Distribution: Black walnut is native to the eastern United States, from southern Minnesota east to Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York; south to South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama; west to Texas; and north through Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, and South Dakota.
The Tree: Black walnut trees reach heights of 120 ft (37 m), with a diameter of over 3 ft (1 m).
General Wood Characteristics: The sapwood of black walnut is nearly white, while the heartwood is light brown to dark, chocolate brown, often with a purplish cast and darker streaks. The wood is heavy, hard, and stiff and has high shock resistance.
Working Properties: Black walnut is straight grained and easily worked with hand tools and by machine. It finishes beautifully and holds paint and stain exceptionally well. It also glues and polishes well.
Durability: Rated as very resistant to heartwood decay.  One of the most durable woods, even under conditions favorable to decay.

CHERRY: PLAIN, CURLY

Cherry is found in the eastern half of the United States, from the plains to the Atlantic Ocean and from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. It also occurs in high elevations in Mexico.  It is found in scattered areas of the woods and thickets of North America, from the Canadian border south to the Carolinas and west to the Dakotas and Texas. The largest and most abundant black cherry trees grow in the Appalachians of Pennsylvania and West Virginia.  It is shrubby under poor growth conditions and at the northern limit of its range. It does best on the rich, moist soil of the Appalachians.   The sapwood is light yellow, while the heartwood is brownish with a greenish tinge, darkening upon exposure to a deep reddish brown with a golden luster. The wood has a mild, aromatic scent, but no characteristic taste. It is of medium density, firm, and strong, with a fine, uniform texture. The grain is generally straight.   Cherry is easy to work, finishes smoothly, and is dimensionally stable. It is easily machined. It can be sawn cleanly, turned well, and planed excellently with standard cutting angles. Rated as very resistant to heartwood decay.

MYRTLE: PLAIN, FIGURED

Also known as California laurel or myrtlewood (also as bay, laurel, California-bay, Oregon-myrtle, Pacific-myrtle, spice-tree, and pepperwood) its range spans along the Western United States from Oregon to the Mexican border. Indians and early settlers used all parts of the tree for food and medicinal purposes. Leaves are still collected and dried for home use and commercial sale as a food seasoning. The leaves, seeds, and wood have strong chemical properties and should be used for food, seasoning, or medicinal purposes with caution. It also provides food and cover for wildlife. Silver gray squirrels, dusky-footed woodrats, California mice, and Steller's jays feed extensively on the seeds. Hogs eat both seeds and roots. Young sprouts are choice browse for deer and goats in spring and summer when volatile components of leaves are at lowest concentrations.

OSAGE ORANGE

The second hardest wood in this country. Brittle and yellow at first, but will age to a golden brown. This wood is prized for its flexibility. A bow made of Osage would be worth a horse and saddle. A flute made of Osage is not that expensive, but it is difficult to make. The grain can warp with moisture from the breath, so special care and conditions should be followed with a flute made of Osage. It delivers an incredibly bright tone and is great for the small flute. The grain is iridescent when finished properly.

PECAN: PLAIN, SPALTED

It is an American original, native only to the United States. It is most commonly found in the flood-plains of the Mississippi River and other low-lying wet terrain.  It ranges from Indiana, Illinois and Iowa in the North, southward throughout the Mississippi Valley to Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas in the South.  Pecan is in the walnut family; its closest relative is the shagbark hickory (Carya ovata). Prized even more for its nut crop than for its timber, the pecan is thought to be the only tree cultivated in orchards by the pre-Colonial Native Americans. Because it was an important food staple, the Algonquins chose not to rely solely on the nut harvest from the wild forest pecan tree. This remains true with growers, today.   The pecan tree has a short trunk with many forked branches, making long length lumber hard to obtain. Because of the nature of the tree, pecan lumber is also somewhat limited in the upper grades as well. The interestingly patterned Heartwood is pale reddish-brown in color with occasional dark, pecky streaks.  Sapwood is creamy white with pink tones. Hickory Heartwood is tan or reddish. Sapwood is white to cream with fine brown lines.  Pecan grain is open occasionally wavy or irregular and is open pored, close grained and hard. It is very heavy, strong and tough but is also elastic and quite shock-resistant. It is hard to dry with big shrinkage; but once properly seasoned it is stable and reliable.  It is somewhat difficult to machine (carbide-tipped equipment is suggested).   Color varies between spring and summer woods.

