Wood Species Guide: groups
Domestic Utility Hardwoods
Not every project needs a showpiece board. These American hardwoods are the everyday workhorses of the shop: poplar for paint-grade cabinets and trim, basswood for carving and models, sycamore and sweetgum for drawer boxes and interior parts, and magnolia, tupelo, catalpa and holly for light-colored work and turning. They are generally easy to machine, glue well and cost less than the premium species, which makes them a smart choice for jigs, shop furniture, secondary woods and first projects. Many of them grow right here in Florida and turn up as salvaged urban logs. Most are not rot resistant, so keep them indoors or under a good finish. If you are building on a budget, ask us what we have in stock and we will help you pick the right board for the job.
23 species in this group, 2 in stock now.
- BasswoodIn stockTilia americana Basswood is the carver's wood: soft, light, pale and so fine-textured that it holds crisp detail with little effort. It is inexpensive and easy to work,...
- PoplarIn stockLiriodendron tulipifera Yellow poplar is the affordable, easy-to-work hardwood that ends up inside most painted cabinets and trim. In slab form it is a light, budget-friendly option, often...
- American HollyIlex opaca American holly yields one of the whitest woods in the world, a favorite for inlay and contrast work. The trees grow wild in north and central...
- American SycamorePlatanus occidentalis American sycamore is a plain, inexpensive wood until you quartersaw it. Then it is covered in a lace-like ray fleck that rivals much pricier imports, all...
- AspenPopulus tremuloides and Populus grandidentata (sold together as aspen) Aspen is the pale, lightweight poplar of northern forests, plain in looks but easy on tools. It is odorless and stays cool, which makes it the...
- Black TupeloNyssa sylvatica (swamp tupelo is often treated as N. sylvatica var. biflora) Black tupelo, or black gum, is a native tree of Florida and the eastern US with plain, tough, interlocked wood. It is hard to dry flat...
- Black WillowSalix nigra Black willow is a fast-growing native of Florida's riverbanks and the eastern US. Its light, soft wood is easy to carve and makes a budget utility...
- BuckeyeAesculus flava (yellow buckeye) and Aesculus glabra (Ohio buckeye) Buckeye is a soft, pale native hardwood that is plain as lumber but spectacular as burl. Stabilized buckeye burl is one of the most popular woods...
- CatalpaCatalpa speciosa and Catalpa bignonioides Catalpa is a lightweight, open-grained American hardwood that looks like ash but carves like butter. It is surprisingly rot resistant and shows up mostly from urban...
- CucumbertreeMagnolia acuminata Cucumbertree is a native magnolia whose lumber is often sold as poplar. It is light, easy to work and a dependable paint-grade hardwood.
- DogwoodCornus florida Flowering dogwood is a small native tree, Florida included, with some of the hardest, densest wood in the East. It once made mill shuttles and golf...
- Eastern CottonwoodPopulus deltoides Eastern cottonwood is a fast-growing river poplar that reaches giant size. Its wood is soft, light and prone to warp, best for utility work, while its...
- Gumbo LimboBursera simaruba Gumbo limbo is the native South Florida tree with peeling red bark. Its pale, soft wood carves easily and once went into carousel horses, but it...
- Honey LocustGleditsia triacanthos Honey locust is a hard, handsome native with a red-brown heart and bright sapwood. Urban salvage logs make great live-edge benches and tables at a fair...
- Kentucky CoffeetreeGymnocladus dioicus Kentucky coffeetree is a rare Midwestern hardwood with bold, ash-like grain and warm orange-brown heartwood. Its name comes from settlers who roasted the seeds as a...
- London PlanePlatanus × acerifolia (syn. Platanus × hispanica) London plane is the big street tree of European cities and a close cousin of American sycamore. Quartersawn, it shows the lacy ray fleck sold in...
- Oregon MyrtleUmbellularia californica Oregon myrtle, sold as myrtlewood, is a West Coast bay laurel with shifting gold, olive and brown color and frequent curly or burl figure. It is...
- Pacific MadroneArbutus menziesii Pacific madrone is the peeling red-barked tree of the West Coast, and its pinkish wood and dramatic burls are prized by turners. It is tricky to...
- SassafrasSassafras albidum Sassafras is a golden, open-grained hardwood that fills the shop with a spicy root-beer scent. It is native as far south as central Florida and is...
- Southern MagnoliaMagnolia grandiflora Southern magnolia is the big glossy-leaved tree of the Deep South, and its wood is an easy, even-grained hardwood much like poplar. Fallen yard trees can...
- Sweetbay MagnoliaMagnolia virginiana Sweetbay is the small native magnolia of Florida's wet woods and creek banks. Its light, easy-working wood is a modest utility hardwood with occasional streaky heartwood.
- SweetgumLiquidambar styraciflua Sweetgum is a native Southern hardwood, Florida included, that is often overlooked because it warps while drying. Well-dried red gum heartwood has a soft, streaky figure...
- Water TupeloNyssa aquatica Water tupelo grows in the swamps of the Southeast, including the Florida Panhandle. Its light, even wood is a carver's favorite for decoys and painted pieces.
Not sure which wood fits your project?
Walk the racks with us in Fort Myers. We'll show you the slabs and boards side by side and talk through hardness, finish and budget.