NORTHERN BLACK WALNUT

The Walnut belongs to the small order of trees and shrubs known as Juglandeae, comprising only five genera and about thirty species, which are mostly natives of North America. It is a large deciduous tree attaining heights of 40-100 feet. It grows  from southern Ontario, west to southeast South Dakota, south to Georgia, northern Florida and southwest to central Texas. It is cultivated in North America as a forest tree for its high quality wood. Black walnut is highly prized for its dark-colored true heartwood. It is heavy and strong, yet easily split and worked. Walnut wood has historically been used for gunstocks, furniture, flooring, paddles, coffins, and a variety of other woodworking products.

Walnut is one of few American species that is planted as well as naturally regenerated. It is a tough hardwood of medium density, with moderate bending and crushing strengths and low stiffness. It has good steam bending classification which makes it desirable for many woodworkers. Heartwood is a rich dark brown and used for veneer and furniture. The wood is heavy, hard, strong, close-grained, durable, and is easily worked. The sapwood features blond streaks which are sometimes desired because of its unique color. When graded, color, sapwood, heartwood, and knots are all taken into consideration . Select grade would be primarily dark color, with few small knots. Natural grade features some character with knots and maybe some sapwood.

Walnut prefers moist well-drained soils. It desires a full sun but can tolerate partial shade. The thick bark is dark brown in color and divided by deep fissures into rounded ridges. The fruit is a large, rounded, brownish black nut with a hard, thick, finely ridged shell enclosing a rich, oily kernel. Roots and decaying plant parts release a toxic compound called juglone which inhibits the growth of other plants growing near Black Walnut trees. Walnut flooring is available in random widths, 4-8”, 5-10”, and 7-12”. Lengths are 2’-14’ with an average length of 6-8’. Profiles available are shiplap, square edge, and tongue and groove.

Facts

•             Nut shells are ground for industrial polishing and cleaning. Pulp and   

              roots are used to make a black dye

•             Medicinal – Used as a laxative, an astringent for treatment of skin               

               problems and in cancer research.

•             Leaf Length – 10 to 20 inches; leaflets 2 to 4 inches. Leaf Width – 2 to               

               6 inches; leaflets 1/2 to 11/2 inches.

•             Used for parks and other large landscape areas. Less suitable for               

               small yards and boulevards because of its large size and messy fruit.

•             The husks of Walnuts contain oils capable of staining skin for days

WHITE OAK

White Oak is well known as a traditional American floor. Although commonly used throughout different periods, white oak was a staple for flooring and other wood working during the Arts and Crafts period. The wood’s tight grain, warm brown coloring, and durability are unmatched. White Oak is native to eastern North America, from southern Quebec west to eastern Minnesota, and south to northern Florida and eastern Texas.

White Oak is impervious to liquids. This is a main reason that it has been the wood of choice for whiskey barrels, ship timbers, and casks. It is preferred over red oak in many applications because it is weather resistant. White oak has been used for caskets, doors, cabinets, furniture, millwork, and of course flooring. The tree’s sapwood is light colored and the heartwood is light to dark brown. White oak is a large, long-lived tree often 80 to 100 ft in height. Individual trees 150 ft high and 600 years old have been recorded. In the open it is characterized by a short stocky bole with a wide spreading rugged crown. In the forest, white oaks develop a tall straight trunk with a compact crown.

White Oak is primarily graded for knot structure and grain patterns. A natural grade will feature a wavy grain and some larger knots ranging in color from light to dark. Select grades will be free of most knots and can either feature a wavy grain or a quarter sawn straight grain.

Lengths in White Oak flooring will have a range from 2’-14’, with an average of 6’-8’.  In select grade and natural grade, random width ranges are 4”-8”, 5”-10”, and 10”-14”. Quarter sawn is typically narrower, ranging from 3”-8”. Random width flooring is promoted for aesthetics as well as generating a much better yield in milling.  Fixed widths are also available in White Oak.  

