Hickory- your opinions??

[Jerry Olexa]

Looking at a property being built in a country/rustic location some distance from here. The builder shows craftmanship/skill in many of the pictures I have seen. I have not actually visited yet. Here's my question:
The floors are 3/4" hickory T&G and the kitchen cabinets and shelving in other rooms are also of hickory. What is your opinion of this hardwood used in these type applications? I suppose I'm too spoiled by the charms of cherry, walnut and sometimes oak. I imagine how its finished is also a factor.Is the use of hickory like this a "good thing" or not? Thanks in advance...Jerry

[Jim Becker]

Structurally, hickory is a great thing...hard stuff...and that's also nice for the floors considering durability. For the cabinetry, it's more about aesthetics. All the hickory cabinetry I've seen takes advantage of the variability in color which gives what I'll call a more informal look. Although I love the look of cherry, I didn't find the hickory cabinetry I've seen off-putting...just different.

[Lance Norris]

When I was about 20 years old(25 years ago) I helped my father build and install a complete set of kitchen cabinets that the homeowner wanted built out of hickory. It was stunning in my opinion. We went and purchased "character grade hickory" which has lots of color and feature. I also remember him saying that hickory was fairly common here in Ohio for cabinetry and flooring in the 1940s-50s. He built homes in that era with my grandfather and they used hickory from time to time.

[Rick Gooden]

I like the look of hickory, a nice departure from the more traditional woods. Extremely hard and durable. You need very sharp tools to work with it but the results can be out of the ordinary.

[scott spencer]

Hard durable stuff as Jim and others point out. Great choice for heavily used floors IMO. It's always a matter of preference, but I think for a more rustic look I'd consider chestnut.

[Craig Hemsath]

Structurally, hickory is a great thing...hard stuff...and that's also nice for the floors considering durability. For the cabinetry, it's more about aesthetics. All the hickory cabinetry I've seen takes advantage of the variability in color which gives what I'll call a more informal look. Although I love the look of cherry, I didn't find the hickory cabinetry I've seen off-putting...just different.

I'm the opposite, I sometimes find cherry to be kinda blah (mostly on factory/BORG stuff) and I LOVE the contrasting colors of hickory. You're right about the informal look, but it's always something different and unique. No way you could ever have two hickory kitchens look the same.

[Robert Chapman]

I've done some cabinets with hickory. It is very hard and heavy wood. It is difficult to work as it makes very small splinters and slivers which can be painful. It has a lot of character and varying colors. Challenging to work but interesting and durable.

[Dennis Peacock]

Hickory is a poor mans Pecan. They are interchangeable as they both machine and finish almost 100% identical.

Hickory is pretty wood. I wish I had a truck load of it right now.

[Jerry Olexa]

Thanks guys...Good comments. You seem to paralell my feelings (from the pictures I've seen. ): looks good and is practical on the floors. The kitchen cabinets look VERY rustic and informal and each is different from the others. (Maybe too much) Fair amount of streaky grain and some knots. . The building itself and location are excellent but the look of the kitchen cabs cause me some concern. I suppose they could always be refinished or even rebuilt/refaced later'It is new construction.
LMK if you have any addt'l ideas. I'll have a better feel after I actually see/touch them in 2 weeks. Thanks for your help..

[Jim Becker]

Jerry, don't bag a good property based on the look of the kitchen cabinets! LOL You're a woodworker, after all... ;)

[Peter Quinn]

Hickory floors..great! Hickory cabs? 40YRD roll-off!

[Jerry Olexa]

Jerry, don't bag a good property based on the look of the kitchen cabinets! LOL You're a woodworker, after all... ;)

Jim, Exactly my sentiments !! But LOML doesn't share my enthusiasm... Redoing them should be an easy project!

