"Wet wood is worse than no wood." Kent Mace
Did you know that we will Facetime you while we run a moisture meter over the slabs you are considering purchasing? While we 100% guarantee the wood that we sell, and every piece in our open warehouse is ready to be made into your woodworking project...
Did you know that we will Facetime you while we run a moisture meter over the slabs you are considering purchasing? While we 100% guarantee the wood that we sell, and every piece in our open warehouse is ready to be made into your woodworking project, we know that not everyone has had the best time out there buying wood. Some of you have purchased slabs off the internet from other wood companies (even VERY expensive slabs) only to have them arrive with a moisture content that is way too high for your environment.
We want you to be informed and completely confident in your purchase from us. Your project is our project. Your success is our success. You deserve a slab that arrives ready to be made into your project, and you deserve to be part of that process.
We are wood drying experts. The Southwest is dry! We LOVE our climate, and we credit it with making us the best at wood drying in the industry. When we dry wood, we have to ensure that it is suited for Colorado’s arid environment.
We have two kilns in Southern Colorado that we use to bring our wood down to the right MC for that species and dimension in our climate. Sometimes this means 8%, but sometimes it means 4.5%. We run an AirVac kiln and a Nyle dehumidification kiln and between the two, we can dry around 12,500 board feet of wood at a time. Check out our kiln dry page for a more in depth look at our drying operation.
Meters We Use
There are two different meters we use to measure moisture. For quick checking we use a Wagner L610 digital meter. The meter reads differently depending on the species being measured, and it has a pre set selection of 32 common wood species.
For heavy duty measuring we use a Delmhorst RC-1E moisture meter. The RC-1E measures moisture content by reading electrodes that are pounded into the surface of a slab. It will read incredibly accurately from 6% to 80%, on three range scales. Even though the slab ends up with two little poke holes, it’s worth it to get a precise reading, and it’s nothing a little epoxy can’t fix.
The average moisture content of wood used in woodworking needs to be lower in the southwestern United States than on the coasts due to differences in relative humidity between these regions. Wood naturally absorbs or releases moisture to reach equilibrium with the surrounding environment which is called the Equilibrium Moisture Content (EMC). The southwestern United States has a drier climate with lower average relative humidity. Because wood seeks equilibrium, wood used for woodworking projects in these areas needs to have a lower average moisture content (MC) to prevent excessive shrinking and warping.
Almost all areas in the world have a higher average relative himidity compaired to Colorado. Woodworking projects in less arid environments can use wood with a slightly higher average moisture content, but even in these climates, it is better to start with wood that has a lower MC and allow it to come back up to equilibrium instead of risking the continued loss of moisture and the resulting tension and movement that can result in warping and cracking. In any environment, wood with a higher MC will lose moisture into the surrounding air. Woodworkers in all regions need to start their woodworking process with a lower average MC to help mitigate such problems.
Acclimation is recommended on all wood, even when using wood with the appropriate MC, as it's crucial to allow the wood to adapt to the specific workshop and final location's environment before construction. But, this process is accomplished in days with properly dried wood at a lower MC.
Not all species are the same! Different wood species have varying inherent moisture content levels. Woodworkers should consider the specific wood type and its recommended MC range for the project's location. We can talk your through the complexities of your location in relation to the species and dimensions of the wood you need for your project.
By understanding the relationship between equilibrium moisture content, relative humidity, and wood's moisture content, we can ensure that your project remains stable and beautiful for years to come.
In order to track the drying process in our kilns, we use radio frequency probes that are directly inserted into the wood in the kiln at strategic locations. Those probes constantly feed data back to our system and that data is complied and monitored so that we can adjust settings within the kiln to ensure that the wood not only reaches the targeted MC, but also adjusts the system to create the least amount of tension and adverse movement. Kiln drying is a SLOW process, and we embrace every extra day and sometimes months it takes to produce the absolute best and most stable material possible.
The CS Woods kiln monitoring computer in early 2024. Note the Core1 / Core 2 / Shell1 / Shell 2 moisture contents. This load is done and ready to be inventoried and will be up for sale in our Denver warehouse!
