"Michael Faurot" wrote in message
news
Doug Miller wrote:

[Availability of Elm, Sycamore, Willow, etc.]
Mostly because they're not in nearly as much demand as cherry, walnut,
maple,
or oak.

The reasons for that are probably a whole 'nuther discussion, but I'd
suggest
primarily ignorance (most folks have no idea what sycamore, elm,
hackberry,
etc. look like), habit (people are accustomed to seeing furniture made
from
cherry, walnut, maple, and oak, and they buy what they're accustomed to),
and
preference (cherry, walnut, maple, and oak do look nice, after all).

That's the general impression I got. People don't know it's out there
and there's a certain inertia/tradition that goes with Cherry, Walnut,
Maple, Oak, etc. Those issues, coupled with things mentioned in other
posts such as disease, workability, ability to cultivate/harvest
apparently make these other types of wood less common.


I have noticed that the less known woods are used in the furniture that you
find at the furniture store. Typically it is used in the pieces that are
heavily stained and have the description of Cherry Finish, or Walnut Finish,
etc. If the description of the piece has the word "Finish", chances are
that the wood being used is not the type used in the Finish description. A
classic example, "Fruitwood Finish".