Castello Boxwood (Calycophyllum multiflorum) is a South American wood related to Lemonwood. It isn't a true boxwood, but it has a very similar pale yellow to light brown color.The grain is generally straight, sometimes slightly interlocked, and the texture fine and smooth. It's moderately durable and turns, glues and finishes well. Its small, tightly packed pores make it fairly tough to cut, despite its generally cooperative nature.It dries slowly, so it's often sold green or partly green. The trees are small and supply through US channels is limited, so prices reflect that.Castello Boxwood is a popular choice for turning, carving, inlay and bows. For the real thing, see Boxwood.

Butternut (Juglans cinerea) is often called White Walnut, and it's a true member of the walnut family. It grows across the eastern United States and southeastern Canada, and it's much lighter and softer than its walnut cousins.The color is a pleasant light tan with a soft, pastel look, and some boards carry a pink or reddish tint. The grain is mostly straight with a medium to coarse texture, and the tree's fluted trunk can produce irregular, eye-catching figure. It looks a lot like a pale walnut, which makes it a handsome choice for furniture with a softer, lighter tone.Its low density makes it very easy to work by hand or machine, and like other walnuts it turns, glues, stains and finishes well. Despite being soft it's fairly durable, though like all walnuts it can be attacked by insects, and it dents more easily than harder woods.Butternut is a favorite with carvers and is also used for furniture, paneling, boxes, crafts and veneer. Many North American trees have been lost to butternut canker, a fungal disease, so good lumber is becoming harder to find. For a darker walnut, see American Black Walnut.

Canarywood (Centrolobium spp.), also called Canary or Yellow Tarara, grows across South America, from Panama to southern Brazil. It's best known for its lively mix of colors, which makes every board a little different.The heartwood ranges from pale yellow through pink and orange to dark reddish-brown, and the best boards show the whole range in a single piece, often with darker streaks. More evenly colored boards can look a lot like Cherry. The colors deepen and mellow over time toward a warmer reddish-brown.It's durable and fairly hard, yet still easy to work. The grain is usually straight, sometimes interlocked, with a medium texture, and it turns, glues and finishes well, taking a high polish. That means you get a colorful South American hardwood without the usual struggle, and at a reasonable price.Canarywood is a great choice for boxes, turnings, inlay, bandings, furniture accents and veneer, and the right board makes a good, lower-priced alternative to Tulipwood. Not to be confused with Red Canarywood, which is a different wood from another genus.

Red Canarywood, also called Tarara Colorada and sometimes sold as “Ruby,” is a rare Central American hardwood from the Platymiscium genus. That's the same group that includes Granadillo and Hormigo, both well known to instrument makers and furniture builders for their beauty and tone.It's valued for its rich red to salmon color and warm, golden shimmer. The grain is straight or slightly interlocked and the texture medium, with a natural luster that comes up beautifully under finish. Like many red woods, its color will slowly mellow with light exposure, so a finish with UV protection helps keep it bright.It machines cleanly, glues easily and is a pleasure to work, with a good balance of strength and workability. It turns well and sands to a smooth, lustrous surface.Despite the name, it's unrelated to the more common Canarywood (Centrolobium), though it offers a similar mix of color and usability in a much rarer package. It's well suited to turnings, boxes, cabinetry, instrument parts and specialty pieces where its color can take center stage.

Himalayan Cedar (Cedrus deodara), or Deodar, is a true cedar native to the western Himalayas, where it's an important timber tree in Pakistan, Kashmir and northwestern India. Its name comes from the Sanskrit “devadaru,” meaning “timber of the gods,” and it's a sacred tree in Hinduism.Our Himalayan Cedar was grown in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, a long way from its mountain home. Deodar was introduced to many parts of the world in the 1800s, and it has done well in South Africa's climate.The heartwood ranges from light tan to light brown with a reddish tint. The grain is usually straight and the texture fine and even, with a high natural luster. It's strong for its weight and has a reputation for excellent working properties: it cuts, planes and finishes cleanly. The wood is prized for its durability, pleasant fragrance and resistance to insects, and the trees also yield a fragrant oil with insect-repelling and anti-fungal properties.In its native regions it's used for construction, carpentry, temple building and furniture. It suits furniture, joinery, boxes, closet linings and general woodworking anywhere you want a light, fragrant, durable softwood. See also Aromatic Cedar.

