Wood Dynamics Sacramento: Custom Cabinetry Done Right: Custom Cabinets Sacramento
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“Wood Dynamics is the exclusive supplier of cabinets for our award winning design/build remodeling firm. They have proven themselves repeatedly in their commitment to quality and making sure the job is done right every time, no matter what it takes.”

Harry Headrick – President
Expert Design and Construction

WOOD SPECIES SUGGESTED FOR CABINETRY


STANDARD SPECIES
Alder, Ash, Birch, Cedar, Cherry, Fir, Hickory,
Mahogany, Maple, Oak, Pine, Poplar, Walnut

EXOTIC SPECIES
Eucalyptus, Teak, Birdseye Maple,
Quarter Sawn Oak, many more...

LAMINATES & SYNTHETICS
Laminates, Plastics, Decorative Metals,
Melamine, and Vinyl Coated Materials...
STANDARD SPECIES
ALDER
Source:
 Pacific Coast (California and north).
Color:
 Pale pinkish-brown to almost white.
Pattern:
 Not distinct.
Characteristics:
 Good working properties; strength between Red Gum and American tulipwood.
Uses:
 Unexposed structural parts for furniture; core stock.
Availablity:
 Rare as veneer, limited as lumber.
 
Special Notes:
ASH
Source:
 Eastern USA, Lake States, New England and Central States
Color:
 Warm brown heartwood with narrow light brown sapwood.
Pattern:
 Straight moderately open grain.
Characteristics:
 Heavy, hard, strong, stiff and high shock resistance with excellent blending qualities and above average workability.
Uses:
 Interiors, furniture, handles of tools and implements, sporting and athletic goods.
Availablity:
 Readily as veneer and lumber.
 
Special Notes:
BIRCH
Source:
 Canada and the USA (Lake States)Canada and the USA (Lake States)
Color:
 Cream or light brown tinged with red, with thin, nearly white sapwood.
Pattern:
 Both rotary and sliced, plain and often curly or wavy.
Characteristics:
 Heavy, very strong, hard closed-grained, even texture.
Uses:
 Furniture, interiors, interior and exterior doors, store fixtures, accessories.
Availablity:
 Readily as veneer and lumber.
 
Special Notes:
 As veneer the sapwood of rotary birch is sold as "white birch" and the heartwood as "red birch". The greater volume produced is "natural birch" and contains a combination of color tones.
CEDAR
Source:
 Eastern USA and Southern Canada
Color:
 Light red with streaks of creamy white
Pattern:
 Soft, straight-grained with a fine, even texture. Very knotty with distinctive cedar aroma.
Characteristics:
 Soft, easy to work but knots may present some difficulties. Easy to finish, very distinctive cedar aroma.
Uses:
 Linen and blanket chests, pencils, boxes.
Availablity:
 Readily as veneer and lumber
 
Special Notes:
CHERRY
Source:
 Maine to Dakotas and Appalachians, Pennsylvania to West Virginia
Color:
 Light reddish-brown.
Pattern:
 Straight-grained, satiny, some figured, small gum pockets are normal markings.
Characteristics:
 Light, strong, rather hard, fine-grained
Uses:
 Fine furniture, woodworker and engravers blocks
Availablity:
 Readily as veneer and lumber.
 
Special Notes:
FIR
Source:
 Pacific Coast North America and Rocky Mountain states
Color:
 Heartwood varies with conditions of growth from pinkish-yellow to reddish-brown; sapwood lighter. Hem-Fir lumber is lighter and brighter in color, varying from a creamy, nearly-white to a light, straw-brown color.
Pattern:
 Fine grained and even textured, lending formality to wood paneling, cabinets and trim.
Characteristics:
 Dense, hard, stiff, durable, strong.
Uses:
 Douglas Fir: Heavy duty construction such as wharves, trestles, bridge parts and commercial buildings. Hem-Fir: Solid wood doors, louvers, shutters, moulding, case goods, furniture.
Availablity:
 Readily as veneer and lumber.
 
