Alder Wood Furniture Quality

The alder tree takes about 25 40 years to mature and begins to mark a decline in quality of wood after age 70 years.

Alder wood furniture quality.

Often the grades are special grades owned by a company rather than the nhla grades used for other hardwoods. Benefits of alder wood furniture alder wood has a slightly red undertone but it only lets you see it at its most exquisite as it ages. Works well with hand and machine tools but sharp cutting edges need to be maintained to prevent tearing the grain. It is a rather expensive wood today especially in wider sizes.

Alder wood grew popular by being considered as the poor man s cherry or as an inexpensive alternative to cherry wood. It s often used for rustic pieces like farmhouse style tables. It s low cost and it takes paint well so it s great for kids furniture. It is used as a substitute for cherry in applications where it will not be subject to denting.

Alder is carefully manufactured dried and inspected to ensure flat straight and stable lumber making it ideal for moldings millwork as well as furniture and cabinets. We often refer alder as the poor man s cherry because of its beauty and affordable value. On a hardness scale alder ranks just above pine and poplar. It has a smooth grain that s enhanced by its years of darkening but it has more to offer than mere beauty.

Common alder is a member of the birch family yet the fine even texture of alder wood makes it similar to cherry. The same holds true for birch and poplar. Although classified as a hardwood alder is one of the softest of all hardwoods and is more commonly referred to as a semi hardwood. The wood is rarely wider than 6 due to the small size of the trees.

Pine is an inexpensive lightweight wood that can be yellowish or whitish with brown knots. Alder is a relatively soft hardwood of medium density that has low bending strength shock resistance and stiffness. Its appearance and high quality make it a popular choice for furniture and cabinets. Alder is an attractive close grain species with a nice uniform color a fine texture and uniform density says miller.

Alder a soft relatively low strength straight grained even textured wood.