Maple
Maple is commonly called soft maple, but the name often fools many woodworkers. Soft maple is only slightly softer than hard, sugar maple. Often Red leaf maple has better color and a more interesting grain pattern. It is an excellent wood for many woodworking projects, including: Musical instruments, furniture, flooring, joinery, and decorative veneers.
Birdseye Maple
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. The one-of-a-kind figure is sought after in all cultures by a multitude of woodworkers, craftsman, and artists. Birdseye maple is excellent for custom pool cues, musical instruments, furniture, and small items such as jewelry boxes due to its unique and amazing figure.
Douglas Fir
The two varieties of Douglas-fir occur in quite different ecosystems. The Interior variety grows in a variety of habitats including open forests with pinegrass and mosses beneath. On the coast, the forests are much more productive. Douglas-fir can grow with western red cedar, hemlock, and grand fir, with a lush layer of salal, huckleberries, Oregon-grape, and sword fern beneath.
White Oak
Oak is regarded as one of the most beautiful woods to work with because of its grain pattern and character. Oak is used in many woodworking applications, including steam bending. Air-dry bending and crushing strengths are high. Hardness is rated as medium, and weight is high.
Garry Oak
The Garry oak is a broad leaved deciduous hardwood with thick, grooved, grayish-black bark and a round spreading crown. The tree will grow to 20 metres in height.According to British Columbia’s Big Tree Registry, the largest Garry oak in British Columbia is near Quamichan Lake on Vancouver Island. This specimen has a circumference at breast height of 5.09m, a height of 30.2m and a crown spread of 21.2m.
Sapele
Sapele is an exotic wood from West, Central, and Eastern Africa. Some consider it as a utility substitute for mahogany due to the fact that it belongs to the same Meliaceae family. It can be a difficult wood to work with, but finishes well. Popular with instrument makers and as a decorative veneer.
Jatoba
Jatoba is an exotic wood that runs from salmon-red to orange-brown. It darkens into a russet to reddish-brown color after drying, and it is frequently marked with dark streaks. It is reported to have good strength qualities and can be used in structural applications for which Oak would be suitable. It is reported to be similar to the African species, Tchitola, Black locust, and is superior to White oak.
Bubinga
Bubinga is an exotic wood from Central Africa. It is initially pinky-red, but darkens with age. It is popular for tool handles, decorative veneers, turnery, boatbuilding, knife handles, and can be used as an alternative to rosewood.
Black Walnut
Black Walnuts are the largest of 6 species of walnut that are native to North America, often reaching 130 feet tall. They are frequently planted outside of their native central and eastern US range, and it not uncommon to find them scattered throughout our region, especially east of the Cascades next to farmhouses, and in parks and yards. Black Walnuts have brownish grey bark with braided fissures. Twigs are also brownish grey with sporadic small lenticels.
Ipe
Ipe is extremely dense and durable, as well as extremely difficult to work. Commonly referred to as “Brazilian Walnut” among —though it is not related to true Walnut. Ipe is one of the densest wood it sinks in the water and can last up to 25 years outdoor.
Pacific Yew
The Pacific yew is a small to medium-sized evergreen tree, growing 10–15 m tall and with a trunk up to 50 cm diameter, rarely more. In some instances, trees with heights in excess of 20 m occur in parks and other protected areas, quite often in gullies. The tree is extremely slow growing, and has a habit of rotting from the inside, creating hollow forms. This makes it difficult and sometimes impossible to make accurate rings counts to determine a specimen's true age.
Leopardwood
Leopardwood is an exotic wood with dark reddish-brown color with strong broad rays. This material is straight grained with medium texture. The highly flecked decorative surface makes this wood ideal for furniture and accent work.
Spalted Maple
Spalted maple has dark veins caused by fungi in the wood. This wood is very decorative and therefore very popular with woodworkers.
Yellowheart
Yellowheart, an exotic wood also called Pau Amarello, can grow to more than 130 feet tall and 30" in diameter. It has large leaves upwards of 10" long and 4" wide. It has a wonderful show of creamy white, fragrant flowers. Pau Amarello trees are found almost exclusively in the State of Para, Brazil. Dust from pau amarello or yellowheart can cause skin rashes so take proper care if you have a sensitivity.
Redheart
Redheart is an exotic wood with dull pink to moderately bright red and fades considerably with long exposure to UV. There is sometimes a purple area at the juncture between the heartwood and the sapwood. This wood has a fine to medium texture and works very easily.
Padauk
Padauk is an exotic wood that is a bright orange or almost crimson wood when freshly cut, but oxidizes to a darker, rich purple-brown over time - although it stays redder than Indian Rosewood. Slightly harder and heavier than Indian Rosewood it is a good wood in all respects - stable, and easy to work with.
Purpleheart
Purpleheart is an exotic wood with mechanical properties of the wood are reported to lie somewhere between those of Greenheart and Oak. It is reported to have exceptional tolerance for shock loading. Purpleheart is reported to be highly desired by hobbyists and craftsmen who use the hard heavy wood in small projects.
Wenge
Wenge is one of the most popular of the imported exotic hardwoods. With most hardwoods being light in colour, Wenge is renowned for its rich dark brown heartwood. One could argue that its relatively rare and distinct figuring inspired its original use in Africa for ceremonial masks and religious carvings.