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FAQ! Where do we get our woods?
When visitors first open the door to our warehouse they are often speechless for a short period of time; then the first question is almost always, "where do you get the woods?" Well, did you know that my grandfather started the collection in the 1940's and we still have some of that wood on the floor! We have been collecting and preserving trees for generations. Much of our collection is composed of domestic hardwoods, carefully hand selected though our extended network of sawyers and woodsmen who share our commitment to sustainability and preservation. Our collection is also composed of species from around the world that come from places that are able to match our ethics and sourcing standards. In the last few years, after installing our own large mill, we have increased our collection of local woods as well! The CS Woods collection represents a true passion for the woods of the world, and a strong commitment to story and sustainability. Every piece in our collection has an origin story, which we look forward to sharing with you. Come visit us and walk the world of wood! ~Alana
SUSTAINABILITY
Our product is unique in that it is renewable, sustainable, carbon negative, recyclable, and 100% biodegradable. Our mission as a company is to keep the processing and energy footprint of that product as low as possible. We have invested heavily in kilns, tools, and power that directly help keep our impact low. We work to carry that through to our custom, hand crafted furniture as well by keeping in mind environmental biophilic design. Non-sustainable and unethically made furniture will end up in a landfill, even if the base material has been sourced and processed sustainably. Design choices can change the nature of the wood so much that it no longer can be considered environmentally friendly. Using too much epoxy, essentially plastic, can quickly lower the sustainability of a product. Although epoxy can be useful to make more character slabs a useable surface by filling in voids and gaps, limiting its use, and being mindful of the impact is essential. Did you know that the cost of epoxy by the board foot far exceeds even the most expensive slab we sell?
The impacts of our actions and our products matter. We create products that exist in harmony with our natural environment while working at a standard of quality that lasts lifetimes, seeking to design spaces and products that are mindful, ethical and biophilic, grounding you in the natural world.
MORE NEW WEB SALES - SHIPPING OR PICK UP NOW
Priced to FLY out the door! We are making space for a full kiln load that will arrive in our Denver warehouse in a couple of months and a shipping container that is floating our direction, and you get a steal of a deal in the process! Check out the sale section of the website to grab some epic deals before they are gone!
WENGE AND KHAYA ON THE WAY!
We are expecting a very exciting container from across the “pond”. A couple of special trees are making their way to CS Woods Denver carefully, if a bit slowly. We hand selected these logs and had them milled and kiln dried to our CS Woods Rocky Mountain specifications in Germany. There will be three boules of Wenge and two boules of Khaya! We are excited to have them in stock and up for sale by the beginning of February.
Wenge is one of the very darkest woods! It has a nearly 100% black color tone with dark brown highlighting streaks and distinctive figure with a characteristic open pored structure. It is a unique and exotic choice for projects while also being practical and durable. As a wood species it is exceptionally hard and heavy. Our Wenge is hand sourced and FSC certified.
With an excellent natural luster and heartwood of rich mahogany browns highlighted with a very pale pink, Khaya (also know as African Mahogany) has good working properties and an interlocking yet tight grain pattern that won’t fuzz with hand or power planning. We expect the quarter sawn surfaces to have ribbon striping and are excited to share photos once it arrives! This species finishes beautifully, holds carved and routed details very well without brittle edges and will make gorgeous surfaces as well as a variety of millwork.
We also carry Sapele and Sipo/Utile, which are very similar species to Khaya African Mahogany!
REQUEST A CUSTOM QUOTE - ONLINE!
You can now request a custom quote on our website! Check out the link to learn more!
And, once you have made a custom quote request, did you know that we do custom layouts for customers? Fill out our quote request or call us with your project and our team will match a selection of woods in our warehouse to your project and then pull and lay out those pieces for you, a design team, a contractor, or a woodworker and their client! Let's make use of our HUGE heated indoor warehouse floor. We have the chalk and are ready to draw up projects and help you maximize budget and find the perfect piece.