Japanese Cedar (Cryptomeria japonica), known in Japan as Sugi, is the country's national tree. It's planted at temples and sacred sites across Japan, and some ancient trees are famous landmarks in their own right. It's prized for its scented, strong but lightweight timber, and it's been planted well beyond Japan, including in South Africa.The wood is reddish-pink to light brown, straight-grained and medium-textured, often with a pleasant, clean fragrance. It's strong for its weight and resists water well, which is why it has been used in Japanese boat and ship building for centuries.Knots are fairly common, as you'd expect from a cedar, but otherwise it works very easily with hand and power tools, and it glues, stains and finishes well. It's soft, so it dents more easily than hardwoods.Japanese Cedar is used for construction, interior paneling, furniture, boatbuilding, carving and turnings, and it's a traditional choice for Japanese architecture and woodwork. Our Japanese Cedar was grown in South Africa, where the species was introduced and does well. If you like light, fragrant softwoods, see also Western Red Cedar.

Spanish Cedar (Cedrela odorata) isn't a true cedar at all. It belongs to the mahogany family, and it shares many of that family's best qualities: it's light, pleasantly aromatic and one of the easiest hardwoods to work.The heartwood ranges from a soft pinkish-brown to reddish-brown and darkens nicely with age. The grain is straight and the texture fine, so it planes, carves and sands cleanly, and it glues and finishes well. Most Spanish Cedar on the US market is plantation-grown, which is usually a little lighter in weight and color than forest-grown wood.It's best known for cigar boxes and humidors, where its scent suits tobacco and it stays stable as humidity changes. Light, stable and easy to carve, it's also the traditional wood for classical and flamenco guitar necks, and it's used in boatbuilding, cabinetry and veneer. Related woods in the mahogany family include Genuine Mahogany, Sapele and Sipo.

Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata) grows in the Pacific Northwest of North America and is one of the most beautiful and useful softwoods in the world. Its colors range from mellow amber to reddish cinnamon and sienna brown, often in the same board.The grain is straight and the texture fine and even, with a satin-like luster. It's light, yet remarkably stable for its weight, and it has a pleasant, spicy scent when cut. Left outdoors unfinished, it weathers to a soft silver grey.It's naturally durable outdoors, which makes it a go-to for siding, cladding, decking, fencing and garden projects. It's easy to work by hand or machine, and it glues and finishes well, though it's soft and dents easily, so handle finished pieces with care.Western Red Cedar is wonderfully versatile, used for everything from home construction to clear, quartersawn soundboards for classical and acoustic guitars, where its warm, responsive tone is highly valued. For another classic soundboard wood, see Engelmann Spruce.

Cerejeira (Amburana cearensis), also known as Amburana or Brazilian Oak, is an important wood in the dry regions of central and southern South America. In Brazil, it's also famous for the barrels used to age cachaça, where it gives the spirit a sweet, spicy character.The wood is a warm golden to light brown, sometimes with an orange tint, and it often has a pleasant vanilla-like scent when cut. It's valued for its beauty, durability, strength and stability, and it works and finishes well.Left undisturbed, the trees grow very large. Big trees are cut mainly for their dramatic slabs, which are prized by South American furniture makers and slab importers worldwide, and many highly figured logs go to veneer.Cerejeira is a tough, versatile wood for furniture, cabinetry, doors, flooring and veneer. Despite its popularity with those who know it, it's still a bit of a well-kept secret in the US. For the most dramatic figure, see Cerejeira Crotch.

Cerejeira Crotch (Amburana cearensis) is the most dramatic part of the Cerejeira tree, cut from where the trunk divides into major branches. It's prized for its detailed, almost three-dimensional figure, which shifts and shimmers as the light moves across it.Cerejeira, also known as Amburana or Brazilian Oak, comes from the dry regions of central and southern South America. It's valued for its beauty, durability, strength and stability, with a warm golden to light brown color and often a pleasant vanilla-like scent.Large trees are cut mainly for their slabs, which are prized by furniture makers and slab importers around the world, and many highly figured logs go to the veneer industry. Crotch pieces are the pick of the tree. Crotch grain changes direction a lot, so take light passes and sand carefully to avoid tear-out.Cerejeira Crotch makes standout tabletops, cabinet doors, panels, box lids and veneer, anywhere the figure can be the star. Every piece is different, so we recommend choosing by eye. For straight-grained stock, see Cerejeira.

Chakte Viga (Caesalpinia platyloba) is a vibrant Central American wood that has been emerging from relative obscurity over the past decade or so. It's thought to be closely related to Pernambuco, the classic violin-bow wood, and shares some of its acoustic properties.The colors range from orange to golden brown, with gold, red and occasionally green accents, set against pale off-white to yellow sapwood. Like many orange woods, it deepens toward a richer reddish-brown over time. The grain is straight, sometimes interlocked, and the texture fine with excellent luster.It's dense and hard, but it works easily with sharp tools and finishes well, and a clear lacquer can bring out a shimmering, three-dimensional chatoyance. It turns beautifully, which makes it a favorite for pens, bowls and small turnings.We think it has real potential as a guitar tonewood and for fine furniture, and it's a great choice for turnings, inlay, boxes and accents. If you like its color, see also African Padauk and Canarywood.

