Wood Species
Red Oak - Rift Sawn
Red Oak is the most popular and widely used of the oak family. Texture is coarse, and for the most part the wood is straight and coarse grained. Its color varies from white to light brown even ranging to pinkish reddish brown. Although similar in its look to white oak, it has smaller rays thus resulting in a less visible figure. Unlike flat-sawn red oak, it has more linear/straight grain.
Red Oak - Flat Sawn
Red Oak is the most popular and widely used of the oak family. Texture is coarse, and for the most part the wood is straight and coarse grained. Its color varies from white to light brown even ranging to pinkish reddish brown. Although similar in its look to white oak, it has smaller rays thus resulting in a less visible figure. Unlike rift-sawn red oak, it has more wavy/cathedral grain patterns.
Black Cherry - Select Grade
The heartwood of cherry varies from rich red to reddish brown and will darken on exposure to light. In contrast the sapwood is creamy white. The wood has a fine uniform straight grain, smooth texture, and may naturally contain brown pith flecks and small gum pockets.
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Knotty Eastern Pine
Knotty White Pine and its many relatives are found across the eastern United States and Canada. Knotty Pine allows for a mix of colors and knot sizes. Color in knots may range from red to a dark black. Knotty Pine’s many characteristics such as burls, crotches, and knots make for very interesting features.
Eastern Pine - D Select
D-Select White Pine is a distinct grade of pine, where boards that are chosen for this grade, have fewer (some smaller knots, as well as tight pin-knots) knots, and it has an even light yellow and tan appearance. Some of knotty pine's characteristics such as burls and checks are commonly found in this grade as well.
Hickory
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.
White Ash
The sapwood is light-colored to nearly white and the heartwood varies from grayish 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.
Birch, Domestic - Select Grade
Yellow birch has a white sapwood, which can run from off -white to dark blond, and it may contain light reddish brown heartwood. The wood is generally straight-grained with a fine uniform texture. Generally characterized by a plain and often curly or wavy pattern.
Birch, Domestic - Regular Grade
Our regular birch grade has a lighter sapwood and darker reddish brown heartwood, as well as it can contain dark streaks on face. The wood is generally straight-grained with a fine uniform texture. Generally characterized by a plain and often curly or wavy pattern.
Sapele - Mahogony
Interlocked, sometimes wavy grain producing a distinctive roe figure on quartered surfaces. Medium texture, high luster, pale yellow sapwood and light red to dark reddish brown heartwood. Of all the mahoganies on the market, at Cutrite we prefer to use Sapele for its even color and ease of availability.
Alder
Alder, a relative of birch from the west coast, is almost white when freshly cut, but quickly changes with exposure to air, becoming light to dark brown with a yellow or reddish tinge. Due to its colour, alder is sometimes used as a substitute for cherry wood, and has historically been less expensive. Alder is also fairly straight-grained with a uniform texture. We stock both select (very few, if any knots) as well as a knotty/rustic grade. Knotty alder can only be ordered with solid wood (not as veneered plywood) panels.
Beech
The sapwood is darker white with a red tinge, while the heartwood is light to dark reddish brown. North American beech tends to be slightly darker and less consistent than European beech. The wood is generally straight grained with a close uniform texture. Beech is usually steamed, to give it a more uniform appearance.
Jatoba
Brazilian Cherry is the domestic trade name for Jatoba, an extremely durable wood found throughout South America, Central America, and the Caribbean. Far exceeding North American Cherry in hardness, it resembles American Cherry in color, though darker with a darker, striped pattern of grain. With yellow, pink, red, and dark reds, its color will change over time toward a deep red color.
Soft Maple - Wormy
Soft maple is very similar to hard maple in most respects. Generally, the sapwood is greyish-white, sometimes with darker-colored pith flecks, mineral streaks, as well as "worm holes". The heartwood varies from light-to-dark reddish brown. The wood is usually straight-grained.
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 usually sold steamed, to darken sapwood. The wood is generally straight-grained, but sometimes with wavy or curly grain that produces an attractive and decorative figure.
White Hard Maple - Paint Grade
The sapwood is creamy white with a slight reddish-brown tinge and the heartwood varies from light to dark reddish brown. Our "paint-grade" is not selected for colour, mineral streaks and stains will be present. 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," "fiddle-back," and "birds-eye" figure.
White Hard Maple - Select Grade
The sapwood is creamy white with a slight reddish-brown tinge and the heartwood varies from light to dark reddish brown. We "select" only the nicest material for our "select" grades. 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," "fiddle-back," and "birds-eye" figure.
White Oak - Rift Sawn
The sapwood is light colored and the heartwood is light to dark brown. White oak is mostly straight grained with a medium to coarse texture. Having longer rays than red oak, and as normal with other rift-sawn specimens, white oak has a straight grain.
Kindly Note:
- All images shown are merely representations, and are therefore intended for demonstrative purposes only. Grain patterns, colour of material, and overall appearance of individual objects will vary.
- Please excuse our semi-professional images ... we are woodworkers, not photographers ... 😉