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CURRENT WOOD SELECTION
FOR BLUSTER BAY PRODUCTS

Last updated: Friday, August 29, 2008

CURRENT WOOD LIST

Each wood description corresponds with the picture above it.

Black Cherry is a widely distributed hardwood of North America and one of the finest and most popular furniture woods available. The heartwood varies in color from tan to a reddish brown and darkens with time to a warm, rich, amber hue. The seasonal growth lines are wide and lazy, flowing in easy patters with subtle color changes from one band to the next. Cherry is moderately hard, has a very fine texture, and can be waxed and polished to a high luster.

Black Walnut is another widely distributed hardwood of North America. The color is uniformly dark rich brown. The grain is usually straight, but occasionally shows patterns of waves, ripples, or curls. Walnut is similar to cherry in both weight and feel. The two woods are excellent choices when considering a pair of matched shuttles of different colors. Walnut takes an excellent hard, smooth finish.

Curly Black Walnut. We have a limited supply of exquisite curly black walnut from a small local mill.

Rock Maple grows extensively throughout eastern North America and is also commonly known as white maple, hard maple, and sugar maple. The grain is usually straight, but occasionally develops curls and waves (tiger maple), or patterns of small tight swirls (birdseye maple). The wood is creamy white, very fine textured, very hard, and takes an exceptional glossy polish.

Silver Maple is a native of eastern North America and has been planted extensively throughout most of the U.S. as an ornamental. The wood is creamy white, softer and lighter than rock maple, and usually straight grained. Occasionally this species, and other soft maples, develop amazing patterns of curls and swirls. We currently have a limited supply of highly figured curly silver maple from a small local mill.

Lyptus is a hybrid of two varieties of eucalyptus. It is sustainably grown and harvested on plantations in South America. It is a prolific, fast-growing hardwood with trees reaching maturity in 14 to 16 years.
In terms of density, weight and other technical properties, Lyptus compares favorably with hard maple. It results in fairly heavy shuttles that are interesting shades of pale pinkish tan. It finishes to a silky smooth surface.

White Ash grows throughout eastern North America and is used extensively for sports equipment, tool handles, cabinets, and furniture. It is usually light tan but occasionally shows darker mottling and black streaks.  The wood is usually straight-grained with well-defined growth rings. The texture is somewhat coarse, but ash finishes smoothly, polishes to a fine luster, and gets ever smoother with use.

Wenge, from tropical Central and West Africa, is very dark brown to almost black and laced with fine veins of lighter brown. Wenge is extremely hard, dense and abrasion resistant, and polishes to a high luster.

Sapele is indigeous to Nigeria and the Ivory Coast. This extremely lustrous, fine grained, light brown wood produces light-weight shuttles, as it is just a bit lighter than cherry. Sapele is comparable in weight and color to mahogany and is sometimes called African mahogany. Other common names include Sapelli, Penkwa and Undianuno. It will darken over time to a beautiful deep red-brown or purplish brown.

Bubinga, also known as African rosewood, grows to massive size in the tropical forests of Central and West Africa. This tree commonly yields boards over four feet wide. The wood is medium red-brown with veining of reds and sometimes purple. The grain is often irregular and shows a variety of attractive patterns. Bubinga is very hard, very dense, and has a fine texture that polishes to a high gloss.

Bloodwood, also known as satine, grows throughout Central and South America. The color of this very hard and dense wood is a deep, rich red. Unlike many other brightly-colored woods, which tend to darken considerably over time, the color of bloodwood is quite stable. Bloodwood is straight-grained with a very fine texture and takes a high lustrous finish.
Only Swedish-style shuttles and poke shuttles are available from Bloodwood; boat shuttles, end-feed shuttles and swifts are not available in this wood.

Leopardwood, also known as Brazilian lacewood, grows in South America. It is similar in appearance to Australian lacewood, though the two woods are not related. Leopardwood is light brown in color with a very dramatic figure that varies from a small lacelike pattern to broad splashy flakes. In spite of its flakey appearance, this wood finishes smoothly and takes a fine polish.
Only Swedish-style shuttles and poke shuttles are available from Leopardwood; boat shuttles, end-feed shuttles and swifts are not available in this wood.

Also, we occasionally find a small quantity of a very special wood, or a board or two with spectacular color or figure. Please see What's New for the rare finds currently in our wood bin.

Relative Wood Weights

Woods are listed lightest to heaviest, top to bottom