Oak Characteristics

• There are over 250 different subdivisions in the red oak family. Oak trees grow about 60-80 ft but can grow up to 125 ft. Red oak is most popular for furniture followed by Cherry and Walnut, respectively.
  
  Type: hardwood
  Color: tan with a tint of red
  Grain: straight and open with prominent rays
  Texture: generally coarse
  Properties/Workability: all of the wood, sold as red oak, is hard, tough, very stiff, very strong and durable.
  Finish: takes a good finish but opens pores
  Stability: moderate movement in surface
  Sources: throughout North America & much of Europe
  
  

Cherry Characteristics

• When your cherry wood urn arrives it will have a light golden tone. Over
  the next year the color will darken to a rich red-brown (please note our sample to the left). Darkening occurs gradual as the urn is exposed to light. I do start the finish with Danish Oil that will help "pop" the color out. Cherry wood is a premium American hardwood, prized for its natural luster attractive grain and rich warm glow. Cherry trees do not grow very large and are in short supply, therefore, just getting the wood can be a job. Building up the planks takes twice as much labor than any other wood because of the way I have to construct it.
  
  

Walnut Characteristics

• The black walnut's specific name is J'nigra, sometimes called Eastern or American black walnut. There are about 20 species, six found in the USA, reaching 80-100 feet with 3 ft diameter trunk's. The sapwood is creamy white and may be three inches wide. Heartwood is  rich chocolate or purplish brown in color, with a dull sheen. Black walnut is normally straight grained and is noted for its beautiful grain character, producing more figure variation than any other wood. Over the years, the wood develops a lustrous patina. It is the only dark brown domestic species, so it has a large following of devoted woodworkers that enjoy its rich color.
  
  

Alder Wood Characteristics

• Alder is very similar to Birch by grain and hardness, but with a reddish-brown color. Alder usually does not exceed thirty-feet in height and either grows with willows or isolated on the banks of streams in our mid-land or northern countries. It grows all over the world, in Scotland it grows at an altitude of 1,600 ft, no other tree is so well adapted for holding together the banks of rivers. It is a great wood for engraving; I haven't seen any other wood that it worked so well with. Alder wood also absorbs stain very evenly, which makes it an excellent choice for cherry stain or clear.
  
  
  

Finishing

Our finishing creates a warmth luster and feels of traditional hand rubbed oil, because it is. Highly durable and requires very little maintenance. Just dust and polish as you do all your fine furniture.

Strength

We tested these urns up to 2,500 lbs of pressure on their tops, which would be far beyond anything they would naturally encounter. We have also dropped them form 8 ft with no damage occurring.

The reason for these test are to show people who may think of marble or bronze for their durability to consider hardwoods instead, not to mention the warmth and lower price of wood.