[Bob Feeser]

I had seen kitchen cabinets in Home Depot that had Hickory wood faces on them, and was immediately attracted to the look. When a friend of mine was removing a large old Hickory tree, I asked the tree surgeon if I could have the logs. He agreed and dropped them off, then I went about finding a sawyer, which I did.
http://www.millcrafters.com/Img/P1010009%20(Medium).JPG

http://www.millcrafters.com/Img/MakingLumber.jpg

After the sawyer was done milling all of the logs, I had quite a few board feet of it. The only problem is that it wasn't exactly like the oak 12" wide boards that I had, which were pure wood all the way through. The Hickory had lots of bark running through it. When I asked the sawyer about it he replied, "Hickory is barky. It is tough to get a lot of finished wood out of it." I think that is the reason why when I see cabinets made out of it, they always seem to be in 2 or 3 inch strips glued together. I know with the stock that I have, I will need to cut out the sections that are pure, and glue them up. It actually is beautiful wood; it almost has a walnut quality to the light and dark areas, just a little lighter in the dark areas, more like brown, than black. It is hard too, and heavy. The sawyer had a large beam of Hickory holding his old barn together bolted into the old hand hewn beams with joint separations.

[Jerry Olexa]

I think that is the reason why when I see cabinets made out of it, they always seem to be in 2 or 3 inch strips glued together.

Bob, thanks. I noticed also the cabinets are primarily made up of glued together "strips". Very few wide boards. That's what caused my reaction.

[Jim Becker]

Realistically, a lot of commercial, off the shelf cabinets and those that use doors supplied by "door specialists" often have a lot of glued up narrow boards no matter what the species, many times without thought to grain and color matching. This is one of the reasons that I might buy carcasses and drawer boxes to save time if necessary, but will still build my own doors, drawer fronts and face frames...attention to grain and color is important to me.

[Jerry Olexa]

Realistically, a lot of commercial, off the shelf cabinets and those that use doors supplied by "door specialists" often have a lot of glued up narrow boards no matter what the species, many times without thought to grain and color matching. This is one of the reasons that I might buy carcasses and drawer boxes to save time if necessary, but will still build my own doors, drawer fronts and face frames...attention to grain and color is important to me.

Jim. Fully agree. That's why i'm a little concerned. He appears to be a quality builder but the cabinet fronts are to me "out of step". This is to be a weekend place but I would want to change some of the trim and cabinet faces eventually. Thanks.

[Lee Schierer]

Hickory is an extremely durable wood. You can use it to make furniture. I have an entire bedroom suite made from hickory and it is all the same color! http://www.home.earthlink.net/~us71na/leedresser.jpg
http://www.home.earthlink.net/~us71na/suedresser.jpg
sorry for the poor image quality.

Hickory easily accepts stains, but will not get really dark in color from them. Hickory also does not have to have the wide color range so often seen in the cheap cabinets at the home centers. Hickory grown in the woods is much different than field grown trees, far fewer knots and less color variation. I have over 500 bdft in my garage of rough cut hickory that is furniture grade wood with few if any knots. It was purchased for a kitchen project that ended up getting done another way, so the wood is for sale if someone makes the right offer.

[Jerry Olexa]

Thanks, Lee. Wish my cabinets looked that good...Nice work. For me, its just a little more challenging to finish hickory vs others. Thanks.

[Karl Laustrup]

Jerry, Jerry, Jerry!!!

You'll have to take a drive up this way and see hickory floors and cabinets in person.

If you recall, I had all my floors, save for the kitchen, done in 3/4" hickory and my kitchen cabinets are done in hickory also. I like the different shades hickory gives and the lightness of the wood. Coming up on 2-1/2 years now and still looking good.

So there's a good reason to visit, eh?

