Wood Encyclopedia

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THEARTOFWOODWORKING

HOMEWORI$HOP



Stationaryachines

o Wear ppropriateafety ear: afetyg lassesra face hield, ndhear ingprotectorsr earplugs.f theres nodust ol lect ionystem, ear dustmask. or xotic oodsikeebony,serespirator;hesawdust ay ause nallergiceaction. ear or k loves henhandl ingoughumber.

. Make urehatworkshopightingndventilationreadequatend hatworksurfacesre arge ndsturdy.

. Read our wner's anual eforeoperat ingnymachine.

. Keep hildren,nlookersndpets way

from hework rea.

. Unplug machineeforeer formingsetupor nstal lat ionperat ions.

. Keep ladesnd utterheadnivesharp.

SAFETYIPS

o Turn hemachinef f f i t producesanunfami l iaribrat ionrnoise; avethemachineerv icedeforeesum-in goperations.

. Donotuse machinef anypart f tis worn rdamaged.

. Roll p ong leevesnd emoveingsand therewelryhat an atchnmoving arts.

. Keep our ands el l waYromturning lade rcutterhead

r Find comfor tabletance;voidover-reachng.

. Concentraten he ob ;do not ush.Never orkwhen ouare ired, tressedor have een rinkinglcoholr usingmedicationshat nduce rowsiness.

. Keep ourwork rea lean nd idY;clut teran eado acc idents,nd

sawdustndwood crapsanbeafirehazard.

Chainaws

. Wear afety oggles,earingrotectionwork oots nda hard at.Make ureyour lothesre lose- f i t t ingnd onghai r s iedback.

. Operatechain aw nly utdoorsna dry, lear ay.

. Mix ueland dd t o he uel ank tleast 0 eetawayrom ourwork rea.

oTostartup hesaw, arryt to theworkarea nd et n on heground; akesurehechainsnot ontactingnythingBracehe oolwi th ouroot ndone

hand, nd se our ther ando Pu l lth estarter ord.

. Whi le perat inghe aw, old t rmlywi th oth ands.

WORKSHOPUIDE

FELLINGTREE

Makingheundercutnd hebackcut

To ella tree o make our wn umber(page 6) ,beginwithan undercutne -

third heway hroughhe runk n heside

facinghedirectionnwhichhe ree hould

fal l .Cut hewedge ngl ingp rom he

base f he ree.Known s heHumbolt

undercut,hi smethodavesumberrom

themost aluableartof a tree-the ower

part f he runk-a chunkofwhich

wil lbe ostwith he radit ionalechnique

of undercutting.henmake backcut

a couDlef nches boveheundercutrom

theoppositeide o fel l he ree. he

backcuthould top n nchor wo rom

theundercuto leave hingehatwi l l

controlhedirectionf he al landhelp

preventlade ickback.

ANATOMYFA BOARD

Directionof fall <--



THEARTOFWOODWORKING

ENCYCLOPEDIA

OFWOOD



ENCYCTOPEDIAOFWOOD

TIME-LIFEOOKSALEXANDRIA,IRGINIA

THE ART OF WOODWORKING

ST.REMYPRESSMONTREAL. EWYORK



THE ARTOF WOODWORKING wasproducedby

ST. REMYPRESS

PUBLISHERPR.ESIDENT

Series ditorSeries rt Director

SeniorEditors

Art DirectorsDesigner

Research ditorPictureEditor

Writers

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KennethWinchesterPierreL6veill€

PierreHome-DouglasFrancineLemieuxMarc Cassini Text)

HeatherMills (Research)Normand Boudreault,Solange abergeLuc Germain,Michel GigudreJim McRaeChristopher acksonThmsinM. Douglas,Andrew ones,RobLutes

RonaldDurepos,Jean-PierreBourgeois,Michel Blais,JacquesPerrault,Alain Longpr€,JocelynVeillette,RobertPaquetNatalie WatanabeMichelleTurbide

Jean-LucRoyRobertChartier

THECONSUTTANTS

JohnArno is a consultant, abinetmaker ndfreelance riter who lives n Troy Michigan.He alsoconducts eminars n wood dentification and earlyAmerican urniture design.

GilesMiller-Meadtaughtadvanced abinet-makingat Montreal echnicalschools or morthan tenyears.A nativeofNew Zealand, e haworkedasa restorerof antique urniture.

Andrew Poynter s President f A&M WoodSpecialty nc.,of Cambridge,Ontario,Canadmerchants ffine hardwoods ndveneers. ebeganhis careern the wood ndustry n theearly'70smaking custom urniture.He s now

a director of the WoodworkersAlliance orRainforestProtectionand an nterim directorofthe ForestStewardship ouncil.

Joseph ruini is SeniorEditor of HozeMechankmagazine. former Shopand ToolEditor of PopularMechanics, e hasworkedaa cabinetmaker, ome mprovementcontractand carpenter.

Enryclopedia fWoodp. cm.-(The Art of Woodworking)

Includes ndex.ISBN0-8094-9916-9.trade)

ISBN0-8094-99177 (Ltb)l. Woodwork--Enryclopedias.2. Wood--Encyclopedias.I. Time- Life Books. IL SeriesTTl80.E6l3 1992684' .08-dc20 92-37293

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Tievor LunnReginaHallDoniaAnn SteeleBob Doyle,JohnSullivanMarleneZack



CONTENTS

6 INTRODUCTION

12 UNDERSTANDINGWOOD14 Anatomvof a tree16 Softwoobs ndhardwoods18 From og to lumber24 Lumbercuttingmethods26 Properties f wood30 Identifting wood34 Wood dentification eys

36 Portableumber mills

0 SELECTINGTUMBER42 Ordering umber45 Grading umber46 Hardwoodgrades48 Softwoodgrades50 Lumber defects53 Preparingumber

56 VENEERSANDMANUFACTURED BOARDS

58 Veneers60 From og to veneer63 Veneering69 Decorativematching70 Plvwood72 Pliwood grading

74 Concealing lywoodedges76 Particleboard77 Fiberboard

DRYINGAND

STORINGWOODWaterandwoodEstimatingwood movementAir-dryingwoodStoringwood

WOOD DIRECTORY

GLOSSARY

INDEX

ACKNO\ArLEDGMENTS

78

80868789

98

138

L42

IM



INTRODUCTION

Iohn Sharpalksabout

WOODIDENTIFICATION

f *ur exposedo wooddentificationt anearly gewhileworking t our amilyI sawmilln UnionCounty, ennessee,uringhesummers.feltagreat eal fcuriositybouthevast ifferencescould ee etweenhe ogs fvarious peciesstheywere

openedup" and he umbermovedrom hesaw eck.

Oak, oplar ndother ommon ardwoodogsmade p hemajority f ogs eliv-eredothemill,but herewasheoccasionalddspecies,uch s ersimmonr sas-safras. y obwasoseparatehe umber yspecies.f apoplar oardwas oundna stack foak, hatwasmy ault, o quickiyearned ywoods.

At that ime onlyknew hecommon ames f thedifferentpecies.ot untilI encounteredoodanatomyoursesn forestry chool id realizehe mportanceof scientificames,orcommon ames ere ariablerom egiono region.

Wooddentificationas ome ongway incehe urnof hecentury,henYalewashegnlyschooleachingorestrytudies.ow here re25 o 30placeshere oodidentificltionsoffered spartof thecurriculum.When wasn forestrychoolnNorthCarolina,ustafterWorldWar I, an ntegral artof ourwork nvolvedden-tifringwood amples. henwecame crossnunfamiliarpecies,ay ourwood,

whichwasn't commercialood, ur ask ecame oredifficult. can till ememberaclassmatefmine, warveteranhosurvived uadalcanal,emarkinghathesworehe'd ever orryabout notherhingn his ife,but here ewasworrying, swealldid,becauseecouldn'tell hedifferenceetweensh ndhickory.

At the ime,wooddentificationools onsistedf ahandens nd extbooksea-turing mall lack-and-whitehotos f speciesamples.ithavieworeducingheanxiety ssociatedith dentifring ood, haveworkedery loselyver heyearswith aphotographyabat heUniversityfTennesseeogetbetter hotos.Woodoverscannow efero good ualityS-by-lO-inchhotos f wood ypesn all sorts fplaces-fromwoodworkingublicationso bookstoresn ournational arks.

lohn Sharp sa retiredUniversity f Tennesseeprofessorf orestry nd a member f the nter-

nationalWoodCollectorsociety. e woiles

fromhishomenearKnowille,Tennessee.



INTRODUCTION

AndrewPoynter alksabout

BITYINGANDSELLINGWOOD

I r.r rupplier fhardwoodsnd ineveneersor he ast20years,have een riv-,{, \ ilegedoget o knowsome f the inestwoodworkersn NorthAmerica.'vealsoearned ot aboutwoodand tsqualities,otonly hegood ualities,ut hebaflingones swell.

. .lookingbach supposeyownnterestn woodbeganmanyyearseforeestab-lishedmycompany.n fact, canvividly ecallmy irsihands-onxperienceithapiece f Brazilianosewood-completelyaptivating!

Thatwasnthemid-'60s,ndn those ays oodiurners,uthiers nd urniture-makersad ittle ochooserom n thewayof differentwoods. lthoughheycouldreadwonderful{esgriptiygp.assagesboutMacassarbony,atinwood,ingwood,ndsoon, rying o find a reliableourceorall hoseinewoodswas exto mpossible.Theneedo nventoryselectionfwood or he urniturehat picturedmfermak-ingwas neof the easonsstarted ywooddealership 19j3.

Myfurnituqemafingradgallyapuedoff,andby 1975was uttingall myefforuinto treask f marketingndsellinginehardwoodsndveneers.tthat ime,every-onesaidherain orests ouldgoon forever, nd hat herewassomuchwoodntheAmazonhatwewouldneverunout.However,hepassagef timeand hedemandor woodhave onewo hingso the imber rade:First,a proliferation fwooddealersndwoodvarietiesave nteredhemarketplace-a lus orthose fuswho ovewood.Second,ebecameomplacentboufhe ruevalue f variousspeciesnd hesustainabilityf theirsupply.Wearenowonly ooawarehat he ainforestsmaynot goon forever.

A+howhqe proble-rnsausingeforestationre ery omple6here re tepshatwoodworkershouldakeo help mprovehesituation.Measure

twice ndcufoncd'may eemlmostoobasic,ut t canmake differencenreducingurconsumption.Using eneer heneverossiblesanothertepn the ightdireition.

I'vebecome nactivemember f the woodworkeis llianceor RainforestProtection.r\RPwas oundedn 1989 yaconcernedroup fwoodworkers,oodturners,luthiers,oodmerchants,ooldealersnd oversf wood.Centralomanvofirprograms,Wz\RPncg,urages$e use fwoodfrom usainablerwell-managedsources.t is nowevidenthatmuchhasochangen globalorestrypracticeslverth; next ewyearsfwoodworkersnthe utureareo enjoytheemarliableelectionof wood hat s availableo all ofus oday.

AndrewPoynterholdsapieceof redwood url at hisstore,A dtM WoodSpecialtync., n Cambridge,

Ontario.Thecompany ellsmore han 100ypes fwood o woodworkershroughoutNorthAmerica.



INTRODUCTION

Ion Arno talksaboutsome

FA/ORITEWOODS

Q in.. I grew p n a amily hatowned umber usiness,orkingwith woodhast. l been ifelongnterestfmine.Whilemany ellowwoodworkersend o con-centrate n oolsandmethodsfconstruction,find hat he ealessencefthecraftlies n themediumweuse-the wood tself.Theworldprovides greatmany inetimbers ndsome f hem, uch swalnut,mahoganynd osewood,enda certainprestigeo the inishedroject. orme, heoyofwoodworkingomesromdiscov-ering hespecialropertiesf various peciesnd earning ow o choosehemostfunctionalwoodor he ntendedurpose,egardlessf tsnotoriety rreputation.Everywoodhasnapplicationorwhich t isunsurpassed.hegoal fgood rafts-manships o discoverustwhat hat applications.

There reiterally undredsfwoods,ome f hem easonablylentifirldomesticspecies,hatseldomind heirway nto umberyards.eveflheless,heyarestill out-standingwoods or certainapplications. fewof my favorites recatalpa, alsampoplarandblackash.Recently,have dded nother ne omy ist-sassafras.

A member f theLaurel amily-along with cinnamon, amphor ndbay-sas-safrasswellknown or tssweet-scentedil usedn cosmeticsndsoaps.tsbuoyantdecay-resistantood hasalsogained omepopularitywith boat builders.Cabinetmakers,owever,aveongdismissedassafrassbeing oo softandbrittle.Basically,hese ssesmentsreaccurate;hechallengeor mehas eenofindanappli-cationwherehiswoodexcels. ddlyenough,heansweras omeromwhatmanyperceivesoneof its negativeualities.

Sassafrassbrittle,but tsresistanceoflexing ivest outstandingesonancehenused s hesoundboardndulcimers.hebright,bell-likeonet yieldssaspleasantas he spicyaroma f thewoodwhent isbeing ut,shaped ndsanded. nd whatrolecould emore itting or hisuniquelyAmericanpecieshan n helpingoprovidethevoiceor anAmerican usicalnstrument?

I startedmaking ulcimers nlya couple fyearsgo,whenmydaughte6musiclover, hoseo buildone or ahighschool roject.Webought kit, butwhen

openedthebox realizedhat herewasn't nythingnside hat couldn'tmaken myownshop, o startedo experiment. y only egret, o arasbeinga uthier, s I don'tpossesssensefmusicogoalongwith t.

lon Arnodisplays home-madeulcimer,ashionedtomsassafrasnd osage range.He is a wood echnologist,

consultant nd reehncewriter iving n Troy,Michigan.



dtr

' { "

a.

