WOOD SPECIES AND FURNITURE FINISHES
I focus my work using locally available hardwoods from the northeast, favoring cherry, walnut, maple, oak, and hickory. I have sometimes used mahogany especially when a client’s home or offices already features this wood in moldings and other pieces of furniture. If you are looking for a different wood species, please contact me, I will be happy to discuss options and the use of other wood species. I can used a second species of lumber as an accent for a drawer front, through tenons or legs when a client wants some additional design elements in their piece.
I finish my furniture pieces with natural oil and varnish finishes as well as water based urethanes which are eco friendly but don’t have a plasticky thick film feel to them. On the tops of pieces I usually use 4-6 coats, 4 coats on the sides and fronts, each coat hand rubbed and never with anything that will hide the beauty of the wood surfaces. I’ll apply a final coat of natural paste wax to provide some more protection and an incredibly smooth surface so that the furniture invites you to touch it.
CHERRY Furniture
Cherry is one of my favorite species of wood to work with a smooth-grained reddish-brown hardwood that comes from the American Black Cherry fruit tree. It is readily available in large timbers and machines very well. What many people love is as the wood is exposed to light cherry will naturally darken over time to a deep reddish hue with a deep patina. The grain varies from very straight to figured such as curly cherry
ChERRY SAMPLE
WALNUT furniture
Black walnut wood is dark, hard, dense and tight-grained. It has superior strength, beautiful grain and rich color. In its raw unfinished form it is a mid toned chocolate color and with finish and age it develops a rich patina. The sapwood, a creamy white is often used as an accent. Woodworkers value its beautiful grain and figure and don’t darken it anymore.
WALNUT SAMPLE
MAPLE Furniture
Maple wood is very strong, with smooth and subtle grain structure and light, creamy color. There are many of species of maple trees available in the Northeast; the most common is Hard Maple. I work with curly, tiger, or birdseye maple. Applying a slight stain can be used to pop the grain but usually a good quality varnish will accentuate the grain on it’s own.
MAPLE SAMPLE
HICKORY Furniture
Hickory is a very hard and durable wood, often used in flooring but beautiful in furniture, especially as a contrast for some lighter woods where you still don’t desire darker richer species like cherry. Hickory tends to be light to medium brown, with a reddish hue; sapwood is a paler yellowish brown.
HICKORY SAMPLE
OAK furniture
Oak was used very commonly in Arts & Crafts furniture, the most common furniture wood is white oak. Oak is durable, easy to work with, and looks great stained or with a clear, natural finish. Oak has a very open grain structure,
OAK SAMPLE
MAHOGANY furniture
Mahogany was used in many historic english furniture pieces, valued for is rich reddish-brown tones and straight grain. It is known for its workability, mahogany is equally known for its superb dimensional stability and good rot resistance. It was often stained or heavily varnished so it lost its true color and was also over harvested leading to heavy regulation in “real” mahogany today.
MAHOGANY SAMPLE
