HARD WOODS AND SOFT WOODS

Hard woods

Teak - Grows in Indonesia, India, and Central America. Generally straight grained with a coarse, uneven texture, medium luster and an oily feel. Yellow brown to dark golden brown heartwood and grayish or white sapwood. Moderately hard and heavy, with a low stiffness and shock resistance. Works reasonbly well with hand or machine tools and has good turning and carving properties and also stains and finishes well. It has many uses such as indoor and out door furniture, paneling and flooring.

White Ash - Grows in the USA and Canada. Generally straight grained with a coarse texture,pale-brown heartwood and almost white sapwood.Moderately heavy, hard, strong, and tough with moderately high shock resistance.Machines fairly well with machine tools although turning and mortising properties are marginal. Glues, screws, and nails satisfactorily, Stains and finishes well. Used for furniture, baseball bats, ladders,. chairs and tool handles.

Beech - Grows in Europe and southeast Asia. Hard and heavy, with high bending and crushing strength and moderately high stiffness and shock resistance.Machines well but can be difficult to work by hand. Tends to split - pre-drilling recommended for screws and nails. Stains and finishes well. Exceptionally good for steam bending. Possibly the most popular general purpose furnitur wood.

European Elm - Occurs in temperate regions of Europe and western Asia.
Typically cross grained with dull brown heartwood and pale sapwood. Moderately heavy and hard with low stiffness, shock resistance and bending strength.Can be difficult to work in that wild grain can tear or cause binding. Glues, screws, nails and finishes satisfactorily. Used forturned items, cabinets, caskets, decorative veneers, paneling and chopping blocks.

Soft Wood


Douglas-Fir - Grows in western United States and Canada; introduced to UK, Australia, and New Zealand. Generally straight, sometimes wavy grained with a medium to fairly coarse texture. Yellowish to orange-red heartwood and whitish to reddish white sapwood.Quite variable in terms of color, weight, strength and working properties but frequently of average weight with moderate to high strength, moderate shock resistance, and high stiffness.

True Cedar - Grows in northern Africa, middle East, and India. Includes cedar of Lebanon, Atlantic cedar, Atlas cedar, and deodar cedar. Generally straight grained although Atlantic and Lebanon cedars often knotty. Works fairly well with hand or machine tools although knots and in-grown bark can be troublesome. Holds screws and nails well and polishes to a nice finish.Some uses include furniture, cabinetry, doors, and interior joinery.

European Yew - Grows throughout Europe, southern Asia, and northern Africa. Typically straight grained, sometimes curly and irregular, with an even, medium texture. Moderately heavy and hard with medium strength, relatively low stiffness and shock resistance. Works fairly well with hand or machine tools but irregular grain and knots can cause problems. Turns quite well. Pre-drilling required for screwing or nailing.Valued for turnery, carving, archery bows, and other bent parts (such as Windsor chair parts). Also used for garden furniture and reproduction furniture.