White Oak k
Quercus alba

 White oak is impervious to liquids, and has been used extensively for ship timbers, barrels and casks. White oak is the state tree of Connecticut, Illinois and Maryland.
DISTRIBUTION
Widespread throughout the Eastern U.S. The white oak group comprises many species, of which about eight are commercial.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The sapwood is light-colored and the heartwood is light to dark brown. White oak is mostly straight-grained with a medium to coarse texture, with longer rays than red oak. White oak therefore has more figure.
WORKING PROPERTIES
White oak machines well, nails and screws well although pre-boring is advised. Since it reacts with iron, galvanized nails are recommended. Its adhesive properties are variable, but it stains to a good finish. Can be stained with a wide range of finish tones. The wood dries slowly.
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
A hard and heavy wood with medium bending and crushing strength, low in stiffness, but very good in steam bending. Great wear-resistance.
AVAILABILITY
Readily available but not as abundant as red oak.
MAIN USES
Furniture, flooring, architectural millwork, mouldings, doors, kitchen cabinets, paneling, barrel staves (tight cooperage), and caskets.
RELATIVE ABUNDANCE
15.1 percent of total U.S. hardwoods commercially available.

Red Oak
Quercus rubra

 
The Latin name for oak, Quercus, means "a fine tree." The oaks have been key in America's industrial transformation: Railroad ties, wheels, plows, looms, barrels and, of course, furniture and floors. The oak is the state tree of New Jersey.
DISTRIBUTION
Widespread throughout Eastern U.S. The oaks are by far the most abundant species group growing in the Eastern hardwood forests. Red oaks grow more abundantly than the white oaks. The red oak group comprises many species, of which about eight are commercial.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The sapwood of red oak is white to light brown and the heartwood is a pinkish reddish brown. The wood is similar in general appearance to white oak, but with a slightly less pronounced figure due to the smaller rays. The wood is mostly straight-grained, with a coarse texture.
WORKING PROPERTIES
Red oak machines well, nailing and screwing are good although pre-boring is recommended, and it can be stained to a good finish. Can be stained with a wide range of finish tones. It dries slowly.
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
The wood is hard and heavy, with medium bending strength and stiffness and high crushing strength. It is very good for steam bending. Great wear-resistance.
AVAILABILITY
Abundant. Most widely used species.
MAIN USES
Furniture, flooring, architectural millwork and mouldings, doors, kitchen cabinets, paneling, and caskets.
RELATIVE ABUNDANCE
36.6 percent of total U.S. hardwoods commercially available.

Quartered and Rift Sawn Lumber

WHAT IS QUARTER-SAWN LUMBER?

Technically, quarter-sawn lumber has the growth rings of the tree approximately perpendicular to the board's broad face.  In contrast, plain-sawn lumber has the growth rings parallel to the board's broad face.  Quarter-sawn produces both quartered and rift lumber.

HOW IS QUARTER-SAWN LUMBER ACHIEVED?

There is only one true way to quarter saw a log.  First, we cut a log into quarters.  Each quarter is then processed by cutting a single board off of one face, then cutting the next board from the opposite face, and cutting from alternating faces until the quarter is completely cut.

WHAT ARE THE AESTHETIC QUALITIES OF QUARTER-SAWN LUMBER?

   The most notable characteristic of quarter-sawn lumber lies in its incomparable grain patterns.  Medullary ray fleck, wavy grain and interlocked grain are all visually enhanced when the log is quarter-sawn.   The revival of Mission style furniture is just one example of how today's artisans are rediscovering the unique beauty of quarter-sawn lumber.  Today's heirloom furniture, the antiques of tomorrow, is crafted from quarter-sawn lumber.  Quality reproductions and renovations of artisans' work demand true quarter-sawn lumber.   Quarter-sawn wood is the choice of wood artisans.

WHAT ARE THE STRUCTURAL QUALITIES OF QUARTER-SAWN LUMBER?

   Quarter-sawn lumber is the uncontested winner when compared to plain- (or flat-) sawn lumber.  Quarter-sawn features include:

   In short, quartered lumber provides greater dimensional stability in both seasoning and final use.

WHAT SPECIES ARE QUARTER SAWN?

   FM Lumber Company regularly produces quartered and rift lumber from White Oak, Red Oak, Cherry, Ash, Hard Maple, Walnut, Sycamore and Beech.  However, all species can be quarter-sawn and are available upon request.

WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN QUARTERED AND RIFT LUMBER?

   A quartered board features medullary ray or "fleck" perpendicular to a grain which typically forms angles from 60 degrees to 90 degrees with the board's surface.  A rift board exhibits a clean, straight, vertical grain pattern which typically forms angles from 30 to 60 degrees with the board's surface.

IS THERE A DIFFERENCE IN COST BETWEEN QUARTERED LUMBER AND PLAIN-SAWN LUMBER?