Black Cherry (Prunus serotina) is one of America's most important hardwoods and a long-time favorite for fine furniture. It grows across the eastern United States, with some of the finest timber coming from Pennsylvania and New York.Freshly cut, it's tan to light brown with a pink or red tint, and it ages to the rich reddish-brown (russet) that stains on other woods try to imitate. That color change happens quickly with light exposure. The sapwood is pale yellow, and small dark gum flecks and pith marks are part of its natural character.The grain is straight to irregular, the texture fine and even, and the density moderate. It's one of the most cooperative, user-friendly hardwoods around: easy to work, strong for its weight, stable and durable. It can blotch when stained, but with color like this there's rarely a reason to stain it. Go slowly with high-speed tools, as it can burn.Cherry is used for fine furniture, cabinetry, millwork, flooring, turnings and veneer, and occasionally for guitar necks and bodies. For figured stock, see Curly Cherry.

Curly Black Cherry (Prunus serotina) is the figured version of American Cherry, with bold, shimmering curl running across the grain. The best boards are quite dramatic, with the stripes appearing to move as you tilt the piece in the light.Freshly cut, it's tan to light brown with a pink or red tint, and it ages to a rich reddish-brown that deepens over the years. The grain is straight to irregular, the texture fine, and the density moderate.It's one of the most cooperative hardwoods to work, and it's strong for its weight, stable and durable. Take light passes with a sharp blade to avoid tear-out in the figure, and finish with an oil or clear finish to make the curl glow. It can blotch if stained, but the natural color and figure are the reason to buy it.Curly Cherry is the most sought-after form of this classic American wood, ideal for fine furniture, cabinetry, boxes, drawer fronts and instrument parts where the figure can show. Its stability has also earned it a place in guitar necks and bodies. See also plain Black Cherry.

Cumaru (Dipteryx odorata) is a South American hardwood often sold as Brazilian Teak, though it isn't related to true Teak. It's one of the hardest and most durable woods on the market.It's golden brown to medium brown, sometimes with reddish or purplish tones, and it darkens with age. The grain is interlocked with a medium texture and a waxy feel. It's extremely hard, stiff and strong, with excellent resistance to rot, insects and weathering.Its density makes it challenging to work, so carbide tools are a must, and you should pre-drill for screws and nails. It glues best with a solvent wipe first. The tree is also the source of tonka beans, prized for their sweet, vanilla-like scent, and freshly cut Cumaru can carry a hint of that aroma. Its dust can irritate, so wear a mask when cutting.Thanks to its durability, Cumaru is a strong alternative to Ipe for decking, and it's also used for flooring, outdoor furniture, docks, cabinetry and heavy construction.

Amara Ebony (Diospyros celebica) is generally regarded as the same species as Macassar Ebony, with Amara coming only from Indonesia. Its different look is put down to local soil conditions, and it's a wood rarely seen in the US.It's typically deep chocolate brown with pink striping, but we've also seen boards with greens and reds, more like Malaysian Blackwood, and others with gold and orange hues. Some show “landscape” grain patterns that make them look like a cross between the two. The sapwood is tan.The grain is more often wavy or irregular than straight, with a fine texture and a nice natural luster. We've found it slightly less dense than Macassar Ebony, and despite its density it works well, turning and polishing to a beautiful finish. Sharp tools help, and the fine dust is best handled with good extraction.Amara is a distinctive choice for carving, inlay, turnings, boxes, furniture accents, veneer and specialty pieces, anywhere you want an ebony that's a little out of the ordinary.

Brown Ebony (Libidibia paraguariensis), also called Brazilian Ebony or Guayacan, is a South American hardwood. It isn't a true ebony, but it shares the ebonies' density and hardness, which is where the name comes from.The heartwood is a deep chocolate to dark brown, sometimes with darker streaks and a subtle olive or reddish tint. It's a little odd to call a brown wood “ebony,” but once you feel its weight, the comparison makes sense. The texture is fine and even, with a good natural luster.It's very dense and hard to work, so sharp tools and patience are needed, and it can dull blades quickly. The effort pays off in a smooth, glassy finish with a rich, deep color, and it turns exceptionally well.Brown Ebony is popular for turning, musical instrument parts, inlay, carving, knife handles and decorative pieces. It isn't often available, so it's a nice one to add to your collection. For true ebonies, see Gabon Ebony and Macassar Ebony.