Before the year 1900, furniture craftsmen favored certain types of wood for their aesthetic appeal, strength, and ease of working with. Walnut, oak, mahogany, rosewood, fruitwoods, and rare wood veneers and inlays were commonly used for crafting furniture. In America during the Colonial period, furniture makers primarily utilized maple, oak, walnut, birch, cherry, and pine based on local availability. The readily accessible preferred wood types were used for visible parts of furniture, while less attractive or durable woods were reserved for concealed components. Consequently, furniture crafted before 1900 is usually considered valuable and worthy of restoration.
Determining the type of wood used in your furniture can be crucial in assessing its true worth. Wood identification plays a significant role in deciding whether a piece is worth restoring or disposing of. It’s possible that an old, worn-out dresser may have been constructed using a wood variety that is currently considered rare. In this guide, we will outline how to inspect a piece of furniture and the specific details or markings to look for when identifying the type of wood it’s made of. Understanding fundamental wood characteristics like hardness, grain, and color will be beneficial..
Characteristics
Hardness
Wood Characteristics When it comes to wood, it’s not as simple as just labeling it as hardwood or softwood. The hardness of a wood can be deceiving because not all hardwoods are hard, and not all softwoods are soft. This classification is based on botany – hardwoods come from flowering trees, while softwoods come from conifers. While most hardwoods are indeed harder than most softwoods, there are exceptions to this rule.
Hardwoods are typically more valuable than softwoods due to their scarcity, although there are exceptions such as gum, a hardwood that can be priced similarly to softwoods. One effective method for identifying wood is by examining its grain and color.
Wood grain and color
The cell structure of different tree species determines their grain, with hardwoods having tubular cells called vessels, visible as pores in the wood. Large cells create a slightly rough, open texture, requiring filling, while small cells result in a smooth, close-grained texture. Oak, walnut, ash, mahogany, rosewood, and teak are open-grained woods, while beech, birch, maple, cherry, satinwood, gum, and poplar are close-grained. Softwoods, lacking vessel cells, can be considered close-grained for practical purposes. All trees have annual growth rings made up of cells formed during each year’s growing season, which determine the wood’s appearance. Wood grains can be subdued or clearly defined, with straight grains, stripes, swirls, waves, curls, ripples, eyes, and mottled effects, and colors ranging from white and pale yellow to red, purple, and black. Each species has its own unique grain and color, which can be used to identify the wood. Furniture woods are chosen and valued for their grain and color. Hardwoods typically have a richer and finer-textured grain than softwoods, but rich grains of all colors and patterns exist. Woods with distinctive patterns are usually more valuable than those with indistinct patterns, and weaker-grained woods are often stained to enhance their character. This is why it’s necessary to completely remove the old finish before identifying the wood used in a piece of furniture.
Assessing Wood
How do you begin to identify the type of wood used for your furniture? This may seem difficult at first, but you’ll find it easier as you gain experience. With practice, you may be able to recognize various woods by smell and touch as well as by color and grain. You should ask yourself some key questions:
- Consider the piece of furniture itself. About how old is it, and what style is it? Some types of furniture are made with specific woods — ash, for instance, is widely used in bentwoods — and most new furniture is made with woods not used for older furniture.
- Look at the color. Although color can vary considerably from tree to tree, its tone is fairly constant within a species; the color intensity may change, but not the quality. Some woods have very distinctive color characteristics — poplar, for instance, is the only wood with a green tinge to it, and rosewood can be dark purple.
- Finally, look at the grain. Is the wood open- or close-grained? Are the pores evenly distributed, or are they concentrated at the growth rings? Is the grain straight or wavy, mottled or swirled?
Now that you have closely looked at your furniture, you might notice it is made with veneer (thin layers of wood) or a combination of woods. Both are common practices for furniture building.
Wood combinations:Â Another consideration is that many types of modern furniture are made with two or more kinds of wood, to keep the cost down. Rare woods are used where appearance is important, such as table-tops; the more common woods are used for less conspicuous structural pieces, such as table and chair legs. This multiple-wood construction isn’t always easy to see until the old finish is removed — a table you think is walnut, for example, may turn out to have gum legs, stained to match.
Furniture made with more than one wood eventually needs special refinishing treatment. If you find yourself with a multiple-wood piece, you may have to stain and finish the common wood again to match the wood of the most conspicuous surface.
Once you are familiar with the color, grain, and construction style of your furniture, you can use that information to determine the specific kind of wood or woods used. Check out the next section for tips on how to easily identify common furniture woods.
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Common Wood used in furniture
Common furniture woods each have their own unique characteristics, similar to how every person has distinct fingerprints. Here are details that can help in identifying different types of furniture woods.
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Ash (white ash): Ash is a durable hardwood known for its excellent bending abilities, often used for bentwoods and furniture parts requiring maximum strength. Ash veneers are also common. Its color ranges from creamy white or gray with a light brown cast to a dark reddish brown, and it is moderately priced.
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Basswood: This common hardwood is often used in combination with rare woods like walnut and mahogany. It comes in colors ranging from creamy white to creamy brown or reddish, with straight and even grain. Basswood is close-grained with very small pores and is relatively inexpensive.
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Beech: Another hardwood with good bending abilities, beech is often used with more expensive woods in inconspicuous places. It takes stain well and is often stained to look like other woods. Beech is hard, heavy, and difficult to work with hand tools, and it is inexpensive.
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Birch (yellow birch): Birch, a common hardwood, is used in all aspects of furniture construction. It has a light yellowish brown color and a pleasing grain, similar to maple. Birch is close-grained and moderately expensive.
