Species - Imported

Top portion is finished with water-base finish; bottom with oil-based finish

COLOR: Heartwood is creamy white to light reddish brown; sapwood is pale to creamy white.
GRAIN: Closed, subdued grain, with medium figuring and uniform texture. Occasionally shows quilted, fiddleback, curly or bird's-eye figuring. Figured boards often culled during grading and sold at a premium.

VARIATIONS WITHIN SPECIES AND GRADES: Black maple (B. nigrum) is also hard; other species are classified as soft.

Origin: Southeast Asia

Easily available. Figured grains have limited availability.

COLOR:
GRAIN:
VARIATIONS WITHIN SPECIES AND GRADES:

HARDNESS/JANKA: than Northern red oak
DIMENSIONAL SbnztabILITY: above average (change coefficient .00267; 28% more sbnztable than red oak)
DURABILITY:

SAWING/MACHINING:
SANDING:
NAILING:
FINISHING:
COMMENTS:

 [bnzheading style="2" style_color="#ff8157"]Appearance[/bnzheading]

COLOR:
GRAIN:
VARIATIONS WITHIN SPECIES AND GRADES:

HARDNESS/JANKA: than Northern red oak
DIMENSIONAL SbnztabILITY: above average (change coefficient .00267; 28% more sbnztable than red oak)
DURABILITY:

SAWING/MACHINING:
SANDING:
NAILING:
FINISHING:
COMMENTS:

Top portion is finished with water-base finish; bottom with oil-based finish.

COLOR: Heartwood is yellow after cutting & turns deep pinkish tan to warm reddish brown within weeks due to high resin content. Sapwood remains yellow, with occasional blue-black sap stain.

GRAIN:Dense, with high figuring. Plainsawn is swirled; rift- or quartersawn is primarily pinstriped. Curly or burl grain is rare.
VARIATIONS WITHIN SPECIES AND GRADES: Moderate color variation.

HARDNESS/JANKA: Janka:1225; (5% softer than Northern red oak).
DIMENSIONAL SbnztabILITY: Values can vary greatly due to the variety of species and ages used.
DURABILITY:Availability

Limited

SAWING/MACHINING: Good machining and hand-tooling qualities.
SANDING: Tendency to clog paper to high resign content; Abrasives will need to be changed frequently during sanding. Beginning with a coarse grade is recommended.
NAILING: No known problems.
FINISHING:May be difficult to stain. To reduce the wood's tendency to repel finish coats, surface resins may be removed with a 100% pure (not recycled) solvent that is compatible with the finish to be used. Do not use water.
COMMENTS Origin: North America. Often recovered from structural timers in pre-1900 warehouses & factories, or as sunken logs from river bottoms.

North America.

Limited

Heartwood is vivid reddish orange when freshly cut, darkening to reddish- or purple- brown or black over time. Sapwood is cream-colored. Very uniform in color.

Top portion is finished with water-base finish; bottom with oil-based finish

COLOR: Heartwood varies from light yellow/orange to reddish brown or yellowish brown; sapwood is light tan to yellowish white.
GRAIN: Closed, with high figuring; patterns range from clear to knotty.

VARIATIONS WITHIN SPECIES AND GRADES: Longleaf pine (P. palustris), shortleaf pine (P. echinata), loblolly pine (P. taedo), slash pine (P. elliottii). All have many of the same characteristics as Douglas fir

SAWING/MACHINING: Good machining qualities.
SANDING: Resin in wood tends to clog abrasives; frequent sandpaper changes are required.

NAILING: Good holding ability and resistance to splitting.
FINISHING: A durable finish can help minimize wear.

Comments Origin: North America

HARDNESS/JANKA: Good machining qualities.
DIMENSIONAL STABILITY: Resin in wood tends to clog abrasives; frequent sandpaper changes are required.

DURABILITY: Good holding ability and resistance to splitting.
FINISHING: A durable finish can help minimize wear.

Easily available.

Species - Domestic

Top portion is finished with water-base finish; bottom with oil-based finish.

