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Technical assistance provided by The Hardwood Council,
www.hardwoodcouncil.com, and
The Hardwood Manufacturer’s Association, 400 Penn Center Blvd., Suite 530, Pittsburgh, PA 15235.
Hickory
The solid hardwood furnishings
and materials used in your
cabinetry are made up of tiny
pieces of wood. Each is unique
and if you look carefully, you may
notice natural variations in color.
The lighter pieces were closer to
the tree’s bark, while the darker
pieces were closer to its center.
All are equally strong and impart the beauty and value
that make hardwoods second to none.
The unique grain patterns in solid hardwood are
related to the tree’s growth rings. The distinctive
differences come about as the wood is prepared for
use in your home.
Cherry is synonymous with luxurious
cabinets. The rich red highlights give the
wood a distinctive appearance. Cherry
will occasionally have tiny pin knots, pitch pockets and very
small, dark streaks of gum. These features have fascinated
woodworkers for centuries.
Hickory has distinctive contrasting
colors from light to dark and
strong
grain
characteristics.
The
texture of hickory is open grained. Hickories by nature
are heavy, hard, strong and stiff—producing durable
cabinetry. Hickory is for homeowners desiring dramatic wood
characteristics.
Trees absorb minerals and other essential
elements as they grow and prosper.
You may see their traces in hardwood
cabinets, flooring or furnishings. These
natural characteristics let you know you
are enjoying the authentic item and not an
artificial wood imitation.
All trees grow limbs which fall to the forest floor as
the tree matures. The tree trunk, however, will always
have a knot where those limbs once were. Parts of that
tree, knots and all, may find new life in your hardwood
cabinetry. These natural markings are proof of your
hardwood’s origins and they have absolutely no effect
on it’s durability and structural integrity.
I. THE BEAUTY OF NATURAL HARDWOOD
Hardwoods offer a tremendous selection of grain patterns, color variations and textures. Choices range from the bold
statements of oak and hickory to the more subdued personalities of cherry and maple. These variations define and enhance wood’s
natural beauty. Because no two trees are exactly alike, the cabinets made for you will have subtle variations from the showroom
displays or samples on which you based your selection. The quality solid hardwoods used in Wellborn cabinetry are some of the
most beautiful and enduring natural materials available. Homeowners sometimes confuse quality, consistency and uniformity. Natural
hardwood products are never as uniform as, say, wallpaper from a catalog; that’s a major source of their charm. But “less uniform” does
not mean “inconsistent,” “lower quality” or “uncontrollable.”
All hardwoods, being a product of nature, vary from one piece to the next, even from the same tree, each having its own
characteristics. Therefore, each piece of wood, each cabinet and each room is unique. (Cabinetry that emphasizes the rich
grain pattern and unique texture of solid hardwood has a greater perceived value.) No human being was ever intended to
control the natural development of hardwoods. This is the unique beauty of natural hardwood and this is the distinct beauty of solid
wood cabinets. Wellborn Cabinet, Inc. believes there is nothing more beautiful than solid wood. That is why Wellborn is one of the few
remaining manufacturers who continues to use solid wood in most of our doors and drawer fronts.
Character Maple
Character maple’s unique characteristics
are brought out by randomly occurring,
variously sized knots, pin holes, worm holes and tracks, gum
and bark pockets, sugar tracks, heartwood and mineral streaks.
Cluster knots and open knots could also be a feature. The amount
of character marks will vary from each piece of wood, making
each cabinet unique.
Oak
Authentic American red oaks are
open-pored and have grain patterns.
Wellborn’s manufacturing technology
presents oak with straighter grains than most cabinet lines, and
our process minimizes the wide grains and reduces the widths of
cathedrals in oak.
Cherry
Character cherry’s unique characteristics
are emphasized by randomly occurring
various sized knots, pin knots, pitch pockets
and small streaks of gum. Cluster knots and open knots could also
be a feature. The amount of character will vary from each door,
making each cabinet unique.
Character Cherry
Maple
Maple is widely used in the cabinetry
industry. This wood species features a
straight grain with several distinctive
characteristics. These include unique figures such as bird’s-
eye, fiddle back, mineral streaks and curly grain patterns. Finely
textured with a natural luster, this creamy-white to light reddish-
brown wood is often used for cabinets and floors.
Laminate is a decorative panel with resin-
saturated printed paper thermally fused to
a particleboard or MDF core. The thermally fused melamine process
bonds the paper and board using heat and pressure. The paper gives the
appearance of wood grain or painted finishes.
Laminate
Thermofoil doors and drawer fronts are
covered in a strong, scratch-resistant
thermofoil that is thermally glued and
vacuum-sealed. To create the popular raised panel appearance
we use precision, diamond-head routers to carve the double-step
perimeter edge and center panel detailing from a solid slab of
medium density fiberboard.
Thermofoil
Using high pressure and temperatures, MDF is
formed by combining wood fibers with a wax
resin binder to form panels. It is made of wood veneer. It is much more
dense than normal particle board. This is a durable and tough wood
product, commonly used in the construction industry.
Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF)
About Our Product