The kilns are full, the warehouse is TOO SMALL, and we have containers on the way, so we are dramatically lowering prices! All inventory online and in the warehouse is undergoing deep price reductions. We are excited to bring new pricing to our clientele so that the famous CS Woods quality is more accessible. Many rough slabs are seeing $500 to $1000 or more price reductions, and we are hoping that this helps our woodworking community put more money in their pockets. Excitingly, the upcoming kiln drop and the delivery of Greek Walnut will continue with our new pricing.
With renewed affordability on our inventory, we look forward to continuing to bring in the very best slabs available and ensuring that the Rocky Mountain region has continued access to the biggest most beautiful slabs with the lowest moisture content and tension on the market.
When you are looking for wood for a new project, we encourage you to come in or call our sales staff! We're motivated to get that wood you need into the shop, and support the project in any way you need. The team is full of deals to give, advice for those that need it and Holiday Cheer to spread around! Come and take advantage of it!
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Custom tables from CS Woods are made to last lifetimes, but sometimes life changes, and it is time for a new table! We custom made this table for clients in 2018. It was loved, cared for and moved to a new space, but it is time for our friends to downsize, and this table no longer fits their lifestyle. As we create a new table in the right size for their new space, the clients would like to make this stunning piece available to a new family or company who can use it at its current size. CS Woods will warranty the table and provide installation and logistics.
CS Woods is excited to offer this custom made table at a sizeable discount to the new owner, as our client would really love for this table to go to a new space and be of service!
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Black walnut, mango, mesquite, and hackberry are just a few of the options that we have ready for immediate installation - all available at a 20% discount until Christmas! Bring home a gift that keeps on giving and is just about the most useful and family oriented thing you can buy this holiday season ~ a table to make you smile every time you sit down to share a meal with friends and family. Take advantage of this sale NOW, as the tables won't be around for long at these prices! We are excited to help you design your dream table as well!
Visit our Ready-to-Deliver collection now!
If the Ready-to-Deliver Colorado Collection doesn't have exactly what you are looking for, our staff will help you hand select the right wood for your project and our design team can ensure we make your vision a reality! Take a tour of the CS Woods Denver Warehouse and see our woodyard and woodshop! Bring your team or family and check out the most unique store in Denver! Walk the world of woods with us check out over 50 species, and see some of the largest and widest slabs available in the US. This facility is open to the public, and we LOVE to give personal tours. Come and listen to the stories about the trees in our collection! We are truly tree to table, and every piece is hand-selected by us and carries a special story that we look forward to sharing with you. Collector's Specialty Woods is a craftsman-focused lumber company and custom furniture builder located in Colorado. We offer the best and driest natural live edge wood slabs and furniture stock. Our wood is Rocky Mountain kiln dry and ready to be used throughout the USA. We focus on American hardwoods and sustainably harvested and reclaimed material. Our extended family of sawyers, collectors, and woodsmen provides us with access to particularly hard-to-find, large, high-quality, specialty wood slabs. Along with our extensive hand-selected inventory, CSWoods also offers milling, custom woodworking, and experience working with reclaimed wood. The inventory is pictured on our website and you can visit us at our open warehouse located just twenty minutes from Denver International Airport.
CSWoods is a four-generation Colorado family business that offers a personal experience, providing as much guidance as you require, and ensuring that you receive exceptional, knowledgeable service. A Colorado Heritage family, CS Woods represents four generations of wood lovers. We are passionate about wood. We are here because when you love something, you want to protect it and share it responsibly. We all belong to the great family of life who call the earth home. Stuart Mace of Aspen Colorado, the father of Kent Mace, CS Woods owner, held a class at his home in the Ashcroft Valley called “the Philosophy of the Green World” and used his hand-built home, called Toklat, as the base for his and his wife Isabel’s championing of the back to the land, natural foods and hand-crafted lifestyle. Kent Mace, our owner, is a direct product of that philosophy and brings a high level of personal integrity to everything we do here at CS Woods. From the felling of mature trees to the careful delivery of custom-crafted heirloom furniture, everything we do reflects our sense of belonging to earth. Build beautiful, build natural.