Special Notes:
HICKORY
Source:
 Northeastern Canada and USA to Southwest into Mexico
Color:
 White to cream with inconspicuous fine brown lines and tan heartwood.
Pattern:
 Hickory is a ring porous woods, meaning that the pores of the spring wood form a well-defined ring.
Characteristics:
 Extremely tough and resilient, quite hard and only moderately heavy.
Uses:
 As veneers -furniture, skis and moulding and bent plywood requiring extreme strength.
Availablity:
 
Special Notes:
 Readily as veneer and lumber.
MAHOGANY, AFRICAN
Source:
 Africa (Ivory Coast, Gold Coast, French Cameroon, Cape Lopez, Nigeria)
Color:
 Light pink to reddish-brown and tannish-brown
Pattern:
 Although pores are distributed, this wood produces a very distinct, pleasing grain. The most lavish figured mahogany offered in plain stripe, broken stripe, mottle, fiddleback, fine crotches and faux swirl.
Characteristics:
 Available in great lengths and widths, milder textured with slightly larger pores than other Mahogany species, relatively hard, works well, lightly lustrous, polishes well, durable.
Uses:
 Interior furniture, accessories and art objects, boats
Availablity:
 Readily as veneer and lumber.
 
Special Notes:
MAHOGANY,
SOUTH AMERICA
Source:
 Peru, Brazil, Central America (Honduras, Guatemalan, Nicaragua), Mexico, Jamaica
Color:
 Varies from light reddish or yellowish-brown to rich, dark red, depending upon the country of origin. Mostly yellowish-tan.
Pattern:
 A considerable variety of figures, similar to African Mahogany except crotches are not readily available. Straighter grain usually.
Characteristics:
 Lighter and softer than Cuban, extremely good strength properties, works well, stains and varnishes well, durable and decay-resistant. Central America produces more figured logs for fancy veneers.
Uses:
 Furniture, paneling, fine joinery, boats, ships, pattern-making, exterior uses.
Availablity:
 Readily as veneer and lumber.
 
Special Notes:
MAPLE, HARD
Source:
 USA (Lake States), Appalachians, Northwest USA, Canada
Color:
 Cream to light reddish-brown heartwood, thin white sapwood tinged slightly with reddish-brown.
Pattern:
 Usually straight-grained, sometimes found highly figured with curly, fiddleback, blistered, quilted, Birds Eye or burl grain, scattered over entire tree or in irregular stripes and patches.
Characteristics:
 Heavy, hard, strong, close-grained, tough, stiff, uniform texture. Excellent resistance to abrasion and indentation.
Uses:
 Furniture, interiors, fixtures, flooring, woodenware, cutting surfaces, bakery paddles and other industrial uses, school furniture, decorative inlays and overlays.
Availablity:
 Plain Maple -readily as veneer, Figured Maple limited as veneer. Readily as lumber.
 
Special Notes:
MAPLE, SOFT
Source:
 USA (Lake States), Appalachians, Northwest USA, Canada
Color:
 Cream to light reddish-brown heartwood, thin white sapwood tinged slightly with reddish-brown.
Pattern:
 Usually straight-grained, sometimes found highly figured with curly, fiddleback, blistered, quilted, Birds Eye or burl grain, scattered over entire tree or in irregular stripes and patches.
Characteristics:
 The soft maples are roughly 25 percent softer than the hard maples. Heavy, fairly hard, fairly strong, close-grained, stiff, uniform texture. Good resistance to abrasion and indentation, however Hard Maple is stronger and more resistant.
Uses:
 It is hard to believe, but the same species used for bowling alleys can also be sliced into gorgeous veneers and made into priceless musical instruments.
Availablity:
 Readily as veneer and lumber.
 
