Walnut

When we think of walnut furniture, typically we would picture something that is nearly uniformly of brown color. The truth is that walnut is more varied in color and grain than most other woods, but it is usually supplied steamed, to darken the sapwood.

The heartwood (found in the center of a tree) of walnut is usually a dark chocolate color, or a lighter brown color with darker streaks. I have seen some with purple-ish and reddish streaks.

The sapwood (found closer to the bark) can vary from peanut butter color to gold to bright orange to white. I’ve seen some slabs with blue and purple streaks in it as well.

Birdseye Maple

Birdseye maple is a type of figure that occurs within several kinds of wood, most notably in hard maple. It has a distinctive pattern that resembles tiny “bird’s eye”, swirling eyes disrupting the smooth lines of grain.

Birdseye maple is a rare and mysterious characteristic found in hard maple. There have been theories as to how Birdseye maple forms, but no scientific evidence has been presented to verify the true roots of its existence.

Cherry 

The heartwood of cherry varies from rich red to reddish brown and will darken with age and on exposure to light. In contrast, the sapwood is creamy white. The wood has a straight-grain, a fine, uniform, satiny and smooth texture, and naturally may contain brown pith flecks and small gum pockets. When you work with cherry wood it actually smells like cherries! Cherry wood can be a little more unpredictable than walnut.

Maple

Unlike most other hardwoods, the sapwood of Hard Maple lumber is most commonly used rather than its heartwood. Sapwood color ranges from nearly white, to an off-white cream color, sometimes with a reddish or golden hue. The heartwood tends to be a darker reddish brown. Birdseye Maple is a figure found most commonly in Hard Maple, though it’s also found less frequently in other species. Hard Maple can also be seen with curly or quilted grain patterns.

Grain/Texture: Grain is generally straight, but may be wavy. Has a fine, even texture.

“Maple is infinite”.