&\

a



A pileof logs itat a sawmill n Oregon"ready obemilled nto umber.

woodsuch spine s more orgiv-ingof less reciseoinery,whiledense,rittlespeciesuchasma-hogany emandoints that arecut o closeolerances.ndeverybeginneruicklyearnshatsandin!woodacrosshegrain,atherhanparallelo t, resultsnscratcheshatareaccentuatedhena finish sappliedo thepiece.

Remember,oo, hathowapar-ticularpiece f woodbehavesnyourshop ependsnlargemeasuron whathappenedo it beforetreachedhe umberyard.ow hewoodgrewn the ree,heweathe

the reeenduredndhow hewoodwas utanddriedall affectthe inalproduct. hewoodof a eaningree, or example,illreact ifferentlyuringmachininghan hatsawn rom hetrunkof anerectree. ndwhetherboardsquartersawnrplain-sawnas n mpact n tsdimensionaltability.

Oneway o obtainntimatenowledgefyourmaterialsto saw t yourselfroma treeusingaportableumbermill(page 6).Selectingnd elling ree, ucking-orcrosscutting-it into ogs, ndmilling heplanksmparta hands-onunderstandinghat s mpossibleo acquirenyotherway. hework sarduous, nd t also akesonsiderableime ocut anddry heboards. ut he ewards-bothn theuniqueumberproducednd hepersonalatisfactionn producing

t-arewellworth heeffort.

TINDERSTANDNGWOOD

syoustrive o improve ourl, \ mastery f the demandingcraftof woodworking, uchofyourattentionwill be devotedolearning bout oolsand he ech-

niquesorusinghem.But nyourquestorperfection,onotneglectthemost undamentalomponentof every roject-thewood tself.

Rarely erfect ndalways ary-ing,each iece fwoodexhibitstsowncharacter,ustascertainly sa human eing:Some oods replain, ome olorfi.rl;ome re ta-ble, ome npredictable;ome orkeasily,ome ithdifficulty. knowl-edge f these roperties ill allow ou o makehemostofyourabilities, chievingwedding f form,substancendtechniquehatcan ransform ven nordinary rojectntoaworkof art.

You anobtainmuch actualnformationboutheprop-erties fwood n readily vailableooks ndarticles.earningto applythat nowledgesmorechallenging.orexample,heknowledgehatmaple oardsmay ontain ide ariationsncolor,exture nd igurewill assumereater eaningsyoulearn o usehese haracteristicso best dvantage.ikewise,although ouglas-firs anattractive,asily orkedwood, ari-ationsn itssurfaceorosity anmaket difficult o finishwell.Butwhen ou earn ow o sealhewood, ouwill findmanyusesor Douglas-fir.xperienceill alsoellyou hataresilient

A standof Douglas-firrees aslcsn thesunlightin a WestCoastorest.Many softwoods,ike Douglas-

frr are dealor interior rim or cabinetwork.



arvestedrom the trunks andbranches f trees,wood is a

resilient, ynamic uildingmaterial.Understandingow rees rowcan hed

considerableighton whywoodbehavesast doeswhen t isworked r finished.

All trees onsist f threemajorsys-tems:a root network hat drawswaterandmineralsrom the soil;a crownofleaves, herewaterandminerals recombined ith carbon ioxiden thepresencefsunlight oproduceood orthe ree photosynthesis);nd--ofmostinteresto woodworkers-a upportingtrunk hat ransporhhewater ndood.

Viewedn cross ection, ree runk

at firstappearso be a fairlyhomoge-nouscolumnof wood,markedby aseries f concentricands alled rowthrings.However, close iew evealsseries f distinctayers appedaroundeach ther, omeiving,some ot. Atthe centers heheartwood,hedens-est-and dead-part of the trunk.Encirclingheheartwoods thepalersapwood,hich n turn s surroundedby hecambium,he runk's nlyactive-ly growingsegment. he cambium'sgrowthaccountsor the ayers f sap-wood hatareadded achear.Oneitherside fthecambium reayershat rans-portsaphroughout he reeandstoresurplus ood. As the inner sapwoodrecedesrom the cambium,ts poresgraduallyclogwithesins ndgums, ndbecomeeartwood. s he outersec-tions become ormant, hey orm atrunk'soutermostayer,hebark.

Thedifferencesetweenapwoodndheartwoodre mportanto everywood-worker. ecauset ismoreporoushanheartwood,apwood bsorbsinishesbetter. ut hedensereartwoods usu-allvmoredurable nddecav-resistant.Thecarbohydratesresentn sapwoodcellsmake hewoodvulnerableo fun-giand nsects.hecolors fheartwoodare alsogenerally icher and morevibrant han hose f sapwood.

CrownThebranchesand leavesof atree, wherepho-tooyntheoiatakee plaae

RootEAnchor tree andabaorb waterand mineralsfrom the aoil

TrunkAlao called stor bole;auppotree and channutriente to afrom roote



UNDERSTANDINGWOOD

GrowthingsIn regions here tree's rowths ntenuptedyseasonalchange,tswoodscharacterizedygrowthings: oncentricbands,suallyractionsf an nchwide, erpendicularo he

axis f he runk.Treeshatgrown emperatereas itha win-te rseasonisplayistinctings.n he ropics, here rowthsmore r ess ontinuous,sharplyefinedingmay nly evis-ibleas he esult f a dryseason.he ings re ntersectedya series f rays:lattenedands f issuehat adiateutwardfrom hepith o hephloemf he ree.Growthings onsist ftwoseparateayers. he irst,called arlywood,s aiddown tthe beginningf hegrowingeason;hesecondayer, r ate-

wood,s ormedowardheend.Earlywoodsmore oroushanlatewood,hichaccountsor he contrast etweenhe wo.Takenogether,heearlywoodnd atewoodf a growthing

in emperatelimatesepresentne ear n a tree'sife.Th ewidth f a ring ependsngrowingonditionsnd ariesromspeciesospecies,utchangesrom earoyeareveal tree'shistory. wide ing uggestsgrowingeason ithample unan dmoisture,hile narrowing sevidencefdisease,nfa-vorable eatherr nsect ttacks. or hewoodworker,roMhrings re lso lueso hestrengh f hewood: ncharacterically arrowrwide ings an ignal eakimber.

A amalland often pulpy corerunninqup the center of the trunk

RayCarriea nutrientalaterally throu4hthe wood;alaoatoreg nutrientq

lneulatea treeaqainst temper-ature extremeo;

)apwood that haa beencloqqedwith resina,qumaand otherextractivea: eupportg tree

Grotvth ringA concentric rinq divided ntoaarlywoodand latewood ndi-catin7 the amount of woodadded to a.tree'a diameterin onegrowingaeason

Heaftwood

keepooapwoodand phloem romdryin1 out

9apwoodActivo parAof thetree'e wood hrou7h

whichwater andmineralsare con-ducted from theroote to the leavea:al6o storea nutri-enta and helpa osupport.the tree

PhloemA thin, spon7y ayer of tubea thatcarry diaaolvedeu4araand qrowthhormonea rom the leavea o otherparta of a tree

A thin reproductive ayor that formanew 'isaue,addinq to the phloemandaapwood o increasea tree'a 1irbh

Cambium

A thickslicefrom the runkof a matureoak ormsan oval-shapedabletop. hegrowthrings hat characterizedhistree

are clearlyvisible:Light-colored arly-woodalternates ith darkerbandsof latewood, tchinga distinct ine

between ach ear'sgrowingperiods.



SOFTWOODSND HARDWOODS

f rees re oughly ividednto soft-I woodsand hardwoods,ut the

termsare nexact: omehardwoods,

suchasbasswoodr aspen,or exam-

ple,aresofterhanNorthAmerican oft-woodsike ongleaf ineor Douglas-fir.

The ypeandshape f a tree'seaves

are more accurate ndicatorsof a

particular ood's dentity. oftwoodsinclude vergreenonifers ith needle-

like eaves, hilehardwoods omprise

broad-leavedeciduous,r leaf-shed-

ding, rees. ut t is at themicroscopic

level hat he rue differencesetween

softwoodsndhardwoodsanbeseen.

Softwoodsre omposed ainlyof tra-

cheids, ual-purposeellswhich con-duct hesapup through he runk and

provide upport.Hardwoods, hichare

believedo have volvedater,have ar-

rowet thicker-walledibercellsor sup-port and arge-diameterhin-walled

vesselsor sapconduction, hese ellsdeterminehi texture f a tree's ood.

In spring,when here s abundantmoisture ndrapidgrowthof early-wood, he tracheid ells n softwoodshavehin wallsand arge avitieso con-

duct the sap.The result s relativelyporouswood.As atewood evelopsn

the atterpart of thegrowing eason,the racheidsegin o form hickerwalls,

creating enser ood.In hardwoods uchasoak or ash,

mostof thevesselsevelopn theearly-wood, esultingn uneven rain.These

speciesre alleding-porous. ith

fuse-porousardwoodsuchasma

thevesselsredistributedmoreevin the earlpvood nd atewood. o

species,uchaswalnut,exhibita mgradual ransition rom earlpvoolatewood nd are ermed emi-rporous r semi-diffuse-porous.

The differencesn cell struc

between oftwoods nd hardwo

become pparent hena stainsappIn softwoods,he ight,porous awoodabsorbs tainmore eadily hthe dark,denseratewood-in efreversinghegrainpatternikeaphographicnegative. ardwoods, owe

absorb tainmoreevenly,nhancinc r o i n n a f f p r n

(above,ight),theap sconductedhroughessels,seritubel ikeel ls tackedne topheother. upportor he risprovidedy ber el ls.n he ing-porousardwoodhovesselsremore rominentnearlywood;bers re hepre

dominantel l ypen atewood.n both ardwoodsnd ofwoods,torageel lsorcarbohydratesnd tarch ake p remaininson-vascularoodissue.

CELL TRUCTURE)FSOFTWOODSNDHARDW()()DS

Latewood

A microscopiciewTh edifferencesetweenoftwoodndhardwoodre eadily

apparenthen iewednder microscope'sagnifcat ion.

The ellstructuref softwoodsabove,eff) s much impler

than hat fhardwoods.lmostl lsoftwoodel ls re ong,

th in racheids,hich upportnunbrokenolumnfsap hat

can owermorehan200 eet. he racheidsn Iatewood

becomehrcker-wal ledhan hosenearlvwood.nhardwoods



UNDERSTANDING OOD

THEHIDDENARVEST

In addition o umberand manufacturedboards,rees rovidea cornucopiafrawmaterialsfor products uchas ollsofnewsprint left).Forcenturies,eoplehaveextracteduchnaturalproducts scork, ubber, um,medicine, pices,rugs,oils,charcoal, amphor nd resins. hecellulosefiber ound n treess usedn theproduction fplastics nd acquersswellaswoodpulp. Coniferousrees upplyturpentine nd resins, hichareused npaints,nl<snd inishes. odern hem-istry hasunlocked till moreof wood'shidden reasures,findingwayso remoyesuchdisparate roducts sglues, oisonsandarfficialvanilla.

Fo rhepracticingoodworker,all-inga piece fwood

y tscommonname eldomreatesonfusion.fyou sk ora fewplanksf white akata lumberard,orexample,hereisno easonhy ou hould otge twhat ou equested.utwith omespecies,articularlyxoticsha tmustbepurchasedymail-order,dentit iescanbe ess ertain. ommonamesaremisleadinghenrees ithdiffer-entcharacteristicsharehesamename, rwhenhesame peciesas

differentommonamesn seoaratelocalit ies.Supposeouwantedamplesfa

veryare ndexpensivepeciesikeBrazilianosewood,black-streaked,darkbrown ood ftenusedn hemaki gof superior-qua ltyguitars.A supplierould ngood onsciencesend oupiecesf kingwoodr ulip-

A ROSEWO(IDYA]TYOTHERAME...

woodnstead,ince oth elongo

the osewoodamily ndarenativeto Brazil.n act, here re everalgenuineosewoods,uch sEastIndianosewoodnd ocobolo,ha tcostmuch esshan heBrazilianva r ie ty ndareeasiero f ind .However,heymight ot it thebillfora guitar-maker.ther pecies,such sbocote,ubingandpadauk,areoften oldas osewoodubsti-tutes, utdo not ook t all ikeBrazilianosewood.

Toavoid onfusion,t is helpfulorefero certain oods y heirbotan-icalnames. razilianosewoodsDalbergiaigra,anda guitar-makerwho equestst by hatname illno tbedisappointed.

This cientif icamingystem asdevelopedorehan200years gobySwedishotanistarl innaeus.

Asshown elow,na botanical

analysisf Brazilianosewood,Linnaeus'ow niversallycceptedschemelassifieslantsnt o hevariousaxonomicroupsf phyla,classes,rders,amilies,enerandspecies.lmost ll rees elongothespermatophytahylum, ithhard-woodsn heangiospermaeub-phy-luman d hedicotyledonaelass, ndsoftwoodselongingo hegymnosper-mae ubphylum,

A botanicalreakdownof Brazilianosewood

Phyfum: permatophytaSub-phylum:ngiospermaeClass:DicotyledonaeOrder;RosalesFamify: eguminosaeGenusr albergiaSpecies: rgra



UNDERSTANDINGWOOD



UNDERSTANDING OOD

causeduringelling, oorudgmentnbucking r inattentiveawing t themill cansabotagehevalueof a treeand aisehesawmill's-andhewood-buyingconsumer's-costs.lthoughpower aws aveeplaceduscle-driven

A tractor-Iikekidder aulsahitchoflogsfrom theforest.

