How to Choose Your Material: Wood Species

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Since the beginning of human history, timber has been the natural resource we rely on the most. We cannot imagine building a home without wood.

We are in contact with this material everyday, but can hardly tell apart one species of wood from another. Do you know what ‘wood grain’ refers to, and how it affects a timber’s appearance?

By knowing the specific traits of different wood species, we can know what purposes it can fulfill, so that wise choices of renovation material can be made, and nothing goes to waste.

  1. Hardwood and softwood

    Hardwood and softwood are not hardness classifications, technically speaking. They are botanical classifications: deciduous trees are hardwood species, while coniferous trees are softwood species.

    In general, timber from deciduous trees are harder, more resistant to denting than coniferous timber.

    There are exceptions on both sides (for example, balsa, a hardwood, is a but this categorisation is still useful in most occasions.

    You will see that hardwood has a rougher texture than softwood, because in softwood, wood fibres and vessels are absent.

    The presence of vessels in hardwood gives it a porous appearance, while softwood looks smoother, finer, and has a lighter weight by volume.

    All softwoods are suitable for making furniture but some hardwoods are not suitable for such purpose.

  2. Wood grain

    Imagine there’s a tree in front of you. With an electrical saw, you make a horizontal cut at the trunk. You look at the round surface where the section is made, and see the wood’s pores and fibre arrangement. That’s the grain of this particular timber.

    You can easily see how ‘wood grain’ can describe the direction of cell growth, the size of wood cells, the appearance of a cut wood surface, even the plane of the cut.

    But for furniture buyers, here are some basic, simple categories: Vertical grain VS flat grain, open grain VS closed grain and tight grain VS loose grain.

Vertical grain VS flat grain

How to Choose Your Material: Wood Species
(Image: Jasco Forest Products)

In early spring, trees produce softer, more porous wood, while in summer, the wood fibre is harder and denser. This difference of fibre textures produces what we call the annual growth ring.

The plane on which the tree is cut will affect not only the pattern show on the surface of the wood, but also the performance of the lumber.

Vertical grain lumber is more durable and less likely to shrink and cup. It also retains paint better. Vertical grain lumber is sold at a higher price but its maintenance cost is lower.

In contrast, flat grain lumber cups and warps more easily in extreme humidity levels, and retains paint more poorly. Expect to spend more on maintenance if you opt for this type of lumber.

 

Open grain VS closed grain

How to Choose Your Material: Wood Species
(Image: hobbithouseinc)

The size of the pores on the wood surface determines whether it is an open grain or closed grain wood.

Open grain wood has large pores which entails a rougher texture of the lumber. Due to the smaller size of pores, closed grain wood generally looks smoother, though it can also have a rough appearance due to thicker wood fibre.

Tight grain VS loose grain

These categories describe how thick the tree species’ annual ring is. The thinner the annual ring, the tighter the grain is.

How to Choose Your Material: Wood Species

 

Let’s talk about trees…

Common tree species used in construction:

HardwoodSoftwood
OakWhite pine
AshYellow pine
MapleSpruce
BeechFir
CherryCedar
WalnutRosewood
BirchPadauk

Hardwood species

Oak

How to Choose Your Material: Wood Species

Sturdy and reliable

Grown in North America and Malay Peninsula, oak timber is a hardwood with good flexibility. Pennsylvanian red oak is famous for its uniform colour, tight grain and minimal discoloration.

There are two types of oak, red oak and white oak.

Red oak features an earthy red brown colour and has a wavy grain pattern to it. The patterns on the surface of white oak resembles tiger stripes; the core of the tree has a yellowish brown tone. White oak is often used to make high-end furniture and wine barrels.

Ash

How to Choose Your Material: Wood Species

Light, resistant to decay, luxurious

Ash is commonly found in Russia, North America and Europe. Ash timber is straight and has a milky white or pinkish tone to it. After staining and polishing, its rough texture can be quite aesthetically pleasing.

Ash sapwood has a yellowish tone while the heartwood is light brown in colour. Patterns on the wood are quite defined.

Ash also has a relatively light weight by volume; ash furniture will be lighter than furniture made of other hardwood like mahogany.

Maple

How to Choose Your Material: Wood Species

Warm, evenly-textured, light and durable

There are two types of maple: hard maple and soft maple. Grown in south of Chang Jiang, Taiwan, and eastern America, maple is a subtropical wood.

Timber colour ranges from greyish brown to greyish red. Annual rings are not very defined; vessel pores are numerous and evenly spread.

Maple wood is light, hard, and durable. It retains paint and adheres well, which is very suitable for making wood veneer.

Beech

How to Choose Your Material: Wood Species

Warm-toned, high impact strength, sturdy

A tree especially found in Jiangnan, beech timber is often featured in Ming furniture. As a humble choice of wood, beech is weighty, sturdy and has a high impact strength.

Steamed beech can be bent to different curvatures for furniture-making purposes.

Beech has a medium to high level of hardness, an even and soft colouring; it is the go-to timber for making doors, flooring and wood craft.

Cherry

How to Choose Your Material: Wood Species

Vibrant colour, fine-grained pattern

Cherry is not only prized for its rich russet tones, but also its straight, regular grain pattern. The spotted heartwood sometimes contains resin pockets, which are dents remained after damage like infection and insect infestation.

Polished cherry has a high lustre and retains coating well. It is often made into luxurious furniture and carved into collectable wood sculptures.

It is said that the colour of cherry timber darkens as it ages.

Walnut

How to Choose Your Material: Wood Species

Saturated colour, elegant

There are two main types of walnut: black walnut and yellow walnut. Mainly grown in North America, Europe and Southeast Asia, walnut has a highly saturated tone and lustre which makes it a pricey choice of material.

Chinese walnut generally has a lighter colour; its sapwood milky white and heartwood dark brown, occasionally even purplish in colour. Wood patterns can be straight, wavy or even curly, which make the timber quite decorative.

Birch

How to Choose Your Material: Wood Species

Defined pattern, Scandinavian style, insect-resistant

Birch trees are found in cold regions like Russia and the Northern hemisphere. They are resistant to cold weather and pest, and have a high growth rate, which make the birch tree the best candidate for reforestation.

Its colour ranges from light brown to reddish brown. Since birch has a pattern similar to cherry, it is also called the ‘European cherry’.

Softwood species

Pine

How to Choose Your Material: Wood Species

Ancient, down to earth, natural

Pine is a needle-leaved tree. Pinewood has a light yellow colour and is usually knotty. It also releases a characteristic scent.

Because pine is prone to swelling and retains a lot of moisture, kiln drying and sap removal are needed before the wood can be used to make lumber.

Plain and down to earth, pine is a humble, unobtrusive choice of renovation material. However, due to its softness, pine is not resistant to scratching, denting and warping.

Cedar

How to Choose Your Material: Wood Species

Decay-resistant, moisture-resistant, decorous, practical

Cedar is grown along Chang Jiang and the south of the river. The cedar tree is a majestic tree with high adaptability and resistance to wind and smog.

Cedar timber is finely-patterned and not prone to decay. It holds adhesive and nails well. Polished cedar has a high lustre and is often used to build vehicles, bridges, boats, furniture and even musical instruments.

Cedar is also a good source of resin.

#fine grained wood types #is maple open or closed grain #tight grain wood #is birch a softwood

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