Facts:

• White oak is used extensively in Japanese martial arts for some weapons such as bokken and jo.
• The USS Constitution is made from white oak, and reconstructive wood replacement comes from a special grove of White Oak known as the “Constitution Grove”.
• Woodworkers should beware that ferrous metal hardware reacts with oak, causing corrosion and staining the wood. Brass or stainless steel fittings should be used instead.
• Being the subject of a legend as old as the colony itself, the Charter Oak of Hartford, Connecticut is one of the most famous white oaks in America. The tree now makes up the reverse side of the Connecticut state quarter.

NOTE FROM TOM…

A few weeks into the New Year and we are hearing our contractors comment that they are staying busy and our showroom and lumber yard have had a lot of traffic…hope that this is a good sign for the upcoming year. The winter months at the showroom will be exciting with our millwork gallery and our lunch and learn program….stop by or call for more info. Be sure to take advantage of our 10,000 square foot flooring and wall sheathing sale of custom over run stock.

 Tom Bingham

Be sure to check out our CUSTOM MILLWORK GALLERY featured in last weeks blog.

FLOORING SALES

OLD GROWTH RED OAK

• 2″ Face Select Grade 270 SqFt. Available-$2.49/SqFt.  
• 2″ Face Natural Grade 250 SqFt. Available-$2.49/SqFt.
• 3″ Face Natural Grade 220 Sq.Ft. Available-$2.49/SqFt.
• 3″ Face Select Grade 401 SqFt. Available-$2.99/SqFt.
• 3″ Face Select Grade 230 SqFt. Available-$2.99/SqFt
• 4”Face Natural Grade 113 Sq.Ft. Available-$4.49/Sq.Ft.
• 6″ Face Natural Grade 240 SqFt. Available-$4.99/SqFt.
• 6” Face Natural Grade 213 Sq.Ft. Available-$4.99/Sq.Ft.
• 6″,8″, &10″ Face Natural Grade 238 SqFt. Available-$4.99/SqFt.
• 6″ Face Natural Grade 213 SqFt. Available-$4.99/SqFt.

OLD GROWTH WHITE OAK

• 2″ Face Select Grade 90 SqFt. Available  $2.49/SqFt.
• 3″ Face Select Grade 200 SqFt. Available-$3.99/SqFt
• Rustic White Oak- 6″ & 8″ Face 300 SqFt. Available $4.99/SqFt.

OLD GROWTH LONG LEAF HEART PINE

• Large Edge Bead- $0.99/SqFt.
• Edge + Center Bead $0.99/SqFt.

STANDARD GRADE EASTERN WHITE PINE

• 14″-20″ Face $1.99/SqFt.

• Maine Traditions Cherry Natural Grade 3 1/4″ Face 120 Sqft. Available- $5.99/SqFt.

BAR TOPS

• 16″ to 20″ Pine Slabs @ $4.50 BF

For the next two months Bingham Lumber’s millwork shop will be designing and creating custom built-ins, kitchen cabinets and islands, dining tables, mudroom, laundry room, office wall unit and computer center for a new build contemporary Arts and Crafts home. As each component is completed it will be on display in our showroom. We hope you have a chance to stop by and check out how the innovative use of Reclaimed and Old Growth wood can combine with contemporary design and finish to create a stunning home.

NORTHERN HICKORY

Northern Hickory is the most durable of the North American Hardwoods, which makes it one of the longest lasting hardwood floors. Hickory is harvested in winter months, and was traditionally used for many different types of tool handles and sporting equipment.  It can be found growing from Massachusetts and New Hampshire down to Mississippi and Florida. With is durability and distinct character, Hickory plank flooring will truly last a lifetime.

Hickory wood is very hard, very stiff, very dense and very shock resistant. Hickory has been used in many applications because it has the greatest ratio of strength to weight. It is very strong and fairly light. It is used for tool handles, bows, wheel spokes, carts, drumsticks, lacrosse stick handles, golf club shafts, the bottom of skis, and of course flooring. Hickory is also highly prized for wood-burning stoves, because of its high energy content. Hickory wood is also a preferred type for smoke curing meats. In the Southern United States, hickory is popular for cooking barbecue, as hickory grows abundantly in the region, and adds flavor to the meat. Hickory usually desired used for wood flooring due to its great durability and varying character. The nuts of some species are palatable, while others are bitter and only suitable for animal feed. Shagbark and Shellbark Hickories, along with the Pecan, are regarded by some as the finest nut trees.