FROMLOGTOLIIMBER.p

etweenhestandingreeand heLl boards oupickofftherackat helumberyardtands complex rocessthat equires anypeopleoapplyenor-mousskillat every tep.Undetecteddefectsn thestandingree,damage

A loggerleft) makes isundercutn a mightyDouglas-fir ree n the rainforats of Britishcolumbio,canada.Fellingthesebehemothsasonceheworkof twomenpushing ndulling a hugefelling saw; oday,a chainsaw educesfetling toa quickone-manib.

pit sawsn the orestandat the mill,andcuts renowguidedy aser eamsandcomputerechnologynstead fchalk ines,no replacementasbeendevisedor the practiced yeof anexperiencedumberman.



UNDERSTANDING OOD

Selectinghe reesA neet oumeyo theumberyardeginsin thewoods,whena orester r timbercruiser valuateshe reesor cutting.Not all cut reeswill beearmarkedorthesawmill;somewill beusedorpulporfirewood. heseower-graderees redeliberatelyarvestedogivehe esidualstockbetterccessonutrients ndmoreroom o grow,hus ncreasinghe im-berstand'salue. heverybestrees illbe eservedor veneer.

Since ost f hehighest-gradeum-berwill comerom heareaustunderthebark, he orestermustbeable odetect taglancelueshatbetrayefects

in this area. nots, or example,anbeparticularlyroublesome,ependingonwhereheyare ocated.n thebot-tompartof he ree,whereheyareusu-ally ndicated y a slightdisfigurationfthebark, notsmaybesodeeplyver-grown hat heywillnot affecthevalueof heouterwood.ut urtherup,wheretheyare ypicallyndicatedy concen-triccircles r even umpsn thebark,knots osemore eriousroblemsnterms fqualiry

Theability o distinguishetweenif-ferentypes f fungi s anothermpor-tant skill n treeevaluation. ll fungicauseome amage,utcertainpecies

Ahydrauliclogloader ispensestscontents ntoa tr

arerapacious:n beechand hmaple,or example, single odfalseinder ungus n theoutsidtreemay ignalhepresencef a 1l4-foot-longolumn f decaywitthedecaywereonfinedo hecenthe ree,hiswould e ess f aprobbutmany ungi nfesthemostvaluouterwood.Anyscarring f thebathussuspicious,ince ven he inopeningmakes treesusceptfungalnfection.

Birddamage-specificallyeckmade y heyellow-belliedapsucalsoaffects tree's ommercialaUnlike ts woodpeckerousins,



eatwood-boringnsectshat nfestdeadwood, heyellow-bellied apsuckereasts

on the sap,woodcells, nd nnerbarkoflive trees.Persistenteeding esultsnlongstreaks fstain hat effectivelyen-der he wood worthless.

Felling and buckingTiees recut with threepassesf achainsaw The first two cuts emovea wedgeaboutone-thirdof the diameter f thetree, acinghe ntended irection f fall.The tree s felledby the third cut, orbackcut,madeopposite o and a few

inches bovehewedge. s he ree alls,itsdirection s controlled y a

"hinge"

UNDERSTANDING OOD

of woodbetweenhewedgendback-cut.Expertellersonsider anyactors

beforemakinghecuts-theconditionof the elling ite,winddirection,helean fthe ree, nd hepresencefdeadbranchesn adjacentrees, ptly alled"widowmakers."

Once he imbshave een emoved,the ree sskiddedo a stagingrea, rlanding, heret isbuckednto ogs. oensurehat hewood scut o thehigh-est ossiblerade,hebucker-like heforesterr ree ruisereforehand-hasto

"read"the ree or signs fdefects

before ettingo work.Bulgesn thebarkindicatenotshatare loseothesur-

face;arge-diameterottingbranchespoint o decay ithin he ree runk.

Whileheoptimalengthor hardwoodlogss 16 eet 8 eet orveneer-qualilogs), utting ogs o this engthsno t alwaysossible.ometimeshebucker uts8-footand 2-foot ossto avoiddefectshatwould ender-alargerogworthless.

Tiansporting the logsIn some arts f NorthAmerica,spe-cially hePacific orthwest herereesareexceptionallyarge,uckingsdone

at he elling ite eforehe ogs rerans-portedo a centralard.Steeplyloping

Althougha varietyof methods avebeen sed o move ogsothe umbermill,from river runs o draft horses,rucking emainsthemost ommonmethod f transportn NorthAmerica.



UNDERSTANDING OOD

Thenarrowkerfofaband aw

producesesswaste hanacircular aw.

Here,aworkerat aVermont

mill removesj8-foot-long

bandsawblade

for sharpening.

terrainmay equirehe ogs o begath-eredn from he orestloorusing seriesof cables. ne uch ystemsknownashigh-leadogging. womaincables-onecalled haulbacknd heothermainline-are iggedo the opof a allmast. everalther ables,alled hok-ers, anglerom hemainline. iees refelled o hey andwith theirbutt sec-tionspointing phill;crewmen rapeach hoker roundhebutt section fabucked-upog,signalhehead pera-tot and he ogs re eeledp hehill tothecentralile,usuallylocatedext o alumber oad.When he ogshave eendetached.hehaulbackables usedopull themainline nd tschokersoranotheroad.No matter ow heyaremovedrom he elling iteorwhen hey

are ucked,ogs reoaded nto ruckswithahydraulic rapple ook or thetripto thesawmill.

In the sawmillThere re womain ypes f sawmills:thosehatuse band awand hosehatusea circular awA sawmillsoftendescribedccordingo he ype f woodit cutsand he ypeof sawt employs,such sasoftwoodandmill or ahard-woodcircularmill.Large andmillsareoften equiredor the arger-sizedogsthatare ommonn thesoftwoodndus-try n western orthAmerica. ircularsawmills, orecommon n smallerhardwood perationsn theEast, avea smaller apacity,utare ar ess xpen-sivehanbandmills.

Thesawingrocesseneratesgdeal f

"waste"-almostone-third f

bulkof eachog-but every ossibof woodschippedp andused. issoldto aperpulp illsorwood-utilities.The olume fwood-bufuelhasncreasedubstantiallyincenergyrunch ftheearly 970s.owood uppliesbout percent fUnitedStates'nergy onsumpEven hebark,which s mmedistripped ffthe ogs,requentlyothesawmill'srying ilns.

Thebarksstrippedrom heogwlarge rindingutterheadsrblastebyhigh-pressureaterets. he othenmounted n a ogcarriagetioned o hat he irstcuts lice ffwidest, learest,ost aluableoa



In lesshan 2 seconds,hisbandsawblade, rivenby

a 1S0-horsepowerngine,canslice hrough 16-footlog. The ed ine-a laser

beam-sh ows the operatorwherehebladewill cut.

In themill, hesawyer ayrotatehelog o

"read"the og'shiddendefects.

While n thepasthis mighthave eendoneby hand, t isnot uncommonosee oday's awyers ork in a glass-endosedooth, ormingudgmentsiththehelpofadvancedlectronicquip-ment. n sucha mill, the sawyer ses

joysticks-like thoseof a computergam+-to wirl the ogalmost ull turnin a matterof seconds,iring abeam flaserightdown ts ength o visualizetheeffect f aparticular ut beforet is

UNDERSTANDINGWOOD

made.nthemostefficientmills, ophis-ticated omputersreused o selecthebestpositiono obtain hemaximumproductionrom eachog.

First, he ourouterslabs f the ogare emoved,iving he sawyer cleanplane rom whichto makehis nextcut-the so-calledopening

face"-to

givehewidest, learestoardavailable.Once his acescut, he og s rotated,and hreeadditional oards recut-one romeach emainingace. argemillshandling ig ogs endhe emain-

ingsquareimber-calleda cant-toa resawing rea or cutting nto var-ious sizesof dimension umber.Hereagain, his sawyermustdeter-mine the optimum cuttingpatternthat will yieldthemostvaluableum-ber.All theboards reedged,rimmedto lengthandgraded.

Smallermills,and hose andlingsmallerogs,mayusea different awingstrategf. fter emovingheouterslabs,theboardsre ut rom heopeningaceuntil defectsnterfere.hen he og srotatedo thenextclearestace. swiththe irstmethod, he remainingant sresawnnto owergradeumber. inally,theboards resorted, tackedndstick-ered-separatedy hin strips o allowair o circulateetweenhem-for theirtrip to thedryingkiln, whereheywillremain orup to 50days.

A device nownasa"slot

machine"sortsreshly autnboardsnto theright widthsand lengths.



LUMBERCUTTINGMETHODS

Thegrowth ings n thisquartersawnakboardappear s ines hat areparallel o theboard's dges.

f onverting og nto umber equires\-r certainompromises.ostogs resawnn oneof luee asic ays.hesim-plestmethod quareshe ogandslices

it intoboards traighthroughromonesideo heother. his echnique,nownas hrough-and-throughawing,esultsin stock ut angentiallyo theannualgrowthings.A second ethod, lain-sawing,s similar, xcepthat he og srotated s t is cut,and he ow-qualitypith sset sideor tems uch spallets.Plain-sawnumbersalso nownas lat-grainedumber.

The third method.calledcuartsawing r edge-grainawing, ivideslog into four quarters nd cutsevboardmoreor less adially.Quar

sawnboardshave heir annualgrowringsperpendicularo theface.

Thisorientationof thegrowth inaccountsor thedimensional tabilitcuartersawn oards.Woodshrinksaexpandsoughly wiceasmuch angtially to the rings as ts does adiaWhen ouartersawn oards swelshrink heydo somostly n thicknwhich s minimal,whereasplain-s

board changes crossts width. A ding tablemade rom plain-sawn

boards,or example, anchange smuas inch n widthl a similar ablemfrom quartersawnoardswould oswellor shrinkby one-thirdasmuc

radiusf he og.But t producesore imensional lytablumber, akingt idealordrawerides,abletopsnd ramrails. hrough-and-throughawingabove,ghf)yieldshemaximumumberf usableoardsrom log; heouterboardsreplain-sawn,hilehe nner oardsre uarters

THREE ETHODS)FSAWINGOGS

ChoosinghebestmethodCuttingog snto umberta sawmillsa balanceetweenntend-

eduse, tructuraltabilityndestheticppearance.lain-saw-ing above,eft) roducesoardsf diminishingidth s he ogis otatedo make uccessiveuts. hemore xpensiveethod,called uartersawingabove,enter),limitsoard id th o he



UNDERSTANDING OOD

Quartersawinglsooffersanestheticadvantage:t exposeshe medullaryrays hat radiate rom the heartofa loglike the spokes f a wheel. n mostspecieshe raysareonly one cell hick,but in a ewspecies,uchasoak, he ayceiisare hicker and appearas vividstreaks scatteredalong the grain.Sycamore,oplarandbasswoodrealsoideal andidatesor quartersawing.

As he llustrationat thebottom ofpage24 shows, uartersawnumber snot always ut perpendicularo thegrain,andsome hrough-and-throughcut boards lose o the center fa logwill havequartersawnrain.Therefore,no matterhow theyare actuallycut,boardswith growth rings at anglesbetween 5oand90o o thewidesurfaceareclassifieduartersawn,hileboards

with ringsat 0o o 45o ngleso thewidesurface re ermedplain-sawn.oardswith growthrings at a 30o o 60oanglearealso alled ift-sawn r bastard-sawn.

In actual ractice,awyerssea myr-iadof sawing atterns,ependingn thetype of machinerybeing used, heintended seof the umber,log iameterand he ypeof tree.Forexample,n vir-tuallyall rees hepith or central oreoftheheartwoods ess esirablehanandnotasstrongas he restofthe heartwood.Plain-sawing

boxesout the heart"by

cuttingaround t to eliminatet.

Thegrowth ings n thisplain-sawn akboardappear n the aceasan elliptical andscape

figure.Plain-sawn tocks slicedfrom logswith mostof thecuts angent o the ings.

ADVANTAGESFPTAIN.SAWNNDSUARTERSAWNUMBER

PTAIN-SAWN

Cheaperndeasieroobtain

Shrinksnd wellsess n hicknessUsuallyomesngreaterarietyf widths

Less usceptibleo collapseuring rying;asiero kilndr y

Figure atternsesultingrom hedifferenceetweenearlywoodnd atewoodn hegrowthings remore onsoicuous

Hasmorenterestingigure

Round roval notsha tmay ccur aveess ffectonstructuralntegrity

Pocketsf pitchextendhroughewer oards

No tassusceptibleosplitt ing hen ails rscrewsriventhroughace

OUARTERSAWN

More imensionallytable

Shrinksnd wellsess crossheboardTwistsnd uos ess

Splits nd hecksessnseasoningnd nuse

Raisedrain ausedy heswellingf heearlywoodingrowthings otaspronounced

Figureue o pronouncedaysmore onspicuous

Holdsinishesettern some oecies

Sapwoodn boardsppearst heedges nd seasily utoff

Wearsmore venlv



PROPERTIE,SFWOOD

n experiencedoodworker ays

close ttentiono theselectionfwood or a project.Every peciesas

uniquequalitieshat canmake t ideal

for oneapplicationut unsuitableoranother. mong hekeypropertieshatdistinguish oods recolor, rain, ex-

ture, igure,weightand odor.Manyspeciesreprized or heirdis-

tinctive olors.Padauksa ieryorange-red;blackwalnut often exhibitsdeeppurples ndchocolateones. olor n

Landacapetqureon white birch

wood s he esult f extractivesuch stannins, umsand esinsn thewood.Whencut umber sexposedo air, hese

substancesradually xidize, eepening

thewood's olor.n some ases,owev-er, hecolormay ade.

