Types of Wood

The materials for most projects will fall into three categories: softwood, hardwood and manufactured
panels such as plywood.

What you use for any given project depends on various factors: strength, hardness, grain character
cost, stability, weight, color, durability and availability. Usually beginning woodworkers start out with
softwood such as pine. It's soft and easy to work so you don't need expensive tools to get good res
is readily available at local lumberyards and home centers. It has it's limitations in furniture making,
soft wood and will damage easily.

Softwood Lumber

Softwood is from an evergreen or coniferous (cone-bearing) tree. Common varieties are pine, fir, sp
hemlock, cedar and redwood. These woods are mostly used in the home construction industry. Ced
redwood are excellent choices for outdoor projects, while pine is often used for "Early American Co
Style" furniture.

Pine and most other softwoods will absorb and lose moisture more than hardwoods so are not as s
Purchase the lumber at least two weeks before starting your project and keep it indoors. Place stick
(small pieces of scrap wood) between the boards to permit good air circulation around each piece o
stock. This will allow the wood to reach an equilibrium with the indoor environment which reduces th
likelihood of dramatic wood movement after a project is complete.

You will generally find only two grades at most suppliers: select and No. 2 common. The common g
allows tight, solid knots in the face of the board. For furniture applications the select grade is the be
choice as it is free from most knots, though tight pin knots and small resin pockets are allowed.

You can achieve a more uniform stained surface by applying a wood conditioner to pine first, it's a g
idea to run a test first on an inconspicuous part of your project to make sure you're happy with the r

You will find that softwoods are sold in standard thickness and widths, for example a 1 X 4 will be 3
thick and 3 1/2" wide similar to construction materials. The material will usually be priced per lineal
and the price will increase accordingly for the wider boards.

Panels made from strips glued together and sold as shelving are also available, these range from 1
inches wide and 2 to 8 feet in length.

Chimney Cupboard Plan

 Easy-to-build Pine chimney cupboard is built in two parts -
an upper and lower case. Cupboard measures 23-1/2" wide
x 78" high x 13-3/4" deep. Plan includes 14-page instruction
booklet, five 18" x 24" drawings and materials list.

Chimney Cupboard Plan

Hardwood Lumber

Hardwood lumber comes from deciduous trees, the ones that shed their leaves annually. Popular
domestic species are oak, maple, cherry, birch, walnut, ash and poplar. Of these common native
hardwoods, only red oak and poplar are usually stocked in home centers and lumberyards, the othe
have to be obtained from speciality stores. The material stocked at home centers and lumberyards
usually sold in similar dimensions to softwood and by the lineal foot as well.

At speciality stores the thickness of hardwood lumber is specified in quarters of an inch, measured
the wood is in a rough state. The thinnest stock is 4/4, representing 1 in., and the thickest usually
available is 16/4, representing 4 in. Rather than being milled to specified dimensions, like pine,
hardwoods are sold in random widths and lengths.

Hardwoods are sold by the board foot, which is defined as a square foot of rough lumber that is 1 in
If a board is thicker than 1 in., the dealer multiplies the square footage by the thickness to arrive at
sale price. An 8/4 board will therefore cost twice as much as a 4/4 board of the same size.

Working with hardwoods is quite different from working with pine, you cannot drive a screw through
hardwood lumber without first boring a pilot hole. Cutting and planing hardwoods requires extremely
tools.

Classic Ice Box Plan

Build your own classic ice box...

Classic Ice Box Plan

Oak and ash, are known as open-grain woods. These species have alternating areas of relatively p
and dense wood, when stained the open-grain areas absorb the color readily while the harder area
more resistant. This accentuates the grain patterns, creating a dramatic effect.

Cherry, maple and birch are closed-grain woods, demonstrating a more uniform texture throughout
board. Poplar is also a closed-grain wood, but its color ranges from a beige to olive green, and ofte
purple highlights thrown into the mix. Because of this unusual coloration, it is rarely used if a furnitu
piece is going to have a clear finish. This wood is best when stained or even painted. Poplar, being
expensive, is also a good choice for framing hardwood projects.

How to straighten a board.

How to steam bend a board.

Plywood and Manufactured Sheets

Precut Plywood
High quality A2 grade veneer core plywood.

Precut Plywood

You will likely be working with either plywood, consisting of an uneven number of alternating layers
wood, or a type of manufactured sheet.

Plywood and manufactured sheets often come in thicknesses that actually measure thinner than sta
dimensions, for example a 1/4" router bit will be too wide you will need a 15/64" bit to cut a dado to

Amana Undersized Plywood Dado Bit

For precision dado cuts in plywood, melaminie, MDF, flakeboard and
other sheet materials where standard size bits are too large...

Amana Undersized Plywood Dado Bit

The two most common manufactured sheets goods used in furniture making are MDF (Medium Den
Fiberboard) and Particle Board. Both are made from wood particles, combined with glue and bonde
under pressure. MDF has finer particles than Particle Board so produces a smoother and stronger
finished product.

MDF machines very well and is often used for moulded components on painted furniture. Its main d
back is that it is a very heavy product compared to real wood.

Confirmat Screws
Ideal for particle board...

Confirmat Screws
Hardwoods are also commonly used as outer veneers on manufactured sheets. These veneers are
extremely thin sheets of wood that are glued to a panel core of plywood or particleboard. Such pane
usually 4'x 8' sheets, but they are available in other sizes, for example Baltic Birch is sold in 5' width
Their thicknesses range from 1/8 inch to over 1 inch.

Because of their laminated construction, they are extremely stable in all dimensions. Since the vene
any given panel are usually cut sequentially from the same log, the panel should display a uniform c
and grain. Matching the grain pattern of solid wood to the generally uniform grain pattern on the pan
can be difficult. But careful planning can yield good matches in the most visible areas of your projec

Manufactured sheets do have limitations, whenever they are used, regardless of the core, the edge
be hidden and the veneers on the surface are extremely thin, often less than 1/32 in. Because of th
surface is fragile and has a tendency to split out, especially on the back side of a saw cut. Also, sinc
veneer is so thin aggressive sanding can quickly work through the veneer and expose the unattract
core underneath.

Which wood is best for furniture,

mahogany, maple, beech, pine or oak?
Available in a variety of colors, grains, and hardnesses, solid wood has always been a
preferred material for fine furniture. Shock-resistant and durable, it's also a sound
investment, increasing in value over generations. Different parts of the world produce
different types of woods, each with its own set of characteristics. And because each tree
yields lumber with its own grain patterns and markings, each piece of genuine wood has
its own unique personality.

Hardwood vs. Softwood

Solid woods can be classified as hard or soft. A hardwood is derived from a broad-leefed
tree (without needles), such as maple, cherry, oak, ash, walnut, or mahogany. Hardwoods
usually offer greater strength and stability. Softwoods come from needle-bearing
evergreen trees, such as pine, spruce, redwood, or cedar, and are preferred for intricately
carved pieces. Softwoods are more susceptible to marks and dings, but this can often
result in an appealing weathered quality.

Mahogany > Oak > Maple > Beech > Pine

Below are some distinguishing traits of 5 types of wood most commonly used to
construct fine furniture, sorted by their quality for furniture (from best to worst, in term
of strength, stability, shock-resistant, and durability etc.). I don't include some less
popular types of wood, such as cherry and walnut, both of which are regarded as material
for luxury furniture.