]]>Through CS Woods environmental art, you can bring the harmony of nature into your daily life. The beauty encouraging you to take care of it, as well as yourself.
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Ingredients
Directions
In a skillet, lightly sauté the minced garlic clove in 1 tablespoon of oil. Add parsley, wheat germ, and sesame seeds and saute lightly again. Remove from heat and let cool.
Put ground beef and ground lamb in a mixing bowl. Add the cooled sauteed ingredients, salt, steak sauce, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, and eggs. Form into 3-inch patties. Place patties on grill and cook about 5 minutes on each side, or until cooked to desired doneness. You will need to lengthen cooking time if at a higher altitude.
Recipe courtesy Isabel and Stuart Mace from the book "Recipe Requests from the Mace Kitchen" and featured on many cooking shows including BBQ with Bobby Flay.
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Claro walnut kitchen island bar extension crafted by CS Woods in 2020.
The most cultivated walnut tree, juglans (J.) regia, commonly called English walnut (but also sometimes called French) because English merchants marine once controlled its world commerce, produces the best variety of nut. Making up the largest orchard in the world (located in Iran), this tree had been integral in the development of walnut lumber because of both its popular nut and its adaptability. It was imported to California more than a century ago, and has changed both the native forest landscape and the timber industry.
Black walnut bookmatched table crafted by CS Woods in 2021.
There are three native North American walnut trees used for lumber: the central and eastern American black walnut, J. nigra, the Nothern Californian black walnut, J. hindsii, (also known as Claro - named Hinds Walnut by the British botanist Richard B. Hinds in the middle 1800’s), and butternut (J. cinerea). English walnut was introduced to California through orchards and city planners. Because the claro/Hinds walnut was better adapted to the soil and climate conditions of the area, and it had a naturally vigorous, disease-resistant, and drought tolerant rootstock, it became widely used as a rootstock for English walnut orchards. The resulting grafted tree is often referred to as California English walnut or “Paradox”, named by Luther Burbank who conducted some of the first grafting/breeding experiments within the walnut species in 1879 to 1885. The section below the original graft remains claro while the section above is the lighter-colored English walnut. Some woodworkers have taken advantage of this by using the change in color of the wood as part of their work. (For more information and history about claro walnut, see our blog piece here.)
Grafted Orchard Walnut Trees: Photo courtesy of the California Walnut Board
CS Woods currently has claro, American black, bastogne, Oregon black, and grafted walnut wood in stock. Our claro walnut comes from native Hinds walnut planted by city developers around 100 years ago. Every tree in our carefully acquired inventory has a story and the walnuts are some of the most interesting. These old trees have been reclaimed from urban development, orchards, and family farms, and only removed when it is their time, often to make way for new planting. The American Black walnut stock hails from Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Iowa and we even have native Colorado. Each region has a distinctive looking version of J. nigra due to environmental adaptation. We are carrying grafted English/claro that are impressive visual examples of the work done to improve orchard yields and longevity, classic English/French walnut gunstocks, and Kent just returned from a buying trip to Greece where we purchased old reclaimed farmland French Walnut logs that will become available as slabs in 2023. Check out our species searches on the website to see availability and feel free to call with questions and ask about specific sizes and stories!
Claro/English Graft table crafted by CS Woods in 2021:
Example of a variety of walnut species and their various grain patterns and colors:
]]>The black walnut tree for this project was custom sourced by CS Woods through an Amish sawmill in Michigan whom we have worked with for 30 years. The slabs were cut to CS Woods specifications and Rocky Mountain kiln dried at our facility in Southern Colorado. Workplace Elements lead, Nick Wilson, supplied the initial inspirational sketch and hand selected the wood at CS Woods’ open Denver warehouse. Kent Mace, CS Woods owner and lead designer, worked with his head of sales, Lucas Hinrichs, to design the table. Master woodworkers from the Mace family handcrafted the table in their woodshop in Southern Colorado.
The weight and size of the slabs and the resulting tabletop required forward thinking and logistical precision in fabrication and installation. Finished final dimensions of the table are 26’ long and 60” wide. It weighs just under 1000 lbs. The table was created in two pieces with an almost invisible join running across the center. The third story conference room installation was done via crane. The two 13’ foot pieces were flown through an open balcony and then assembled onsite.