Grainand exture re wo distinctpropertieshatareoftenconfused. raindescribeshedirection nd egularityfthewood ibers elativeo theaxisof thetree runk.As llustratednpage 8, hegraindisplayed y a piece f lumber

Fiddlebackigureonperobaooa

depends n thegrowthpattern f ttree rom which t was ut.

A wood'sexture ependsn thesanddistribution f tscells. ing-po

hardwoods ith large esselsavcoarseexture,whilediffuse-pohardwoods ith finevesselsave f

er exture.n some oftwood s,brtransitionsromearlp,voodo atewproduce n unevenexture.Wherehis ittleor no ransition, s n whitepi

thewoodhasan even exture.

MoLLlei4ureonmovin4ue

: t , i

'' , .rl lt ,

, t , '. r . 1

i "

, ,r,:'',1 ,i;,.1 i :i.,

',

, ; . 1 1 r , :' , , ' l , , , , ; , , , ' . . ." , ,

i ' r ' i l l ;; ,

'1 , , ,.,i r r

i ; l : l i ,1'

' i" , \ , ,r, ' , '

' r ' r1'

, ' " '' ' " ' l , l ' i ,

. l ' l , i ! . , ' , ' . i , 1, l i r . ' i , , 1

' ' l ' .., r , l '

.]i ,;,i; ' i,':,'-,

.' l ' l i ,



UNDERSTANDING OOD

Figure-an important quality inveneers-is thepatterndisplayed n thesurface f a board.This s heexpressionof aboard's

61n1261s1"-ftesumof its

grain,contrast etween arlywood ndlatewood, ccentricity f growthrings,mineralstreal6, iseasend he methodused o saw he og.Some f the morestunning igures n differentspeciesreillustrated elow.Forexample,lain-sawnwhitebirchreveals so-calledandscaoefigure.nterlocked rainproduceshe ib-

KibboniqureonAfricanmahogany

bon igureommonn Africanmahogany.Wavy rainn maplesesultsn a iddle-backigure,onamedecausef tsusenthebacla fviolins. nd negularrowths

on heouter urfacesf rees,uch selm,yieldan ntricate url igure.

Theweight fdifferentwoodpeciesisexpresseds pecificravity,r tsden-sitycomparedo anequal olume fwater. hespecificravity f anoven-driedsample f American lm, orexample,s0.50,makingt halfasheavy

Dird'e-eye igureon maple

asatropicalhardwoodike ekki,whichhas hesame pecific ravity swater-1.00. ignumvitae,he heaviest ood,hasa specific ravity f L23.Thehigh-

er a wood'sspecificgravity, he lessporous t is and he more mperviousit will be o a finish.

A wood'sodor-usually caused voils n the heartwood-may alsodeter-mine ts use.An aromatic peciesikecedar,or example,s oftenused orclothes hests ndcigarboxes.

Burl igureon Carpathianlm



UNDERSTANDINGWOOD

Specificrnvitysa betterrdicatorof nwood's eight hart ize.Witha speci

gravity f 0.90, piece f cborry eiglthesanrcts trtttcltnrger lock f whpine,wlrcsepeciJicrovitysonly0.3

TYPES)FGRAIN

Featured tn lumber wiLheven wood

ftbere thaL are parallel Lo the verLtcal

axta of the trunk; makea for eLronq

wood, but hae ltttle or no fi4ure

Found tn lumber where the ftbera devi'

aLe from the verLtcalaxie of the Lrunk;

not ao atronq ae etraiqhL-qratnedwood,

but producee an attracttve fiqure

treea with twtEted trunka; commonin 1coLch in eand aweetcheetnuL

Interlocked grainFound n umber rom treeE with oppoein7nternalLwtaLe;eomeLimeeound n elm and verycommon n tropical epeciee

Froducedby wood tbereLhat undulate n ehort,evenwavee:yielde fiddleback ftqure



UNDERSTANDINGWOOD

W()RKINGITHHE RAIN

Readinghegrain

Many oodworkingasks,specia l lylan-

ing, equireorkingn hedirect ionf hegrain. ou an suallyel lgra in rrenta-t ionby unningour and long boardface: he urface ill eel mootherhenyour andsmovingith hegrain ndrougherhenunninggainstt.Anothermethods oslide smoothinglanel igh t l ylonghe acenone i rect ion ,then epeatn heoppositeirection.heblade i l l hatterrcatch n hewoodfibers hent scut t inggainsthegrain.Asshown n heplain-sawnoard t right,

thewoodibers lope

uphi l l "

in hedirec-t ion f hegrain nd downhi l l "againstt.

Determininghebest irectionoplaneTopreventplane laderom atchingthegrain nd earingrchippinghewoodf bers,lwaysut n heuphil l rain irec-t ion. his i l lproducelean havingsndasmoothurface.eespeciallyarefulo

spot rainhat hangesirect ioni th insingle oard.he ragramt eft howsev -eralypicalrain atternsith rrowsndi-catinghebest laningirect ion.he phil ldrrectionay e onstantrom ne nd faboardo heother A) .Or t may hange,demandinghat ou lanerom ach ndtowardhemiddleB) . t could lso hangefromhemiddleo heendsC) .f hegraindoes ot lope tall, ou an lanenasin-glepassrom ither nd D).



IDENTIFYINGWOOD

hetherouareestoringpiece ffurnituremaderomanunfamil-

iarwoodor debatingheauthenticityfaparticular oardwith a ocalumber-

yard, knack or dentifring piece flumbersausefrrl kill.

Of course,nentire ranch fknowl-edgesdevotedo woodsciencendtechnology.ooks ave eenwrittenabout he subject,areersave eenfounded pon t, anduniversitiesffercourses nd degreesevotedo it.Scientistsdentifrwoodby irstslicingoffa hinsliver f a sample,henmount-ing t ona slide ndexaminingt undera mlcroscope.

Thepracticing oodworker,owever,who smorenterestednsawinghannscience,ansuccessfullydentiff mostwoods ymethodicallyearchingor afewsimple lues ith hehelpof nex-pensivequipment.ostof he oolsyouneed re llustratedt ight.Your nves-tigation hould eginwith the easilyobservableropertiesfthesanrplepage26).Examnend eel hesurface;eter-minewhethert isoilyor dry,dullor us-trous.Checkts hardnessy rying odent hesurface ith afingernail. ou

Examiningheendgrainof a board

through n lluminated & magnifier

enlnrgeseveraleatures fa wood

samplehatarehelpful n speciesidentification.

maybeable o tell with thenaked yewhetherhardwoods ing-or diffirse-porous.sshownn thephotosnpage33, hesewo ypes f hardwoodre el-

ativelyasyo ellapartwhen iewed ithahandens. otewhetherhe exturefthewood scoarsersmooth.fthesam-plehasbeen ecentlyut, t mayhavea recognizabledor. f it hasbeensufficiently ried, ou maybe able ocalculatetsspecificravity.

Aithoughhese bservationsanhelpnarrow own hechoices,ouwill stillhaveo viewawood ample ndermag-nificationn order ohazardaneducat-edguesss o tsspecies.he llustration

onpage 1showshe hreewayshatasampleanbestudied:ransversely,adi-

allyor tangentially.achmethod xpesa differentiewof a sample'snaticalstructure.hesimplestiew s transverseincet involvesooking t

endgrainof thesample. oweveavoid blurred iewof crushedibyoumust irstshavehesurface itrazor lade r awell-sharpenednTogeta angentialiewof a samplewill needomake clean utalonggrowth ingsof the wood(pageMaking secondutat rightanglethe irstexposesradial iew.

Onceouhave bservednd eced hesample'sropertiesndmicscopic etails, ou cancompare

resultswith a printedkey of wospecieso dentifi hewood.

TOOLS(|R HEWOODLEUTH

Labeledwood sampleaA set of domeaticor tropical wooda withlabela ndicatin1 the apeciea; an be ueedto help dentify and aomparewooda

Hand lensUsed o axaminewoodsamplea;available n Bx,1Ox nd 12xma1nification

llluminaied magnifterFor axaminin7woodaamplea;featu ree built- n illumin tionfor aharper viawinq han handleno.Typicallyavailablewith upto 2Ox maanification

Poaketkni eUsed to preparethe end qrain ofwood aamplea orexamination

Razor bladeUsed o aut off wood aliversfor viewinqunder a microacope;einqle-adqedbladea are theaafeat type



UNDERSTANDINGWOOD

EXAMININGW()ODAMPTE

ThreeiewingerspectivesThe10xmagnificationrovidedya mag-

nifer rhandens l lowsou oexaminethree iews fwood'structure,epresent-edby hehardwoodog ectionhown trrght. he ransverseectionies t rightang leso hegra in nd sv is ib len heend rain fstock. he angentialndradialectionsre t90'to the ransversesection.he angentialect ionollowsstraightine hat s angento hegrowthrings. h is ect ions hesurfaceou eeon he ace fplain-sawnumber.radialsectionsexposedycuttingstraightine

from hebarkhroughhepith, xposinggrainineshat ppearsvert rcalt r ips.

Examiningood nder microscope

At 100xmagnifcat ion,microscopeuncoversore eta i lsf he e l lu la rstructurefwoodhan anbeseenthrough handmagnif ier.t ef taretwo iews fwhite ine,l lustrat ingeyelementsnspeciesdentif icat ion.hetransverseectionfar efD howshesize f he racheidel ls nd he ransi-tion n heir ensityrom ar-lywoodolatewood.lso videntsa ongitudinalresin anal. he angentialectionnear/ef f ) howshenumbernd hickness

of he aysn hewood.

ffil - , - - - \ -

l ) / o ^ a \, Y o X o ?

o" o Oo O

\..5---

TRANSVERSEECTI()N TANGENTIATECTION

Earlywood La'ewood

- ? _ - c = = - ^ - ^- - a ^ - ) = - g c ;

- - n - U - - - ; ,- ! : - ! r - \ / ^ -

UU _ \ _ t T l -_ _ U - u vL . / JnYf l t - rX o X O Of - LL- r ;U f ' l r - r\- ln uflX\-/

Kayeracheid Keein anal



UNDERSTANDING OOD

PREPARING()()DAMPLES(lRVIEWINGITH LENS

Cuftingangentialnd adial ections

For tangentialection, ark cutting

line angento hegrowthings n he

edge f hesample.ut longhe ine

with band aw,makingure our ands

are ot n inewith heblade f he ool(right). or radial ection, ake n

end-to-endut hroughhe amplet he

high oint f hegrowthings ith hepieceace own n heband awable.

Toclean p hecutsorviewing,ight ly

smoothhesurfacesitha hand lane.

Avoid sing andpaper,h ich i l l rush

the ibers.

Preparingtlansverseection

Slice ffa sliver fwoodrom heendgrain

fyour amplesing sharp

knife r azor lade eft).Iheurface

should esmoothndeven.f the

woodspart icular lyensend tf f i -

cul t o cut , i rst oakheendgrain

fo ra shortime n ho twater.



WOOD DENTIFICATIONEYS

A collection f labeledwoodsamplesanbe nvaluablen

helping oubecomeamiliarwith a varietyof woods.tmayalso ontain species

you wish o identify.

I orrectlydentifying n unfamiliar\; woodsampleut of thousandsf

possibilitiesequireslose bservation,anda horoughnowledgefwoodanditsproperties.utasapractical atter,thepossiblehoicesreusuallylimitedoseveralamiliar pecies,nda commer-cially vailableet f abeled ood am-ples, uch s heoneshown tright,mayinclude piecehatmatcheshewoodyouareattemptingo identifr.Mostoften,however,ou will need o recordthe eaturesf a sample,henuse woodidentificationey roma book o make

sensefyour esults.An dentificationey sessentially

masteristof woods nd heirproper-ties hat serves sa cross-referenceolink the eaturesf aparticularampleto a speciesame.Some eys equirethatyou compareheirentries gainstfeatureshatare isible o thenaked yeor with a 10xmagnifier, hileothersdemand hat you note microscopicdetails. tillother eys rebased n heuser avingwide-rangingensorynfor-

mationabout hewood, ncludingtscolot odor and exture, nd hebarkand eafshape f the ree rom whichit came.

Using a key is like climbing hebranchesf a tree.Youareaskedoanswer series f paired tatements,choosingheone hatbest escribeshewoodn questionndproceedingo thenextpair ndicated. t each tatement,theuser orksontoa different ranch

until reaching eaf hat dentifieshesample.he irst statement ay nvolvethe exture f thewood.f thewood sporous,orexample,ouare ento onesetof statements;f it isnon-porous,oujump o a different etof statements.oucontinuehisway, lipping rompageopagen abook, seach nswerradual-

lyreduceshechoices.inally,hesearchisnarrowedo a single pecies.

Avoidkeys hat try to coverewood peciesntheworld;heywillptoogeneral.hoosene hat desctreesn a specificegion,uch sNoAmerican oftwoodsr tropical awoods. everallassiceys anbe oin woodworkingoola; heckourlibrary r boolstore. omeublic

ciesbelow)lso fferwood denttion services.

SOURCESORWOODDEI{TIFICATIOI{

Books

Edlin,Herbert ., WhatWoods That?A Manualof Wooddentification.New ork: iking, 969.

Hoadley, ruce,dentifyingWood.

Nevvton,onnecticut:au tonPress, 990.

Panshin,.J.andDeZeeuw,Carl,Textbookf Wood echnologr.NewYork:McGraw ill, 1980.

Rendfe, .J., World imbers: olumes1-3.London: rnest enn, 970.

