COURSE: Intro to Woods Construction UNIT: Wood Type Identification

Terms to Know  Hard Wood  Soft Wood  Plank  End Grain  Knots  Grain  Straight, wavy  Texture  Fine, Medium, Coarse

This Lesson Will Include:  Description  Uses  Plank Identification  End Grain Identification  Ash  Cedar  Cherry  Maple  Osage Orange  Walnut  Hickory / Pecan  Red Oak  White Oak

White Ash

White Ash: Description  Considered the all-American wood.  Ash is very durable, course textured, making it both flexible and shock resistant.

White Ash: Uses  Wood of choice for:  pool cues  oars  Garden tool handles  Baseball Bats AKA: White Ash, Green Ash, Black Ash AKA: White Ash, Green Ash, Black Ash

White Ash  Plank

White Ash  Plank

White Ash  End Grain

Cedar

Cedar: Description  Aromatic  Straight grain, fine texture and contains numerous knots and bark inclusions.  Called a "cedar", but in fact not a cedar at all. Instead, the timber comes from a juniper.  Oil and Scent claimed to repel moths.  Naturally rot resistant

Cedar: Uses  Chests / Storage Boxes  Closets  Decorative Trim work AKA: Aromatic Cedar, Virginia Pencil Cedar

Cedar  Plank  Sharp color contrast

Cedar  End Grain  Dreaded “blue stain”

Cherry

Cherry: Description  North America's highest prized wood  Helped to develop the cabinet industry.  Straight, fine grain, reddish color  Most desirable hardwood

Cherry: Uses  Cabinets  Furniture  AKA: Black Cherry

Cherry  Plank

Cherry  End Grain

Maple

Maple: Description  Clear, white sapwood.  Maple is hard, heavy, dense, and straight grained.  Resists wear and abrasion  Distinctive features of grain produce birds-eye and curly figured woods.  Birds-eye caused by growth defect in the tree;  Birds-eye caused by growth defect in the tree;

Maple: Uses  Heavy / Highly used Furniture  Found as flooring in gymnasiums  Bowling alleys.  AKA: Rock Maple, Sugar Maple

Maple  Plank  Normal  Bird’s Eye

Maple  End Grain  Minimal Appearance

Osage Orange

Osage Orange: Description  Medium to hard wood.  Golden yellow to bright orange  Medium / coarse texture, straight grained.  Machines good with sharp power tools

Osage Orange: Uses  Mainly Outdoor Decorative  Contains High BTU. However usually too hot for fire wood.  Corner Posts.  AKA: hedge apple, bois d’arc wood

Osage Orange  Plank

Osage Orange  End Grain  Sharp color contrast

Walnut

Walnut: Description  Sought for its beauty and toughness.  It is semi straight grained.  Wavy and course texture.  Dark brown to purplish black color.  Glues well and holds bending properties.  Glues well and holds bending properties.

Walnut: Uses  Furniture  Products that require bent components  AKA: American Walnut

Walnut  Plank

Walnut  End Grain

Hickory / Pecan

Hickory/Pecan: Description  Similar species. Pecan is a hickory type.  Very heavy  Elastic and strong. High shrinkage as it seasons.  Toughest and strongest American wood in common use.

Hickory/Pecan: Description  Burns and steam-bends well.  Hickory = Stronger  Pecan = not as dense  Difficult to positively differentiate the various species in this genus

Hickory/Pecan: Uses  Furniture with high useage.  Similar to Maple usage, but cheaper alternative.

Hickory/Pecan  Plank  Pecan (Top)  Hickory (Bottom)

Hickory/Pecan  End Grain  Pecan (left)  Hickory (right)

Red Oak

Red Oak: Description  Most common hardwood species.  Non-durable, straight-grained wood.  Grows very fast in relation to other hard woods.  Grows very fast in relation to other hard woods.

Red Oak: Uses  Interior woodworking  Hardwood flooring  Red Oak AKA: Spanish Oak

White Oak

White Oak: Description  Straight-grained, moderate course texture  Pale-yellow to brown color.  Resistant to exterior adversities.

White Oak: Uses  Most valuable aspect – cells contain honeycomb like substance called tyloses. This makes white oak watertight.  Great for boat building and whiskey barrels.  Produces the finest oak veneers  White Oak AKA: Chestnut Oak

Oak  Plank  White Oak (top)  Red Oak ( bottom)

Oak  End Grain  Red Oak (left)  White Oak (right)