The use of live edge wood brings warmth to the formal conference room. It encourages creative and collaborative work. Wood surfaces in the workspace are reminders to be conscious of the needs of the entire natural world and the future global impacts in decision making. The use of carbon sequestering trees, carefully sourced at the end of their lives, helps elevate the protection and appreciation of all trees and forests. ]]>
Figuring is an unpredictable aspect of wood that varies from species to species, tree to tree, and even within each piece of wood. Very little is known about what causes a tree to produce figuring. Although figuring often appears to be a crunched, compressed section in the wood there isn’t a structural or size change in the cells of the wood, like in the grain. This “chatoyancy”, shimmer or shine, is suspected to be caused by a variation in the mineral content within the tree.
Here at CSWoods, we select each tree for a wood with the richest color, texture and figure, with the highest structural integrity to produce our live edge slabs. There’s always a mystery as to what will lay within the bark, and we’re always amazed at the beauty that comes with each piece of wood. In the end, it is this mystery that makes wood one of the most unique products to work with.
by: Aaron Hendricks - CS Woods Sales Staff
]]>We are thrilled to be featured on Next Level Carpentry. We work hard to create a product that woodworkers like Matt feel comfortable investing their time, tools and livelihood in. Our entire operation has been built around the goal of creating the most stable wood products possible in the widest, thickest and most beautiful stock.
From Matt's Website:
"Matt Jackson began his construction career in 1972 working for a remodeling contractor. After a brief stint doing auto-body work on exotic and historic cars, he returned to framing and trimming high-end custom homes. When he’s not working, Matt tries to find time to hike, rock-climb, or ice-climb, and to travel with his wife Kathy. They live in the Black Hills of South Dakota."
Kind words from Matt about CS Woods:
"Here's a link to Collector's Specialty Woods in Denver: https://cswoods.com/ If you follow that link, be prepared to be amazed. If you ever have opportunity to visit CS Woods warehouse/showroom, be prepared to be utterly amazed! In addition to an eye-popping, mind boggling inventory of gorgeous wood slabs of every species and on a grand scale, everyone I encountered in the business from the owner to warehouse/sales staff were as enthusiastic as they are knowledgeable about wood. They were well able to dial in to what I was looking for to the extent that I felt each person felt a bit of 'ownership' of the project and worked to make this Live Edge Joinery project happen. However you interact with this next level business I hope you'll tell them you learned about CS Woods on Next Level Carpentry."
Thanks, Matt!
If you have watched some of Matt's videos and are feeling inspired, we are here to help! We have slabs, advice and support!
]]>Shaper makes Origin, the world’s first handheld CNC machine. Origin combines precision and repeatability with unprecedented flexibility. Designed with professional woodworkers in mind, Origin simplifies complex activities and workflows in woodshops and fabrication facilities across the country.
Origin can be used on any flat surface. Precise cuts can be made on floors, built-ins, countertops, and other finished pieces using standard cutters. Unlike other power tools, Origin’s over-the-air updates mean that it gets better and more powerful as you use it.
With the onboard computer, you can cut designs that are drawn on the fly, loaded from a USB drive, or synced to your ShaperHub account. ShaperHub also has a library of projects to try! Check out their website for more!
We’ve been practicing our logo and have started routing it into the underside of the tops we make. We have a lot of fun using it, and would love to let you come in and give it a go! Give us a call or stop in to learn more about the Shaper Origin.
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Step 1: Find Leg Placement
First, you want to make sure your legs are in the best position. You want the legs to be in the most functional, aesthetic, and supportive place. Use blue tape to outline where the leg will be mounted on the slab, and with a dead blow and a drill bit, tap a little mark on the bottom of the slab through the mounting holes on the legs.
Step 2: Drill Holes for Insert Nut
Set the legs aside and drill out holes for the insert nut based on where the tap marks are. We use a drill guide to make sure the holes are straight up and down. Countersink the hole so the insert will be shy of the surface of the wood. (Vacuum the holes out as you drill and countersink!)
