Red Oak

Appearance
Color: Heartwood and sapwood are similar, with sapwood lighter in color; most pieces have a reddish tone. Slightly redder than white oak.
Grain: Open, slightly coarser than white oak. Plainsawn boards have a plumed or flared grain appearance; riftsawn has a tighter grain pattern, low figuring; quarter sawn has a flake pattern, sometimes called tiger rays or butterflies.

Properties
Hardness: Northern 1290 (benchmark).
Durability: Stiff and dense; resists wear, with high shock resistance, though less durable than white oak.
Comments: More than 200 subspecies in North America.

Beech

Appearance
Color: Heartwood is mostly reddish brown; sapwood is generally pale white.
Grain: Mostly closed, straight grain; fine, uniform texture. Coarser than European beech.

Properties
Hardness: 1300; 1% harder than Northern red oak.
Durability: Elastic, hard; excellent shock resistance. Wears well and stays smooth when subjected to friction - popular for factory floors.
Availability: Limited.

Hickory/Pecan

Appearance
Color: Pecan heartwood is reddish brown with dark brown stripes; sapwood is white or creamy white with pinkish tones. Hickory heartwood is tan or reddish; sapwood is white to cream, with fine brown lines.
Grain: Pecan is open, occasionally wavy or irregular. Hickory is closed, with moderate definition; somewhat rough-textured.

Properties
Hardness: 1820; 41% harder than Northern red oak.
Durability: Combination of strength, hardness, toughness and stiffness found in no other commercial wood; exceedingly high in shock resistance.
Availability: Readily available.

White Oak

Appearance
Color: Heartwood is light brown; some boards may have a pinkish tint or a slight grayish cast.  Sapwood is white to cream.
Grain: Open, with longer rays than red oak.  Occasional crotches, swirls and burls.

Properties
Hardness: 1360; 5% harder than Northern red oak.
Durability: More durable than red oak. Tannic acid in the wood protects it from fungi and insects.
Comments: Absorbs finishes more evenly than red oak.  Does not bleach well.

Birch

Appearance
Color: In yellow birch, sapwood is creamy yellow or pale white; heartwood is light reddish brown tinged with red. in sweet birch sapwood is light colored and heartwood is dark brown tinged with red.
Grain: Medium figuring, straight, closed grain, even texture. Occasional curly grain or wavy figure in some boards.

Properties
Hardness: 1260; 2% softer than Northern red oak.
Durability: Hard and stiff; very strong, with excellent shock resistance.
Availability: Moderately Available.

Maple

Appearance
Color: Heartwood is creamy white to light reddish brown; sapwood is pale to creamy white.
Grain: Closed, subdued grain, with medium figuring and uniform texture. Occasionally shows quilted, fiddleback, curly or bird's-eye figuring. Figured boards often culled during grading and sold at a premium.

Properties
Hardness: 1450; 12% harder than Northern red oak.
Durability: Dense, strong, tough, stiff; excellent shock resistance - often used in bowling alleys and athletic facilities. Markedly resistant to abrasive wear.
Availability: Commodity Item..

Ash

Appearance
Color: Heartwood is light tan to dark brown; sapwood is creamy white.  Similar in appearance to white oak, but frequently more yellow.
Grain: Bold, Straight, moderately open grain with occasionally wavy figuring. Can have strong contrast in grain in plainsawn boards.

Properties
Hardness: 1320; 2% harder than Northern red oak.
Durability: Elastic, hard; excellent shock resistance. Remains smooth under friction.
Finishing: Stains well.

Heart Pine

Appearance
Color: Heartwood is yellow after cutting and turns deep pinkish tan to warm reddish brown within weeks due to high resin content.  Sapwood remains yellow, with occasional blue-black sap stain.
Grain: Dense, with high figuring. Plainsawn is swirled; rift- or quartersawn is primarily pinstriped. Curly or burl grain is rare.

Properties
Hardness: 1225; 5% softer than Northern red oak.
Durability: Natural resistance to insect infestation in heartwood; dense.
Availability: Limited

Mesquite

Appearance
Color: Light brown to dark reddish brown.
Grain: High in character, with ingrown bark and mineral streaks. Most commonly used in flooring as end-grain block, which has small irregular cracks radiating across the grain.

Properties
Hardness: 2345; 82% harder than Northern red oak.
Durability: Dense and very strong. End-grain cut has excellent resistance to abrasion and shock.
Availability: Moderately Available.

Walnut

Appearance
Color: Heartwood ranges from a deep, rich dark brown to a purplish black. Sapwood is nearly white to tan. Difference between heartwood and sapwood color is great; some flooring manufacturers steam lumbar to bleed the darker heartwood color into the sapwood, resulting in a more uniform color.
Grain: Mostly straight and open, but some boards have burled or curly grain.  Arrangement of pores is similar to hickories or persimmon, but pores are smaller in size.

Properties
Hardness: 1010; 22% softer than Northern red oak.
Durability: Moderately dense, very strong, good shock resistance. Not as dent-resistant as oak.
Comments: Frequently used as a highlight material for borders or other inlay techniques.