color is reddish-brown on the surface with a subtle golden yellow beneath. Texture is medium and the grain is interlocked. Hard, durable and good shock resistance. Used for furniture, tool handles and flooring.

Straw colored and straight grained with a fine even texture. Appearance can be interrupted by latex canals along the grain. Nails and screws well and can be glued satisfactorily. Popular with carvers and patternmakers. Weighs 2.6 lbs per board foot.

Also called Violetta. At 6.25 lbs per bd foot it is one of the heaviest species available. Very popular with antique furniture restorers because it was used extensively in France during the reigns of Louis XIV and XV. Chiefly used today for inlay and marquetry.

Golden brown with dark streaks, has a Walnut-like texture. Used for furniture, also the traditional Hawaiian cabinet wood. Middleweight at 3.4lbs per board foot. Sharp saws, knives and sandpaper are essential in machining because Koa is quickly burned by any dull rubbing action. Ukuleles are made from Koa.

Also known as European Plane – which when quartersawn attains the name Lacewood. Light-reddish brown color and the fleck on the quartered material will display itself against the light colored background. Weight can be classified as medium and fairly straight grain, and moderate strength, therefore giving it fairly good workability. Used in fine cabinetry and inlay work.

Also called khaya. The texture is milder than Genuine Mahogany but tends to be coarser and possess a more salmon tinted color. Utilized in many of the same applications as Genuine Mahogany due to it’s similar characteristics. It is not as firm as Genuine Mahogany but it is lighter weighing in at about 3.2 lbs per bd foot.

Yellowish to reddish-brown in color. An excellent choice for almost any application because of its natural luster, fine texture, strength to weight ratio, working and finishing properties. Available in plain sawn, pattern (straight grain) and ribbon stripe (quarter sawn). Weighs 3.5 lbs per board foot. Possible skin, eye, respiratory irritation.

Light red to a medium red shade in color. Lightweight, durable, easily machined, takes nails and screws well and glues satisfactorily. Popular with boatbuilders and furniture makers. Weighs 3.9 lbs per board foot. Possible skin, eye, respiratory irritation.

Color ranges from a premium white sapwood to a brown heartwood. Also known as Rock Maple or Sugar Maple and can be tapped to extrude the sap for syrup. Weighs 4 pounds per board foot. Moderately difficult to work with as it tends to dull machinery rather quickly. Takes stain, glue and polish satisfactorily. A favorite for flooring and butcher

Sapwood is light in color while the heartwood is pale brown. Hard, close grained, strong and easy to work. Similar to Hard Maple but is not so lustrous and is softer and lighter weighing 3.2 pounds board foot. Good for trim, furniture and a less expensive Birch substitute. Weighs 3.2 pounds per board foot.

An exotic hardwood with one of the highest ratings for strength, hardness, and decay resistance. Massaranduba has heartwood with a beautiful dark reddish brown color that is nearly blemished free — consistent color and fine texture with medium luster and grain straight to slightly irregular. An environmentally conscious lumber with no need for preservatives –just an annual treatment with an

Light tan to deep brown in color with a course grain and noticable figure. This rarer species of oak is prized by cabinet makers for its workability, strength, durability, and beauty.

Also referred to as Pin Oak and Black Oak. Salmon pink color, and weighs 3 pounds per board foot. Medium open-pored texture with straight grain. Very hard, heavy and strong. Easy to work, turns, carves, and bends well. Finishing qualities are excellent. Used for interior trim, cabinets and furniture.

May also be referred to as Chestnut Oak. Color is pale-yellow brown. This closed pore wood makes it relatively heavy, the grain is straight and it is a hard and tough timber. Working properties are fair with the slower growth northern trees easier to work. Weighs 4.2 pounds per board foot. Stains and polishes to a good finish. Used for

Creamy white to pale yellow in color. Comparable to Basswood, even in texture, easy to work with hand and machine tools. Stains and polishes well but the grain needs to be filled. A good pattern wood, cabinet framing, and drawer sides. Weighs 2 lbs per board foot. Possible skin, eye, respiratory irritation.

Sometimes called Vermilion, bright red to dark purple-brown with contrasting darker streaks. Grain is straight to interlocked and machines, screws, glues, and polishes very well. Weight varies at about 3-1/2 to 4 pounds per board foot and has excellent strength properties. Used for turnings, cabinets, and fine furniture. Possible skin irritation.

This light colored wood resembles straw in appearance. Soft straight grained and even textured wood weighing 2.2 pounds per board foot. Works very easily with hand and machine tools. Glues well and takes stain, paint very well. The most valuable softwood in North America, as it can be used in almost any piece of furniture or most any form of

Light orange brown to reddish brown. Fine to medium texture and straight grained. The most resinous of the pines. Easy to work with, although finishing can be tricky due to its gumminess. Uses include furniture, construction, window frames and interior trim. Weighs 2.2 pounds per board foot.

Cream to light tan in color, it has a soft fine texture and straight grain. Large trees result in better width and length averages than other pines. Its characteristics make it especially suited to the pattern industry. Weighs 2.6 pounds per board foot.

Creamy white sapwood, yellow red to reddish brown heartwood. Very resinous, conspicuous growth ring figure, course texture. Weight 4.21 lbs./ft. Dries well with little degrade and is stable in service. High bending and crushing strengths, high stiffness, medium resist to shock. Holds screws and nails firmly, glues with out difficulty, takes paint and finishes satisfactorily.

A very rich pink color and heavy weight make this wood easy to identify. Has a fine texture, is easy to work, and takes a fine polish. Rare and very expensive.

Common name is Tulip Tree. Heartwood is a pale olive brown to yellow brown and sapwood off white. Weighs 3.2 pounds per board foot, texture is fairly fine and uniform, close and straight grained. Relatively soft with low density, glues easily, holds its place well, does not split readily, yet soft enough to be a favorite for working with hand

Also known as Violetwood in the U.S. Color is a deep purple violet and grain is often irregular and sometimes interlocked. This wood can be considered heavy, dense and can be difficult to work with as it dulls machinery quickly. Uses include inlay, turnery and furniture. Possible skin, eye, respiratory irritation.

Light cherry red to dark reddish brown. Moderately strong for its weight with a fine even texture. The heartwood is highly durable and machines easily. Great for decking, trim and outdoor applications. Weighs 2.4 pounds per board foot.

Also called Indian Rosewood, its color is unique – from rose to dark purple with darker purple veins separating the two. Can be considered a medium to heavy weight wood with a narrowly interlocked grain. Very strong wood and is tough on tooling. The extra steps in fine sanding and filling the grain are worth the beautiful finished product. Used