Northwest Timber Figured Hardwoods Interview 2 Tonewood

Northewest Timber Figured Hardwoods Interview 2 Tonewood

Can you tell us about different types of wood that are specific to your region?

The Pacific Northwest forests are a temperate rainforest with Douglas Fir, a soft wood, in the majority. The secondary woods, not as plentiful, are Cedar, Spruce, Maple and Pine. Some hardwoods can be found at various locations throughout the forests.

The Northwest softwood industry is different from the Eastern hardwoods forests on the East Coast.

Maple, a secondary forest product is harvested along with Douglas Fir trees but is not the primary product. Douglas Fir is used heavily in the housing market and Maple is used in furniture, musical instruments and small accessory items such as knife handles, jewelry boxes.

Figure in woods is the visual pattern of growth that lends to an exciting visual appeal to your finished product. In hardwoods, figure is rare, 10% of hardwood trees have a figure and only about 10% of that is of the grade that can be used.

For this reason, the Pacific Northwest forests produces some of the world’s most sought after “tone woods” for instruments.

Only here, will you find “quilted maple” as it is specific to the Western Big Leaf Maple (just as “birds-eye figure” is to Hardrock Maple). Additionally, Myrtlewood grows exclusively on the Southern Oregon/ Northern California coast. Port Orford White Cedar grows in a small area on the Southern Oregon coast and is known for its hardness, white color and is used for a premium soundboard, Western “Claro” Walnut trees can be found all the way to Canada. Also, Claro is commonly used as rootstock on English walnut orchard trees in California, but here were we live they grow alone or in small groups, we don’t have to travel beyond 50 miles to harvest walnut.

Northwest Timber’s list of woods:

- Figured Western Big Leaf Maple: Spalted, Burl, Quilted and Curly
- Myrtlewood: Marbled, Curly and Burl
- Western “Claro” Walnut: Marbled, Curly and Crotch
- Madrone Burl
- Curly Eastern Cherry
- Old Growth, Vertical grain Port Orford White Cedar

(all woods are subject to availability)

Are there particularities to your region or country in terms of production possibilities?

Billets are the most challenging to acquire as the life of a Woodsman is hard and we usually make it longer than they do, they hand cut the blocks to size for figure (versus milled) for items like musical instruments, turning blanks, carving, and gunstock blanks.

Maple, Myrtlewood and Claro Walnut billets are all harvested when available and usually on private property.

Claro Walnut trees are typically single trees also found on private property, Maple billets are harvested in the forest with a permit and a chainsaw, and Myrtlewood logs are typically purchased in hardwood log yards.

We’ve purchased our wood which is harvested by private contractors for over 25 years.

Word that we purchase billets gets around and wood harvesters tend to find us.

Are you subject to special laws or production limitations each year?

No, most of the laws and regulations are in the act of harvesting and we don’t have a part in that.

We buy harvested wood, dry and process it, and then sell it through our website at:

https://www.nwtimber.com

Some pictures of
Northwest Timber Figured Hardwoods
handpicked by our team

Northwest Timber Figured Hardwoods Interview 2 Tonewood — Northwest Timber Figured Hardwoods – Quilted Western Big Leaf maple (Acer Macrophyllum)