| The Virginia Table Company 104 First Street, Berryville,Virginia 22611 800-985-2725 www.virginiatable.com info@virginiatable.com Copyright 2007 Virginia table Co. |
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| Materials from our Great American Forests |
We build exclusively with native
American timbers; Cherry,
Maple, and Poplar. In addition to
the lumber we buy, we cut timber
on our own land. Recently we
selectively harvested 250,000
board feet, mostly Poplar. We
use Poplar like 18th century
cabinetmakers did, as a
secondary wood for drawer sides,
cupboard backs and shelves.
Tempering tradition with
practicality, we use birch plywood
in applications where it performs
better than solid wood. These
uses include drawer bottoms,
adjustable shelves for
entertainment centers, and the
backs of pieces that aren't seen.
American timbers; Cherry,
Maple, and Poplar. In addition to
the lumber we buy, we cut timber
on our own land. Recently we
selectively harvested 250,000
board feet, mostly Poplar. We
use Poplar like 18th century
cabinetmakers did, as a
secondary wood for drawer sides,
cupboard backs and shelves.
Tempering tradition with
practicality, we use birch plywood
in applications where it performs
better than solid wood. These
uses include drawer bottoms,
adjustable shelves for
entertainment centers, and the
backs of pieces that aren't seen.
American Black Cherry
All of the Cherry lumber we use comes from West Virginia and Western Pennsylvania.
The region grows the finest Cherry lumber in the world. This incredible wood is a pale
salmon color when freshly cut and if left unstained will, with exposure to sunlight, turn a
dark reddish brown over time. The grain is some of the most beautiful of any wood.
From a woodworkers viewpoint it is almost the perfect wood. It accepts stain remarkably
well. It is hard enough to not dent easily and to hold crisp details, yet it soft enough to
not get black burn marks when worked with modern power tools. Of course because of
all these things it is highly sought after and commands a high price. In recent years
prices have been pushed even higher by a fast growing export market, mostly to Asia.
As prices have risen many manufactures have switched to Cherry veneer and to
making substitutions with lesser woods stained a Cherry color. At Virginia Table we are
committed to building furniture from solid Cherry lumber.
Maple and Tiger Maple
While there are those that make every inch of a piece in Tiger Maple, we prefers a
more restrained approach. At Virginia Table we use Tiger Maple as an accent wood on
pieces that are primarily plain Maple. Generally the areas where we use Tiger Maple
are headboards, drawer fronts, raised panels, and Table tops.
About Tiger Maple
Maple trees fall into two broad categories. Soft Maple and Hard Maple. These terms are
quite misleading because soft Maple is not really soft. It is soft only in comparison to
Hard or Rock Maple. Soft Maple is harder than Cherry and most other woods. The
other common name for Soft Maple is Red Maple.
When Hard Maple has highly figured boards it is usually Birds Eye Maple which is really
lots of very small knots.
When Soft Maple has highly figured wood it is usually Tiger Maple. Named because of
its likeness to a Tiger’s stripes. It is sometimes called fiddle back Maple because for
centuries it has been used to make violins. It is also sometimes called curly Maple.
However, this is not correct as curly Maple is a different type of figuring. Tiger figuring
is stripes that go across the grain. Curley figuring is “S” shaped lines that run parallel to
the grain. Sometimes boards will have both Curly and Tiger figuring.
Some people say that Tiger is a result of the grain not being parallel to the log so that it
is end gain showing on the face of the board. This seems to make sense, but it may or
may not be true. Mostly no one knows what makes wood figured. It is one of life's
mysteries.
Tiger Maple is sold by small specialty lumber dealers. They sometimes purchase it from
the mainstream lumber industry who consider it a defect and cull it out. In some cases
loggers can tell by looking at the outside of a log that it will have Tiger figure and will
sell these logs to the specialty dealers directly.
The supply of Tiger Maple is small and availability can be sporadic. The quality of
figured wood is a subjective matter that requires a relationship of trust between the
lumber dealer and the furniture maker. These factors are all reasons that the
mainstream furniture industry does not use Tiger Maple. Also, using highly figured
wood to make furniture requires sorting and repositioning the boards and making
judgments and decisions during the building process. The larger factories prefer to
treat every board the same so that production is fast and lower skilled workers can be
utilized.
All of the Cherry lumber we use comes from West Virginia and Western Pennsylvania.
The region grows the finest Cherry lumber in the world. This incredible wood is a pale
salmon color when freshly cut and if left unstained will, with exposure to sunlight, turn a
dark reddish brown over time. The grain is some of the most beautiful of any wood.
From a woodworkers viewpoint it is almost the perfect wood. It accepts stain remarkably
well. It is hard enough to not dent easily and to hold crisp details, yet it soft enough to
not get black burn marks when worked with modern power tools. Of course because of
all these things it is highly sought after and commands a high price. In recent years
prices have been pushed even higher by a fast growing export market, mostly to Asia.
As prices have risen many manufactures have switched to Cherry veneer and to
making substitutions with lesser woods stained a Cherry color. At Virginia Table we are
committed to building furniture from solid Cherry lumber.
Maple and Tiger Maple
While there are those that make every inch of a piece in Tiger Maple, we prefers a
more restrained approach. At Virginia Table we use Tiger Maple as an accent wood on
pieces that are primarily plain Maple. Generally the areas where we use Tiger Maple
are headboards, drawer fronts, raised panels, and Table tops.
About Tiger Maple
Maple trees fall into two broad categories. Soft Maple and Hard Maple. These terms are
quite misleading because soft Maple is not really soft. It is soft only in comparison to
Hard or Rock Maple. Soft Maple is harder than Cherry and most other woods. The
other common name for Soft Maple is Red Maple.
When Hard Maple has highly figured boards it is usually Birds Eye Maple which is really
lots of very small knots.
When Soft Maple has highly figured wood it is usually Tiger Maple. Named because of
its likeness to a Tiger’s stripes. It is sometimes called fiddle back Maple because for
centuries it has been used to make violins. It is also sometimes called curly Maple.
However, this is not correct as curly Maple is a different type of figuring. Tiger figuring
is stripes that go across the grain. Curley figuring is “S” shaped lines that run parallel to
the grain. Sometimes boards will have both Curly and Tiger figuring.
Some people say that Tiger is a result of the grain not being parallel to the log so that it
is end gain showing on the face of the board. This seems to make sense, but it may or
may not be true. Mostly no one knows what makes wood figured. It is one of life's
mysteries.
Tiger Maple is sold by small specialty lumber dealers. They sometimes purchase it from
the mainstream lumber industry who consider it a defect and cull it out. In some cases
loggers can tell by looking at the outside of a log that it will have Tiger figure and will
sell these logs to the specialty dealers directly.
The supply of Tiger Maple is small and availability can be sporadic. The quality of
figured wood is a subjective matter that requires a relationship of trust between the
lumber dealer and the furniture maker. These factors are all reasons that the
mainstream furniture industry does not use Tiger Maple. Also, using highly figured
wood to make furniture requires sorting and repositioning the boards and making
judgments and decisions during the building process. The larger factories prefer to
treat every board the same so that production is fast and lower skilled workers can be
utilized.
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