One or more of the following woods are used in the construction of our Games & Puzzles.

American White Ash: Fraxinus Americana - A light coloured wood, cream to light brown, with a bold, straight grain. It is suitable for high-class cabinet making, interior joinery as well as most aspects of furniture making, possessing a good resistance to splitting and takes stain well.

American Cherry: Prunus Serotina - Principally from North America, Cherry is suitable for a wide range of uses such as boat building, cabinet making and can easily be turned. Additionally, its nailing and screw-holding abilities are good, and it is ideal for carving.

English White Beech: Fagus sylvatica - Freshly cut, English White Beech is whitish to light pink in colour. While it is a very good turnery wood, it is also suitable for furniture, cabinet making and various aspects of joinery.

Idigbo: Terminalia Ivorensis - Distributed across Africa, Idigbo can be described as pale yellow-brown ranging to light pink, most commonly used for veneer, turnery and flooring. Its grain is often interlocked, producing a ribbon stripe on quartered surfaces.

Iroko: Chlorophora Excelsa - This is comparable to Teak in its uses and its strength/hardness with its suitability ranging from boat-building and interior/exterior joinery, while machining properties such as planing, turning, moulding and boring are good.

African Mahogany: Khaya Senegalensis - Grown in west tropical Africa, this is a dark reddish/brown wood which sands and takes varnish well. African Mahogany is highly suitable for general interior joinery, furniture making and external joinery such as window frames and doors.

Brazilian Mahogany: Swietenia Macrophylia - Ranging from a yellowish through to reddish, pinkish and up to a deep brown with age. Brazilian Mahogany is highly suitable for all aspects of furniture making, from chairs to wardrobes as well as interior construction.

Canadian Hard Maple: Acer Saccharum - Of the hard maple group, American Maple is suitable for fine furniture, joinery and panelling with its typically straight grain and whitish colour with a reddish tinge. Additionally it is relatively easy to mould and carve.

American Red Oak: Quercus Rubra - Red Oak is regarded as one of the most beautiful woods to work with because of its grain pattern and character. Red Oak is suitable for turning and steam bending.

English Oak: Quercus Petraea - Similar in qualities to American White Oak, English Oak is suitable for furniture and doors, being hard-wearing and tough. It is a light tan to dark brown in colour with the wood-structure and quality dependent upon the growth conditions.

Obeche: Triplochiton Scleroxylon - Widely distributed across West Africa, Obeche is often used for joinery, mouldings and office furniture. It has pale yellow/brown heartwood while the grain is usually interlocked producing a faint striped figure.

Opepe: Nauclea Diderrichii - Stronger than Teak, Opepe is suited for use in domestic flooring, chairs and desks. While being easy to polish, sand and varnish, Opepe yields a fine finish, which enhances its striking orange/brown heartwood colour.

Parana Pine: Araucaria Angustifolia - Native to Argentina and Paraguay, it is Yellow to red in colour, many small tight knots, which are often present, add to the beauty of the wood without affecting its uses or properties. Especially prevalent in the State of Parana, Brazil- from where it takes its name.

Sapele: Entandrophragma Cylindricum - Distributed across Africa from the Ivory Coast eastward through Zaire to Uganda, Sapele is a large rain forest tree. It matures to a red/brown colour giving off a cedar-like scent. It is suitable for decorative veneering and chair construction.

Teak: Tectona Grandis - While Teak is comparable to American Oak in terms of strength, it is suitable for stairworks, tables and turnery. It is distributed across Africa, Central America and SE Asia, with typical uniform dark golden-brown heartwood.

Tulipwood-Poplar: Liriodendron Tulipifera - With the heartwood a pale olive-green to brown and being straight grained, Tulipwood is especially suitable for door frames, skirting and joinery and is ideal for turning and carving. It is a semi-hardwood, so more suited to interior work.