Poplar
Poplar wood is a species of wood most commonly used in the making of furniture, cabinets, wooden toys, plywood, etc. It is considered a hardwood, but is just about as easy to work with as pine boards or other soft woods.
Nominal thickness is 4/4″ Nominal Width 4,6,8,12 inch. Lengths Vary.
Poplar boards are white/ivory in tone with green or brown streaks running through the heartwood of the board. In addition, the wood is straight grained and uniform in texture.
Heartwood is a light to medium brown, commonly with a reddish cast. Paler sapwood is not always sharply demarcated from the heartwood. Quartersawn sections display prominent ray fleck patterns.
Red Oak
Produces good results with hand and machine tools. Has moderately high shrinkage values, resulting in mediocre dimensional stability, especially in flatsawn boards.
Nominal thickness is 4/4″ Nominal Width 4,6,8,12 inch. Lengths Vary.
Knotty Alder
This wood is typically used for furniture, cabinets, and turned products. One of the big reasons for the rise of Knotty Alder’s popularity is the wood’s desirable characteristics for machining. It can be nailed without splitting the wood, or screwed without pre-drilling.
Nominal thickness is 4/4″ Nominal Width 4,6,8,12 inch. Lengths Vary.
Knotty Alder is a smooth hardwood with a straight grain pattern and coloring similar to Cherry, ranging from a light honey color to a reddish-brown hue.
Also known as Select Alder or Clear Alder, Superior Alder is a high-grade hardwood that a produces a clearer stock than its close relative Knotty Alder.
Superior Alder
Consistent color, stability, and uniform acceptance of stains and finishes are some of the characteristics that have made Western Alder a preferred wood for furniture.