Karl

[Bob Feeser]

I stood up a sample piece I had planed earlier after wiping a little danish oil on it. You can see from the other 2 pieces, the one in the foreground is almost all dark, and the one on the left is almost all light. The piece with the danish oil unfortunately has some black stain in the lighter areas, not exactly the pick of the litter if you know what I mean. The problem is that the light colored area has a yellowish hue, or at least an unusual tan to it. I placed a piece next to some wood I was using for a cedar clad room, and it didn't feel right as a color mix. I have a lot of chocolate boards that are the darker shade, about 12" wide, all the way through. I usually like the contrasts, but I am considering using all dark. I'm not a big fan of staining unless it is necessary. I like to choose the color of the wood to match the shade that I want, and allow the subtle color nuances to shine through. That is one of the stacks of Hickory behind it, and they are wide boards. At the very top of the stack is some cedar so ignore that.


http://inlinethumb50.webshots.com/41457/2096365770100733997S600x600Q85.jpg

[Jerry Olexa]

Jerry, Jerry, Jerry!!!

You'll have to take a drive up this way and see hickory floors and cabinets in person.

If you recall, I had all my floors, save for the kitchen, done in 3/4" hickory and my kitchen cabinets are done in hickory also. I like the different shades hickory gives and the lightness of the wood. Coming up on 2-1/2 years now and still looking good.

So there's a good reason to visit, eh?

Karl


Karl, my friend, you're right. We should get together even if to discuss hickory cabinets. I'll try to dig up your old thread on building your home ans see how you handled it. Thanks Karl..

[Jerry Olexa]

Bob, WOW, you have a ton of hickory and looks like nice stock. Thanks for showing the difference between boards, That's what surprised me when the builder sent me pictures of parts of the house. We'll know better when I actually visit there in a few weeks. thanks, Bob

[Jerry Olexa]

Lee, how did you get your finished pieces to be so uniform in grain/color? Was it cutting around darker grain or your finishing method or?? Thanks Lee.:confused:

[Lars Thomas]

Well Jerry, if you don't like the hickory, I can make you a good deal on some Cherry shorts.

[Jerry Olexa]

Well Jerry, if you don't like the hickory, I can make you a good deal on some Cherry shorts.'

Yes, Lars, I know @ $5.00/ft. Funny I'm building now a cherry wall cabinet for Laundry room and could've used those shorts I gave away. Only kidding. Good to hear from you.

[Pat Germain]

I recently resumed my very-long-in-the-tooth workbench project. The top is hickory. I haven't found it too difficult to work with. But it is hard. Aye, sir! It's hard, sir!

[Bob Feeser]

I recently resumed my very-long-in-the-tooth workbench project. The top is hickory. I haven't found it too difficult to work with. But it is hard. Aye, sir! It's hard, sir!

Pat,
I agree. My impression of it is that it is rock hard, dense, and heavy. Bob

[Steve Skidmore]

My sister in law has just had hickory cabinets installed in her cabin. They show the extremes of color variation that everyone here notes but it fits well with the pine log interior. She wants a large informal dining room table of hickory with a corian top to match the cabinets. I have checked Hearnes, Wehrung's and Woodworkers Source for 12/4 hickory to be used as leg stock but can only find 4/4. Am I not looking hard enough or is there some trait that makes sawing thick pieces impractical? Maybe the bark inclusions?

Steve

[Wade Lippman]

Functionally it is great. Extremely hard an resilient. The appearance is a matter of taste; you either like it or you don't.

A friend has hickory kitchen cabinets, and I think they look bizarre.
OTOH, I just made a large hickory cabinet and took great pains to match all the panels. It is striking; which is what I was going for.

[Jerry Olexa]

As a followup, I did visit and view that property. The Hickory cabs looked v good in a this natural new log cabin setting. The builder exhibits much skill and craftmnship. The hickory floors were also excellent! For other reasons, I will not be purchasing but I can see how Hickory can work well in cabs in a proper setting...I'm a believer..

[Richard M. Wolfe]

I have no gripe with using hickory as a cabinet wood but won't have a chance as my hickory is pecan. My gripe with the hickory I have seen in the BORG is best summed by part of a sentence that Jim just used, "without thought to grain and color matching". Otherwise as tough and hard as it is the stuff should last forever.