Sharp, ohn8., Wooddentification:A Manualor TheNon-Profexional.Knoxville:niversityf Tennessee

Agriculturalxtensionervice,ForestryndWildlife xtension,990.

Timber esearchevelopmentAssociation,imbers f the World:Volumes and2. Lancaster;Constructionress, 979.

Agencieshatofferwoodidentificationervices

Center orWood natomy esearchU.S.Forest roductsaboratory1 Gifford inchot riveMadison, isconsi53705-2398

Internationalood ollectorsocietv2913ThirdStreetTrenton, ichigan8183



UNDERSTANDINGWOOD

USINGW()ODDENTIFICATIONEY

Heresanexamplef how ypical ooddentifcat ionkeyworks.n his ase, eare tart ingi th plain-sawnboard fanunknownood. he irst tepsaimed tnarrowinghe nvestigationoeitherhehardwoodr hesoftwoodortionf hekey.You xamineour amplewith handens nd bservehat t has es selsnd sporous;ccordingoyour ey,t sa hardwood.ext,youmust eterminehetherhewoods ing- rd i f -fuse-porous:ou ot icehat tsearlywoodsnot harplydefined;ou re o ld hat t isdif fuse-porous.he extfeaturesoexaminere he ays. eenn he angentialv iew fyour ample,he ays re e lat ivelyarrownduniformnwidth. his bservationeadsoanotheron-cerninghe ize f heporesn hegrowthings. incetheporesn heearlywood

fyour

amplere argerthan hosen he atewood,his ndicateshat ou avea semi-dif fuse-p orousood. ext,ou xaminehedis-t r ibut ionf heporesn hegrowthing.f theywereunevenlyist r ibuted,hekeywoulddentifyour ampleas anoak.nstead,heporesnyour amplere venlydistr ibuted.oumusthen valuatehestorageel lsnthe atewood.eeinghat hey re resentna ine,unbrokenine, ou re i rectedo determinehe olorof heheartwood.f i t were hestnut-brownrchocolate,youwould ave piece f black alnut rbutternut.But inceheheartwoodsbrownoyellow-brown,ou

have ither ater ickoryrpersimmon.incehe aysofyour amplere tackedert ical ly,reat ingipplemarks,hekey eadsou o heend fyourquest:hesamplespersimmon.

Wood wiLhout eLacked raya; Wood with aLackedeLoraqe celle conapicuouo tn raye, forming rippleconLinuouel ineethrouqhoul, marksexLendiniqlaLewood:WaLerhickory acroea the

4ratnwhen tanqenLialgectton of wood taviewed:?eretmmon

HearLwoodcheeLnuL- Heartwoodbrownbrown Lo chocolat.e to yellow-brownor purplioh brown

LaLewood f,orage elle LaLewood toraqe

appear n fine,continu- cellenot evidenioue tnea

Foreeevenly ia- Toreaunevenly iotrtb-t,ributed hrou6h- uLed hroughoutgrowthout growthrinq rin7and found n cluaLere

aeparatedby eect onaoffibrouaLtssue:Tanoak

Toree n the earlywood arger Toreeuniform n size

than thoee n the latewood; throuqhoutthe rin4Lranaition q adual (eem d f-fuee-poroue)

Kaye broadand viaible

Wood tnq-porouo eaily-woodeharplydefined);earlywoodporea arqerLhan aLewood oreoandviaible1;o he nakedeye

Kaye narrowanduniform n width

Wooddiffuee-poroue(early-woodnot eharplydefi,ned):earrwooaPore??malterthan latewoodporeoandvisible o the naked eye

Wood non poroue (withoutveeeelo):Wood tieaue domi-nated by tracheide in dia-LincL rowa; raye not viaible1,o he naked eye

Woodporoua (with veoaelo):WoodLto-sue dominated by veosele poree)embedded n fibroue tiaaue: raJ6 mayor may not be viaible o the nakedeye

5TART HERE



PORTABLEUMBE,RMILLS

-| a h. desireo gaina deeper nder-

I standing f woodeventuallyeads

somewoodworkersut of theshopand

lumberyard,nto thewoods, ndback

to the ree tself.By sawing our ownIumber rom logs,you canproduce

boardshatexactlymeetaproject's pec-

ificationsan d gain valuablensight

intowoodasa ivingmaterial. ach tepyieldsa thrill of discovery syou watch

patterns f grain and figureemerge

from the og.A numberof lumbermills on the

marketallowyouto cut through-and-

throughcut,plain-sawn r quartersawn

boards. heseools ncludearge ta-

tionaryproductionmills capable f cut-ting logsmore han 20 feet n length,portablemodelswith toughbandsaw

blades, nd still smaller nits hat use

chain aws.

Theprocedureshat ollowshowyou

how o cut ogs nto umberwith a chain

saw hat s guided y a ig thatattaches

to it. Besideshecuttingig anda heary-

dutysaw, his simplemethod equiresnothingmore hana straight oard,a hammer ndafewnails.

Most chainsaws redesignedo cross-

cut trees-that is,buck he ogs nto

shorterengths fter he reesare elled

anddelimbed.Cuttingogs nto umber

is a rippingoperationn which hesaw-

ing s donealong he engthof the og,

Rippingwith achainsaw equires t east

three imesasmuchpowerascrosscut-

ting, and he sawmust un at full throt-

tle hroughoutmostof thecut.Becausemuchportableumbermilling nvolves

hardwoodogs,t isbesto use direct-

drive chainsaw atedat a speed f at

least 000 eetper minute,with a rip-

pingchainnstalled.ominimize t

on thesaw,ry to selectogs hat are

atively reeof defects uchas wist

taper,with fewknotsandburls.-

Felling rees nd cutting ogswichainsaw sdangerousork requ

safeworking abits. ay t tent iyour askat all timesandkeep ut

edgesharp, lean ndwellmainta

Since rolongedwork with chain

candamageheears, ear earing

tection, uchasearplugs r earm

Prooer ressor chainsawwork

includes uIl-face hieldandsteel

boots; o not wear oose lothing

canalsodon special hainsawgl

to protect ourhands ndapairofsty chapsmade rom a tough,sytth

fiber,suchasKevlar'", o protecty

legs hould he sawaccidentallyli

iumpback.

Specializedommercialigsand

machinesnableou o cut ogs

into umber.Here,a bandsaw

lumbermill cuts 2-by-10 oard

from a squared-offlog.hedevice

features narrow-kerf ladehatproducesesswaste hqna chain

saw,making t feasibleo cutplanksasnarrowas % nchthickwithoutexcessiveqsle.



UNDERSTANDING OOD

CUTTINGt(lc INTO OARDS

1 Squaringhe ogI Tomark ut hecant-thesouared-

of fpart f he og-andmaximizehenumberf boardshe ogw i l l i e ld ,

scribsa quarenboth nds f he og .Start t heendwith hesmallestiame-ter.Placehe nside ngle f a carpen-ter's quareust nsidehebark, ndmark wooutside dges f hesquarewith penci l . singhescr ibedines

asa guide, ompletehesquare/eff,).

Measurehesides f hesouarendtransferhemo heother ndof he og ,

makingureha t hepith scenterednthesouare.

THROUGH.Al{0.THROUGHUTTIl{GPATTERN

OUARTERSAWINGCUTTINGATTERN

Choosinghecuttingattern

Beforeuttinghe og , hooseetweenhrough-and-

throughutan dquartersawingndmark ut heappropriate

cutting atternn heends f he og.For hrough-and-through

cut umberabove,eff), cribe seriesf ines i th inhe

squareo hat heboardaces re oughlyangento hegrowth

rings. pacehe ines ccordingo heboardhicknessou

want.Forquartersawnumberabove,ighil,dividehesquare

into hree egments.ark ut hemiddle egments or

through-and-throughut umber,hen cribeinesn he wo

outsideegmentshatareperpendicularo hosen hemiddle. he rowthings il lbemore r ess erpendicularothe aces f hese oards.



UNDERSTANDINGWOOD

t(lc CROSSCUTTINGIGSimplifyhe ask f squaringheends f a logbefore utting t intolumber ith hecrosscuttingig

shown t right. he ig,which anbe built o fit a variety f logsizes,consistsf a guide ndan nvertedL-shapedrame ith wo riangularsupport rackets.

Tomakehe ig,cut wopieces

of 7a-inch lywoodor he rame.

The engthsf hepieces

houldexceedhediameter f he argestlog ouexpecto handle. hewidthof he oppiece hould qualhedesired idthof cut.Screwhe wopiecesogetherlong ith he ri-angular rackets.crew 2-by-4guidehat sat east inchesongerthan hediameterf he og o hetoppiece, ligningtsedge ith hatof the oppiece.

Touse he ig,set he ogonspac-

ersandpositionhe ig atop he og.Nail heside iece f he rameotheendof he og,making ure hattheguides evel nd quareo helog's xis.Setup hechain aw ndthe umber-cuttingigon heguide

asyouwouldo cuta log ntoa cant(page38).Then tart he sawandtio it forwardo hat he blade itesinto he loghight,below).Drawhejigalongheguide ntil ou utthroughhe og.At heendof he

cut, hecrosscuttingigand hecut-off piecewill oppleowardou.Keepthebladero mbindingn hekerfand tand lear f he igat heendof hecut.



\'"3*'.t

*t



the NationalHardwood umberAssoci-ation. n addition, ome are asproba-bly been aken o control he moisturecontent f thestock uring tsstay n theyard.Youcanalsoask he etailero fur-

nishstock hat ssurfacedo a uniformthickness-anecessityorwoodworkerswho do not have ccesso apowerplaner.

Thereareother, ess ostlyways oobtainwood. f you ive neara smallsawmill, oumayfindgoodqualitylum-ber at a very ow price.However,hewoodwill probably egreen,oughandungraded-and it mustbe stickered,ea-soned ndsurfaced eforet canbeusedfor furniture.Bigger awmills refer odealwith largevolumes f wood andmaybe eluctanto fill smallorders.Oneanswers to pool yourmaterial eedswith those f otherwoodworkers.ome

Whatever our approach,hereare

several ourceso cover n your searchfor raw materials. he mostobvious sthe ocal umberyard. ome ards tock

Different rades f umbercanvarywidely-even n thesame tack f boards. heres nomore ertainwayofgeningwhatyouwantthanselectinghestock ourself.

SELECTNG I.A4BER

ome raftsmenuy heirwood ro-ject yproject.hey esignnd ay

out apiece f furniture, alculateheamount nd lpeofwoodequired,henembarkn aquestorexactlywhathey

need.Otherwoodworkerstockpilebeautiful r interestingiecesf woodeven eforeheyhave specificrojectinmind.Pickinghroughhepiles t helocalwooddealership,urveyingelledIogs t a building iteor scavengingbuckedogs eft over romroadsidetreework, heseraftsmenccumulatepromising ood n thedrying hed-asupplyhatservessan nspirationorfuturework.

specialtytems, ependingndemandn theareasheyservice;lumberyardsalongthe coast, or example,might carrymahogany nd eak or boat construction nd repair.Butbecause ostyards rimarily upply heconstructionrades,yoursolid-woodhoices ill probablybeimited o structur-al softwoodumberandperhaps noccasionaliece f oak.For a widerchoiceof hardwoods, nd or woodcarvingandturningblanks, ouwill have o range artherafield.Look nthe YellowPagesor dealershipshat specializen fine hard-

woods, r scan headvertisementsn woodworkingmagazinesfor mail-order oodworking-supplyompanies.

Youwill paytopdollar or hardwoods ought roma retailsource, ut in return you will generallyeceivematerial hathasbeengradedor qualityusing hestandardsstablishedy

Principal oolof the umbergrader'strade, lumber ulermeasureshewidth of aboard.With aflexibleshaft nda hook t oneendor

Jlipping tock,he ulerenablesgradero ill anorderor woodquickly.

sawmills ill sell ou heir"planer

outs"-small pieces f vary-ingwidthsand hicknesseshatcanbeboughtatbargain rices.

It mayalsobe economicalor you to buywood hat hasbeen ecycledftermanyyears fusen bams, actories, harvesandotherstructures. oumayalso ind anopportunity o doyourown recycling. eusing ld wood makes ense nviron-mentally, nd t is rapidlybecoming he only egalwayofobtaining ome pecies.n addition, ecycledoardshat werecut from straight-grainedld-growth imber maybe superi-or to fresh umbercut romsmallerrees. herearedrawbacksto recyclingwood,owever.Wear, ot and nsectsmayaddupto a wasteactorof 50percent rmore.And youshouldexpectto extractmanynails,boltsandstaples-andstill ruin sawbladesn encountersith hiddenmetal.



ORDERINGLUMBER

hen t is time o orderumberfor aproject,t payso doyour

homeworkeforeougo o the um-beryard.ybecomingn nformed nd

well-organizedonsumer,ou ncreaseyourodds f coming way ithyourneedsmet andyourwallet ntact.Youwill also void avingomake xtraripstoyoursupplier.

. Species:sk or a specific oodspecies,ot merely broadamilyname.Forexample,rder

whiteoak," ot ust

"oak."Everypeciesas nique roper-ties; elect newith thecharacteristicsthatsuit heneedsfyourproject.t canbehelpful o earnhebasicsf wood

identificationpage 0), ince t somelumberyardseveralimilar ypes fwoodsmaybe umped ogether nderthesameame.

