Types of Wood PDF

Types of Wood  Natural and Manufactured Wood Natural wood comes from trees and is separated into (2) categories below: 1). Softwood 2). Hardwood Manufactured wood is made up of multiple types of man-made wood. It uses natural wood as its ra...

Types of Wood  Natural and Manufactured Wood Natural wood comes from trees and is separated into (2) categories below: 1). Softwood 2). Hardwood Manufactured wood is made up of multiple types of man-made wood. It uses natural wood as its raw material.  Natural Wood Softwood They are called “coniferous tree” because many of them bare cones. Softwood come from evergreen/needle bearing trees. Softwood grow faster than hardwood. They are often used as building material, in addition they are used to make manufactured woods.  Examples of Softwood NAME PROPERTIES USES COST Pine Straight grained but knotty, Building construction, quite strong and easy to interior constructions, Low work. and furniture. Cedar Straight grained that is knot Used outside for shed free. Very light in weight. construction and quality High Very durable inside and fencing. outside and quite soft. Spruce Quite strong, with small Fitted furniture Low knots and resistant to splitting - not durable.  Natural Wood Hardwood They are called “deciduous tree”. They are generally slow growing. Hardwood can be distinguished by the structure of the wood grain. Hardwood are often used in high-quality furniture, decks, and flooring.  Examples of Hardwood NAME PROPERTIES USES COST Ash Light in color, flexible, Tool handles, cricket tough, steam blends well, bat handles, ladders, Med and varnishes well. and veneers. Oak Light brown, hard, tough, High quality furniture, heavy and durable outside. garden furniture, boat High Gets harder with age. building, and veneers. Mahogany Red in color, medium High quality furniture, weight, quite strong, shop furniture, boat High durable inside, and warps fittings, and veneers. easily.  Manufactured Wood These are made from the waste wood left over from conversion/construction. These have been developed mainly for industrial production as they can be made in very large sheets of consistent quality. They use thin sheets (plywood), small blocks (blockboard), wood chips (chipboard) and wood fibres (fibreboard).  NAME PROPERTIES USES COST Plywood Strong in all directions, quite Tabletops, worktops door stable but can warp. A fronts, drawer bottoms, small Medium waterproof ply is available. boats (waterproof ply) MDF Does not warp easily, cuts Tabletops, worktops, veneered and planes well without furniture, clock cases. Medium splitting, needs a finish. Blockboard Does not warp easily. Very High quality furniture, stage strong, rigid and rather flooring, fire doors. High heavy. Edge finishing is difficult. Chipboard Heavy, can warp easily, Cheap plastic coated furniture, joining pieces together is not roofing boards, partitions Low easy, needs a finish. Hardboard Not very strong, warps Door panels, cheap drawer Low easily, needs a finish. bottoms, cabinet backs.