Special Notes:
OAK, RED
Source:
 USA (especially Appalachians), Ohio, Kentucky
Color:
 Slightly redder tinge then While Oak although difficult for an untrained eye to tell the difference.
Pattern:
 Flake figure less prominent than white oak's.
Characteristics:
 Slightly courser grain, with large, rounded, open pores. A little easier to finish than white oak., though both are excellent.
Uses:
 Nearly all common uses of hardwoods, and especially popular where strength and durability are required. Not for water-tight or water-resistant purposes, were white oak is the choice.
Availablity:
 Readily as veneer and lumber.
 
Special Notes:
 Except for source and color, Red Oak and White Oak, the two leading American species, are very similar. Quarter sliced and sawn oak has an attractive figure of stripes and leafy grain caused by the distinct layers of springwood and summerwood and the large pores, especially concentrated in springwood. Rift-cut oak has a fine pinstripe. Rotary cut oak has a distinctive watery figure with great contract.
OAK, WHITE
Source:
 Eastern USA (especially Central States) and through Appalachian region
Color:
 From light brown with a greyish tinge in the heartwood to shades of ochre in the sapwood.
Pattern:
 More pronounced and longer rays than red oak, and more frequently rift-sawn for the comb-grain, pin striped figure than red oak.
Characteristics:
 Pores are angular and very numerous and filled with glistening substrate called tyloses, which makes this wood especially suitable for water-tight containers (barrel staves) and where water resistance is required. Tannic acid in the wood protects it from fungi and insects. Closer grain than red oak.
Uses:
 Nearly all common uses of hardwoods, and especially popular where strength and durability are required. Also for water-tight or water-resistant purposes.
Availablity:
 Readily as veneer and lumber.
 
Special Notes:
 Except for source and color, Red Oak and White Oak, the two leading American species, are very similar. Quarter sliced and sawn oak has an attractive figure of stripes and leafy grain caused by the distinct layers of springwood and summerwood and the large pores, especially concentrated in springwood. Rift-cut oak has a fine pinstripe. Rotary cut oak has a distinctive watery figure with great contract.
PINE, KNOTTY
Source:
 Western - Pacific Northwest, Eastern - Eastern USA and North
Color:
 Cream color to light reddish-brown with yellowish-white sapwood.
Pattern:
 Knotty
Characteristics:
 Softwood but occasionally used as cabinet wood. Light, soft, not strong, close, straight-grained.
Uses:
 Used in construction and interior finishing of buildings, lumber and veneer for furniture.
Availablity:
 Readily available as veneer or lumber.
 
Special Notes:
POPLAR
Source:
 Eastern USA
Color:
 White to yellowish cast, sometimes with slight greenish cast, and occasionally with rather dark streaks.
Pattern:
 Straight grain.
Characteristics:
 Even texture, light to medium weight, excellent strength, machines easily, stable when dried, excellent gluing and resilience to splitting when nailed.
Uses:
 As veneer for faces, cross-banding, and backs for plywood. As lumber for furniture component parts, turnery, interior trim and millwork, cabinetry, and exterior trim and siding.
Availablity:
 Readily available as veneer or lumber.
 
Special Notes:
WALNUT
Source:
 Walnut grows throughout the United States and southern Canada, however, its commercial range is confined largely to the Central States.
Color:
 Light grey-brown to dark purplish-brown.
Pattern:
 Plain to highly figured. This one species produces a greater variety of figure types than any other, approached only by mahogany. Longwood (plain and quarter sliced, half-round, both plain and figured, crotches, swirls, stump wood and occasional burls).
Characteristics:
 Moderately heavy, very strong for its weight, exceptionally stable.
Uses:
 Furniture, architecturally woodwork, gunstocks, novelties.
Availablity:
 Readily as veneer and lumber.
 
Special Notes:

EXOTIC SPECIES
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 
 

• Kitchen Cabinetry
• Bathroom Cabinetry
• Custom Closets
• Entertainment Centers
• Home Office

• Fireplace Mantels
• Storage Solutions
• Built-Ins
• Bars
• Much more...

• Office Cabinetry
• Architectural:
     (Trim & Molding)
• Built-Inse

• Storage Solutions
• Conference Rooms
• Custom Furniture
• Much more...
 

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