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- Ash is widely used for structural frames and steam-bent furniture and is often less expensive than other hardwoods. Beech, a relatively inexpensive wood is often used for frames and a variety of bent and turned parts. Quarter sliced and half round cut beech veneers are commonly used.
- Birch is often rotary or flat-sliced, yielding straight, curly or wavy grain patterns. It can be stained to resemble mahogany or walnut.
- Cedar is often used as a lining for drawers, chests, boxes and outdoor furniture. Simple cases and storage closets are also constructed from this wood. (Cedar has an aromatic and moth repelling quality.)
- Cherry veneer and solids are used in a variety of styles of furniture. Cherry has been called New England Mahogany and is often used to craft 18th century, Colonial and French Provincial designs.
- Cypress is often used for outdoor furniture since it resists decay. It is also still used for doors and for windows as well.
- Elm is used in some furniture and outdoor furniture. Good for use underwater. Engineered wood comes in a variety of grades for different uses and particularly when talking about a board made of multiple plies of wood, it can actually be much stronger and more stable than a board made from a continuous section of the tree. The best pieces of engineered wood have each ply's grain facing in a different direction to prevent the whole board from shrinking and expanding as happens with a "regular" board. Five and seven ply boards are often used in quality furniture (particularly if one layer is a veneer).
- Hickory is often used for structural parts, especially where strength and thinness are required. Decorative hickory veneers are also commonly used. Hickory is often used in rustic furniture.
- Mahogany is used extensively in the crafting of Georgian, Empire and Federal furniture. It is also used in styles from Victorian to contemporary.
- Maple is used extensively for American colonial furniture, especially in medium and lower priced categories. It can also be stained to simulate cherry wood, which it resembles.
- Oak is the most popular wood used to craft American and English country designs. It is also used for Gothic and William & Mary reproductions, as well as many transitional and contemporary pieces.
- Pine is often used for country or provincial furniture. Pickled, whitened, painted and oil finishes are often used on this wood.
- Rattan. Whole rattan poles and smaller diameter core materials are often used to make casual dining, bedroom and upholstered furniture.
- Redwood is used to craft outdoor furniture and decorative carvings.
- Teak carves well, but because of its high value, is often used as a veneer. Scandinavian modern and oriental furniture styles are often crafted of teak as is much outdoor furniture.
- Walnut is used in all types of fine cabinet work, especially 18th century reproductions.
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