COLOR: Heartwood ranges from a deep, rich dark brown to a purplish black. Sapwood is nearly white to tan. Difference between heartwood and sapwood color is great; some flooring manufacturers steam lumber to bleed the darker heartwood color into the sapwood.
GRAIN: Mostly straight and open, but some boards have burled or curly grain. Arrangements of pores is similar to hickories and persimmon, but pores are smaller in size.

VARIATIONS WITHIN SPECIES AND GRADES: Great variety of color and figure within species, as well as variation in color among boards, especially in lower grades and from material that isn't steamed prior to kiln-drying.

Moderately available.

North America.

Top portion is finished with water-base finish; bottom with oil-based finish.

Color: Typically available in light (manila/yellow tones) or dark (tannish brown) shades. Colors vary between manufacturers.

Grain:Distinctive grain pattern shows nodes from the bamboo stalks.

Variations: Within Species and Grades: Available either horizontally or vertically laminated. Horizontal construction tends to show nodes more prominently.

Readily Available

Asia. Majority made in China with some from Vietnam.

COLOR:
GRAIN:
VARIATIONS WITHIN SPECIES AND GRADES:

HARDNESS/JANKA: than Northern red oak
DIMENSIONAL SbnztabILITY: above average (change coefficient .00267; 28% more sbnztable than red oak)
DURABILITY:

SAWING/MACHINING:
SANDING:
NAILING:
FINISHING:
COMMENTS:

COLOR:
GRAIN:
VARIATIONS WITHIN SPECIES AND GRADES:

HARDNESS/JANKA: than Northern red oak
DIMENSIONAL SbnztabILITY: above average (change coefficient .00267; 28% more sbnztable than red oak)
DURABILITY:

SAWING/MACHINING:
SANDING:
NAILING:
FINISHING:
COMMENTS:

Species - Domestic

Top portion is finished with water-base finish; bottom with oil-based finish

COLOR: Varies from light to dark; many colors available depending on manufacturer.
GRAIN: Distinctive look unlike wood - cork is actually the bark of a type of oak.

VARIATIONS: Many patterns available depending on manufacturer.

Spain and Portugal

Readily available..

COLOR:
GRAIN:
VARIATIONS WITHIN SPECIES AND GRADES:

HARDNESS/JANKA: than Northern red oak
DIMENSIONAL SbnztabILITY: above average (change coefficient .00267; 28% more sbnztable than red oak)
DURABILITY:

SAWING/MACHINING:
SANDING:
NAILING:
FINISHING:
COMMENTS:

COLOR:
GRAIN:
VARIATIONS WITHIN SPECIES AND GRADES:

HARDNESS/JANKA: than Northern red oak
DIMENSIONAL SbnztabILITY: above average (change coefficient .00267; 28% more sbnztable than red oak)
DURABILITY:

SAWING/MACHINING:
SANDING:
NAILING:
FINISHING:
COMMENTS:

COLOR:
GRAIN:
VARIATIONS WITHIN SPECIES AND GRADES:

HARDNESS/JANKA: than Northern red oak
DIMENSIONAL SbnztabILITY: above average (change coefficient .00267; 28% more sbnztable than red oak)
DURABILITY:

SAWING/MACHINING:
SANDING:
NAILING:
FINISHING:
COMMENTS:

COLOR:
GRAIN:
VARIATIONS WITHIN SPECIES AND GRADES:

HARDNESS/JANKA: than Northern red oak
DIMENSIONAL SbnztabILITY: above average (change coefficient .00267; 28% more sbnztable than red oak)
DURABILITY:

SAWING/MACHINING:
SANDING:
NAILING:
FINISHING:
COMMENTS:

COLOR:
GRAIN:
VARIATIONS WITHIN SPECIES AND GRADES:

HARDNESS/JANKA: than Northern red oak
DIMENSIONAL SbnztabILITY: above average (change coefficient .00267; 28% more sbnztable than red oak)
DURABILITY:

SAWING/MACHINING:
SANDING:
NAILING:
FINISHING:
COMMENTS:

COLOR:
GRAIN:
VARIATIONS WITHIN SPECIES AND GRADES:

HARDNESS/JANKA: than Northern red oak
DIMENSIONAL SbnztabILITY: above average (change coefficient .00267; 28% more sbnztable than red oak)
DURABILITY:

SAWING/MACHINING:
SANDING:
NAILING:
FINISHING:
COMMENTS:

COLOR:
GRAIN:
VARIATIONS WITHIN SPECIES AND GRADES:

HARDNESS/JANKA: than Northern red oak
DIMENSIONAL SbnztabILITY: above average (change coefficient .00267; 28% more sbnztable than red oak)
DURABILITY:

SAWING/MACHINING:
SANDING:
NAILING:
FINISHING:
COMMENTS:

COLOR:
GRAIN:
VARIATIONS WITHIN SPECIES AND GRADES:

HARDNESS/JANKA: than Northern red oak
DIMENSIONAL SbnztabILITY: above average (change coefficient .00267; 28% more sbnztable than red oak)
DURABILITY:

SAWING/MACHINING:
SANDING:
NAILING:
FINISHING:
COMMENTS:

COLOR:
GRAIN:
VARIATIONS WITHIN SPECIES AND GRADES:

HARDNESS/JANKA: than Northern red oak
DIMENSIONAL SbnztabILITY: above average (change coefficient .00267; 28% more sbnztable than red oak)
DURABILITY:

SAWING/MACHINING:
SANDING:
NAILING:
FINISHING:
COMMENTS:

COLOR:
GRAIN:
VARIATIONS WITHIN SPECIES AND GRADES:

HARDNESS/JANKA: than Northern red oak
DIMENSIONAL SbnztabILITY: above average (change coefficient .00267; 28% more sbnztable than red oak)
DURABILITY:

SAWING/MACHINING:
SANDING:
NAILING:
FINISHING:
COMMENTS:

COLOR:
GRAIN:
VARIATIONS WITHIN SPECIES AND GRADES:

HARDNESS/JANKA: than Northern red oak
DIMENSIONAL SbnztabILITY: above average (change coefficient .00267; 28% more sbnztable than red oak)
DURABILITY:

SAWING/MACHINING:
SANDING:
NAILING:
FINISHING:
COMMENTS:

COLOR:
GRAIN:
VARIATIONS WITHIN SPECIES AND GRADES:

HARDNESS/JANKA: than Northern red oak
DIMENSIONAL SbnztabILITY: above average (change coefficient .00267; 28% more sbnztable than red oak)
DURABILITY:

SAWING/MACHINING:
SANDING:
NAILING:
FINISHING:
COMMENTS:

COLOR:
GRAIN:
VARIATIONS WITHIN SPECIES AND GRADES:

HARDNESS/JANKA: than Northern red oak
DIMENSIONAL SbnztabILITY: above average (change coefficient .00267; 28% more sbnztable than red oak)
DURABILITY:

SAWING/MACHINING:
SANDING:
NAILING:
FINISHING:
COMMENTS:

Top portion is finished with water-base finish; bottom with oil-based finish.

COLOR: Heartwood is mostly reddish brown; sapwood is generally pale white.
GRAIN: Mostly closed, straight grain; fine, uniform texture. Coarser than European beach.
VARIATIONS WITHIN SPECIES AND GRADES: Only one species is native to the United States. Moderate to high color variation between boards.

Moderately available.

North America.

Top portion is finished with water-base finish; bottom with oil-based finish.

COLOR: In yellow birch (B. alleghaniensis), sapwood is creamy yellow pale while; heartwood is light reddish brown tinged with red. In sweet birch (B. lenta), sapwood is light colored and heartwood is dark brown tinged with red.
GRAIN: Medium figuring, straight, closed grain, even texture. Occasional curly grain or wavy figure in some boards.
VARIATIONS WITHIN SPECIES AND GRADES: Yellow birch, sweet birch, paper birch. Paper birch (B. papyrifera) is softer and lower in weight and strenght than yellow or sweet birch. However, yellow birch is most commonly used for flooring. Boards can vary greatly in grain and color.

Readily available.

North America.

Top portion is finished with water-base finish; bottom with oil-based finish.