Hickory is primarily graded for knot structure and color. Select grades have some color variation and small knots. However, more rustic grades offer a wide array of colors from sapwood as well as heartwood mixes. Hickory is a fairly light colored wood but offers streaks of dark brown and black in some cases.

Lengths in Hickory flooring will have a range from 2’-14’, with an average of 6’-8’.  In a select grade, random width ranges are 4”-8”, and 5”-10”.  In a natural grade, random width ranges are 3”-7” and 5”-10”.  Random width flooring is promoted for aesthetics as well as generating a much better yield in milling.  Fixed widths are also available in Hickory.  

• Baseball bats were formerly made of hickory but are now more commonly made of ash.
• A bark extract from shagbark hickory is also used in edible syrup that is similar to maple syrup, with a slightly bitter, smoky taste.

Andrew Jackson, seventh president

NORTHERN RED OAK

Red Oak is among the most popular options for flooring in the United States. It is a native of North America, in the northeastern United States and southeast Canada. It grows from the north end of the Great Lakes, east to Nova Scotia, south as far as Georgia and in places with good soil that is slightly acidic. Often simply called “Red Oak”, northern red oak is formally so named to distinguish it from southern red oak, also known as the Spanish oak.

In forests, the northern red oak grows straight and tall, usually 90 ft but up to 140 ft tall, with a trunk of up to 20-40 inches in diameter. Open-grown trees do not get as tall, but can develop a wider trunk, up to 6 ft in diameter. It has stout branches growing at right angles to the stem, forming a narrow round-topped head. The main characteristic of the red oak is its bark which has ridges topped with what appear to be almost shiny strips. Other varieties of oak have similar bark ridges and strips, but they normally occur only on the upper portion of the trees. The ridges on the red oak go all the way to the bottom and are one of the quickest ways to identify the tree

Red Oak is primarily graded for knot structure and grain patterns. A natural grade will feature a wavy grain and some larger knots ranging in color from light to dark. Select grades will be free of most knots and can either feature a wavy grain or a quarter sawn straight grain.

Lengths in Red Oak flooring will have a range from 2’-14’, with an average of 6’-8’.  In select grade and natural grade, random width ranges are 4”-8”, 5”-10”, and 10”-14”. Quarter sawn is typically narrower, ranging from 3”-8”. Random width flooring is promoted for aesthetics as well as generating a much better yield in milling.  Fixed widths are also available in Red Oak.  

Facts:

• Red Oak was a key to America’s industrial transformation being used for railroad ties, wheels, plows, barrels, and of course flooring and furniture.
• Red Oak is the most widely used species of lumber in the United States for finish carpentry.
• Red oak wood grain is so open and porous that smoke can be blown through it from end-grain to end-grain on a flatsawn board.
• Although White Oak is very resistant to decay, Red Oak is not and should not be relied on for outdoor use.

FLOORING SPECIAL’S

Antique Long Leaf Heart Pine- 1×2 Vertical Grain

1,000 Sf Premium Flooring Available at $10.00/SF

Old Growth Long Leaf Heart Pine 1×8 and 1×10

1,000 Sf Camp Grade available at $3.50/SF

Old Growth Red Oak 2″-8″ Face

8,000 Sf available at $4.50/ SF

Old Growth White Oak 2″-5″ Face

1,000 SF Select Grade available at $5.50/SF

Old Growth Eastern White Pine 14″-20″

 4,000 SF Standard Grade available at $2.50/SF

WAINSCOT & WALL SHEATHING SPECIAL”S

Reclaimed Barn Board

6″ or Less at $5.00/SF

Old Growth Heart Pine Center Bead 1x3x4′

800 SF available at $1.33/SF

Old Growth Heart Pine Edge Bead 5/8×4′

T+G at $2.50/SF

Eastern White Pine

Eastern White Pine is native to eastern North America, occurring from Newfoundland west to Minnesota and southeastern Manitoba, and south along the Appalachian Mountains to the northern edge of Georgia. It is occasionally known as simply White Pine, Northern White Pine, or Soft Pine. 

