Benchmade Furniture - About Wood

About Wood

The Birnam Wood Joinery uses the same American hardwoods used in Colonial times to construct fine furniture.

Poplar.

This is a finegrained wood with little figure. Its color ranges from a white to cream often streaked with bands of green, shades of brown and black. It is used as a secondary wood in the interior of case pieces and drawer sides and bottoms. We also use it for primitive pieces that may be painted, like the three-drawer blanket chest and the six board blanket box and the six board blanket chest with one drawer. Stained it can look like cherry or walnut, or other dark wood. The tall desk stained like maple shows this characteristic well.

Straight maple.

Maple comes in three varieties, straight, curly and birds-eye. We use straight maple as our basic furniture wood. It has straight grain with little distinctive figure, which becomes less noticeable when stained. It is a hard wood, which can produce a high polish. The color is creamy white and when stained is a good inexpensive alternative to walnut, cherry or other dark wood. The single pencil post bed is a good example of this effect.

Curly maple.

Curly maple is a definite statement. The word dramatic is on point and overused. The figure comes from cutting the tree's medullary rays, which radiate from the center of the tree to the bark, longitudinally creating a band pattern across the grain of the wood. The color is similar to straight grained maple. The proper finishing technique enhances the curly figure to achieve a high contrast between the banding and the background. The slant front desk, the Harvard Trestle Table and the Chippendale box-on-chest in the catalog demonstrate this to the best advantage; the two drawer night table shows curly maple with a dark stain.

Birds-eye Maple.

Birds-eye maple derives its name from the circular grain pattern within the board surrounding small tubular rays radiating from the center of the tree. These are not part of the longitudinal grain of the wood, but are inclusions. The wood is very hard and the eyes are notorious for tearing out when joined, planed and even panel sanded. The swirl of the birds-eye is never in the same plane as the surface (hence the chip out) and when light plays across the surface, or you walk by, it reflects off of the long grain and these swirl patterns to give a glittering or irridesent effect. The Hepplewhite bookcases show this to some extent. The center unit's lower drawers are darker than the adjacent units' doors because of the horizontal grain of the drawers and the vertical grain of the doors. The wood is beautiful and the effect dramatic, but is meant only for those who can accept the inevitable surface flaws that come with it.

Cherry.

Cherry has been a favorite of cabinetmakers since the Europeans first stepped foot on the continent. It is a close grained, sometimes lightly flecked wood that finishes to a reddish brown or brownish red (the queen pencil post bed, Chippendale wardrobe and corner cupboard for example). The high polish it can achieve makes for an elegant appearance, and it is frequently combined with curly maple or birds-eye maple for more sophisticated effects. The three-drawer chest in the catalog demonstrates effect.

Other woods we use on a more limited scale include walnut, as in the sofa table, white oak in the arts and crafts table, mahogany in the Chippendale commodes, birds-eye maple in the Hepplewhite sideboard and the Hepplewhite bookcases. Some antique woods such as heart southern pine, as seen in the double pencil post bed and the chimney cupboard, and chestnut are also available.

The Nature of Wood.

Let's talk about solid wood construction. Solid wood is dynamic. It alters itself with the climate; expanding in summer, contracting in winter. Dry heat in the winter followed by excessive humidity in the summer is not wise. You should always maintain 50% humidity in your house if you want to collect solid wood furniture. The woods selected to produce our furniture are the finest available and great care is taken in using the appropriate joinery techniques. Never the less, some warping, checking and seam separation is bound to occur. This was true of the original antiques on which the copies are based and decades of use will do the same to ours. Use will soften the edges and wear the finish. Expansion and contraction of the wood may gap joints or result in some checking and warping. This is part of the natural maturing process and probably will become evident only after they come into the possession of you heirs. However, on the off chance that a piece becomes non-functional it will be repaired at our shop free of charge, provided, 1) the customer pays round trip shipping, and 2) we do not detect damage from abuse, or 3) if it has not been refinished or altered.

This may sound like a negative point in an otherwise upbeat discussion, but all solid wood furniture, regardless of manufacture, is subject to the same environmental influences. The alternatives, particle board and plywood aren't an option, otherwise you wouldn't consider the purchase of fine furniture.

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