. Quantity: umbermaybe rderedeither y he inear oot or theboardfoot.Besure oursupplier nowswhichmeasureouare sing, ecausehey re

verydifferent. oard-footalculations,whichactually escribe volume fwood, reexplainedt hebottomof henextpage. sageneralule, oucan

order tock f ikedimensiony he in-earoot-25lineareet f 1-by-4lumber,for example.hemain imitation fthismethod, owever,s that t onlyworkswith lumberof uniformwidthand hickness.nce oumix dimen-sions-asyou probably ill endupdoingwhen orderinghardwood-a board oo tmeasurementecomesnecessaryo describeourneeds.

Howyouorder ourwoodcanalsodepend nwhetherouneed oftwood

orhardwood thsoftwoodsou in usu-allyspecify nyboardwidthor lengh,whilehardwoodoards regenerallyavailablen randomwidthsandengths,dependingn hegrade ouorder.

. SizeWoodssoldnnominal atherthan eal izes,o emembero makeallowancesor hedifferencehen rder-

ing surfacedumber. 1-by-6 iecpine, or example,s actually /qinthickand5% nches idewhen randsurfaced. ith rough, r unsurf

greenumber,henominal nd eal are hesame.ormore nformatiohownominal nd eal izes omprefero thecharts npages6(hawoods)nd48 softwoods).

The hicknessfhardwoodoarcommonly xpressedsanon-redfractionnquartersf an nch.A l-inthickoakboard,or example,s erm% umbera 1%-inch-thicklank sand oon.

. GradeWhen rderingpartic

grade fwood, se tandardermingy.Refer o the charton page 7hardwoodsndon page 9 or swoods. hemaindifferencesetwhigher nd owerhardwood radein appearanceather hanstrengtgeneral,eserveigher-gradeoodthevisible arts fyourprojects.

1HO?TI?Carryinglumber y aarTraneport umberon yourcar eafelyand oecurelywith uol afew pieceo f rope.Tieone rope o a eolidsf,ructure n t'he runk-a Lrunkhinqe,or example-and makea loopaf. he other end,Secure second ooeunderlhehoodandform anolherloop,At ,the lumberyard,lipNhewood hrouqhon e oopand Nhen itchbheotherone n poeition,Toee pN'heumber rom urchinq ackandtorLh, ie a ihird ropearound he lumberand secure t to Nhewin-dowpoel.Ueefoamorlowelslo proteclthe sideofyour car,



SELECTING UMBER

. Seasoning: umber s soldeitherkiln-dried KD)or air-dried AD).Thepracticaldifference etween hetwo isthatKD woodhasa owermoisture on-

tent-about 8percent,whileair-dried,high-density ardwoods enerally avea moisture ontent ange f 20 o 25per-cent.Softwoods nd ower-densityard-woods reair-driedo 15 o 20percent

moisture ontent. D lumber i there-fore preferableor making ndoor fur-niture,becausehe wood s unlikely odry out any urther;aswell, he kiln'sheatallowshe wood'scells o reposi-tion, reducinghe ikelihoodof warp-ing andchecking. hisdoesnot mean

youneed o restrict ourselftobuyingonlyKD lumber,however;inact,manycarvers refermoisterwood,makingADwooda betterchoice or them.Youcanbring air-driedwood o the appropriatemoisture evel or cabinetmaking,sshown n the DryingandStoringWoodchapter pageTB).

. Surfacing:lso nown sdressing,surfacingeferso howumber as eenpreparedt hemill beforet issentothe umberyard.umberhat ssurfaced

is usuallyurfacednbothsides: 2Slumber as een lanedmoothnbothfaces,hileS4S ood as ad oth acesplanedndbothedgesointed. ough,or unsurfaced,umber Rgh) s lessexpensivehaneitherS2S rS4S ood,and f youownaplaner nda ointer,youcan ave oneybyurfacingoughlumbernyourshoppage 3).

A samplerder or woodat a um-beryardmightbeas ollows: 00 d. t.%FASedoak,S2S. hiswouldamount

to 100 oardeet f nominally-inch-thickFASFirstsndSeconds)radeedoakwith oth aceslanedmooth.

Once ou eceiveour umber,heckit carefullyo make ure ouare ettingwhat ouwant. f theorderdoes otmeet ourspecifications,o not feelobligedobuy t.

TIPS N UYINGUMBER

o Makewocopies fyour uttinglist (page 4); giue ne o the um-

beryardndkeep ne oryourself.

r When rderingardwoods,equestrealisticizes. arge lanksfsomespeciesrenotavai lable;ard-woods re eneral lyvai lablenrandom idths nd engths.

. Wheneverossible,nspecthelumberouwillbebuying.

. Examineach oardo seehowit wi l l i t into our roject. hereappropriate,est-ft boardsogetherforagood isualmatch;f, forexample,ou re ui lding able,

l ineup heboardsouhave elect-ed or he abletooo becertainthey orman nterestingattern.

. Once ouhave electedheboardsou ntendo buy,besureto eavehepileneatlytacked.Lumberhat s notstackedonectlvtendso warp nd anbedamaged.

CALCULATINGOARDEET

Orderingumbery heboardoo tBecauseheboardoo t sa unitof measurementthatoffers standarday f otalinghevolumeof stock egardlessf dimensions,t iscommonlyused hen eal ingith umber.sshownt eft ,th estandardoardoot sequivalento a piecehatis inchhick, 2 ncheside nd 2 nchesong.Tocalculatehenumberf boardeet na particu-larp iece fwood, ul t ip lyts hree imensionstogether.hen ividehe esult y144 f thed imensionsre l l n nches,rby12 f onedimensionsexpressedn eet.For hestandard

board,he ormulas:I " x 12" 12" I44= | (or " 12" I ' + 12= I ) .So f youha dan8-foot-long-by-3,ouwould al -culateheboardee tas ollows: x 3 x 8 + 12= 2(or2 boardeet).Other xamplesre hownn hei l lustrat ion.ememberhatboardeet re alculat-edon hebasis f nominalatherhan ctual izes.

IIIUMBERFBOARDEETIN4 TII{EAREET)FDIFFEREI{TIZE OARDS

1"x 12"x 12"= | eYs11;12rdoard foot

l -by-7=lboardfoot

1-by-6=2boardfeet

1-by-12=4boardfeet

2-by-4 = 2 2/sboard feet

2-by-6=4boardfeet



SELECTING UMBER

Adjuotableehelf

Makingnd sing cuttingistA cut t ingist ecordshe in ishedizof he umber eededora oart iculajec t . t may e ncludedi th hep la

you urchase;therwise,ouwil lhavfashionour wn asedna drawingthedesign.a l ly p henumberf bofeet oreach iece s inghe ormushown npage 3; ack nanextrato40 oercento accountordefectsthewood ndwaste. or heprojecthon h ispage, h ichota lsough ly6boardeet, ou hould rder t east 25 boardeet fa/alumbern addit ithenecessaryuantityf p lywoodhing. i ,e u t t ingis t hou ldnc ludeh

name f hepart ,hequantity,hedimsions f hepiecesnd hekind fwo

suitableor heprolect. or onvenassign lettero each iece.

CUTTINGIST

Piece Oty.

A To p 1

B Bottom 1

CSide 2

DFixedhelf 1

E Adjustablehelf 1

F Drawerront I

GDraweride 2

H Drawerack 1

I Drawer ottom i

J Back 1

L.

23Vt

z5'/4

32

23Vq

223/e

ZZ ' /4

IlVz

2 lVq

2IVq

32

W.

1 3

13

13

1 3

I2Vz6

5

5

1 0

24

Th.

1

I

1

1

I

1

1

Ir l t

Yd

Material Boardee

ash 2. I0

ash 2. I0

ash 5.78

ash 2 . I0

ash L94

ash .77

ash .8 0

ash .7

plywood

plywood



GRADINGLUMBER

T umbergradingsawayof evaluatingl-.i thesurfaceualiwof a boardaccord-ing to certaintandards, aking ntoaccountactors uchas henumber, ize

anddegree f defectsn thewood.Thegoal s to ensurehat woodworkers etwhat heypay or; a boardof a certaingradeof woodbought n Mainewillcloselyesemble similar-gradeoardpurchasedn NewMexico.

At first glance,he rulesof gradingmayseemarbitrary.For starters,hestandardsredifferentor softwoods ndhardwoods,he esult f theenduseofeach ypeof wood.Softwoodsrepri-marilyused n construction,oa grad-

er mayassumehat a softwood oardwill be usedas s,with no furthersur-facing.Hardwood oards, n theotherhand,arealmostalways laned, ross-cut and ippedntosmaller ieceso fit

aparticular iece f furniture.Addedothat s the fact hat,while here s onestandardor hardwoods,oftwoods refurtherdividedntoseparateroups nd

graded ccordingo rulesestablishedydifferentorganizations.

Takinghe ime o becomeamiliarwith hardwood nd softwood radingwill pay dividends.A sound under-standing f the gradingsystem nablesyou o selecthemostappropriateoardfor the ob at hand; t canalsosave oumoney. heresno need,orexample,oorder ongplanks ftop-grade AS orFirsts ndSeconds)lumberf mostofthepieces f thecabinet ou ntend o

build areonly hreeor four feet ong.Youwouldprobably e betteroffbuy-ing No. I Common,which s consider-ablycheaper,ndwill be adequatenceyouhave utout thedefects.

Lumberproducersndvendors avelong ound t advantageouso studywood typesand set ules or gradingto guaranteeuniform product.Oneof

theearliestlstances fgrading ccurredin 1764,whenSvenAversdon fStock-hohndividedSwedishine nto fourcat-egories-best, ood, ommonandculls.Duringthe lBth Century, ppearancwas he primarycriterion or gradingwood,but as nowledgefwoodprop-ertiesncreased,tandardshaneedoinclude trengthnd heamountolclearor usable ood n each oard.

Thebestway obecomeamiliarwithgradess ovisita umberyardndexam-

ine stock irsthand.Get o knowhow ahardwood radeike FASdiffers romNo. I Common.And whenyou Selectlumber,ryto picturehoweach artcanbecutout ofa boardwiththe eastwaste.

HARDWOODUMBERRADER'SVATUATIONlFA TYPICALOARD

Equippedith umberule, en nd og ook, professional

lumberraderan valuatehardwoodoardn oughly5seconds.lthoughhesystemsscientif ic,t is not oolproofGradingsal ldone yeye-the ye fa humanrader.t i l l ,r ig id ualityontrolnsureshat nly very mall ercentageof boardsreno tgradedorrectly.

Here re he ourbasic tepsumber radersake o maketheir ssessment:L Determinehespeciesndmult iplyhe ength y hewidthof heboardo ind he urface easureSM)nsquareeet-in heboardbove,2 nches1 oot) 12 eet 12SM.2.Choosehepoorestace romwhichograde nd isualize

thenumberf maginaryefect-freeuts hatcanbemade;in his ase, .3. Determinehenumberf portionsf cutting nits-clearlumber "wide y1 long-that anbemaderom he4 cuts;in his ase,08y4. lf heboard ere erfect,t would ield144cut t ingnits. )4.Consultcharthat istshequal i t iesfdif ferentradesand actorn henumberfcut t ing n i ts nd henumberfallowableuts: No.1 Commonoardequireshat wo hirdsof he otal utting nits re lear. ivenhesize f hispartic-ular oard,p o 4 cutswould eallowed.incehisboardmeets ot h riteria,t ustif ieshegrade o.1 Common.

N0.COMMONRADE Cutting No. t Cutting No,5:

3 t/2"x 4',/z' (15 3/+ unita)

B 1/2"x 41/z' (38 1/+unita)Cutting No.4:6" x 5 2/a'(34 uniLe)

41/2"x 41/z' (2O 1,/aunite)



HARDWOODGRADES

,.{ hundred ears go, ardwood rad-:i-l ing varied rom mill to mill, butu,ith the formationof the National

Hardwoodumber ssociationNHLA)

in 1898, rading ecametandardized.At first, he uleswere ased trictly nthenumber ndsize fdefects;n 1932theywere roadenedo reflecthepro-

portionof a board hiitcanbecut nto

smal ler ieces,al led ut t ings. hesepieces ustbeclear n oneside nd

sound n heother. heir ize lso eter-mines he grade.Today's ardwoodgrading tandardsssumehatboardstrre nvariably r,rtntosmaller iecesomake trrniture;hus,grades based n

a board's oorestace, xceptn thecaseof Select,vhich akesheboard's estfacentoaccount.

Selectsoneofseven tandardard-rvoodgrades. he op grades FAS an

abbreviationfFirsts ndSeconds),ol-

lowed y Select,o.1Cot.nuron,o.2A

and28 Common, ndNo.3ACommonandNo. 3BCommon clnrt,opposite).No. 2A andNo. 28 Corrmonare re-quently umped togetheras No. 2

Common;ikewise, any umberyards

sellNo. AandNo.38 Common ogeth-erasNo .3 Common.

Thebetter hegrade,hehigher hepefcentrgef clerr utt iugs: 3' per-

cent f Selectoardsmustbeclearace

cnttir-rgs;nly 50 percent f a No. 2

Common oard eed edefect-fi'ee.utgradingsa moresubtle rt than hesecalculationsndicate. r,vo oards hatare hesame izewith hesame umber

ofdefectsanendup n differentrades:Theposition f thedefects try revent

on eboard rom havingarge noughclear uttingso make hehigher rade

of heother oard.Althoughpayingmore or better-

grade tock -Ieanshatyouwill enduprvithwoodhavingewer efects,hismaynot always e heeconomicalthingo

do. f yourprojects relatively odest,hand-pickhe umber ourselfrom avariety fgrades,ependingn the turc-

tion of each oard n thepiece.Whereonlyonedefect-li 'eeaces alled or , heselect radesagood hoice. r, or hepieces fyour tirniture rojecthatarerelatively mall, or example,ou may

beable o getby with No. 1 Commonsrade oards. o.2ACommon oards

ire suitableor heparts fprojectsnrvhich ppearances not of paramountimoortance.uch shidden urniture

frames.f youdo buy ower-gradeum-ber, owever,lanon morewaste her.r

youare alculatinghenumber f boardfeet o order.

