History of the American Chestnut American chestnuts, giants that could grow up to 125 feet tall and 16 feet wide, once dominated the forests of Appalachia. These “redwoods of the East,” as they were sometimes called, made up between one quarter and one half of all the...
What is 2 Common Lumber? The National Hardwood Lumber Association (NHLA) sets the standards for hardwood lumber grades, which indicate the amount of clear, defect-free wood in a board. The best grade you’ll find in most lumberyards is Select and Better (S/B), followed...
Ash is a great species of lumber to work with. Ash is known for its staining potential and ability to mimic oak. It has great shock resistance, and solid workability. To this point, it has been an economical wood that was always readily available. The light brown and...
The price of hardwood lumber can vary based on many factors. The answer to a question that seems straight-forward (e.g., “how much is a board of ipe?”) actually depends on a number of variables, some of which we’ll go over here. How much are you buying? Most of...
Why Do We Have Hardwood Lumber Grades and What Do They Mean? For someone just beginning to purchase hardwood lumber, lumber grades can be overwhelming. Most lumber companies use the generally accepted grading rules set by the National Hardwood Lumber Association. To...
When you’re constructing a deck or building Adirondack chairs for your backyard, you want to make sure you choose a wood that can stand up to the elements. While many people go straight to treated yellow pine for outdoor projects (it is the cheapest and most...
Hardwood plywood is a great choice for furniture, cabinets, and many other projects due to its strength, stability, and convenience. What is Plywood? Plywood is an engineered wood product consisting of three to seven layers of thin sheets of wood veneer that are...
What is Alder? Only 20 years ago, no one had heard of this hardwood lumber from the Pacific Northwest called alder. These days, alder is a popular choice for many hardwood applications, with demand for alder lumber reflecting this new popularity. Red alder is the most...
One of the most confounding measurements to understand if you haven’t been around the sawmill and lumber business for a long time is gross tally and net tally. What exactly is the difference between gross tally and net tally? And why is lumber sold both net tally and...
Guest Blog by Ron Smith We’ve all heard the adage: work smarter, not harder. It makes good sense, so here are eight woodworking tips to make your shop work easier and more efficient: 1 – Sanding made easier Sanding woodwork by hand may seem like a chore,...
Walnut – A Timeless Hardwood Choice Walnut, a popular, widely available hardwood, has a straight grain and varies in color from a yellow sapwood to a rich, deep brown heartwood. Black Walnut, the most common variety, is grown in the eastern hardwood forests,...
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. The sapwood of...
Wood and Moisture: It’s All Biology The hardwood lumber that you buy at the lumberyard began as a living tree. As a living tree, the trunk of the tree provided a way to transport water from the roots to the leaves. When the tree is cut down that water moving system is...
Quarter sawn hardwoods are beautiful and distinctive. The unique look of quarter sawn hardwoods lend itself to an array of design styles, from traditional to modern. But, when designing with solid quarter sawn hardwoods, it is important to understand how the...
Since the Essen Motor Show in December 2015, the wooden supercar known as “The Splinter” has been making news and creating quite the buzz. This special supercar debut was unlike any other… this supercar is made of wood. “The Splinter” is a high-performance...
Thermally modified hardwood may represent an up-and-coming contender to compete with treated wood and composite products. Thermally treated wood boasts advantages over both. The question remains whether this product will be adopted by consumers. The process is not...
Wood treated with thermal modification has been through a natural, non-toxic process that basically cooks the wood, changing the make-up of the wood. Wood is heated in 400+ degree heat in an oxygen-free environment. How is Thermally Modified Wood Physically Different?...
What is the best wood for carving? Wood comes in many species and it is important to know each woods’ individual characteristics. Each wood has different texture and wood qualities that dictate how the wood will respond to wood carving. Wood carving can be an...
Oak flooring is the most popular hardwood floor species in use for hardwood flooring. And with good reason – oak is readily available, affordable, durable and beautiful. What many don’t realize is there are two different species of oak flooring commonly available –...
Cherry has long been used for traditional heirloom furniture and other collectables. And these days, you can see cherry used in a wide variety of other applications as well. It is often used in architectural joinery, furniture, cabinets, flooring and musical...
Finishing wood allows you to showcase the uniqueness of the wood you are using for a project. As you know, finishing can make or break a project. Hardwood products are finished to enhance or alter the natural beauty of the wood, and to protect the wood from...
CAN I USE A STEAM MOP ON MY HARDWOOD FLOORS? Usually not. According to consumer reports tests on the various models of steam mops, steam mops may be safe for hardwood floors but should be approached with extreme caution. Despite many steam mop manufacturers indicating...
What is the best way to clean my hardwood floors you ask? The answer may sound perplexing… There is NO one best way to clean your hardwood floors. What’s best for your floor depends how old your floors are and what type of finish is on your hardwood floors. If you...
If you didn’t install or finish the hardwood floors in your home, you may have no idea what type of finish is on your hardwood flooring. You are not alone. The first step in understanding more about your hardwood floor finish is to understand the three...
Are you planning your first visit to buy lumber? Once you’ve decided to go beyond buying lumber at a home center, there’s some major differences to be aware of when buying lumber at a lumberyard or distributor. Lumberyards and distribution centers have come a...
Why is the direction of wood grain important when building with wood? Wood is a natural substance that is much stronger when the grain is continuous. Wood is a natural polymer. That is, it consists of parallel strands of cellulose fibers held together by a lignin...
What is the Janka Rating System Anyway? When in doubt about the type of wood to select for your cabinetry, flooring, furniture or millwork project, refer to the Janka Rating System, which measures the relative hardness of woods. The hardest commercially available...
Designing With Wood is Good! Designing with wood is often the preference of many homeowners, designers and architects. For those concerned about their environmental footprint, this desire can be stressful. Without knowing all of the facts, the knee jerk reaction of...
When lumber is cut from logs, it is typically cut in one of three ways: quarter sawn, rift sawn or plain sawn. Each type of lumber is dependent on how the log is oriented and cut at the sawmill. The result is a particular orientation of the growth rings on the end...
By definition, quarter sawn lumber is the angle that the annular growth rings intersect the face of the board. However there is little agreement what exactly that angle is. Most define it as between 60 – 90 degrees, although others define it as between 75...
Rift sawn lumber is typically narrow with a very straight grain pattern on the face of the board. Rift sawn lumber is usually used with oak to avoid the flecks that are common in the species. The annular rings or a rift sawn board are about 30-60 degrees to the face...
Plain sawn, also commonly called flat sawn, is the most common lumber you will find. This is the most inexpensive way to manufacture logs into lumber. Plain sawn lumber is the most common type of cut. The annular rings are generally 30 degrees or less to the face of...
This designer highlights how to successfully combine two very separate design looks into one cohesive and fresh look. Check out the key details that create this unexpected aesthetic. When Mother Nature Meets Your Modern Nature Architects, interior designers, and more...
Wood products are known for their natural beauty, but when selecting a type of wood for your next cabinetry, flooring, furniture or millwork project, it is important to also consider the level of durability by understanding the difference between wood types. Each type...
Sometimes all it takes to create a new design style is to update a classic design. In the case of designing with wood in mind, sometimes this is just a change in the type of wood a design is made from. Really love the lines of a craftsman table but not excited about...