Step 3: Drill in Insert Nut
Sink insert down into the hole. Flip legs back over onto the slab, and voilà! Your legs are mounted with insert nuts.
The end product:
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The original concept and design emphasis was placed on beauty, sustainability and originality. The table is a gathering place for both dining and business, one that invites casual conversation, all hands meetings, and acts naturally as both a communication hub and a community lunch table. The table runs parallel to a wall of data monitors on one side and a mountain view with elevated open workspaces to the west. The original concept and design came from Workplace Elements and the client. Collector's Specialty Woods helped evolve the design and executed it.
This log table was one of 18 tables we competed for the same space, including a twenty six foot inverted river table out of black walnut and fourteen live edge conference tables out of elm.
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The two bases are tapered from end to end to match the shape of the slabs and tapered from top to bottom to provide maximum legroom. The bases include doors that allow access to the wiring of eight electrical units that provide HDMI, data, power and USB. This table is not only beautiful, but completely functional.
The table was created in a single piece then cut apart into three separate parts in order to get it into the building. The cuts are essentially invisible but allow the piece to be assembled and disassembled for moving.
There is an additional slab of claro walnut crafted to wrap the front desk that is just outside of the glass walls of the boardroom. The additional piece leverages complementary design components and compounds the visual impact of the table.
The table creates a formal conference room while the use of live edge wood brings warmth and a connection with nature, encouraging a creative and collaborative environment. The design integrates beauty and artistry with functionality, easy-to-access technology, brand identity, and business confidence. The client was looking for an exceptional piece of custom furniture, with a professional and functional surface and integrated technology, that did not feel delicate or too intimidating. The table and space needed to encourage open communication and collaboration while also being built to impress. The table was an investment in the people that work in the space, the clients that are invited in, as well as art and nature.
Initial slab layout for concept and design at CS Woods in Denver, Colorado.
Slab leveling and gauging on the Wood Wizz before heading to our woodshop.
The templeting of the the void for the glass and planning stages for the LED lighting channel.
Drawing of the space and initial sketching of the grain pattern to to transfer onto the glass.
Close-up of the sketching of the Claro walnut slab grain and figure that will be transferred to the glass.
Named after American pioneer Major John Bidwell's autobiography, published in 1900, this desk honors the man who carried the seed stock of this North American exotic tree by wagon train to the Sacramento River Valley to be used as root stock for fruiting walnut trees. These trees were planted for a short historical period and the richly figured wood is now prized for making the finest rifle stocks. This sophisticated surface is supported on one end by shed antlers artistically combined on a structural steel frame paired with an expertly crafted continuous live edge waterfall leg.
A collaboration with Shawn Rivett Designs, this piece was shown at the Western Design Conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming in the Fall of 2019. We were thrilled to be awarded the Best Artist Mixed Media blue ribbon for best collaboration!
]]>$25 to $35 per lineal foot depending on species
The sky is the limit: architectural, furniture, bars, etc... Dream it!
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Kent owns CSWoods and has been a wood enthusiast all his life. He started as a kid making furniture in his father Stuart’s shop. Stuart’s passion for collecting and working with wood has grown into what CSWoods is today. Kent has been in the wood industry all his life and has two generations after him that help run the family business.
Alexandria is the youngest member of the family and has grown up in the wood business. She loves dancing on Grandpa’s slabs and shopping in the warehouse. Her jobs include “peel and seal” day (helping grandma Gayle stamp and close envelopes), holding the other end of the tape measure for Mommy, and keeping Grandpa Kent in shape by playing tag in the showroom.
Sutherland Welles tung oil finishes is what we use on all of the tops we sell, and it’s what we recommend to people finishing pieces themselves. Sutherland Welles is a company based in Vermont, and making sustainable, Earth-friendly finishes has been their goal since day one. Not only are their finishes environmentally friendly, they are easy to apply and tough as can be. The finish will last the life of your piece without needing to be redone, and that is a big reason we use it. We want you to have something that will last for years with minimal upkeep. Afterall, you’re buying a surface to use, not a surface to worry about repairing.