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Butternut: Similar to walnut, butternut is light brown with occasional dark or reddish streaks. It has pronounced, leafy grain and is coarse-textured with open pores. Butternut is easy to work with hand tools and is moderately expensive.
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Cedar (Eastern red cedar): This softwood is primarily used in chests and closets due to its distinctive scent and effectiveness in repelling insects. It has a light red color with pleasing grain and is close-grained. Cedar is moderately expensive and should be left unfinished on the inside and treated with a clear finish on the outside.
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Cherry (black cherry): Cherry is highly prized for its use in crafting fine furniture and cabinets. With a color range from light brown to dark reddish brown and a distinctive grain, cherry wood often features a mottle pattern. Due to its close grain, it does not require a filler, and a light stain can be applied to enhance its natural color. However, it can be challenging to work with hand tools, and it is considered an expensive hardwood.
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Elm (rock elm, American elm): Known for its excellent bending qualities, elm is commonly utilized in various types of furniture, especially in bentwoods. Its color can range from light brown to dark brown, often displaying red streaks. Elm possesses a distinct grain, with rock elm showcasing contrasting light and dark areas. Due to the impact of Dutch elm disease, elm has become rare and can be both hard to find and expensive.
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Gum (sweetgum, red gum): This hardwood is frequently used in veneers or in combination with rare woods, and is also found in some moderately priced furniture. Gum wood typically exhibits an even brown color with a reddish cast and may have darker streaks. Its price ranges from moderate to low.
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Hickory (shagbark hickory): Noted for its strength, hardness, and toughness, hickory is commonly used in rockers, Windsor chairs, lawn furniture, and some veneers. The wood features a brown to reddish brown color with a straight, indistinct grain and is open-grained. Hickory is very hard and heavy, making it difficult to work with hand tools. It is moderately priced.
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Lauan (red lauan, white lauan): This hardwood, often sold as Philippine mahogany, is used in less expensive grades of furniture. It varies in color from tan to brown to dark red and features a ribbonlike grain pattern similar to true mahogany. Red lauan is more expensive than white.
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Mahogany (New World mahogany, African mahogany): Mahogany is a traditional favorite for fine furniture and is considered one of the most treasured furniture woods globally. It varies in color from medium brown to deep red-brown and dark red, boasting a very distinctive and attractive grain. Mahogany is known for being very expensive.
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Maple, also known as sugar maple, is a sturdy and visually appealing hardwood commonly used in furniture and butcher blocks. It features a light brown color with a reddish tint and typically has a straight grain, although it can also display bird’s-eye, curly, or wavy patterns. However, working with maple using hand tools can be challenging, and it tends to be on the pricier side.
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Oak, including red oak and white oak, is a widely available hardwood prized for its strength and attractive grain. It’s commonly used for solid furniture and veneers in modern furniture. White oak has a rich grayish-brown hue, while red oak has a more pronounced reddish tint. Both types of oak have distinct grain patterns with prominent rays or streaks and are moderately priced, with red oak usually being less expensive than white oak.
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Pecan, a southern hardwood, is quite strong and finds extensive use in dining and office furniture. Pecan wood varies from pale brown to reddish-brown with noticeable dark streaks, and it’s challenging to work with hand tools. However, its price is moderate.
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White pine, a softwood, was extensively used for Colonial furniture and remains a fundamental wood in modern furniture. It is utilized in various types of furniture and is the primary wood for unfinished furniture. With a color range from cream to yellow-brown and clearly marked growth rings, white pine is a cost-effective option.
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Poplar, also known as yellow poplar, is a moderately soft hardwood often used in affordable furniture and in combination with pricier woods. The wood has a brownish-yellow hue with a distinctive green tinge and subdued grain. It’s a close-grained wood that stains well, is relatively light, and easy to work with using hand tools, making it an inexpensive choice.
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Redwood, a distinctive softwood, is mainly used for outdoor furniture due to its resistance to decay and insects. The wood features a deep reddish-brown color with well-marked growth rings and is moderately hard. Its price may vary regionally.
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Rosewood, available in Brazilian, Indian, or Ceylonese varieties, is a high-quality hardwood often used for furniture and veneers. It ranges in color from dark brown to dark purple with rich, strongly marked black streaks. Rosewood is challenging to work with using hand tools and is considered very expensive.
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Satinwood, particularly East Indian satinwood, is highly valued for its use in fine hardwood veneers, decorative inlays, and marquetry. Its color varies from bright golden yellow to a darker yellowish-brown with a distinctive and attractive mottled or ribbon-striped pattern. Satinwood is known to be very expensive.
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Sycamore is a popular choice for affordable furniture and veneers due to its resistance to splitting and its suitability for butcher blocks. The wood features a range of colors from pinkish to reddish brown with prominent, closely spaced rays, creating a distinct grain pattern. It is moderately easy to work with hand tools and falls within a moderate price range.
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Teak, on the other hand, is one of the premier hardwoods for furniture, available in shades from rich golden-yellow to dark brown with dark and light streaks. However, it comes at a high price point.
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Walnut: including black walnut and European walnut, has a long-standing reputation for use in fine furniture and veneers. Its chocolate brown color, sometimes with dark or purplish streaks, along with its striking grain, make it an attractive choice. However, it is also considered very expensive.
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Other woods:Â Although most furniture is made from the woods listed above, many other woods are used in furniture construction.
A piece of furniture holds many clues that can help you assess what quality of wood was used in its creation. The key is just knowing how to assess the wood and what clues to look for.