   Quarter sawing is a specialized technique requiring more time and greater skill to produce.  Logically, lumber prices are slightly higher than plain sawn.  FMLumber Company offers customers both quarter-sawn and plain-sawn lumber.

WHAT IS THE ECOLOGICAL BENEFIT TO QUARTER SAWING?

   There is a significant ecological benefit derived by using quartered and rift lumber compared to plain-sawn lumber.  A quarter-sawn log is "sawn from the inside out," resulting in more usable wood from each log.  Additionally, the quarter-sawing process uses less energy.   Finally, a greater percentage of high-grade lumber is produced from each quarter-sawn log, allowing use of lower-grade logs.  FM Lumber Company prides itself in being a careful user and steward of our precious forest resources.

HOW CAN QUARTER-SAWN LUMBER BENEFIT MY PRODUCT?

   Our carefully machined lumber provides you with the structural integrity and unique grain patterns you want.  Stability and appearance pass from our boards to your finished products.

IF QUARTER SAWING IS SO GOOD, WHY DON'T ALL SAWMILLS DO IT?

   For most, the art of quarter sawing has been lost over the years.  Like many superior practices of the past, quarter sawing lost favor to plain sawing techniques.  Plain sawing is easier, cheaper, and quicker... but it results in more waste, less grain characteristic and less stable lumber.

WHAT IS SPECIAL ABOUT FM LUMBER COMPANY'S QUARTER-SAWN LUMBER?

   FM Lumber Company sets the standards for quartered and rift lumber... as we have since 1903.  Our quarter-sawn lumber is the same fine quality wood used by artisans for the past century.  We truly quarter saw our lumber, taking no short cuts.  Our lumber is sized to perfection... more aptly described as machined than milled.  We are forest conservationists, abiding by a strong waste ethic.  Our bark finds use as landscape mulch, and our wood chips are used as raw material for paper production.  Our sawdust is used as natural fuel to kiln dry our quality lumber.  When you buy FM Lumber Company quartered and rift lumber, you get the best product the forest can offer.    

OTHER SOLID 3/4" UNFINISHED DOMESTIC HARDWOODS

With help from Online guide to North American hardwood species
 

American Cherry Prunus serotina

 
Like all fruit trees, cherry belongs to the rose family and was used as early as 400 B.C. by the Greeks and Romans for furniture making. American Colonists used the cherry tree for its fruit, medicinal properties and home furnishings. They mixed cherry juice with rum to create Cherry Bounce, a bitter but highly favored cordial. The bark was used in the production of drugs to treat bronchitis, and cherry stalks were used to make tonics.
DISTRIBUTION
Throughout Midwestern and Eastern U.S. Main commercial areas: Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and New York.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
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 fine uniform, straight grain, satiny, smooth texture, and may naturally contain brown pith flecks and small gum pockets.
WORKING PROPERTIES
Cherry is easy to machine, nails and glues well and when sanded and stained, it produces an excellent smooth finish. It dries fairly quickly with moderately high shrinkage, but is dimensionally stable after kiln-drying.
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
The wood is of medium density with good bending properties, it has low stiffness and medium strength and shock resistance.
AVAILABILITY
Readily available.
MAIN USES
Fine furniture and cabinet making, mouldings and millwork, kitchen cabinets, paneling, flooring, doors, boat interiors, musical instruments, turnings and carvings.
RELATIVE ABUNDANCE
3.9 percent of total U.S. hardwoods commercially available.

Ash Fraxinus spp

 
Norse mythology refers to ash as "the mighty tree that supports the heavens" and "below earth its roots went down to hell." Ash belongs to the olive family, although its only fruit is a dart-like winged seed. Ash is a popular species for food containers because the wood has no taste. Admiral Richard Byrd wore snowshoes made from ash during his polar expeditions and early windmills were made from this species.
DISTRIBUTION
Throughout the Eastern U.S.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The sapwood is light-colored to nearly white and the heartwood varies from greyish or light brown, to pale yellow streaked with brown. The wood is generally straight-grained with a coarse uniform texture. The degree and availability of light-colored sapwood, and other properties, will vary according to the growing regions.
WORKING PROPERTIES
Ash machines well, is good in nailing, screwing and gluing, and can be stained to a very good finish. It dries fairly easily with minimal degrade, and there is little movement in performance.
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
Ash has very good overall strength properties relative to its weight. It has excellent shock resistance and is good for steam bending.
AVAILABILITY
Readily available.
MAIN USES
Furniture, flooring, doors, architectural millwork and moulding, Kitchen cabinets, paneling, tool handles, baseball bats, sporting equipment and turnings. It is particularly suitable for food and liquid containers since there is no odor or taste.
RELATIVE ABUNDANCE
4.6 percent of total U.S. hardwoods commercially available.

