Category: Wood Types

“Rustic” Lumber vs. “Sap” Lumber

What is the difference between Rustic lumber and Sapwood lumber? Lumber is “graded” by quality and amount of defects. There is actually a certification process at the lumber grading school that sets a National standard. We are not going to get that deep into the topic in this forum.

“Rustic Lumber”

The term “Rustic” is not a grading term. It would actually be #2 and #3 common lumber. Because a consumer often has no idea what #2 lumber might be, a “slang” term was born! Rustic lumber would have unlimited amounts of knots, grain variation, color change from white to Dark red, defects, check marks, twist, etc. Simply stated it would have the “old rustic look”. Look up a rustic style floor and you will see the large variation between boards, including knots. Clients need to understand that the builder has no idea if you would like 2 knots or 20 knots in your piece of furniture! Because of the artistic nature of hand crafted furniture most shops will not allow any specific requests in the lumber, other than filling in the open knots with Epoxy on tabletops. This keeps food from getting inside the open space.

“Sap Lumber”

Sap lumber is often recognized as lumber with two different color variations in the same board, often with a sharp changeover point. Perhaps you have looked a piece of cherry wood. The grain was a deep red color and then “Bang” the color changed over to nearly white. This is the virgin lumber near the edge of the tree, or an old growth tree with some decay or pulp in the wood. Sap lumber can be clear and free of knots and voids, but would not make the Select grading system due to color alone.

“Clear lumber”

Clear lumber is graded as FAS (Firsts and Seconds) or Select. These are the highest quality boards for length, color, beauty, etc. Just remember Sap boards may be clear of knots, but fail to make the grade due to color.

Recently the Amish have been using elm.  You may have heard of “Dutch Elm Disease”.  This is killing off many Elm trees in the US.  Elm is a “stringy wood” to work with any many people actually use it for firewood or building pallets.

Are master Amish craftsmen build Elm furniture dining tables and chairs, along with some bedroom sets.  Elm has a very unique grain pattern.  I think it looks like Turkey feathers.  It’s one of those woods that either you love it, or you don’t!  Elm only looks good in the medium to dark color line and we don’t have any light stain choices to offer.  Elm is difficult to sand smooth on the wood edges, so you may find some spots with a small chip or rough spot.  Elm is about the same hardness as Cherry wood.

Hard, or rock Maple is a light colored wood that is much harder than cherry. Often referred to as maple, this wood has a Janka hardness scale of 1450, and is second in hardness to Hickory.  Fig 3 shows a maple boards black growth rings and distinct light color.

Found in the forests and meadows throughout all of Ohio’s Amish Country, but flourishing in the cooler climates and more acidic soils of northeastern Ohio and Appalachia. It is valued for its hard, dense, fine-grained and difficult-to-split wood, which is utilized for floors, Amish furniture, veneer, musical instruments, and railroad ties.

Nearly all Amish furniture built with maple is not stained.  Amish finishing shops spray clear conversion varnish on the maple to protect it.

Consumer Note:   Many recognize maple by it’s color when sprayed clear, not by it’s grain pattern.

Most Amish furniture is made from Red Oak. Red oak is readily available in the US and Canada. It is the most widely used of the hardwood trees (hardwoods often lose their leaves in the winter) and the trees can reach heights of 100’.  Red oak is often plain sawn giving it an open grain pattern.  There are multiple trees that fall into the Red oak catagory, one of them is black oak.  These woods have a reddish grain pattern and are graded and sold under the name “red oak”.

Plain sawn Red oak can be identified by the wide, flowing ring patterns (fig 1).  The annual rings are black in color.  They also “indent” into the wood.  Run your hand across the black rings and you will notice that area is a bit rougher.  Plain sawn cuts can also be identified, on any board, by looking at the end grain pattern.  Figure 97 shows the grain pattern clearly.

Red oak measures 1290 on the Janka Hardness scale.

Cherry used in Amish furniture is actually called Black Cherry. Cherry is a fine hardwood, but is the softest of the woods Amish use (fig 2).  It’s Janka hardness is 950.

Many companies use other similar grained woods that are cheaper, then stain the   wood to look like cherry. They then try to sell it for a higher price. Amish Craftsmen only use 100% solid cherry and never cut corners trying to “fake it”.

Buyers note:  As you get closer to the outside bark area of a cherry tree the wood will quickly turn from a reddish to an off yellow color.  Many Amish like to use boards like this because it gives character to the furniture.  Properly laid out boards give a natural beauty to the piece, thus showing the Amish woodworkers eye for perfection.

A rapidly growing woodland tree common throughout all of Ohio, is often found in open fields and previously harvested forests. Its beautiful, fine-grained, orange-brown to mahogany-colored heartwood ranks second only to Black Walnut as the ultimate choice for making Amish solid wood furniture.  This tree is named for its ripened black cherries as well as its black-gray, flaky mature bark, which looks like black cornflakes pasted on the trunk of the tree.

A native of eastern and midwestern North America, Black Cherry is a pioneer invader tree in open fields or woodlots, and as such can become a “woody weed” as an aggressive sapling. In youth, it displays a symmetrical, often pyramidal growth habit, but it often divides into several upright branches due to storm damage and assumes an irregular shape as it matures.
How do you identify Cherry?

To the untrained eye it can be difficult to tell if the wood is truly cherry.  We teach clients to look for a black grain pattern and a “bit of white” mixed into the wood.  These “white” areas are actually the outer edge of the tree.  Fig 2 has an arrow pointing to a white spot.
Be aware that Cherry “naturally Darkens” in sunlight!

