What Is Select Hardwoods?
Select Hardwoods markets the lumber produced by the Church & Church Lumber Company Sawmill to our customers worldwide. We kiln dry premier Appalachian hardwoods for millwork, furniture, flooring, and other high-end applications throughout the United States and all over the world.
Having 400,000 board feet kiln capacity, our experienced staff ensures your lumber is dried, equalized and conditioned to the proper specifications. After drying, our certified lumber graders make sure you are getting the quality you are expecting. At Select Hardwoods, we prepare lumber for both domestic and international shipments, with a commitment of on-time deliveries.
Hardwoods
Rift & Quarter Sawn White Oak
Working Properties
It machines well, nails and screws well, although pre-boring is advised. Due to its reaction with iron, galvanized nails are recommended. Its adhesive properties are variable. The wood dries slowly, but stains to a good finish.
Physical Properties
Rift & Quarter-sawn White Oak has a distinct visual appearance that is different than plain-sawn White Oak due to the sawing process in the mill. Rift & Quarter-saw White Oak is also more structurally sound and harder than traditional White Oak, making it ideal for flooring applications. The appearance of its specian grain pattern or "medullary rays", make this product unique and sought after for high-end applications.
Main Uses
Flooring, furniture, panels, cabinets, architectural millwork, musical instruments.
Overall, rift and quarter sawn White Oak lumber is versatile material prized for its durability, stability, and aesthetic appeal, making it suitable for a wide range of woodworking projects. Whether used in fine furniture making, cabinetry, flooring, architectural millwork, or musical instrument crafting, this White Oak adds a touch of elegance and sophistication to any application.
Thickness and Grades
Quarter-sawn White Oak
Rift-sawn White Oak
Plain-Sawn White Oak
The sapwood is light-colored and the heartwood is light-to-dark brown. White oak is mostly straight-grained with a medium-to-coarse texture. Having longer rays than red oak, white oak has more figure.
Working Properties
It machines well, nails and screws well, although pre-boring is advised. Due to its reaction with iron, galvanized nails are recommended. Its adhesive properties are variable. The wood dries slowly, but stains to a good finish.
Physical Properties
White oak is a hard and heavy wood with a medium-bending and crushing strength, low in stiffness, but very good in steam-bending. It has great wear-resistance.
Main Uses
Furniture, flooring, architectural millwork, moulding, doors, kitchen cabinets, paneling, barrel staves (tight cooperage), and caskets.
The sapwood is light-colored and the heartwood is light-to-dark brown. White oak is mostly straight-grained with a medium-to-coarse texture. Having longer rays than red oak, white oak has more figure.
Thickness and Grades
- 3/4 S/B White Oak
- 3/4 1 Com White Oak
- 3/4 2A Com White Oak
- 4/4 S/B White Oak
- 4/4 1 Com White Oak
- 4/4 2A Com White Oak
- 4/4 Rustic White Oak
- Special Grades: Width sorts in S/B, 4” through 9”
Red Oak
The sapwood of red oak is white to light brown and the heartwood is a pinkish-reddish brown. The wood is similar in general appearance to white oak, but with a slightly less-pronounced figure due to the smaller rays. The wood is mostly straight-grained, with a coarse texture.
Working Properties
It machines well. Pre-boring is recommended for nailing and screwing. It can be stained to a golden finish, with a wide range of finish tones.
Physical Properties
Red oak is hard and heavy, with medium-bending strength and stiffness and high-crushing strength.
Main Uses
Furniture, flooring, architectural millwork and moulding, doors, kitchen cabinets, paneling, and caskets.
Thickness and Grades
- 3/4 FAS/1F Red Oak
- 3/4 1 Com Red Oak
- 3/4 2 Com Red Oak
- 4/4 FAS/1F Red Oak
- 4/4 1 Com Red Oak
- 4/4 2A Com Red Oak
- **6/4, 8/4, 12/4 Red Oak Shipping Dry available upon request.
Poplar
The sapwood is creamy white and may be streaked, and the heartwood varies from pale yellowish-brown to olive green. The green color in the heartwood will tend to darken on exposure to light and turn brown. The wood has a medium-to-fine texture and is straight-grained.
Working Properties
It is a versatile wood that is easy to machine, plane, turn, glue, and bore. It dries easily with minimal movement in performance and has little tendency to split when nailed. It takes and holds paint, enamel, and stain exceptionally well.
Physical Properties
Poplar is a medium-density wood with low-bending, shock resistance, stiffness, and compression values. It has a medium steam-bending classification.
Main Uses
Light construction, furniture, kitchen cabinets, doors, paneling, moulding and millwork, edge-glued panels, turnings, and carvings
Thickness and Grades
- Thicknesses: 4/4, 5/4, 6/4, 8/4, 12/4
- Grades: S/B, 1com, 2A Com
- Special Grades: Width sorts in S/B, 4” through 12” and wider.
Hickory
The hickories are an important group within the eastern hardwood forests. Botanically they are split into two groups: the true hickories and the pecan hickories (fruit-bearing). The wood is virtually the same for both and is usually sold together. The sapwood of hickory is white, tinged with brown, while the heartwood is pale to reddish brown.
Working Properties
The heaviest of American hardwoods, the hickories can be difficult to machine and glue, and are very hard to work with hand tools; therefore, care is needed. They hold nails and screws well, but there is a tendency to split, so pre-boring is advised. The wood can be sanded to a good finish, can be difficult to dry, and has high shrinkage.
Physical Properties
Hickories are well-known for their very good strength and shock resistance, as well as excellent steam-bending properties.