The Eastern White pine grows up to 80-110 feet tall at maturity making it the largest eastern conifer. It can live upwards of 450 years but are commonly found between 200-400 years old. The bark darkens and thickens as the tree gets older starting as smooth and gray early in its life becoming gray-brown, deeply furrowed with broad ridges of irregularly rectangular, purple-tinged scaly plates. It is often distinguished by its 5 needle clusters, “windblown” asymmetrical look, and its large long cones. Easter White Pine provides seeds that songbirds like to eat and strong branches for bald eagles to nest on. Broken trees hollow out fairly quickly providing shelter for cavity dwelling animals.

Eastern White Pine produces the most valuable softwood lumber in eastern North America. It is used extensively as interior trim, window sashes, door frames, and for intricate carpentry. It is an excellent carving material that is lightweight, soft and easily worked. Although fairly soft, Eastern White Pine is remarkably durable as shown by the large number of homes in New England built with it that have stood for over 200 years. Because of its durability it is widely used as flooring, siding, paneling, and novelties.

Eastern White Pine is primarily graded for knot structure. A natural grade will feature large to small knots carrying from red to black colors. The premium grade features tight red knots that will not loosen over time.

Lengths in Eastern White Pine flooring will have a range from 2’-14’, with an average of 6’-8’.  In premium grade and natural grade widths can vary greatly from 4” up to 20” wide. Random width flooring is promoted for aesthetics as well as generating a much better yield in milling.  Fixed widths are also available in Eastern White Pine.

Facts:

• White Pine needles contain five times the amount of Vitamin C (by weight) of lemons.
• The white softer inner bark can be pounded and use as flour in cooking.
• Pine resin has been used to waterproof boats, baskets, and pails and the sap can be processed to make turpentine.
• Pine tar mixed with beer can be used to remove tapeworms (flat worms) or nematodes (round worms) and pine tar mixed with sulfur is useful to treat dandruff.

North American Cherry

North American Cherry is one of our most prized hardwoods. It’s unique grain and colors are highly sought after not only for flooring, but for other millwork like cabinets and stair parts. It has been a premier product for as long as people have been living in America. Cherry was often used by early American Colonies for its fruit, medical properties and home furnishings. They would mix cherry juice with rum to make Cherry Bounce. Also, the bark from a cherry tree was often used to treat bronchitis and stalks were used for tonics.

Cherry is found growing throughout Midwestern and Eastern U.S.  The average tree height is 60 to 80 feet. These trees can be harvested after 35 to 40 years of growth, but the cherry tree doesn’t reach full growth until about 100 years. Even after maturity, the tree still lives on to ages of about 150-200 years old. Black cherry is characterized by late maturing fruit and is distinct from the other cherries because it has dark bark with irregular scales that peel off easily and a light to dark reddish brown heartwood. When cherry lumber is graded, heartwood vs. sapwood is a factor because of varying colors. In addition to color, knots and grain are main factors of grading.

 Cherry can be machined and shaped very easily. This makes it a great choice for woodworkers. Because of cherry’s strength and stability, it is a popular wood for furniture makers, pattern makers, wood turners, musical instruments, professional and medical instruments, and is even used by the printing trade to back electrotypes and zinc etchings. The tangential shrinkage can be twice the radial shrinkage making warping a problem if drying is hurried. Once cherry has been dried properly, though, it is a very stable wood. It is as strong as maple but only about two thirds as hard. Often maple is stained to look like cherry in furniture components that require a more dense wood. North American Cherry may be used for flooring residentially wherever the distinguished look of one of America’s favorite woods will compliment the color scheme of the setting. North American Cherry is not recommended for flooring use commercially due to its softness.

Facts

• Cherry will darken over time due to sunlight.  There tends to be a contrast from light to dark where there is furniture or an area rug. 
• There are some cases known of dermatitis when coming into contact with North American Cherry saw dust so, although rare, care should be taken when working with this wood.
• North American Cherry carries a 950 rating on the Janka Hardness Scale.
• Although cherry is well known for its wood, it is also known for its spring blossoms. Beautiful white blossoms adorn its branches when it reaches full bloom in middle April to middle March.