Timber Types Hardwood And Softwood

Hough us forest products laboratory characteristics and availability of commercially important wood from the wood handbook pdf 916k.

Timber types hardwood and softwood.

Common hardwood species include oak maple cherry mahogany and walnut. Softwood species pretty pretty wood. Softwoods come from conifer trees or cone bearing trees. This wood has a soft red brown coloration with a fine straight grain and a smattering of knots.

This happens to be generally true but there are exceptions such as in the cases of wood from yew trees a softwood that is relatively hard and wood from balsa trees a. Ncsu inside wood project reproduction of the american woods. Hardwood species are not always necessarily stronger than softwoods but many species are well known for their beautiful and distinct wood grain patterns. Wikimedia commons the reason why we have included this wood in our list of softwoods is that people tend to consider cedar as hardwood but no it is a softwood.

What are softwood species. Different types of construction projects call for different kinds of timber both hardwood and softwood are used for everything from structural to decorative. A guide to the grain. Classifying wood as either a hardwood or softwood comes down to its physical structure and makeup and so it is overly simple to think of hardwoods as being hard and durable compared to soft and workable softwoods.

Exhibited by actual specimens and with copious explanatory text by romeyn b. North american softwood species have needle shaped foliage instead of the leaves found on hardwood trees.