Wood Species Notes
RBM is a home-grown Montana company that specializes in beautiful native Montana wood. Here are the species that grow locally and provide us with a sustainable product you can enjoy:
Fir and Larch
(F&L) is a colorful species with rich dark brown to more blonde tones and accepts stain extremely well. With the many different cuts, grades and textures you can achieve many different looks from rustic to contemporary.
Fir and Larch Vertical Grain
(F&L VG) is just as rich in color but displays the splendor of straight pattern grains.
Cedar
(Western Red Cedar, inland) has very soft rich tones which are virtually impossible to impersonate with alternate species or stains.
Pine
(includes Ponderosa Pine, Lodge pole Pine, White Pine) is generally light in color and is the origin of the term "knotty pine". This is also where we get “blue pine”.
Blue Pine
Pine trees are suseptable to a fungus that "stains" the wood a beautiful soft blue or grey, ranging from feint to unmistakable. This discoloration of wood makes every cut both beautiful and rare.
Whitewoods
Alpine Fir and Grand Fir are light in color like Pine and receives stain much more evenly than Pine. Spruce, almost white, is mostly used for exterior siding products.
Aspen
Is naturally very white and frequently has very rich and colorful natural stains. Aspen is a favorite amongst those who really like character.
Cottonwood
is a little more pale in color than Aspen yet has a lot of colorful character which really comes to life when finished with an oil-based varnish.