On most of our tops we use six coats of finish: three coats of Hard Sealer and three coats of Uralkyd 500 Floor Finish. The Hard Sealer goes on first, and it is meant to soak into the wood and seal the grain, giving you a spill-proof surface. While you should not let water sit on your top, spills that are wiped up right away won’t ruin your top. On top of the Hard Sealer is the Floor Finish. We use our own special blend of matte and gloss, but Sutherland Welles sells a satin sheen that will be identical to the results we get from mixing. We spray the Floor Finish, but it can also be brushed on with a nice brush.
For pieces that won’t be under so much wear and tear (such as mantels or shelves), we use Murdoch’s Hard Oil. The Hard Oil is something that is poured on and moved around with a rag. The more you can soak in on the first application, the better! That first application determines how deep your protection goes. We recommend a minimum of 3 coats, and the more coats you add, the glossier the end result will be.
Sutherland Welles makes a handful of other finishes that we sell as well, including an exterior sealer and a couple food safe options. The full list of their products we sell is:
Visit their website at http://www.sutherlandwelles.com/ for in depth product information, and instructional videos from the owner, Mary.
There are a lot of different epoxies on the market for doing large pours or river tables, but the brand we use is EcoPoxy. EcoPoxy is a Canadian company whose goal is to create a 100% bio-based epoxy. EcoPoxy can be poured really thick (some have done 4”), which makes it great for doing a big fill all at once. The open time is really long on it, which allows the air bubbles to come to the surface and pop on their own.
Unlike some other epoxies, EcoPoxy is very viscous, so be sure your mold is sealed. There are lots of tutorials and tips online about best practices for getting great results. Some things we have learned the hard way are:
We carry two varieties of EcoPoxy: FlowCast and UV Poxy. FlowCast is a two to one ratio meant for large, thick pours and comes in sizes ranging from 750mL to 30L. UV Poxy is meant to be a protective coat and can be poured ¼” thick. UV Poxy comes in 500mL to 2L size kits. We also have pigments (liquid, metallic powder, and glitter) as well as glow in the dark GloPoxy kits.
Take a look at https://www.ecopoxy.com/ for FAQs, resources, and project inspiration.
For small fills, we use West System. It’s a strong, marine grade epoxy that keeps cracks from expanding and gives you a solid surface. West System can be poured clear, or you can add a pigment. West System makes black, white, and gray pigments you can mix in. For our fills we take fine sanding dust from the project and mix it with the epoxy, which gives the fill a nice complementary color to the slab. West System can only be poured 1/8th inch at a time in order to avoid overheating the epoxy and creating a yellow tint. While this takes some patience, the end result is well worth it!
West System has a shorter cure time, so unlike Ecopoxy, you will have to be proactive about getting air bubbles out. There are a couple different ways we recommend getting rid of air bubbles. One method is taking a blow torch and quickly skimming the surface of the pour. Be sure to just do a quick pass - you don’t want to get the epoxy hot (or to end up charring your slab). Another way is to take a travel spritz bottle and fill it with denatured alcohol. Mist the surface of the pour and the alcohol pops the air bubbles, giving you a smooth surface.
West System carries an entire line of epoxy products. Check out https://www.westsystem.com/ for more!
We carry various sizes of all of the finishes, so we’ll have the right amount you need for your project. We also ship finish straight to your door, so please reach out if we can box something up and send it your way!
These instructions are very vague to give you an idea of what we use for finish. For more in depth finishing instructions and project tips, give us a call, send an email, or stop in. We’d love to walk through our process with you!
]]>Mary Goderwis, President of Sutherland Welles, is coming to answer your questions and do a demonstration of some of their outstanding products. The demo will be from 1 to 4pm on Saturday the 26th and she will be available for questions from 12-1pm and again from 4-5pm. Every purchase of finish made on Saturday afternoon will include a free small bottle of Tung Oil Polish (as supplies last). RSVP to info@cswoods.com to claim yours early!
