Timber 101
We take pride in the meticulous craftsmanship that goes into creating our unique and stylish furniture pieces. In this section, we will provide you with a comprehensive profile of the wood, finishes, and glue that we use to ensure the highest quality and durability of our products.
Wood we use
All of our furniture is made of one (or a combination) of the following hardwoods. We do not use any plywood in our furniture.
American Black Walnut
Latin name: Juglans Nigra
Origin: USA, Canada
Janka Hardness: 1,010
Sapwood color: white
Heartwood color: dark brown
Price: $$$$
One of the most highly sought out species in North America, it would be hard to overstate Black Walnut’s popularity . Its cooperative working characteristics, coupled with its rich brown coloration puts the wood in a class by itself. To cap it off, the wood also has good dimensional stability, shock resistance, and strength properties.
Heartwood can range from a lighter pale brown to a dark chocolate brown with darker brown streaks. Color can sometimes have a grey, purple, or reddish cast. Sapwood is pale yellow-gray to nearly white. Figured grain patterns such as curl, crotch, and burl are also seen.
White Oak
Latin name: Quercus Alba
Origin: USA, Canada
Janka Hardness: 1,320
Sapwood color: white
Heartwood color: ligth brown
Price: $$$
White oak is a popular and highly regarded hardwood species in the world of woodworking. It is known for its exceptional durability, strength, and attractive appearance, making it a favored choice.
Its appearance characterized is char by its light to medium brown color with a subtle grain pattern. It features a straight and prominent grain that gives it a timeless and classic appearance. The wood often has rays or flecks that add to its visual appeal.
Maple
Latin name: Acer saccharum
Origin: Quebec, Canada
Janka Hardness: 1,450
Sapwood color: white
Heartwood color: dark brown
Price: $$
Sugar Mapple is a hardwood species highly regarded in the world of woodworking. It is particularly prized for its beautiful appearance, excellent durability, and versatility.
The heartwood of sugar maple ranges from creamy white to pale yellow with a fine, uniform grain pattern. It is valued for its clarity and lack of noticeable defects, giving it a clean, modern, and elegant look.
Finishes
With regards to finishing and protecting our work we firmly believe natural is always best. In our opinion timber should look and feel like timber rather than being encased under a plastic, lacquered finish.
Rubio Monocoat
Rubio Monocoat Oil Plus 2C is an ecological product, with a content of VOCs of 0%. The oil penetrates into the wood surface, protecting the wood from deep within, while the waxes form an elastic, micro porous surface which protects the wood from moisture and abrasion. The wood remains naturally beautiful, protected and durable. It is 100% foodsafe and therefore ideally suited for dining tables and kitchen benches.
Unlike polyurethene-based varnishes, Rubio Monocoat requires minimal effort to maintain. Instead of a full sand back and recoat (the way in which a varnish would require), you can ‘spot repair’ any damaged areas. This should allow your piece of furniture to last for generations.
Glue
We are firm believers of hyde glue in our woodworking process.
Old Brown Glue
Old brown glue is a high quality traditional hide glue (which has been successfully holding furniture together for hundreds of years.) , but in a more convenient format that doesn’t require a glue pot.
Hide glue will bond to itself, so unlike modern glues, original hide glue doesn’t need to be completely removed from components before reassembly
It is reversible; by adding heat and moisture, hide glues can be temporarily reverted to a liquid state, so furniture made with old brown glue can be gently disassembled without damage, days, weeks, years or centuries after it was put together. This should allow your piece of furniture to be repaired easily