Of course, eautys n theeye f thebeholder. ome abinetmakerseel hat

defectsuch s notsaddcharactero apiece f furniture. nd f mostof the

parts villendup being mall,owgrade oodsuotonly rrorecortcal, t mayalso enore suitableor

taskat hand-by yieldingmoreatt

tively iguredvood.

STANDARDHICKNESSFOR URFACEDARDWOO

Nominal(rough)

3/au

Vr"

Te'3/+u

1 '

I t /4 '

Lr /z '

z',3 "

4u

Actual(surfacedwo ides

3/rc"

5/to"

1/rc"

e/rc"

3/4t or r3/16t1

lrAa"1 q / nl " / 1 6

IVz"or I3/q"

2Y4"

33/4'

TlresewLt akboords en

strste lrc rottge f hardt

t , r r ( / ( 's. l rc opbo,r r , l'ot r

krnts artd s classi.ficd,sNo

Corrrrrtort;hebottotrr oa

defbct-fi'ceAS rode rur

'f"#--



SELECTING UMBER

HARDWOODUMBERRADES

GRADE

Allowableengthof board

Al lowableidthof board

Min imum ofclearace utt ings

Min imumize fc lear utt ings

Formulao determine

numberfcutsMaximumumber^ { ^ l ^ ^ . ^ , . + + ; - ^ ^u r L r t r d t u u L U i l B 5

permitted

FAS

8 ' - 1 6 '

6"orwider

83Vt%

3 " 7 ' ;4 " x 5 '

S M + 4

A

SELECT

6 ' , - 6 '

4"orwider

83Vz%

3"x 7 ' ;4 " x 5 '

S M + 4

+

N0.1C()MMON

4',-L6'

3"orwider

662/s%

3"x 3 ' ;4 " 2 '

S M + l 3

5

N0.2A& 28

C()MMON4' - I6',

3"orwider

50%

3" x2',

S M + 2

7

NO.3A

C()MM()N4' - I6',

3"orwider

33%%

3"x2 '

Un l im i ted

N O. 3 8

C()MMON4' - I6',

3"orwider

25%

Not essha n172" ide

containing6squarenches

Unl imi ted

Readinghe hartThis hart ,reatedy heNationalardwoodumberssocia-tron NHLA),ecordsheminimumequirementsboard ustmeeto merit particularrade. enerally,higher-gradeoardis onger,ider ndmore efect-freeha n ne fa esserrade.The lear iecesre btainedrth s ew uts spossib le.

By ompar inghed imensionsfa board i th he guressuppliedn he hart,t ispossrbleodeterminehegradefa part iculariece f umber.he irst wohorizontalows ro-

vide ata nminimumoard imensionsoreach rade.hethird ow ivesnformationn hepercentagefdefect-freesurface,rclearace uttrngs,board ust aveoreachgrade.heminimumize feach learace utt ings istedjnrow our.Oncehe urfacerea, rsurface easureSM),

ofa boardsdetermined,he ormulan row wil lg ivehetotal umberfcutt ingsllowedora part icularrade. ow6 containshenumberf clear utt ingsach rade ermits.

Th eocationf umberradesna ogHigh radesf umber,uch sFASandSelect ,re enerallyut romheouter art f he og, earhebark.No. Commonrades,ound lose rto hep i th , re o ta lwaysu i tab leforcabinetmakingnd re requenily

usedorpackingrates rpal lets.Insomepecies,uch swalnut,herecolors mportant,hesapwoodoesnotqual i fys o pgrade,venhoughit may eclear.

FA9

9elect

No.1Common

No. A and 2ECommon

No.3Aand3ECommon



SELECTINGLUMBER

DECIPHERINGGRADETAMP

SOFTWOODUMBERRADESOR ABINETMAKING

GRADES

Select andBTR supreme)

C Selectchoice)

DSelectquality)

Superiorin ish

Prime inish

No.1 Commoncolonia l)

No .2 Commonsterling)

CHARACTERISTICS

Clear ppearancendhighestuality; inor efectsndblemishes.ldealwithclearinishes, otalwaysvailable;xpensive

High ual i ty;mall efectsndblemishes

Good uality;efectsndblemishesore ronounceo

Highestuality f inish radeumber; inor efectsndblemishes

High uality ith ewdefectsndblemishes

Hasimitedvai labi l i tynd ize anges;ay avemallt ightnots,makinghi sgrade ppropriatef a knotty ppearancesdesired

Larger,oarserefectsndblemishes;ftenusedwhere knottyappearanceith trongharactersdesired

ReadinggradetampMost oftwoodrade tamps,ike heone hownt eft, ontainivebasic le-ments. code umberdentif ieshemil lthatproducedheboard,nd hegradeof hewood ppearsex to he rade-mark f heagencyha testablishedherulesorgradinghewoodin his ase,

theNortheasternumber anufacturersAssociation).he peciessalso oted;sometimesorehan ne peciessstampedn heboard,ndicatingt ma ybeany f hoseisted. inal ly,he ea-soningnformationeflectshemoisturecontentf hewood t he ime t wassurfaced:-DRY eansha t heboardwa s urfacedfter easoningndha s omorehan 9percent oistureontent;MC15 efersoa board ith maximummoistureontentf 15percent;-GRNs

reservedorunseasonedood urfacedwith moistureontentbove 9oer-cent. boardha thas een urfacedwhi le t i l l reenendsoshr inknd tsdimensionsi l lnotbeasaccuratesthose f a boardhathas een urfacedaftert was easoned.

E S TW H I T E I N EORWAYtNE@



LUMBERDEFECTS

ost umberdefects dverselyffect

a board's ppearance,trength,

workabilityor ability o takea finish.

Sometimes,owever,rregularit iesr

abnormalitiesanactuallymake pieceof woodmoredesirable,speciallyhen

theyproduce popular, istinctiveig-

ure ikebird's-eyer burl. Of course,intendeduse s the final arbiter;what

maybea blemisho onewoodworkers

another oard'selling oint.Knots,or

example, ould be a significant efect

in boardsntended or a tabletop, ut

theyarean essentialeature f some

types fpaneling.Lumberdefects reeithernatural,

man-made r the resultof poor sea-soning. ll woodharbors atural efects

thatarecaused y growing onditions

or qualities f thespeciestself. hesame

typeof defectmaybepresentn differ-

en t woods.Some mperfections re

found n all species.oose nots, or

example, recausedimplyby theway

trees row. heyare he emnants f bro-kenbrancheshathave ecome ncased

by hegrowthof newwood.Othernat-

ural defectsnclude um n hardwoods,

oitch n softwoodsnd eaction oo din all soecies. atural orces uchasfire,wind, ungiand nsects analso

cause efectsn wood.A common

defect Fth is ort sblue ta in.Several efects ccurwhenwood s

exposedo the air and allowedo dry.

DEFECTSNWO()D

Becauseood does ot shrinkuni-formly n all dimensions,arping anresultwhen he moisture ontentoflumber droosbelowa certain evel.

(Refero theDryingandStoringWoodchapteror more nformationnprop-

er seasoningfwood.)Some ommon

seasoningefects rechecks,ow,cup,

twist,crookandsplit.Keepn mind that

these efects analsooccur n boardscutcloseo thepith of a og.Some om-

mon defects reexolainedn the cbelowandopposite.

Althought isvirtually mpossib

buywood hat scompletelyefect

youcanncreaseourchancesfobting hebestumber or yourneed

selectingour woodcareftilly page

Another oint o considers thatcansalvaseomeumberwithdefeyou havjaccesso the necessaryoand earnhow o use hem(page

Threepiecesof oak with defects: he top board showssplits,

themiddlepiece eveals hecks t oneend,and the bottonr

boerddisplays crook,a loose not and reactionwood.

CHARACTERISTICSAppearssawhorlha t s ntergrownith hesurroundingwoodissue. notsorm s hegirth f he ree ncreas-es, radual lynvelopinghebranches.f hebranchesrest i l l l ive t he ime f heir nvelopment,heknot nte-grates ith hewoodn he ree runk

Appearssa whorl ncirc ledya dark ing.Whenbranchieshe emainingtumpseventuallynvelopedby he runk. ut hedead tump annotntegratei ththe issueurroundingt,creating ooserdead not,

REMEDIESDoes otseriouslyeakena board;an ecutoutorused,sappearanceictates

Removenots efore orkinwith he umber.

Loose r dead



SELECTINGLUMBER

,V

CHARACTERISTICS

Anaccumulationn hesurfacef heboard r noock-et swithinheboard. suallyevelopshen treehassufferedn njury, xposureo ireor nsect ttack.

Lengthwiseupturesrseparationsn hewood, su-ally ausedy apid rying. ay ompromisetrengthan dappearancef board.

Anend-to-endurve longhe ace, suallyausedby mpropertoragef umber.ntroducesnternarstressesn hewoodha tmaket diff icultocut.

Anedge-to-edgeurve crosshe ace,usuallyausedwhen ne ace f a board riesmore uicklyhan heother. ommonn angentiallyutstock, nboardscutcloseo hepith, r f one ace fa board as esscontact ith heair han heother.

Unevenr rregulararpinghere ne orners notaligned ith heothers. esultsro munevenrying ra cross rain atternhat s notparallelo heedge.

End-to-endurve longheedge, ausedy ncorrectseasoningr havinghepithof a og loseo heboardedge.Weakenshewood,makingt unsuitableorweight-bearingpp lcations.

Similarochecks,ppearingsseparationslongth egrowthings. lso nown s ing heck r ingshank. esultsro m mproperrying f wood rfelling omage.

Appearssa dark treak crosshe aces redgesflumber.ccurshen lanernivesre u l lorspinononepartof boardor oo ong.

Appearssa discolorationf hesurfacenotherwisenormal-lookingood. esultsro mmoldsha t lourishwhenumbersdried rstoredn warm,moist rpoorlyventi latedondit ions.peciesike o l ly ndEngl ishsycamorereproneo blue tain.

REMEDIES

Dono tusewhere qualityf in ishs equired,sgumwil lbleedhrough os tinishes.

Can ecutoff.

Flatten owed oardsnthe ointer page 5),or cutinto horterieces,henuseth e ointer.

Cupmay orrecttselff bothfaces reallowedo dry othesamemoistureontent.Cuppedoardsanbesal-vaged n he band aw page54) or jointer(page55).

Boardanbesalvagednjoinler page55),or cut intoshorter oards.

Board anbesalvagedon ointer r able aw(page55).

Boardanbeused, utsplitmaymar heappearancefthewood, ecomingorenoticeablehen tain sapplied.

Removeachineurnwithjointer page 3)or sander.

Conceali th dark tain.



SELECTING UIV{BER

THESTRESS)FUNEVENROWTH

Recognizingeactionood

Reactionood,hownbove,scharac-

terized y tscompressedrowthings

and i lvery,i fe lessolor.t occurs hena t ree runk as pronouncedurve,

asoften appenshen ree rowsna slone his efec tan lso eseenn

boardsutcloseo hepith fa runk.Workingith eactionoo d oses rob-

lemsor hewoodworker;ecauset has

dif ferenthr inkageropert ieshan or-malwood,he nternalt ressesn he

boardan ausesaw ladeo bind nd

k ick ack .Whenhewoodscutor

sanded,t has fuzzy ur facend

absorbsta in nevenly.endingeactionwood rp lacingny oad n t may auseit o break crosshegrain.

l l i l i l l t l { l l { t l t l i l l l l l l l l l l l i l l l l l l l l t r l r r i i l i l i r i l i l l l l l

llj lll ill {il ul irJ $ i$ ut iil ul ul i$ ul ul {Ij ru 1HO?TI?Checkingumber or lwistWarped oards ansomelimee e ouqh ' o recoqnize,utyoucanepoltwieled, lockquickly it.hlhe tdof ohop-made indinqlicks.CuI Nwo arrow oard,ao a lenqlh hatr e rwice'hewidLh f heboardNobe tested. eI Lhebo rd acedown na work able,henplace hewinding l ickeaLbolhendo,Varallelo each t 'her. i4hlacroo; he t opeof Nhe t cks. ourboard e wieted f Nhe opoof the slicks are noN erfectly ligned.

-*---l



PREPARINGUMBER

he irstob na cabinetmakingro-jectnvolvesreparingourstock.f

youowna ointer, planer nda ablesaqyoucando heworkyourself.

Whetheroconstruct arge abinetor a miniatureewelry ox, umbersgenerallyreparednthesame ay. heproceduresou ollowdependnhowthe wood wassurfaced efore ouboughtt. For ough oards,oustartbysmoothingne ace n he ointer,thenone dge. hiswill give ouadjoin-ingsurfaceshatareperfectlyquareoeach ther.Next, asshesecondacethrough planer o hat he aces reparallel.owyoucan ipyourboards

to widthandcrosscuthem o engh.ForS2Sumber, hichhasalready

hadboth acesurfaced,ouneed nly

SURFACINGTOCK

pass needge crosshe ointer,hen ipand crosscut. 4Swood,with all foursurfaces ressed.anbe cuttowidth andlength mmediately;nly edgeshatwill

begluedogether eedo be ointed.Althoughumberwithdefectshould

be avoided, oumay ind yourselfwitha few warpedboards ou do not wantto discard. everalimple echniquesorsalvaging efective tockareshownonpages4and55.A cupped oardcanberipped nto several arrowerpieces,neffect latteninghecurvento strips hatcanbe jointed.A crookedor bowedboardcanbe salvagedn the ointerbygradually utting away he high spots.

