Common North American Wood Species
Walnut is more formal than cherry. It is a dark-brown wood with light sapwood. Sometimes walnut will have streaks of an almost purplish color. Walnut will lighten and yellow just slightly as it ages. Because walnut is dark it tends to look heavier and have the feel of taking up more space. It looks great with orange shellac.
Red oak is homey and country. It is less formal than either cherry or walnut. Quartersawn oak is traditionally used for things made in the Craftsman style. It can be splintery to work with, but takes a finish nicely.
Birch is similar to maple but has darker streaks throughout. It is a strong, utilitarian, wood. It's often used in plywood. I've used apple a few times for turning and it is smooth as butter on a lathe. It's color isn't particularly interesting, mostly cream with occasional mineral streaks. Poplar is a light wood with a slight green tint. It can be just beautiful. Although it's often used for painted projects and parts that won't be seen, I think it's been given a bad rap. Often poplar boards have beautiful green and/or purple-brown streaks through them. Eastern cedar smells wonderful.
Ash is heavy, flexible and strong. It's traditionally used for making baseball bats. It looks somewhat like oak. It's a good choice for bending. Butternut is light as a feather and works easily. It isn't very strong, but is a good choice if you want something light. It tends to have a relatively straight grain pattern and is gray-brown in color. Of course there are hundreds of other wood species (I didn't even mention the softwoods). I like to explore new woods, but I always come back to my favorites. |
Cherry is a great wood for making boxes. It is easy to work with, readily available and looks "friendly." By that I mean that it's elegant without being formal. Its color ranges from salmon pink to dark red-brown. Cherry darkens as it ages. It's the wood I use most often.
It is light in color (and heavy in weight). Because of the color it tends to make things look smaller in size. Maple often has beautifully figured grain, such as spaulted or bird's eye. It can be chippy to work with.
It can also be somewhat splintery, but the patterns made by the contrasting heartwood and sapwood can be incredible. The heart wood is deep purple and the sapwood is light cream. It's great for book matching.
It dulls tools nearly instantly. However, it is strong and has a straight grain. The box to the right has a hickory top (alternating sapwood and heartwood).