Amish Choice Wood Furniture

There are varying degrees of quality when it comes to furniture production. Some use particleboard in places where they think you won’t look — and cardboard in places where they just don’t care. But that’s not the Amish way. At Amish Choice Wood Furniture, we use only the finest northern hardwoods, raised to perfection, and slowly kiln-dried to prevent splitting and provide years of reliable use.

Layered For Strength There are some cases where solid wood panels aren’t practical, simply because the seasonal contraction and expansion would destroy the integrity of the joints. In these cases, we still use hardwood — just in a plywood form, layering multiple panels in a cross-grain build for maximum structural stability. This wood is most typically used in shelves, cabinet backs, and on cabinet sides without a flat or raised panel.

Quarter-sawn is a technique for processing lumber that dates back hundreds of years, and it was widely used in furniture manufacturing in the 18th and 19th centuries. The reason it was widely used is it was a practical method for handling large trees prior to the advent of machinery.

The process was simple in that the large log was split into quarters using wedges — making it easier to manage. These pieces were then hauled off to the mill for processing. The result of this processing creates a very unique grain pattern that cannot be achieved using any other method, and is distinctive of certain time periods in United States history.
 

Each wood has their own unique characteristics which can impact the finishes that can be applied, and also impact the cost of the raw materials and manufacturing time. Each wood also has unique visual characteristics that can meet specific style requirements. For instance cherry and soft maple have an even grain which can lend itself well to clean/contemporary styles. Below is a brief description of all the woods we offer.
Red Oak is a very popular hardwood, chosen for its traditional, coarse-textured look, as well as its excellent durability and strength. It accepts stain consistently and wears very well over time, making red oak a good choice for furniture that will see heavy everyday use. Natural color varies from yellow to pale brown, often with a light reddish tinge.

Quarter-sawn White Oak — much like red oak — is hard and strong, providing outstanding wear-resistance. It has a medium-coarse to coarse texture and varies in color from light tan to nearly white or light grey. Our Amish craftsmen use quarter-sawn white oak for a unique aesthetic appeal.

Soft Maple is a straight-grained, fine-textured wood. And despite its confusing name, it’s actually a hardwood. Derived from red or silver maple trees, soft maple is not as durable as its hard maple cousin, but is more capable of accepting stain. Soft maple has roughly the same density as cherry, with colors usually ranging from light cream to pale brown with occasional dark streaks.

Hard Maple, or rock maple, comes from sugar or black maple trees. It’s a tough, moderately heavy wood with a fine and uniform texture. Hard maple finishes very smoothly and is extremely durable. Commonly seen with no stain, its natural color varies from nearly white to light tan, with an occasional reddish tinge.

Cherry is a dense, even-grained wood, widely considered to be the finest of the fruit woods. It is prized for its beauty and considered an excellent choice for both formal and casual applications. Natural coloration varies from a light cream to a dark reddish brown; however, cherry can darken considerably with age, developing a deep, rich patina over the course of several years.

Rustic Cherry has all the characteristics of the classic cherry as described above, plus a few more. Harvested from the same tree as its premium counterpart, character cherry is simply a different grade — one with more knots, variations in the grain, and more, well, character.

Hickory is a close-grained wood that’s often nearly white in color. It’s also one of the hardest, heaviest and strongest woods found in the United States. Because of its flexibility and resilience, hickory is commonly used in the construction of chairs and other bentwood furniture.

Walnut is a dense wood, ranging in color from light- to deep-chocolate brown. The black walnut tree produces one of the finest cabinet woods. Slow-growing and highly desired, walnut is more expensive than many other woods.

Pedestal/trestle tables come standard with an equalizing geared slide that keeps the base in the center of the table and these are designed with a slight reversed bow to keep the ends of the table from sagging. Some play is normal at the end of the tables when extended.

Leg tables come standard with heavy duty wood slides (not geared). These are designed with a slight bow to keep the table straight in the center when leaves are added.