Mira Nakashima-Yarnall, George’s daughter, a master woodworker herself, lives at the Nakashima studio in New Hope, PA. The studio still creates the original George Nakashima designs as well as Mira’s own Keisho Collection. Nakashima studio is a center for exhibitions, concerts, classes and tours, as well as still being a busy woodshop. Many of the craftsmen practicing their art here were trained by George.
By Kyle VanDewart - Denver Store Sales
Photo courtesy of thedesigntabloid.com
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After settling in Chico and taking up his farming career, Bidwell planted Circassian walnut trees (Juglans Rigia). His family was of English heritage, so the seed stock came from Eastern Europe and the Old Russian Muslim Republics. These trees grew and flourished in the deep fertile soils along the Sacramento River in Chico, California.
These trees eventually cross pollinated with the native northwestern black walnut (Juglans Hindsii). The new cross grew and flourished and the new trees were given the name Claro Walnut, meaning, clear walnut in Spanish. Being a big, beautiful, majestic tree, they were cultivated and planted along roadways and in home yards. Claro root stock was eventually used commercially as a root graft for French and English walnut trees in walnut orchards around California. The graft combined the robust root of a big tree with the smaller, easier to harvest tree, with a taster nut.
Claro walnut trees are no longer planted and are becoming increasingly fewer and fewer. They are usually only harvested because of old age and changing land use. What once was a beautiful back yard tree grows into an unmanageable old giant. This is the point at which CS Woods steps in to provide an avenue for those incredibly special trees to continue to bring joy and beauty (and carbon sequestration). Working with teams that are familiar careful removal and milling, we can create some of the most beautiful slabs in the world from these trees, which in turn become some of the most spectacular and special heirloom furniture.
Claro walnut trees are hard to obtain and hard to dry, but its beauty is unmatched.
Juglans Rigia: This tree is thought to be the oldest Walnut tree in the world. Khotan, Xinjiang
Juglans Hindsii in California
John Bidwell - August 5, 1819 – April 4, 1900
]]>When a tree is first cut, the moisture content is anywhere from 30% to 200% of the weight of the wood. This water is held in the open space within the cell, the cell lumen, and is bonded to the wood fibers. As the wood dries, the water stored in the lumen, called free water, evaporates out first. The wood does not begin to move until all the free water has evaporated. Once the wood reaches 30% moisture content, the water in the fibers will begin to evaporate, causing the cells to shrink. The cells continue to shrink until the moisture content lowers to 4%-11%, or reaches equilibrium with the relative humidity of the surrounding environment. However, the wood will never actually stop moving. As the relative humidity changes surrounding the wood, the wood fibers will absorb moisture causing them to expand and the wood to move. Wood changes about 1% in moisture content for every 5% in relative humidity. The subsequent swelling and shrinking is dependent on the species and the cut pattern of the wood.
There are three types of movement within wood: tangential, radial, and longitudinal. The effect of this movement will vary depending on the cut pattern of the lumber, due to the orientation of the growth rings in the board, with quartersawn moving the least and plainsawn the most. The tangential movement is the movement along the growth rings and accounts for the greatest amount of movement with the wood. The radial movement is perpendicular to the growth rings, along the radial cells, and is about half as much as the tangential. The longitudinal movement is negligible. Within a species, it is the ratio between the tangential shrinkage and the radial shrinkage that will determine the stability of that particular species of wood. The smaller the ratio between the tangential and radial shrinkage, the more stable the wood will be.
There is a lot that can be done to mitigate the effects of wood movement, but nothing can truly stop it. Since wood will always move in response to changes in relative humidity, the most important thing is to dry the wood properly. Afterwards, let the wood acclimate if it has been moved from one part of the country to another. For example, if a slab is leaving the dry Colorado air on its way to southern Florida, it will be important to let the slab adjust to the higher humidity before working on it. Finishing techniques such as oiling and sealing slow the transfer of moisture, but this can never completely stop the wood from absorbing and losing moisture.
In the end, wood is like Jerome at the disco; you can do whatever you want to slow him down, but in the end nothing can stop him from showing how he likes to move it move it.
by Arron Hendricks
CSWoods Sales Staff