Main Uses
Tool handles, furniture, cabinetry, flooring, wooden ladders, dowels, and sporting goods.
Thickness and Grades
- 4/4 S/B Sap & Better
- 4/4 S/B Calico
- 4/4 1 Com Sap & Better
- 4/4 1 Com Calico
- 4/4 2A Com
- 4/4 Rustic
Soft Maple
Soft maple is very similar to hard maple in most respects. Generally, the sapwood is grayish-white, sometimes with darker-colored pith flecks. The heartwood varies from light-to-dark reddish brown. The wood is usually straight-grained. The lumber is generally sold unselected for color.
Working Properties
The wood machines well and can be stained to an excellent finish. It glues, screws, and nails satisfactorily; it also polishes well and is suitable for enamel finishes and brown tones. It dries slowly with minimal degrade and there is little movement in performance.
Physical Properties
Soft maple is about 25 percent less hard than hard maple, has medium-bending and crushing strength, and is low in stiffness and shock resistance. It has good steam-bending properties.
Main Uses
Furniture, paneling and millwork, kitchen cabinets, moulding, doors, musical instruments, and turnings. It is often used as a substitute for hard maple or stained to resemble other species.
Thickness and Grades
- 4/4 S/B Soft Maple
- 4/4 1 Com Soft Maple
- 4/4 2A Com Soft Maple
- 4/4 2com & Better WHND
Cherry
The heartwood of cherry varies from rich red to reddish brown and will darken with age and on exposure to light. In contrast, the sapwood is creamy white. The wood has a straight-grain, a fine, uniform, satiny and smooth texture, and naturally may contain brown pith flecks and small gum pockets.
Working Properties
Cherry is easy to machine, nails and glues well, and when sanded and stained, it produces an excellent, smooth finish. It dries fairly quickly with moderately high shrinkage, but dimensionally is stable after kiln-drying.
Physical Properties
Cherry is of medium density with good bending properties, has low stiffness, and medium strength and shock resistance.
Main Uses
Fine furniture and cabinet making, moulding and millwork, kitchen cabinets, paneling, flooring, doors, boat interiors, musical instruments, turnings, and carvings.
Thickness and Grades
- 4/4 Cherry S/B 90/50+ Red
- 4/4 Cherry 1Com 90/50+ Red
- 4/4 Cherry 2A Com
Walnut
The sapwood is creamy white, while the heartwood is light brown to dark chocolate brown, occasionally with a purplish cast and darker streaks. It is usually supplied steamed, to darken the sapwood. The wood is generally straight-grained; sometimes with wavy or curly grain that produces an attractive and decorative figure.
Working Properties
It works easily with hand and machine tools, and nails, screws, and glues well. It holds paint and stain very well for an exceptional finish and is readily polished. It dries slowly, and care is needed to avoid kiln degrade. It has good dimensional stability.
Physical Properties
Walnut is a tough hardwood of medium density, with moderate bending and crushing strengths, and low stiffness. It has a good steam-bending classification.
Main Uses
Furniture, cabinets, architectural millwork, doors, flooring, paneling, and gun stocks. It is a favored wood for use in contrast with lighter-colored species.
Thickness and Grades
- 4/4 Premium (oak rules) Walnut (Steamed)
- 8/4 Premium (oak rules) Walnut (Steamed)
- 4/4 S/B Walnut (Steamed)
- 4/4 1 Com Walnut (Steamed)
- 4/4 2A Com Walnut (Steamed)
Ash
The sapwood is light-colored to nearly white and the heartwood varies from grayish or light brown, to pale yellow streaked with brown. The wood is generally straight-grained with a coarse uniform texture. The degree and availability of light-colored sapwood, and other properties, will vary according to the growing regions.
Working Properties
Ash machines well, is good in nailing, screwing and gluing, and can be stained to a very good finish. It dries fairly easily with minimal degrade, and there is little movement in performance.
Physical Properties
Ash has very good overall strength properties relative to its weight. It has excellent shock resistance and is good for steam bending.
Main Uses
Furniture, flooring, doors, architectural millwork and moulding, kitchen cabinets, paneling, tool handles, baseball bats, sporting equipment, and turnings. It is particularly suitable for food and liquid containers since there is no odor or taste.
Thickness and Grades
- 4/4 S/B Ash
- 4/4 1 Com Ash
- 4/4 2A Com Ash
Sycamore
The sapwood is white to light yellow, while the heartwood is light-to-dark brown. The wood has a fine, close texture with interlocked grain. It contrasts well with other species.
Working Properties
The wood machines well, but high-speed cutters are needed to prevent chipping. It is resistant to splitting due to the interlocked grain. It glues well and stains with care to an excellent finish. It dries fairly rapidly, with a tendency to warp. It has moderate shrinkage and little movement in performance.
Physical Properties
Sycamore is classified as moderate in weight, hardness, stiffness, and shock resistance. It turns well on a lathe and has good bending qualities.
Main Uses
Furniture, furniture parts (drawer sides), millwork, paneling and moulding, flooring, kitchenware, butcher blocks, toys, and fruit crates.
Thickness and Grades
Beech
Beech is typically a pale cream color, sometimes with a pink or brown hue. Flatsawn surfaces tend to be very plain, while quartersawn surfaces exhibit a silvery fleck pattern.
Working Properties
Overall good workability; it machines well, and glues, finishes, and turns well. Beech also responds superbly to steam-bending. It does, however, have a large amount of movement in service, so movement and wood stability must be taken into account.
Physical Properties
Main Uses
Lumber, veneer, flooring, crates/pallets, railroad ties, musical instruments, furniture, turned objects, and other small wooden objects.
Thickness and Grades