MESQUITE

Mesquite's durability and stability are what makes it an ideal lumber for furniture and cabinets.   Mesquite will only shrink by 2% or less when it is dried.   All wood dries as it ages and some woods are less stable and will dry unevenly and begin to warp and/or pull apart from where it is put together.     Not with mesquite when it is glued and screwed together, it will not pull apart as the wood dries even further.   Also, mesquite dries in an even pattern with and against the grain, so it will not warp as it dries.   Once you have a piece of furniture or cabinets constructed out of mesquite, you can expect they will remain in your family for ages.  But, don't expect any two pieces to be alike.  Mesquite is known for it's uniqueness.  In one piece you may actually have three different colors and grain patterns.   There's the sap wood that is lemon yellow in color.   There is the wood that is turning to heartwood which is a lighter brown in color, and the heartwood, a rich reddish brown color.

It has characteristic bean pods which have long been used by humans, wildlife and livestock as a food source. It is estimated that over 75% of a Coyote's diet in late summer is mesquite beans.  Native Americans relied on the mesquite pod as a dietary staple from which they made tea, syrup and a ground meal called pinole. They also used used the bark for basketry, fabrics and medicine. A favorite of bees and other insects, mesquite flowers produce a fragrant honey.  The taproots, which can be larger than the trunk, are often dug up for firewood. Next to Ironwood, mesquite is the best firewood of the desert, because it burns slowly and is smokeless. The wood is also used for fenceposts, tool handles and to create aromatic charcoal for barbecuing.  Cattlemen regard mesquite as range weeds and eradicate them, but much of the invasion of mesquite into former grasslands, where it did not grow a century ago, is due to overgrazing.  If you've never seen mesquite wood, then you will be in awe that such a beautiful color and grain pattern can come from such a pesky tree that most farmers want to rid their fields of.

MAPLE:  HARD, SOFT, BIRDS EYE, SPALTED, QUILTED, CURLY

Heartwood is creamy white to light reddish brown.  Sapwood is pale to creamy white.  Closed subdued grain with medium figuring and uniform texture. Color variations with knots and mineral streaks.

BIRCH: PLAIN, FLAME, BURL, FIGURED

There's no sight in the woods that quite compares to a stand of yellow birch. The bronze-barked trees glisten against their neighbors. Light bounces off them, as if reflected from metal. Situated in a wide range across the northern U.S. and Canada, yellow birch grows best in rich, moist woodlands by rivers and streams. The beauty of yellow birch on the stump probably captivated colonial New England craftsmen, too. But, it was the tree's strong, golden wood that they treasured. From it, they expertly crafted Windsor-style chairs, tables, and other furniture to withstand decades of use and abuse.

ELM

American elm, sometimes called white elm, is not only the largest species of elm in this country, but also our most beautiful shade tree. The drooping crown on older trees gives them an elegant, vase-shaped appearance. This elm occurs commonly throughout Ohio, preferring moist, rich soils, particularly along the borders of streams and in bottomlands. Unfortunately, American elm is fast disappearing from the American scene as a result of the Dutch elm disease, accidentally introduced from Europe some years ago. This is a fungus disease which clogs the water-carrying vessels of the tree. The disease is transmitted by the elm bark beetle. Perhaps the American elm is destined to a fate similar to that of the American chestnut. The Iroquois Indians are said to have used the bark for making canoes, rope, utensils, and roofing for their homes. The tough, cross-grained wood is highly resistant to splitting and is used in making baskets, furniture, and flooring.

PORT ORFORD CEDAR

What makes Port Orford cedar so popular and still special is its enduring beauty, incredible strength, unparalleled scent, pleasing texture, and unsurpassed dependability; all combined with the taste and imagination of the people who apply this versatile wood to the most demanding applications. It is a wood that passes every test.  In durability, untreated Port Orford Cedar, even when exposed to the elements, lasts longer than such hardwoods as Oregon White oak. Indeed, in tests of durability, the entire cedar family stands out, with an average service life that's 70% longer than Ponderosa Pine and 63% longer than Douglas Fir.  In aesthetic areas Port Orford Cedar is unmatched-- in natural beauty, feel and scent --  and in measurements of strength, natural resistance to moisture and decay, and stain holding properties.