Basswood
Character: A lightweight hardwood used extensively for general woodworking. It has a straight grain and a fine uniform texture. Northern basswood considered superior as slower growth leads to tighten grain than Southern.
Color: Pale, creamy-white after being felled, light brown after drying.

Birch, Northern Yellow
Character: A very attractive hardwood, widely used in architectural woodwork. Readily available in lumber and veneer. High percentage of sapwood to heartwood makes it easy to obtain "Select White" and "Select Red" respectively as well as "Unselected" and "Natural" birch.
Color: Light brown with tinge of red with growth rings marked with dark reddish-brown lines.  Sapwood is nearly white or light yellow.

Cherry, American Black
Character: One of our most beautiful hardwoods, readily available in both lumber and veneers.
Color: Sapwood is a creamy-pink color, clearly distinguishable from the reddish-brown heartwood.  Occasional gum spots and streaks are allowed.

Cypress
Character: Best used for interior paneling and trim, which showcases its striking grain pattern. "Yellow Cypress" generally refers to the inland growth which does not contain the decay resistant heartwood normally associated with "Tidewater Red Cypress" that is in very short supply.
Color: Yellowish-red, almost a salmon color.

Cypress, Panel Pecky
Character: Durable and useful where airtightness is unnecessary and where novel effect in appearance is desired. Most frequently used as interior paneling.

Mahogany, Genuine
Character: Genuine Mahogany originates from Central America and the upper regions of the Amazon River. It is one of the most well known woods and its use in cabinetry and furniture dates back to the 16th century.
Color: The heartwood varies from a pale red to dark reddish-brown in heavier timber, while the sapwood is yellowish-white.

Makoré
Character: This African hardwood from the Congo Basin has been marketed as "African Cherry." The wood resembles close-grained Mahogany and is usually straight grained. When cut or sliced on the quarter, it provides an unusual mottled or chequered, "watered silk" appearance.
Color: Heartwood is pale blood red to reddish-brown, with the sapwood slightly lighter in color.

Maple, Northern Hard
Character: A hard, dense wood with a fine grain, attractive luster, and excellent strength and working qualities. Used in the manufacturing of furniture, flooring, and cutting boards.
Color: White with reddish hue. Occasionally, the heartwood will have dark brown color.
Note: 1-2 Maple is the grade of Maple stocked by Central Hardwoods, Inc. A "1" indicates a good face and two sides that will yield a minimum of 80%, while a "2" indicates a good face, two sides and a minimum yield of 50%

Maple, Northern Soft
Character: Similar in most respects to Hard Maple, with the exception that it is lighter in weight and not quite as strong.
Color: The sapwood and heartwood are indistinguishable from one another as both are white to light reddish-brown.  Soft Maple has straight grain patterns and indistinct growth rings.

Oak, Red
Character: Red Oak is the major hardwood species produced in the U.S.  It is excellent for cabinetry, architectural woodwork,  and the manufacturing of furniture.  More commonly available in rift-, plain-, and quarter-sawn.  A strong, available wood with attractive color and grain.
Color: Light tan sapwood to pinkish, reddish-brown heartwood.

Oak, White
Character: A premier hardwood, both in the U.S. and abroad. Widely used in architectural woodworking and furniture manufacture. Highly figured, even more textured than Red Oak and somewhat easier to work. Often, rift-sawn for a straight or “comb” grain effect, or quarter-sawn for a straight grain with highly prominent “flake.”
Color: Heartwood varies from a light tan to a darker, yellowish-brown while the less prevalent sapwood is much lighter.

Pecan/Hickory
Pecan Character: A popular furniture wood. Is often stained to match American Black Walnut.
Pecan Color: White to pale red to reddish-brown sapwood with dark stripes or streaks.
Hickory Character: A very dense wood, known for its high toughness. Hickory also has high bending strength, great stiffness, and exceptional resistance to shock. Usually straight-grained, Hickory is often used for handles in striking tools such as hammers and axes.

Poplar
Character: Very stable wood used extensively in architectural woodwork, which is to be painted or enameled. Modest figure and even texture permit staining to simulate more expensive woods such as Walnut.
Color: Yellowish to creamy white, to a pale straw colored heartwood, often with greenish cast or dark mineral streaks.

Sapele
Character: This African hardwood is denser and has a finer texture than African Mahogany. The straight stripe or "roe" figure of quarter-cut Sapele is quite distinctive. A variation of this figure is the mottled appearance referred to as "Pommele." The veneer is used extensively in decorative architectural plywood.
Color: Narrow sapwood is pale yellow-white, while the heartwood is salmon pink when freshly cut, and matures into a dark reddish-brown .

Walnut, American Black
Character: One of our most beautiful and valuable hardwoods, used for fine cabinetry and furniture. Concerns over supply, due to tremendous overseas demand, have abated in the last several years.
Color: Light gray to chocolate brown, occasionally darker, sometimes with purplish streaks