Wood Selection

: Akwa / Tuan heartwood colour is pink-brown maturing to a dull reddish-brown with age. The grain is usually straight but sometimes interlocked or with a regular wave.

: Anegre heartwood is cream to tan with a pinkish tinge. Generally with straight grain but sometimes wavy producing a mottled figure. Wood is lustrous and its texture is medium to fine.

: NZ Ash / Pilularis hardwood is grown in northern NZ, but log supply is limited. Colours are cream to light brown, with little visible grain and medium texture. Some gum vein is present.

: USA Ash is a cream – white colour with a course grain, ideal for furniture & tops, especially when stained as it looks very similar to Oak. Graded for its white sapwood, but has darker olive coloured heartwood.

: Bamboo is a elegant timber sourced in sheets from sustainable suppliers. It is The Woodsmiths most cost effective timber.

: NZ Blackwood is grown in NZ & very similar to Tasmanian Blackwood, but with more colour variation & small feature knots. Lengths over 3 metres are limited, so scarf joins are sometimes required for longer tops.

: Tasmanian Blackwood heartwood ranges in colour from a lustrous golden-brown to reddish-dark brown with a fairly dark brown zone marking the growth rings. The grain is usually straight but may be interlocked or wavy and the texture is medium and even. The wavy grain produces a beautiful fiddle-back figure. The lengths available are reasonably short.

: Bubinga is medium red-brown with lighter red to purple veining. The grain is straight or interlocked. In some boards the grain is very irregular. The texture is moderately coarse but even.

: European Beech has no clear distinction between heartwood and sapwood by colour, which varies from cream to pink/red depending on the amount of steaming the timber is given. The wood is typically straight grained with a fine, even texture but varying in density according to the locality of growth.

: NZ Beech has an attractive pink to red colour, it has been carefully selected and processed under an advanced kiln-drying programme to highlight the grain and colour and ensure its stability. It has a fine even texture and is usually straight grained. it is from FSC managed forest and comes with the chain of custody.

: USA Cherry is a Hard straight grained hardwood with fine texture.On exposure to UV light, cherry products with a natural finish will generally darken in color over time.

: NZ Elm is a NZ grown hardwood with lively grain structure & with golden brown colour.

: Iroko is golden orange to brown, lighter vessel lines are conspicuous on flat sawn surfaces. Colour darkens with age. The grain is interlocked and sometimes irregular and the texture rather coarse but even. Iroko can be sourced with independent FSC certification.

: Jarrah heartwood is a rich dark brownish-red, sometimes marked with short, dark brown radial flecks. Gum veins or pockets may also be present. The grain is usually straight but often interlocked or wavy. The texture is even but moderately coarse. A very durable timber known for its fire resistant properties and high resistance to termite and marine borer attack. Great for bench tops

: Pacific Jarrah / Massa heartwood is light red when freshly cut, turning to dark reddish-brown when dry. Lustre is medium and texture fine and uniform. Grain is usually straight, occasionally interlocked. The timber is hard, heavy, strong and very durable. Massa carries independent FSC100% certification that it is sourced from legal and well managed forests.

: NZ Kauri has Golden fine straight grain softwood. Small flecks in grain provide character & depth. Mostly sourced from logs recovered from swamps. Recycled or demolition timber also available.

: Malaysian Kauri is pale yellowish white to golden brown heartwood. Sapwood typically same color as heartwood. Due to the tree’s large size, Kauri is nearly always clear and knot-less, with minimal wastage. Some pieces of Kauri may exhibit a certain subtle shimmering effect that is commonly referred to as “whitebait,” so named for the iridescent appearance of schools of whitebait fish seen in the waters of New Zealand. Grain is usually straight, with a fine, even texture and a moderate natural luster.

: Kwila heartwood is yellowish-brown, brown or dark red, red-brown, turning to a dark red-brown with age. The wood is hard and heavy, the texture is moderately coarse but even and the grain may be straight or interlocked and is often wavy. Sulphur-yellow and dark colored deposits are characteristic of the species and can be commonly seen in the vessel cavities.

: Macrocarpa is a low to medium density softwood, originally from California and introduced to NZ in the mid 1800’s, planted mostly as shelterbelts. The heartwood is light golden brown in colour.

: USA Hard Maple is strong, heavy, hard, and straight grained with a fine texture. The colour is cream with fine red/brown bands.

: NZ Matai is a straw to chestnut yellow, with an occasional reddish tinge and even colour. Texture is uniform, fine and even with a straight grain and moderate lustre.

: Australian Oak (Victorian Ash or Tasmanian Oak) is a light colored and medium density hardwood, pale straw through to lighter browns, with excellent staining qualities.

: American White Oak resembles European Oak, being a mixture of species. However, it is more variable in colour, pale yellowish-brown to mid-brown. The grain is generally straight and the texture varies from coarse to medium coarse. Currently one of the most popular choices and can be stained very well.

: French / European Oak is coarse textured & straight grained with distinct growth rings & broad rays. Pale gold & Hard. Approximately 30% dearer than USA Oak & very similar in appearance. Often has more character or defect.

: Pine is the most commonly available timber in New Zealand. Used for a wide variety of purposes because of its affordability and quick maturity. A pale coloured timber with wide distinguishable growth rings. The timber is generally quite uniform in grain structure.

: Pacific Rosewood, a vibrant timber with large variations in colour, honey yellows, fiery reds and mellow browns. Hardwood with moderately coarse uneven grain.

: Rimu is one of NZ’s most famous native timbers. Fine even textured. Reddish brown to yellowish. Varying grain & colour, Medium density. The Woodsmiths generally only use Heart Rimu.

: Salusalu colour ranges from pale brown to golden orange-brown and has a fine even texture. Often regarded as a substitute for sap Rimu.

: Saligna colour ranges from light to dark pink. The grain is usually interlocked, occasionally straight. The texture is coarse. To facilitate drying the timber is always quarter sawn.

: Sapele/Mahogany wood is medium hard and medium weight. Planed surfaces are mildly lustrous. The heartwood is pinkish-red when freshly cut, darkening to a rich red-brown. The most striking feature is the double spiral grain which produces a very regular stripe or roe figures in quarter sawn material. The texture is fine and even.

: NZ Tawa has a white to pale brown coloured heartwood with a straight grain and fine texture. Logs sometimes contain portions of black heartwood but at The Woodsmiths, only ‘Clean White Tawa’ is used. The timber is often treated with preservative to prevent staining and insect attack.

: Totara is a NZ native with even mid brown colour. Straight close grain. Softish timber, but with TWS Hi-Build Resin Finish becomes durable enough for bench tops.

: USA Walnut heartwood is varying in colour from rich chocolate-brown to purplish-black. The sapwood is pale brown, however, the timber is generally steamed before drying which darkens the sapwood to the heartwood colouring. The timber has a fine even texture with a rather coarse grain.

: Yaka is very similar to heart Rimu, but bolder dark grain.

: Kwila and Island Kauri Combination. Different species of timber can be laminated together to provide unique and different effects. Best to choose 2 timbers of the same or similar density.