WOOD SPECIES
The beauty of a real wood door comes from the variety in grain and color. Climate and other conditions including light, minerals, even rainfall can determine the grain and color pattern in each and every piece of wood. These same variations that give wood its rich character and natural warmth can also be a bit confusing when trying to choose the best material for your project.
We have prepared the following chart with information on certain characteristics that may be present in your wood products.
Alder
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Ash |
Basswood |
Cherry |
European Beech |
Hickory |
Knotty Pine |
Mahogany |
Paint Grade Maple |
Red Oak |
Rustic Alder |
Rustic Cherry |
Stain Grade Maple |
Walnut |
White Maple |
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Alder | |
Range of red to brown |
Burl and pin knots are acceptable. Panel rips are arranged to form a reasonable blend of grain and color tones. |
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Ash | |
Cream to light brown with some dark streaks |
Burl and pin knots are acceptable. Ash is not selected for color. Panel rips are arranged to form a reasonable blend of grain and color tones. |
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Basswood | |
Cream to light brown with some dark streaks |
Panel rips are arranged to form a reasonable blend of grain and color tones. |
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Cherry | |
Exposure to light will cause wood to darken with age revealing deep reddish brown tones. |
Grain and color are matched to form a reasonable blend. May contain sapwood (white wood from other parts of the log). Gum pockets are a natural characteristic. |
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European Beech | |
Range of red to brown |
Wood is uniform in color and grain matched. |
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Hickory | |
Varied |
Hickory has a unique grain pattern and variety of color tones. Hickory is not selected for color. |
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Knotty Pine | |
Brownish-Red tight knots |
This species is suitable for rustic style cabinetry. |
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Mahogany | |
Golden brown to light reddish |
Occasional pin knots or burling are acceptable. |
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Paint Grade Maple | |
Paint grade maple |
Paint Grade Maple is used mostly for drawers and paint grade doors. Color is not selected. |
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Red Oak | |
Varied |
Defects such as knots and splits are removed. Burl and pin knots are acceptable. Panel rips are arranged to form a reasonable blend of grain and color tones. |
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Rustic Alder | |
Light tan sapwood to reddish brown heartwood |
Pitch, mineral, sap and knots are common. Species allows for many variations. Request a sample if critical but no choice of grain or pattern is allowed. |
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Rustic Cherry | |
White in the sapwood area to deep red in the heartwood |
Pitch, mineral, sap, heartwood and knots are common. Species allows for many variations. Request sample if critical but no choice of grain or pattern is allowed. |
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Stain Grade Maple | |
Creamy white to brown to gray |
Some mineral is acceptable. Stain grade soft maple is suitable for medium to dark stains. |
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Walnut | |
May have up to 15% sapwood |
Burl and pin knots are acceptable. |
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White Maple | |
Light brown to a creamy tan |
Subtle grain pattern is suitable for natural finish as well as light to dark stains. |