Wood Types

Traditional Wood Types

Soft Maple

Soft Maple is considered a paint grade because of minor mineral streaking, in addition to its close grained texture creating a more than adequate painting surface. Having medium density, hardness, and strength, its machining and finishing properties are good, as is its stability. This fine textured and close grained wood does not require filling.

Red Oak

Red Oak Red Oak is a wood that is known for being very hard, heavy, and strong. However, given its density, it is actually fairly easy to work. Like Hickory, it does have a coarse texture. Red Oak turns, carves, and bends well. It is also characterized by having excellent sanding and finishing properties, and great stability.

Knotty Pine

Pine Knotty Pine is a lightweight wood, characterized by a straight grain and a fine, even texture. While knots are prevalent in the wood, the knots tend to be small and tight, giving the wood the signature rustic look that pine is so well known for, Knotty Pine is dimensionally stable and durable.

Rubberwood

Belonging to the Maple family, Rubberwood has very little tendency to warp or crack, as well as a dense grain character. Another benefit is that it is Earth Friendly. Unlike other trees used for lumber, Rubberwood is not harvested until it can no longer be used for its latex-producing sap; and then when it is harvested, new rubber trees are planted.

FSC Wood Types

FSC Hard Maple

FSC Hard Maple Like our premium selection Hard Maple, FSC Certified Hard Maple is stain grade, light in color, and is also smooth, durable, and strong. FSC Certified Hard Maple, however, has been certified by the Forestry Stewardship Council; affirming that from the moment the lumber was harvested through its manufacture into components at our plant, it was handled in an eco-friendly manner.

FSC Cherry

FSC Cherry Like our premium selection Cherry, FSC Certified Cherry is moderately hard, heavy, and strong; sanding and finishing quite smoothly. FSC Certified Cherry, however, has been certified by the Forestry Stewardship Council; affirming that from the moment the lumber was harvested through its manufacture into components at our plant, it was handled in an eco-friendly manner.

Metallic Selection

Flat Black Finish

With its black powder coating, metal corbels available in the flat black finish easily complement lighter colored wood types or stone facades alike. This smooth finish gives the appearance of a cast iron, but allows for the light weight of wrought aluminum. The smooth and rich black finish is sleek looking, though it is not glossy.

Brushed Aluminum

The brushed aluminum finish draws its name from the fact that the metal is physically brushed to give a textured appearance, and then finished with a clear coat. This finish works particularly well when contrasting darker wood finishes, such as Black Walnut, or even Cherry or Mahogany finished with a dark stain.

Premium Wood Types

Alder

Alder Alder is characterized by its straight grain and even texture. Its reddish brown color often looks similar to Cherry. While Alder is often used to mimic Cherry, its rich tone is beautiful. And certainly warrants use for its own distinct qualities. Though it dents relatively easy, it offers a stable surface.

Cherry

Cherry Cherry wood is moderately heavy, hard, and strong, and it also machines and sands to glass-like smoothness. Because of this, Cherry finishes beautifully. The heartwood in Cherry is red in color, and the sapwood is light pink. Components made of Cherry generally consist of approximately 25% sapwood and 75% heartwood.

Hard Maple

Hard Maple is considered our stain grade Maple, because it is more consistent in color than its “cousin,” Soft Maple. The wood is characterized as dense, and light in color. Similar to our Soft Maple, Hard Maple is a fine textured and close grained wood that does not require filling.

Hickory

Hickory If you are looking for strength, hardness, and durability; Hickory is the best commercially available wood in North America. The grain is normally straight, but can sometimes be irregular or wavy. Hickory has a coarse texture, with a great deal of color variation between reddish brown, lighter brown, and white.

Mahogany

Not only one of the most valuable timbers in Africa, this species is also one of the foremost cabinet woods in the world. Mahogany is characterized as having straight to interlocked grain and a medium coarse texture. The wood varies slightly in color from a light reddish brown to a medium red.

Red Birch

The heartwood of Yellow Birch is red in color. While it is softer than Red Oak, it does actually have a tighter grain, which makes it very easy to finish. Red Birch is similar to Cherry in its appearance, as well as in its density and its resistance to abrasion.

Black Walnut

Black walnut is considered a rare wood type, and it is quite durable and strong. Its coloration can be light to chocolate brown, and may contain burls, butts, and curls. The sapwood is usually white in color, and may be as high as 25%, but we have it steamed to make it a light coffee color, allowing for better color uniformity.

Lyptus

Lyptus Lyptus lumber comes from Eucalyptus trees grown to CERFLOR standards, Brazil’s national sustainable forestry standard. Lyptus is pruned throughout its growing process, which means it grows straight and relatively knot-free; reducing waste. Also, it is a fast growing tree, making it an easily replenished lumber source. Lyptus rivals Cherry and Mahogany in appearance, while having properties similar to Hard Maple.

This page describes several of the different wood types offered by Osborne Wood Products, Inc. Please be aware that we use solid squares to make our legs whenever we can. However, when we cannot get these, the squares will be made of several boards glued together. Some prefer this because it does make the leg more stable. Others would prefer solids because of uniform color. If you need to know if a turning for your order is from a solid square or is a laminated part please feel free to call us. Also if you need another type of wood, please submit a quote.

There are many other, more exotic wood types. The Humboldt Woodworkers Guild provides more information for the curious woodworker.

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