ALDER (KNOTTY)
Common Names:
Alder, Oregon Alder, Red Alder and Western Alder.
Properties:
Finished Knotty Alder is a rich-looking, straight-grained wood that blends well with Cherry wood. It has a uniform texture of a light brown with a hint of red color. It may contain pin knots of differing sizes, checking and mineral streaks, which are not to be considered defects.

BIRCH
Common Names:
Alaska Paper Birch, American Birch, Black and Cherry Birch, Canoe Birch, Kenai Birch, Mountain Paper Birch, Northwestern Paper, Paper Birch, Red or Sweet Birch, White and Silver Birch, Western Paper Birch, and Yellow Birch.
Properties:
Natural birch is a medium density hardwood with a fine, moderate grain pattern. The most prevelant sapwood color is white to creamy yellow, while the heartwood varies from medium/dark to reddish brown. When birch is stained it will have a blotchy appearance, this appears randomly and is more prevalent with some stains. It is recommended that you view color samples before making your final decision in regards to a particular stain color. For a more consistent color, White Birch should be selected for its lighter colors of white. The browns and the reds are not present, so there will be a more consistent color when stained. Additionaly, when Red Birch is exposed to air it darkens to a color resembling mahogany.

CHERRY
Common Names:
Alabama Black Cherry, Black Cherry, Escarpment Cherry, Rum Cherry, and Southwestern Black Cherry.
Properties:
Cherry is an elegant, multi-colored hardwood that may have small knots and/or pinholes. This wood will darken or “mellow” with age, this is a natural occurrence with this wood. The heartwood of black cherry has a light pinkish-brown color when freshly cut. Sunlight deepens it to a dark orange-red. The cream-colored sapwood, however, never darkens to match. Cherry's straight, close, and finely textured grain generally features a gently waving figure. Sometimes, trees yield boards with rippled or quilted patterns. Dark spots actually called gum pockets often appear in black cherry heartwood. The cabinet/ furnture maker should avoid these types of board for selection. It takes abuse well and is one of the most valuable hardwoods of the United States, rated next to Black Walnut for fine furnishings.

HICKORY
Common Names:
Bird's Eye Hickory, Carolina Hickory, Curly Hickory, Littlenut Shagbark Hickory, Little Pignut, Mockernut Hickory, Red Hickory, Redheart Hickory, Scalybark Hickory, Shagbark, Shagbark Hickory, Shagbark Walnut, Shellbark, Shellbark Hickory, Shellbark Tree, Skid Hickory, Small Pignut, Small Pignut Hickory, Southern Hickory, Southern Shagbark Hickory, Southern Shellbark, Sweet Walnut, True Hickory, Upland Hickory, White Hickory, Whiteheart Hickory, White Walnut.
Properties:
Hickory is a strong, open-grained wood that is known to have a wide variation of color. It is extremely common to see doors and its parts range in color from light to dark brown when finished in natural and light stains. Darker stains will mildly tone the color variations. The sapwood of hickory is white and usually quite thick, except in old, slow-growing trees. The heartwood is reddish. The wood of pecan resembles that of true hickory. The wood of hickory and pecan is exceptionally tough, heavy, hard, and strong.

KNOTTY PINE
Common Names:
Finger Cone, Idaho Pine, Knotty Pine, Little Sugar Pine, Mountain Pine, Ponderosa Pine, Silver Pine, Soft Pine, and Western White Pine.
Properties:
Pine is close-grained softwood that ranges in colors of white, yellow and pink. It contains solid knots and sap runs of various sizes contributing to the color changes within a piece of wood.

MAPLE
Common Names:
Black Maple, Black Sugar Maple Hard Maple, Rock Maple, Silver Maple, Sugar Maple, and White Maple.
Properties:
A Heavy, strong, stiff wood with a close grained that is predominately off-white, sometimes containing light hues of yellow-brown and pink. Also, sometimes containing light tan or small dark mineral streaks, or worm looking marks.
Dark stains are not recommeneded, as Maple blotches heavily with most stains. Make sure you see enough color samples, so you know what your stain will look like. Some people like the blotchy effect, because it looks more antique. Maple is very beautiful with a clear finish. Special grain patterns, such as Birdseye, Tiger, Curly, etc. are available but are expensive.

MAHOGANY
Common Names:
Africa African mahogany, Bigleaf Mahogany, Cuban Mahogany, Honduras Mahogany, Philippine Mahogany, and Tropical American Mahogany.
Properties:
Mahogany wood has a straight, semi-open grain and color that ranges from yellowish, reddish, pinkish, or salmon colored when freshly cut, to a deep rich red, to reddish brown as the wood matures with age. Mahogany is fine to medium texture, with uniform to interlocking grain, ranging from straight to wavy or curly grain patterns. Irregularities in the grain often produce highly attractive figures such as fiddleback or mottle. Mahogany polishes to a high luster, with excellent working and finishing characteristics. The wood also withstands moisture, resists fire and decay, and remains stable in use.

OAK
Common Names:
Black Oak, Canadian Red Oak, Gray Oak, Laurel Oak, Northern Red Oak, Nuttal Oak, Pin Oak, Red Oak, Scarlet Oak, Shumard Oak, Southern Red Oak, Water Oak, White Oak, and Willow Oak.
Properties:
Hard, stiff with high shock resistance. Red Oak in particular is a strong, open-grained wood that varies in colors of white, yellow and pink. Sometimes, it is also streaked with yellow, black and green mineral despoits.

TEAK
Common Names:
Teak
Properties:
Teak is a beautiful golden to dark brown, sometimes reddish brown wood, with a straight sometimes-wavy grain. Teak is rich in natural oils, and due to this, it is very durable and resistant to moisture and the drying effects of exposure to weather. Teak is unique in that it does not cause rust or corrosion when in contact with metal. Similar to Cherry, Teak is very valuable and is prized throughout the world. Similar to cedar, teak furniture has been known to resist the attacks of insects and the corrosive effects of weather

WALNUT
Common Names:
Black Walnut, Butternut, Circassian Walnut, English Walnut, European Walnut, French Walnut, and White Walnut.
Properties:
Walnut's heartwood varies from a purplish-brown with thin, dark veins to gray-brown and even orange-brown. The narrow sapwood tends to be white. Unfigured walnut has a straight, somewhat open grain.