Solid Hardwood Construction

For a Lifetime of Beauty and Pleasure

Hardwood lumber, strong and sturdy with the distinctive grain patterns that offer lasting beauty, has been the preferred material for fine furniture, flooring, cabinetry and millwork for many decades. Solid hardwoods have the integrity that only their natural origin can provide. No man-made material can duplicate hardwood's warmth, character and authenticity. American Custom Pool Tables are built exclusively of hardwoods, containing no artificial materials such as pressed board, laminated wood, veneers, particleboard or plywood.

The characteristics of hardwoods allows it to be more intricately carved, bent and turned than other materials. Hardwoods surpass substitute materials in their ability to hold nails and screws. They withstand stresses, loads, shock and abrasion. Hardwood manufacturing techniques such as dovetail or tongue-and-groove joints utilize the strength of wood itself and do not depend on metal or hardware that can bend or loosen. Naturally distinctive hardwoods maintain a beautiful, trouble free finish that becomes even more beautiful with age and offers lasting value.

Backed by a Lifetime Warranty, American Custom Pool Tables pool tables are the treasured antiques of the future. Each American Custom Pool Table made of maple, oak or cherry bears the tag of the Hardwood Manufacturer's Association communicating the message that careful resource management is assuring an abundant supply of hardwoods that provide strength and beauty in tomorrow's heirlooms.

American Custom Pool Tables offers you the choice of oak, maple, cherry or mahogany for the exterior of your table. The oak, maple and cherry come from Northern Appalachia -- New York, Vermont and Pennsylvania -- and Wisconsin, where the short growing season produces top quality, hard and tight grained wood. The mahogany we use comes from West Africa, where it is responsibly harvested (Green Peace certified), primarily for the European furniture market. It is a true mahogany species (unlike Philippine mahogany), resembling and closely related to the favored American or Honduran mahogany. We chose the African mahogany over Honduran, which nowadays actually comes primarily from Brazil, because the quality is consistently good and the price stable. The quality and price of mahogany from Brazil are erratic, and some of the most egregious environmental practices are taking place in that country.

Poplar (sometimes called tulipwood) is used for the internal, structural components of American Custom Pool Tables. It is strong and plentiful, about half the cost of oak or maple, with excellent woodworking characteristics. Because of its low cost, many manufacturers offer "tulipwood" billiard tables. Tulipwood or poplar is marginal for furniture use, however, because of its relatively soft and porous surface which does not finish well, and its green mineral stains that are difficult to disguise. Similar considerations apply to "alder" which is the Western equivalent of poplar, and "ash" which some manufacturers use in place of the more expensive oak which it resembles.