COLOR: Sapwood is gray-white; heartwood is salmon red to orange-brown when fresh, and becomes russet or reddish brown when seasoned; often merked with dark streaks.
GRAIN: Mostly interlocked; texture is medium to rather coarse.
VARIATIONS WITHIN SPECIES AND GRADES: Moderate to high color variation.

Readily available.

South America.

Top portion is finished with water-base finish; bottom with oil-based finish.

COLOR: Can vary from light yellowish tan with green overtones to almost blaskish brown; exhibits a large range of coloration when freshly milled; darkens over time to medium to dark brown.
GRAIN: Fine to medium,straight to very irregular.
VARIATIONS WITHIN SPECIES AND GRADES:

Readily available.

South America.

Species - Domestic

Top portion is finished with water-base finish; bottom with oil-based finish

COLOR: Heartwood is light to dark reddish brown, lustrous; sapwood is light brown to pale with a light pinkish tone. Some flooring manufacturers steam lumber to bleed the darker heartwood color into the sapwood, resulting in a more uniform color. Color darkens.
GRAIN: Fine, frequently wavy, uniform texture. Distinctive flake pattern on true quartersawn surfaces. Texture is satiny, with some gum pockets.

VARIATIONS: Significant color variation between boards.

North America

Readily available.

Top portion is finished with water-base finish; bottom with oil-based finish.

COLOR: Pecan heartwood is reddish brown with dark brown stripes; sapwood is white or creamy white with pinkish tones. Hickory heartwood is tan or reddish; sapwood is white to cream, with fine brown lines.
GRAIN: Pecan is open, occasionally wavy or irregular. Hickory is closed, with moderate definition; somewhat rough-textured.
VARIATIONS WITHIN SPECIES AND GRADES:In both hickory and pecan, there are often pronounced differentiations in color between spirng wood and summer wood. In pecan, sapwwod is usually graded higher than darker heartwood. Pecan and hickory are traditionally mixed by flooring mills.

Sawing/Machining: Hickory's density makes it difficult to machine and work with hand tools.

Sanding: Difficult to sand because of density, and because light color makes sander markers show more than on darker woods.

Nailing: Has a tendency to split the tongues.

Finishing: May be difficult to stain.

Hardness/janka: 1820; (41% harder than Northern red oak). Pecan is slighty softer than true hickories.

Dimensional Sbnztability: Pecan, average (8.9; 3% less sbnztable than Northern red oak.)

Readily available.

North America.

Species - Domestic

Top portion is finished with water-base finish; bottom with oil-based finish.

COLOR: Heartwood is light brown; some boards may have a pinkish tint or a slight grayish cast. Sapwood is white to cream.
GRAIN: Open, with longer rays than red oak. Occasional crotches, swirls and burls. Plainsawn boards have a plumed or flared grain appearance; riftsawn has a tighter grain pattern, low figuring; quartersawn has a flake pattern, sometimes called tiger rays or butt

VARIATIONS WITHIN SPECIES AND GRADES: Considerable variation among boards in color and grain texture, but variations not as pronounced as in red oak.

Readily available.

North America.

Top portion is finished with water-base finish; bottom with oil-based finish.

COLOR: Pale cream to yellow cream; no contrast between sapwood and heartwood.
GRAIN: Straight, fine, uniform.
VARIATIONS WITHIN SPECIES AND GRADES:Lower grades may have darker tan/brown colors.

Moderately available.

South America

Species - Domestic

Top portion is finished with water-base finish; bottom with oil-based finish.

COLOR: Heartwood and sapwood are similar, with sapwood lighter in color; most pieces have a reddish tone. Slightly redder than white oak.
GRAIN: Open, slightly coarser (more porous) than white oak. Plainsawn boards have a plumed or flared grain appearance; riftsawn has a tighter grain pattern, low figuring; quartersawn has a flake pattern, sometimes called tiger rays or butterflies.

VARIATIONS WITHIN SPECIES AND GRADES: Over 200 subspecies in North America; great variation in color and grain, depending on the origin of the wood and differences in growing seasons. Northern, Southern and Appalachian red oak can all be divided into upland and lowland species.

Easily available.

North America.