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Woodsense: Black Locust


Woodsense: Reclaimed Heart Pine
There’s something about the texture, warm hue and distinctive grain of heart pine that just makes you want to run your hand over the wood. Yes, it’s a yellow pine, but don’t confuse it with the yellow pine you’ll find at the lumberyard, often tinged pressure-treatment green. Heart pine is the heartwood of the longleaf pine tree (Pinus palustris), which is no longer harvested for commercial use and is now primarily available only as reclaimed lumber. The lumberyard stuff is slash pine (Pinus elliottii), loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) or less often, shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata).


WoodSense: Spotlight on Maple
The sugar maple (Acer saccharum) entertains millions of “leaf peepers” every fall with its fiery foliage, and pancakes everywhere drip with syrup made from the tree’s sap.

WoodSense: Spotlight on Rosewood
Sometimes called “true” rosewood, Brazilian rosewood (Dalbergia nigra) is a beautiful hardwood. Its namesake is inspired by the sweet rose-like scent produced when cut.

Success with Slabs

Woodsense: Spotlight Padauk

Woodsense: Spotlight on Tamarind

Woodsense: Spotlight on Sapele
Despite some challenges, sapele’s color and lively grain make this wood worth
the effort it takes to tame. Read on to learn how to select the best boards and
make the most of them.