Black Walnut Juglans nigra

The roots of the walnut tree release a toxic material which may kill other plants growing above them. From the time of ancient Greeks until well into modern European history, walnuts symbolized fertility and were strewn at weddings. Just the opposite, in Romania, brides who wished to delay childbearing placed into the bodice of their wedding dresses one walnut for each year they hoped to wait.
DISTRIBUTION
Throughout Eastern U.S., but principal commercial region is the Central states. One of the few American species planted as well as naturally regenerated.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The sapwood of walnut is creamy white, while the heartwood is light brown to dark chocolate brown, occasionally with a purplish cast and darker streaks. The wood develops a rich patina that grows more lustrous with age. Walnut is usually supplied steamed, to darken sapwood. The wood is generally straight-grained, but sometimes with wavy or curly grain that produces an attractive and decorative figure. This species produces a greater variety of figure types than any other.
WORKING PROPERTIES
Walnut works easily with hand and machine tools, and nails, screws and glues well. It holds paint and stain very well for an exceptional finish and is readily polished. It dries slowly, and care is needed to avoid kiln degrade. Walnut has good dimensional stability.
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
Walnut is a tough hardwood of medium density, with moderate bending and crushing strengths and low stiffness. It has a good steam-bending classification.
AVAILABILITY
Reasonable availability with regional limitations.
MAIN USES
Furniture, cabinets, architectural millwork, doors, flooring, paneling, and gun stocks. A favored wood for using in contrast with lighter-colored species.
RELATIVE ABUNDANCE
1.9 percent of total U.S. hardwoods commercially available.

Hickory and Pecan Carya spp

 Its name is an English contraction of the Native American "powcohicora." Whereas various parts of the world had supported hickory during the countless geologic ages, practically nowhere but in Eastern North America did it survive the catastrophic changes of the Glacial Epoch, some 50 million years ago. Thus, it is the first strictly American hardwood species. Westward trekking pioneers made hickory a prerequisite for their wagon wheels. Later, the Wright Brothers whittled hickory for their "flying contraption." Hickory sawdust and chips are used to flavor meat by smoking. Commercially, the pecan is the most important native North American nut tree and it is the state tree of Texas. Pecan was a Native American name given to any nut hard enough to require cracking with a stone. Native Americans, particularly in the Northeast, used hickory for their bows.
DISTRIBUTION
Eastern U.S., principal commercial areas: Central and Southern states.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The hickories are an important group within the Eastern hardwood forests. Botanically they are split into two groups; the true hickories, and the pecan hickories (fruit bearing). The wood is virtually the same for both and is usually sold together. Hickory is the hardest, heaviest and strongest American wood in the common use. The sapwood of hickory is white, tinged with inconspicuous fine brown lines while the heartwood is pale to reddish brown. Both are coarse-textured and the grain is fine, usually straight but can be wavy or irregular.
WORKING PROPERTIES
The heaviest of American hardwoods, the hickories can be difficult to machine and glue, and are very hard to work with hand tools, so care is needed. They hold nails and screws well, but there is a tendency to split so pre-boring is advised. The wood can be sanded to a good finish. The grain pattern welcomes a full range of medium-to-dark finishes and bleaching treatments. It can be difficult to dry and has high shrinkage.
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
The density and strength of the hickories will vary according to the rate of growth, with the true hickories generally showing higher values than the pecan hickories. The wood is well-known for its very good strength and shock resistance and it also has excellent steam-bending properties. Extremely tough and resilient, even texture, quite hard and only moderately heavy.
AVAILABILITY
Readily available, more limited if sold selected for color as either red or white hickory.
MAIN USES
Tool handles, furniture, cabinetry, flooring, paneling, wooden ladders, dowels and sporting goods.
RELATIVE ABUNDANCE
2.2 percent of total U.S. hardwoods commercially available.

Beech Fagus grandifolia

 Known as "Mother of the Forest" for its nutrient-rich humus. Beech has a long, illustrious past. The Aryan Tribes of Asia, the earliest known people to use a written language, carved their messages into the soft, smooth pliable bark of the beech tree trunk. The writings, cut out of the bark and used intact, were called "boc," which eventually became "book."
DISTRIBUTION
Throughout the Eastern U.S., commercial concentration is in the Central and Middle Atlantic states.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The sapwood is white with a red tinge, while the heartwood is light to dark reddish brown. The wood is generally straight-grained with a close uniform texture.
WORKING PROPERTIES
Beech works readily with most hand and machine tools. It has good nailing and gluing properties and can be stained to a good finish. The wood dries fairly rapidly but with a strong tendency to warp, split and surface check. It is subject to a high shrinkage and moderate movement in performance.
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
Beech is classed as heavy, hard, strong, high in resistance to shock and highly suitable for steam bending. Good resistance to abrasive wear.
AVAILABILITY
Limited
MAIN USES
Furniture, doors, flooring, millwork, paneling, brush handles, woodenware, bending stock, toys and turnings. It is particularly suitable for food and liquid containers since there is no odor or taste.
RELATIVE ABUNDANCE
0.4 percent of total U.S. hardwoods commercially available.