Customer preference for Pacific Northwest hardwoods

Two logs each of the Pacific Northwest hardwoods Oregon white oak (Quercus garryana) and bigleafmaple (Acer macrophyllum) were sawn into flitches, then sliced into veneer. The veneer was wrapped around molding stock. Veneer-wrapped molding of eastern red oak (Quercus rubra) and eastern maple (Acer spp.) was obtained. Samples from all four species were cut to 18-inch lengths and were either stained with light or dark finish or left unfinished as controls. These samples were used in face-to-face interviews of homecenter customers and professional homecenter buyers to determine preferences. Oaks were preferred over maples ; eastern red oak was the most preferred species. The dark stain had a significant influence on customer preference ; bigleafmaple was the most preferred species within this treatment. There were 43 of 59 customers who valued woods with character variation such as small knots or wavy grain patterns common to both Oregon white oak and bigleafmaple. Twenty-eight of those customers indicated that they have decorative trim or furniture resembling bigleafmaple or Oregon white oak, respectively, in their residences.