Cherry that is used in Amish furniture was most likely just built.  This wood is actually more “pink” and if sprayed with a natural finish, or clear coat of conversion varnish, it will take up to 6 months to “naturally darken to a golden color”.
Consumer note:

DO NOT place anything on a piece of cherry furniture, in a permanent manner, for 6 months.  This means decorations, placemats, etc.  The sun will not darken the area evenly and you will be left with the shape of the item in a lighter color.    The wise consumer will place the extra cherry table leafs in the table so they will darken evenly with the rest of the table.

Soft maple is a lumber term, not species of tree. This normally refers to the cousin of the hard maple tree.  Amish craftsmen often use soft, or brown maple as many Amish refer to it, for paint grade pieces. This wood is about 25% softer than hard maple and places it in the category of cherry and walnut.  The wood is usually straight grained and smooth.

Consumer note:   Amish like to use soft maple for their painted and dye stained furniture.. The lower cost of the wood and saves the consumer money.  The smooth grain pattern takes the paint very well giving a smooth, rich finish.

Although black walnut is the finest of hardwoods to build furniture from, many Amish craftsmen are not using it due to high consumer demand for cherry, maple and hickory.

Fig 5 shows a walnut floor with the different color variations.

Black walnut scores a bit better than cherry on the Janka Hardness scale, coming in at 1010.

Its beautiful, fine-grained, chocolate-brown, relatively lightweight heartwood is the ultimate choice for making solid wood furniture, interior trim, gunstocks, and high-quality veneer.

A native of the Eastern, Midwestern, and Great Plains regions of the United States, Black Walnut is a pioneer invader tree in open fields or cut-over woodlots, and grows rapidly in youth.   A rapidly growing tree is most common in moist bottomlands and open fields, but is found everywhere due to squirrels burying its nuts.

White Oak: Native to the entire eastern half of the United States. Its wood is a light-colored beige that is almost white when freshly cut; hence its common name.

Amish craftsmen like to use quarter sawn white oak.  The large trees produce wide planks that have outstanding rayflake designs (fig 6).  Quarter sawn wood is very stable and white oak has a natural tendency not to rot or decay.  This wood is very stable and resists cupping, twist and cracking when properly finished.

Amish craftsmen recommend using quarter sawn oak if you live in a high moisture area, as the close grain of the wood is very stable.

What is quarter-sawn lumber?

Technically, quarter-sawn lumber has the growth rings of the tree approximately perpendicular to the board’s broad face. In contrast, plain-sawn lumber has the growth rings parallel to the board’s broad face. Quarter-sawn produces both quartered and rift lumber.  Look at fig. 104 and note #1; The three red lines on the right side of the photo show the growth rings of the tree and they are nearly vertical. This is a true quarter-sawn board.  Figure 104, #2 shows a rift sawn board.  The growth rings are approximately 30 degrees from vertical.

How is quarter-sawn lumber achieved?

There is only one true way to quarter saw a log. First, we cut a log into quarters (fig 104). Each quarter is then processed by cutting a single board off of one face, then cutting the next board from the opposite face, and cutting from alternating faces until the quarter is completely cut.

What are the aesthetic qualities of quarter-sawn lumber?

The most notable characteristic of quarter-sawn lumber lies in its incomparable grain patterns. Medullary ray fleck, wavy grain and interlocked grain are all visually enhanced when the log is quarter-sawn. The revival of Mission style furniture is just one example of how today’s Amish craftsmen are rediscovering the unique beauty of quarter-sawn lumber. Today’s Amish heirloom furniture, the antiques of tomorrow, is crafted from quarter-sawn lumber. Quality reproductions and renovations of artisans’ work demand true quarter-sawn lumber. Quarter-sawn wood is the choice of Amish craftsmen.

What are the structural qualities of quarter-sawn lumber?

Quarter-sawn lumber is the uncontested winner when compared to plain- (or flat-) sawn lumber. Quarter-sawn features include:

• Reduces shrinking and swelling in lumber width.
• Reduces twisting, warping and cupping.
• Less prone to surface checking.
• Does not allow liquids to readily pass through it.
• Smooth surface as raised grain is not pronounced.

What’s the difference between quartered and rift lumber?

A quartered board features medullary ray or “fleck” perpendicular to a grain which typically forms angles from 60 degrees to 90 degrees with the board’s surface. A rift board exhibits a clean, straight, vertical grain pattern which typically forms angles from 30 to 60 degrees with the board’s surface (fig 20).

Is there a difference in cost between quartered lumber and plain-sawn lumber?

Quarter sawing is a specialized technique requiring more time and greater skill to produce. Logically, lumber prices are slightly higher than plain sawn.

If quarter sawing is so good, why don’t all sawmills do it?

For most, the art of quarter sawing has been lost over the years, except for Amish Furniture craftsmen. Like many superior practices of the past, quarter sawing lost favor to plain sawing techniques. Plain sawing is easier, cheaper, and quicker… but it results in more waste, less grain characteristic and less stable lumber.

While also known as Cedar or Red cedar, this species is actually a type of Juniper, reaching a height of 30 feet and width of 15 feet when found in the open, although it is spire-like in youth. Fig 108 shows a piece of rustic red cedar furniture

Its aromatic heartwood is lavendar-red in color, and is prized for making Amish cedar chests, closet wood lining, cedar shavings, and small Amish carvings.

Many Amish craftsmen that use Cedar for their log style furniture often spray a clear finish over the wood to protect it.

Janka hardness test is a measure of force required to embed a .444-inch steel ball to half its diameter into the wood. It is one of the most common ways to test the strength and wear of hardwood flooring. The higher the Janka score, the harder the particular species of the wood is.

Janka hardness test is a measure of force required to embed a .444-inch steel ball to half its diameter into the wood. It is one of the most common ways to test the strength and wear of hardwood flooring.

The higher the Janka score, the harder the particular species of the wood.