IBEX uses a lot of Alder wood. Alder’s fit with contemporary designs, easy workability and ready availability are key reasons its popularity is spreading across America.
At the intersection of contemporary design and old world craftsmanship, you’ll find the Alder tree deeply rooted. We work with virtually every kind of commercial wood available, but Alder has become an increasing presence on our woodworking shop floor. It is a jack-of-all-trades wood with an attractive appearance, excellent workability and ready availability in a wide range of grades. At IBEX, we use select grades for cabinets, moldings, doors and similar products. We use Knotty Alder grades to create more rustic designs, especially in our custom beams and mantels where it provides a barn beam type affect. Knotty Alder used in custom cabinets and doors works well with Early American and country-inspired designs.
One of the largest suppliers of Alder wood considers them to be a shorter tree. Fast-growing they reach heights of 90 to 100 feet when mature. Alders are part of the Birch family and, like Birch, they grow both male and female flowers called Catkins, on the same tree. Among the most common trees in the northwest, they most often grow in wetter areas along the coasts, rivers and lakes. After years as a regional wood, Alder has grown increasingly popular since the turn of the century.
Although classified as hardwoods, the combination of wetter soil and fast growth yields a softer wood with small pores, perhaps better classified as a Semi-Hardwood. It is rated just above Pine and Poplar on the Janka Hardness scale, but is still considered a durable wood and often used for cabinets and high-use areas of the home, office or retail store.
The fact that Alder grows in wetter soil and tends to grow fast makes Alder grain more subtle and straighter. Alder wood also tends to be remarkably harmonious throughout with heartwood grain almost identical to sapwood grain patterns and color. According to Woodworking Network, “Alder is white when freshly cut, but quickly changes to light brown with a yellow or reddish hue with exposure to air.”
Knotty Alder adds character
If Select Alder is the smooth leading man, Knotty Alder is the character actor. Knotty Alder provides an entirely different aesthetic to designers. More rough and tumble with character knots and flowing, though still subtle, grain.
Northwest Hardwoods, one of America’s largest Alder suppliers has 20 different grades of Alder wood available. Grades we characterize as Knotty Alder have a lot of character, meaning knots and more irregular grain patterns. The knots range from tight to open and split patterns. The effect is more rustic and informal than the select grades of Alder where the grain is straighter and there are no visible knots. Knotty Alder is most often found in rustic designed kitchens, furniture and paneling. We use a lot of Knotty Alder in our IBEX beams, mantels and columns. Again, these most often appear in rustic designs or to add a rustic accent to more contemporary designs.
How Alder fits with contemporary designs
Most modern design tends toward subtlety, harmony and minimalism. Alder’s light, mostly straight grain fits perfectly. There is little color definition between the growth rings, creating a more harmonious surface. It’s reddish-brown to pale yellow tones are pleasing. Less dense than other hardwoods, Alder tends to take a stain more consistently across the entire surface, creating a classically subtle look that blends smoothly from plank to plank. The relatively straight grain is somewhat reminiscent of rift White Oak, a popular wood in modern designs, although difficult to find throughout the country. Alder also presents a uniform appearance in both heartwood and sapwood. In most other species the lumber cut from the center, or heartwood, tends to be a different color with a tighter grain pattern than lumber cut from the outer parts of the log, or sapwood.
Once thought of as the poor man’s Cherry, Alder really does have its own distinctive look that is perfectly harmonized to modern designs.
Workability makes Alder a woodworking favorite
Since it is less dense and softer than most hardwoods, Alder offers better workability characteristics. It doesn’t crack when screws are driven through, even without pre-drilling. Due to its lower density, glue penetrates deeper into the wood creating more secure glue joints. It also sands easily and is easier to precisely cut, bend and carve to create a wide variety of carpentry designs. For this reason, alone, Alder is rapidly becoming one of our favored woods. Though softer than Oak and Maple, Alder is still tough enough to use in custom cabinetry.
To know Alder is to love it
Alder has become increasingly popular over the last decade. Once you see the subtlety of the grain, how consistent it looks when stained and how well it accepts screws, nails and glue, you’ll join us in celebrating both the beauty and function of this stately hardwood.