The continued evolution of technology and mass production generates an ever-increasing appreciation for the sustainable, exclusive qualities of handcrafted goods such as custom wood furniture.
What began as a summer job during Carter Wolfe’s college years has evolved into a career dedicated to the art of woodworking. With the support of family and years of trial-and-error experience, Carter launched WolfePack in 2019. His wife, Liz, is a pharmacist but also speaks the language of wood because her grandfather is a long-time woodworking hobbyist. Liz’s parents gave Carter a set of antique tools that belonged to her grandparents and a few other key pieces of equipment. This humble start led Carter and the business to its present home, a warehouse-workshop on Cumberland Street in Midtown.
In addition to its natural appeal, wood’s adaptability is one of this medium’s fundamental attributes. Carter emphasizes that selecting wood is a personal preference and influenced by factors such as where the piece is going to be placed climate-wise. “Certain woods fluctuate more with humidity. Wood is always alive,” meaning, it is always expanding and contracting. In search of the perfect pairing, Carter and Liz have even driven across the country to acquire a slab of wood suitable to a project.
Growing conditions and environment also affect the appearance of each cut of wood. “Whatever soil the tree is planted in," Carter explains, "it’s going to take on the properties of that soil. So, if it's planted in light soil, and the composition includes a lot of sand and such, you might get lighter toned colors.”
Here are some of Carter’s favorite pairings of wood to produce quality furniture.
White Oak: Durability and Versatility
White Oak is a closed-grain, naturally strong wood, making it resistant to water and damage. It is known for its long-grain pattern type. Carter explains, “Unstained white oak has an elegant, natural tan color. When stained, because it is a straight grained wood, it delivers a rich, unified, even-coated appearance.”
Fun fact: White oak is what most bourbon barrels are made of for two main reasons. First, its closed-grain quality ensures the barrels are not going to leak when full, and, second, the charred white oak on the interior of the barrels contributes to the bourbon’s flavor and appearance.
Black Walnut and Cherry: Workability
Black walnut is a softer hardwood, making it easier to mill and shape especially when creating live edge pieces. Black walnut’s natural color selection consists of red, purple, orange and brown. Figuring in black walnut can be flamed, curly or feathered and refers to the ability of the grain in the wood to catch and reflect light. Figuring occurs when environmental factors such as wind, gravity or natural decay injure the tree, resulting in intricate patterns in the wood grain. Another type of figuring occurs when branches form a Y-shape and grow from the trunk of the tree. In live edge pieces, the more figuring, the more desirable.
Cherry’s appealing colors range from red to orange to brown tones. “I like to finish both black walnut and cherry with a hard wax oil such as Rubio Monocot. A finish like this will bring the natural beauty in the wood to life,” says Carter.
Fun Facts: Early colonial furniture makers in America called cherry “New England Mahogany” due to its darkening color with age, like mahogany. Black walnut shells have been used for many years to make dyes for wool and other fabrics.
Soft Maple: Ornamentation
Soft maple is often found in ornamental aspects of furniture such as drawer faces and smaller contrast pieces. Soft maple is a good accent color choice and pairs well with darker woods such as black walnut. It also tends to have more figuring than hard maple does. Carter says, “It's interesting figuring, such as curly or birds-eye elements, elevate and add elegance to a piece.”
Hard maple: Endurance
Hard maple is mostly used for larger or whole furniture pieces such as tables, chests and chairs. Maple is another strong and water-resistant wood, making it ideal for furniture that gets a lot of wear and tear. It is normally free of vastly different color changes, giving it an innate, light tan color when finished. “The reason for this,” Carter says, “is because hard maple comes from the sap wood of the tree instead of from the heartwood."
Hard “country” maple comes from both the sap and the heartwood of the tree and will contain darker and lighter tan colors when finished. Carter clarifies, “It can be rather difficult to eliminate splotching when staining maple, and for this reason I tend to avoid doing so unless using a gel stain instead of a water- based stain.”
Fun fact: Maple naturally contains antimicrobial properties that help kill and prevent bacteria. This, along with its durability, makes it ideal for cutting boards and kitchen counters.
Pointing to a naturally occurring lightning bolt-shaped mark in one of the massive black walnut slabs at their shop, Liz says she is intrigued by the storied markings vividly displayed in the contrasting tones of darker woods like black walnut.
According to Carter, the methodical steps of woodworking are part of a story as well, especially when working with antique cutting tools. “I think about the knowledge and wisdom each tool holds and have great respect for craftsmen who have used them before me. With every pass of a tool, I know there's been someone who has put a lot of heart into using each one."
Woodworking with antique cutting tools: "With every pass of a tool, I know there's been someone who has put a lot of heart into using each one." - Carter Wolfe