Its Best to Recognize Woods

Identify Wood Types: Douglas Fir, Pine, Cedar, Maple, Sweet Gum, Oak, Walnut,

Plywood, Particle Board, Veneer, Engineered Lumber

CedarStringy Bark and Scales

Uses: Light and rot resistant. Makes good decks, outside furniture, but it is soft. Works for Adirondack chars.

Douglas FirScales resemble mouse legs and tail, needles like bottle brush.

Uses: Harder than cedar it makes the frames of houses, rustic furniture, general purpose.

PineIdentified by bundles of

needles. Each species is identified by how many needles and how long.

Uses: This inexpensive wood is ideal for rustic furniture. It is soft and dents easier than Douglas fir.

Maple

• The palmate veigns and the winged samara (helicopters)

• Maple is a strong hard wood. Light color makes it popular. It is hard. Food for furniture.

Sweet Gum

• This relative of Sycamore is white with rays like Oak, but white.

• It is hard and good for furniture.

Oak• Oak is identified by its acorn and deeply lobed leaves.• Oak has Rays and is hard making it very good for furniture.

Walnut

•Identified by its green husked nuts. Most food walnuts have an English walnut grafted onto a black walnut.•This dark colored wood is just right for furniture.

Veneer

• Veneer is used to glue onto other wood or to do bent laminations.

Plywood

• Plywood is dimensionally stable. That means that it is flat and doesn’t twist. It is often expensive and comes in all kinds of thicknesses and types.

• Notice that Cherry plywood only has one or two sheets of veneer on the outside.

Particle Board

•MDF: Stand for Medium Density particle board is flat and stable, but it doesn’t like to get wet.•HDF: High density Fiber Board has hard wood sawdust in it instead of soft wood. It is generally used for substrate for quality veneer and flooring underlayment's.

Engineered Lumber

•This is usually plywood where the grain goes the same direction. The defects are randomized. These trusses can be made any length and are far lighter.