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The woods in this category are harvested from trees that take a very long time to grow to maturity, in many cases as many as two hundred to three hundred years. Traditionally, the more popular hardwoods for woodworking include oak, beech, walnut, and mahogany. Generally speaking, the hardwoods have a much more beautiful character, pattern, and grain formation, and are far more hardy than the softwoods. They are, therefore, a more popular choice for furniture making than softwoods.

American red oak

American Red Oak

This wood is heavy, durable, and very strong. It has similar qualities to American white oak, but tends to be redder in color and has a more interesting grain.

American white oak

American White Oak

Although similar in appearance to other oak varieties, American white oak has a yellowish-red color and a less attractive grain. What it loses in attractiveness, however, it gains in a reputation for toughness and durability.

Australian red cedar

Australian Red Cedar

Unlike other cedar varieties, this timber is a hardwood. It is slightly redder in color than other cedars and has a grain very similar in appearance to Oregon pine (see here) when finished. It is most commonly used for small cabinets and other furniture.

American beech

Beech

This is another popular furniture-making wood, as it is light, strong, and hard. The whiter the wood, the younger it is and the more popular for furniture making. Avoid using the darker or discolored wood as this comes from much older trees and has the tendency to split quite easily.

Beech has an excellent texture, making for easy planing, joining, and finishing. It takes the bumps and scrapes of normal household use very well, and because of its smooth finish it is also a favorite choice for use in tool handles.

Cherry

Cherry

Cherry wood is a popular choice with professional cabinetmakers, but it is quite difficult to obtain and is usually expensive outside the USA and Canada.

It can be difficult to work as the grain tends to tear easily, but if worked properly it can give a very beautiful finish.

The two most commonly used species within this family are English cherry and American cherry.

Red elm

Elm

This attractive timber is often used for making large pieces of furniture. It is a light red-brown in color and some species, such as European elm, have a beautiful figure and burl pattern.

Iroko

Iroko

Iroko is generally golden-brown in color, and has a pungent and irritating aroma when worked in machines.

Similar to teak in appearance and durability, but not as oily, iroko is a good choice for outdoor furniture.

Jelutong

Jelutong

This light-yellow timber is often used as a substitute for South African yellowwood as its appearance and characteristics are very similar, but it is a great deal less expensive. Although strong and durable, boards need to be selected carefully because they have a tendency to contain oval holes as well as circular wormholes.

Brown mahogany

Mahogany

This is a very beautiful timber with a red-brown color and a distinctive grain. Most varieties are quite heavy in comparison to other woods, and they are strong and durable. Although it is a popular choice for furniture-making, and has been for many years, mahogany, particularly the Spanish and St. Domingo varieties, is becoming more scarce and expensive, mainly due to high demand.

White maple

Maple

There are many varieties of maple, but generally it has a very light-brown color with an attractive grain that finishes well. It is a tough wood and versatile for all aspects of woodworking.

One particularly pretty variety is bird’s-eye maple, which has regular dark-brown markings that look like its name suggests. Bird’s-eye maple is often used for small-scale woodworking projects, such as presentation boxes and veneers.

Meranti

Meranti

Meranti is very similar in many ways to mahogany. It is a plain but attractive straight-grained hardwood with a reddish color. Because of its straight and even grain, meranti is most often used in the construction of door and window frames and for skirting boards.

When working this wood keep a pair of tweezers in your workshop, as more splinters end up in fingers and hands from meranti than any other kind of timber!

Oak

Oak (All Species Except American Varieties)

This very beautiful hardwood is grown in many parts of the world, and the type of oak you use will depend upon where you live. Oak is a popular choice for lounge and dining-room furniture and tends to darken with age. It is an amazingly strong wood which, in days gone by, was used in the construction of ships. It was sawn into massive beams for the construction of houses (typically in the Elizabethan period) that can still be seen in Britain to this day— testimony to its longevity!

Vietnamese rosewood

Rosewood

There are many varieties of rosewood available. This species takes it name from the aroma of the wood—the underground section of canary rosewood is, in fact, used in the preparation of perfume. Rosewood has a dark-red to red-brown color and finishes beautifully. It is used for showpieces of furniture, pianos, veneers, and turned bowls.

Sapele

Sapele (Sapele Mahogany)

This very grainy and coarse-textured wood is mainly used as a veneer on manufactured boards, and is popularly used in this form for making pianos and other furniture. It is red-brown in color, strong and durable, but has a rather dull appearance. Most varieties originate from West Africa.

Sycamore

Sycamore

This is a beautiful wood when finished, if you can get it to that stage, as it does not take well to seasoning or to changes in climatic conditions. This wood is compact, has a fine grain, and can be worked quite easily. It usually has a light-cream to white color, but tends to darken with age.

Sycamore is commonly used in the making of violins and general furniture, but beware of warping and shrinkage.

Burmese teak

Teak

This straight-grained, heavy, but particularly durable wood has a greasy feel to it that is caused by its high oil content. It is suitable for outdoor furniture, deck planks, and shipbuilding, although the oiliness makes the use of wood glue a little tricky. Light-brown to burnt-gold in color, it is a classically beautiful wood to work and gives a lovely finish, but it tends to be hard on blades.

Tulipwood

Tulipwood

This beautifully striped, very hard wood, erroneously referred to as poplar, is a light red-brown in color and finishes well. It is often used for turning and decorative purposes, but is not a common choice for pieces of furniture.

Walnut

Walnut

Walnut is an exquisitely beautiful hardwood with a dark-brown, gray, or red color. This wood is a pleasure to work and a joy to see. Unfortunately, due to high demand, it is becoming quite expensive and is therefore only used for small projects, for example in the production of high-quality gun stocks.