Types of Wood for Woodworking
Wooding wood – the act of making furniture designs with cuts of wood from the trunk of trees. Not just all kinds of wood, but solid wood makes up most of the wood in a piece of furniture. Now the beauty of your woodwork design lies in the type of wood you choose.
You don’t just consider beauty alone but its strength when cutting into a piece. However, there are various varieties of wood, having different properties.
Types of some softwood
We choose softwood not just because there are weaker than hardwoods. The essence of this is that they grow faster than hardwood and as such is less expensive. How do I know they grow fast? They are sort of woods gotten from coniferous trees such as cedar, fir, and pine which tend to be at times yellow or reddish.
To some extent, there are relatively easy to find sustainably grown softwoods because these woods are grown on tree farms to ensure an endless supply of wood and as such, do not cut across deforestation of wood for your project.
Over to list of common softwood varieties and their equivalent properties;
Cadar
Among all these varieties of softwood, cedar is the most common type. The common type of this variety is the western red variety. It is known as the western red cedar which simplifies that is reddish in color. In addition, this wood is relatively soft. For instance, a 1 on a scale of 1 to 4 has a straight grain and to some extent has an aromatic smell.
This wood preferably can be used for outdoor projects such as furniture, decks, and other exterior building parts because its capacity to withstand the environment without rotting. Western red cedar can be found in most home centers because it is moderately priced.
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Fir
Also known as Douglas Fir.
Descriptive feature: it has a straight and pronounced grain and a reddish-brown tint to it. Often time, it is used for building. Thus, it is relatively cheap and can be used for some sort of furniture-making as well. Unlike cedar, it does not have a grain pattern and can hardly be stained that much.
So it is quite preferable whenever you intend to paint the finished product. Douglas Fir wood rates 4 on a scale of 1to 4 which shows that it is moderately strong and hard for softwood and as common in the local home center.
Pine
Pinewood comes in different varieties such as sugar, Ponderosa, white, and yellow. Funny enough, all of them make great furniture. Often times this wood is in use somewhere around the southwest United States. Pine us much easier to work with. Having enough varieties, they are relatively soft and can be carved on.
Descriptive feature: pine often takes stain very well especially when you have sealed the wood first. And you need to be very careful when it is ponderosa Pine because it tends to ooze sap. You can find these in-home centers but of a lesser grade than what you can find at a decent lumberyard.
Redwood
Thus this wood is used for the outdoor project just like the cedarwood.
Descriptive feature: it is relatively resistant to moisture. Redwood or California wood is fairly soft and has a straight grain. It is reddish in color and quite easy to work on. You can as well find redwood at your local home center and is moderately priced.
Types of some hardwoods
Most woodworkers love to work with hardwoods. The variety of colors, textures, and grain patterns makes for some beautiful and interesting-looking furniture. The downside to hardwoods is their price. Some of the more exotic species can be too expensive to use for anything more than an accent.
Note: hardwoods are becoming difficult and time-consuming to find because they are being harvested regardless of their eventual extinction. Not just that it is hard, it moves deep as well to the pricing. But if you can afford to buy from a sustainable forest then you need to check out for National Hardwood Lumber Association in other to maintain sustainable forestry.
List of common hardwoods are as follows:
Cherry
Cherry is a very popular and very good woos. Cherry’s heartwood is a reddish-brown tint to it while the sapwood is usually white. Cherry has a hardness of 2 on a scale of 1 to 5.
This wood is an all-round wood that can be used for furniture making but is sustainably grown in a lumberyard. This means that you cannot see this around the home center and will require taking a trip to a lumberyard. Cherry is much expensive compared to other domestic hardwoods.
Mahogany
Mahogany is one of the most popular woods also known as Honduran mahogany. it is one of the best Types Of Wood In Furniture.
Descriptive feature: it has a reddish-brown to deep red tint, a straight grain, fairly textural and a hardness of around 2 on a scale of 1 to 5. It also takes stains very well.
As it is a hardwood, it cannot be found in home centers but in an only decent lumberyard. a
Oak
Oak- the most used woods for furniture. There are basically two varieties; the red and white oak. The oak is strong having a hardness of about 4 on a scale of 1 to 5 and as well easy to work on. Its attractive properties make it suitable for furniture making. The white oak is used for outdoor furniture because is relatively resistant to moisture.
When you think of wood that can be found quarter-sawn, then you should g for oak wood. It is has a more stable cutting option. However, the white oak is less expensive t compare to other hardwood. Red oak can be found at most home centers, but if you want white oak, it will demand you make a trip to the lumberyard.
Poplar
Poplar is among the less expensive hardwoods. It is slightly soft having about 1 in hardness on a scale of 1 to 5 which makes it easier to work on.
Poplar has a variety of white with some green or brown streaks in the heartwood. It is rarely used in making furniture because it is less attractive but even in use, it must be painted. It can be found in larger home centers, but a lumberyard will have a better selection.
