Discussing Types of Wood

Woodworking can be very enjoyable as long as you have the right tools and materials for the job. There are many different types of wood each of which is suited to different applications.

You need to carefully choose the type of wood that you will use because they each have their own unique appearance and properties. The choice of wood will determine the look and strength of the furniture. We will now look at some of the common types of wood.

Softwood
Softwood is normally less expensive than hardwood because it comes from fast growing trees like pine and fir trees. Despite what you might thing softwoods aren’t actually any weaker than hardwoods.

It’s normally very easy to find softwood which has been grown in sustainable forests because it grows so quickly. There are some common types of softwood:

Pine
Pine is the favourite wood of many people because it’s quite soft and easy to work with. It is ideal for carving and smells wonderful. It is easy to stain and as long as you seal the wood it will take the stain well. Do be careful with some types of pine because they can sometimes ooze sap. You will be able to buy pine easily from DIY centres. If you are looking for higher quality pine then you can also buy it from a timber merchant.

Fir
This wood is very soft and has a straight grain. It’s commonly used for building and can also be used for furniture. The grain isn’t as inspiring as many other pieces of wood and it can be difficult to stain. Fir is only really suitable when you are painting instead of staining. You can buy this from a DIY centre and it’s very reasonably priced.

Redwood
Redwood is ideally suited to projects outside because it is moisture resistant. Redwood has a slight red colour tint and is very easy to work with. You can buy this easily from your DIY centre.

Hardwood
Hardwoods are most woodworker’s favourite types of woods because of the sheer number of different textures, patterns and coloured woods that you can get. This wood can be used to make some stunning furniture.

The only real problem with hardwoods is that they are more expensive. Some exotic hardwoods are too expensive to use for the entire project and might only be suitable for accents. Try to buy sustainable hardwood.

Oak
Oak is a very popular wood for furniture. It is a very strong wood and fairly hard. It’s also a nice material to work with. Oak is available in white or red colours with the white oak being desirable for furniture. White oak is also more water resistant and is ideal for outdoor furniture. Oak is readily available from your local saw mills

Cherry
Cherry is an extremely popular wood and is very easy to work with. It’s ideal for making furniture with and can be finished with oil. The wood ages wonderfully and looks stunning. Cherry is harder to get than most other woods so you will have to visit your local timber merchant or saw mill.

Mahogany
This is an amazing wood for furniture which has a lovely luxurious brown tint, straight grain and nice texture. Mahogany isn’t available from sustainable forests which mean that using the wood will eventually make it extinct. Mahogany is hard to get hold of and it’s very expensive.

Teak
Teak is very rare these days but is still ideal for outdoor furniture. It’s a weather resistant wood and looks beautiful. It’s very expensive but completely unique. You will find it difficult to find suppliers of Teak.

Walnut
Walnut is a lovely wood that is very easy to work with. It is however quite expensive and it can also be difficult to find it. Walnut is great as inlays to make a project look more special. If you want walnut then you might have to specially order it.

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