And a simpleig canbe usedwith thetablesaw o transforma boardwith anuneven dgento a square iece.

Forsurfacing boardface, ush

blocks elp o keep tocklat andyourhands afe. ateral ressurekeepsheedge gainsthe ence.

JointingboardSet cutting epth etweenAaand e nch. oint boardace sshownn hephoto bove.o ointanedge,eed hestock lowlycrosshecutterhead,makingureha t heknives re utting ith hegrainpage9).Whileeedingtheworkpieceverheknives,se hand-over-handotiono keep ownwardpressuren hepieceus t o theoutfeedide f hecutterhead,aintainingpressuregainsthe ence. ontinuehesemovementsntil ou inishhecut.



SELECTINGUMBER

PlaningtockSeta cutting epth p o %a nch.Standto one ide f heolaner nduse othhandso eed hestock arefu l lynto

themachine,eepingheboard dgesparallelo heedges f heplanerable.Oncehemachiner ipsheboard ndbeginsullingt acrosshecutterhead,supporthe railing nd o keept flatonthe able right). s he cut progresses,

moveo theoutfeed ideof he olanerandsupporthepiece ithboth andsunt i l t c learsheoutfeedol ler .f you

aremakingeveralasseso reduceheboard'shickness,lanehesame mountof woodromboth aces. hi swillmini-

mize arping.

SALVAGINGARPEDUMBER

RippinguppedtockntonarrowoardsThisechniqueorsalvagingupped oardsnvolveshebandsaw, utyou anachievehesameesult itha table aw raradial rm aw.f youareusing band aw,nstallourwidestblade nd etupa rip ence n hemachine'sable. et hewidth f cut; henarrowerhesetting,he latterhe esulting

boards.omake cut,set heboard onvexhigh) ide pthe able nd, utt inghe board gainsthe ence,eedsteadilynt o hebladeabove).ake ureha tneither anin inewith he utt ing dge. inishhe utwith push t iRemoveny emainingigh pots n he ointerpage 5



SELECTING UMBER

JOINTINGROOKED)RBOWEDTOCK

7

5

:

5 :

lllt lt]lllllt lltlltlltlltllllll ]Illll llllI] lt][llll]ll5HO?TI?5trai6hteningoutan uneven dgeEven uL he edgeeof a crooked oardonthe Lable awwiNhohop-madeiq.CUN

a piece f 3/+-inchply-woodwiLhpertectlyparallel dqeo. laceNhe oard

Jointingoncavend onvexurfacesThediagramst lef tshow ow o"straighten

out"crookedoardsn hejointer. he everityf hedefectssgreatlyxaggeratedorclarityn he llus-tration;xtremerookhould estraight-ened na able aw sshown elow,nthe ointer,he deas opasshehighspot n he board'sdge epeatedlycrossth ecutterheadntil heedges straight.For heconvex,routward-bowing,dge(left, bove),asshehigh po tat th emiddle f heboard crossheknivessmanyimes snecessarycuts and2) .

Avoidnose-diving,"

oral lowinghe ead-ing dgeoride pduringhecut .Whenthesurfaces at,make inal ass

alongheentire dge cut ).To lattentheconcave,r nward-bowing,dge /eff,

below),ointone ndof heboard smanyimes snecessarycuts and ),then urn heboard roundo reoeatheprocesst heother nd cuts and4).This perationssimi laro basicoint-

ing , xcepthat ou n ly u t heh ighspot t he railing ndof heboard. tart

the utwith he eadingndof heboardan nch rsoaboveable evel. eedthepieceowardhecutterheadithonlyhe ra i l ingnd ncontact i th heinfeedable.Whenhedeepestar t ftheconcavedgesaboveheknives,lowerhe eadingndof heboardnt otheoutfeedable nd ompletehepass.Oncehesurfaceseven,make finalpasshe enghof heboardcut5) .Flatteningowedtockssimrlaro acejointing:ith heboardoncaveace own,

make smany assessnecessaryoremovehehigh pots earheends. sepush lockso keep ouringersafelyawayro m hecutterhead.quarely n o? of Nheplywood, ith he

uneven arN verhangingneedqe. sult etop blockeagainotNhetrail inqndandedqe ftheboard s shown,thencrewNhe locke oNhe lywood. tLachNogglelampeo Ihe blocks ndpreeehe clampo ownNoeecurehe boardo the iq. 1et Ihe widthof cuI equalNo'Nhe idthof rhe Vlywoodiece nd

-oliae*,e iiq acro*e

lhe eaw able,cuttin4 the edqeof Nhe oardetraiqht.



IIREDBOARDS

\TENE,ERSATD

he time-honored echnique fveneeringan ransform simple

cabinet oor nto a flamboyant urstofcolorandgrain,an unassumingiece ffurniture nto a seamless orkof art.

And thoughwood veneers ave hiftedin and out offavorover he centuries,woodworkers aveused hem to mar-velous ffect ince heancientEgyptiansembellishedbjects ith thin sheetsfprecious oods. n the lBth andearlyl9th Centuries,ineveneers ecamehehallmarkof sophisticated,igh-stylefurniture.Largeswaths f distinctivewood veneersoveredabletops; ar-quetrypictures-delicate atternsmadeby aligning ieces fveneer nd nset-

Decorativematchingof veneers an

createunusualqnd breathtakingeffects,

such as the natural grain figure

featured in this Victorian davenport.

arrayof appealingonfigurations-her-ringbone nd everse-diamondmongothers. heycanalso ake ull advantageof such eautiful ut unstable oodcutsascrotchandburl, whichare mpossi-

ble o workwith n solid orm.Theold masterseneeredvera sol-

id-woodbase, r substrate,singhotgluemade romanimalhides, loodandbones. heysmoothedheveneer ndpressed ut air bubbleswith specialhammers. hilehammer-veneeringsstill practiced,oday's raftsmenmaychoose moremodernveneer ress;theycanalso hooserom a muchwiderselection f glues nd substrates.hegluemaybeanaliphatic- r plastic-resin

ting them n the surrounding ood-decorated ll mannerofcabinetry.

Veneeringeclinedwith the advent f productionmachin-ery n the l9th Century, nly o reboundonceagain n theearly 0thCenturywith advancesn manufacturedoard ech-nologyand mprovedadhesives.s materials ontinue oimprove, eneeringmakesmoresensehan ever. urniturethat wouldbeprohibitively xpensiveo craft romsolidexot-ic woods anbeveneered ith thesamewoods t a muchmorereasonableost.

And, of course, eneeringodayoffers he same stheticadvantagest always as.With veneers, oodworkers re ree

to create tunning rainpatterns ith such echniquessbook-matching r slip-matching;heycanarrange eneersn an

type; hesubstrate aybeanyoneof anumberof manufac-turedboards,mostpopularly lyvood,particleboardr medi-um-densityiberboard.he ntroduction f thesemanufacturedboards evolutionizedurnituredesign: ecausehe boardsaredimensionallytable-they neitherswellnor shrink withseasonalhangesn humidity-traditional rame-and-panedesignsanbe replaced y argeunbroken eneeredurfaces.

Of thevariety f manufacturedoards, abinetmakersrob-ablymake hemostuse f plpvood,tself product f veneerconstruction.Plywoods availablen manygradesor manyuses; lwaysuy hebest oucanafford.Cabinet-gradeard-woodpllwood,which s alreadyacedwith attractive eneers,is a cost-effectivelternativeo solidwood-ideal for suchprojectsswalland loor cabinets,ookcasesnddrawer ronts.

Manufacturedoards ffer hesolidityof hardwood longwithgreaterdimensionaltability.Clockwiserom lower eft s a sampling f themo tpo ular cab netmakin type softw odplnvood, me ium density iberboard,articleboard,ardboard ndBalticbirchplywood.



\ / eneer evolutionizedurniture-V making s arbackas2000 c,when

theEgyptiansandsawedhin sheetsfwood and hen adheredhem o thick-

er backingswith animalglueandheat-edsandbags.eneeringoondevelopedinto a refined rt andbecame hallmarkof many urniture stvles. he rococo

styles f theLouisXV periodn themid-1700sostered demand or kingwood,tulipwood, urpleheart ndrosewoodveneers, hile he uts andCraftsmove-

mentof the ate1800sgnitedacrazeformarquetry ased n mahogany, alnutandsatinwoodeneers. y he urn ofthe20thCentury.modern eneermills

served oth the urnitureandconsttion ndustries.

Almostas ragile san eggshelburstingwith thewarmthandopule

ofexotic hardwoods,eneers reavable n more ha n20 0varieties,ocutas hin as%oonch.Some f thempopular arietiesre isted elow.

A GATLERYFCOMM()N ECORATIVEENEERS

VENEER

Avodi16

Black a lnut

Braz i l ianrosewood

Carpathianlm

lmbuia

Lacewood(Siky-oak)

Mahogany

Maple

Myrtlebur l

Purpleheart(Amaranth)

Sapele

Ceylonsatinwood

Yew

Zebrawood

0l iveashburl

Peanvood

COTORND IGURE

Goldenellowogold;mott ledigure

Light ray-browno darkpurple-brown;tripedigure

Chocolateoviolet ndblackobrick-red;tr iped gure

Brick edorgreenish-browno ighttan;burl igure

Rich hocolateo ol ive-brownndgold; url nd tr ipedigures

Silveryink o reddish-brown,f eck gure

Light in k oreddish-brown,

str ipednd iddlebackigures

Creamyhite apwoodith anheartwood;urly ndbird's-eye igures

Golden rownoyellowish-green;mott ledndburl igures

Creamy hitewithdarkbrownstreaks;url igure

Rosy ream; traight-grainedigure,sometimesurly

Deep urple ith ight ra y ap-wood; tripedigure

Reddishrown; ott ledncribbon tr ipeigures

Goldenellow; ott ledigure

Warm range ithdarker treaks;burl igure

Cream ackgroundithdarkbrownlines; tr ipedigure

CUTSVAILABLE

Quarterut

Crotch,utt, lat,quarterut,burl ut

Flat utandn i l 2 r f c r a r r t

Bur l

Bur l ,la t u tandrotary ut

Quarterut, la t

Quarterut, la tcut,ern inh hr f i

Quarterut, latcut,crotch,otary, url

Bur l

Bur l , tump

Quarterut, latcut

Quarterui, la tcut

Quarterut

Flat ut,quarterut

Flat ut

Quarterut

TEXTURENDWORKAEILITY

Mediumextured;asyowork.Stainsnevenly

Mediumexture;rain ifficulto work. akesnish el l

Mediumexturendoily; i f f iculto work.Resistsinish

Mediumexture;asyowork. akesinish el l



Coarseexture, iff cult

to work. akesinish ell

Fineexture;i f f cult owork. akesinish el l

Fi e exture; oderatelydif fcult o work. akesf in ish e l l

Coarseexture; asyowork. akesinishwell

Fineexture;asyo work.Takesinish el l

Coarseexture; ard o work.Takes nish el l

Mediumexture; asyowork.Takes nish ell

Fine exture;asyo work.Takes nish el l

Fine exture;asyo work.Takes nish el l

Mediumexture; oderatelyif -f icult o work. akes nish el

SUPPLY

Plenti f

Plenti f

Rare

Plent i fl

Rare

Moderate

Plent i fl

P lent i fl

Moderate

Rare

Rare

Plenti fl

Moderate

Rare

Rare

Rare



VENEEITSN ) N{I\NUI:A(]' I 'LII.ED]OARDS

\

WHEREENEERSORIGINATENA TREE

: a.,)

Mahoganycrotch veneer

Crotch veneeri l i , i . i r ' r i t t i i i i r l l ; . , i 1 , . , 1

11 , ' i I l ' I a : : ' ) l i i ' : ' i t i r i i r I i i i ' r a i - :

I l j :r I / : - r ' : : : j i: , i r i . r , , ' , , ' , 1 - t i . )

: , r 1 1 1 1 ' 1 1r 1 1 ; 1 1 1 . 1 1 . ii l i 1 . f f l .

Carpathian lmburl veneer

Eurl veneeri . i , 1 i ' t t i i i i t ' i . i i . i ; 1 t . , , l i i ' : i ' ' 1 1 . ; 1 , ,

i.,i i' i i ., f a-. . I ra:, ::t,l, i, -rr'r :. a i-.1 a-,i a :

1'1i1r.1i1,,i , i ;1 ,r ' .. t- i i i ' t- i ir,, i: r l i ,., :t : i. .

, /.: '1l'i r r . ;:,.; i :: f:, 1 ::r i .,i-ia a'\art i i -

t r .l ' , .1 t ta ra , ; i r ' , ,. - ' , 1 i i , , ' : . i . , ,

Walnut utt veneer

Eutt veneer

r ,L , i - r - t l i t l i i r l ' : ' . i . i , i i i; . : . r i i . : r r j ..

a )f a- i . r aa :

l i ie i , i ' , i ' i ; i t t r : , , . . i .

l '-l l)itt t: j i . ' ,r i :.,tr ; i i r i i . ,,n.: j

Flat-cut veneer

.; ;: r ' :, :1-.i i ,. )a. t 1. . | |, ri i : ' t t i ,:.

r ,) ,\, .a.l .. i t l i1 ,rri t . i .:., jt l .j a,,\.::11..

Birds'-eye aple eneer

European eech eneer

at'



FROMLOGTOVENE,ER

1' \ nce tsbark sstripped way, og\J .un be cut nto veneern oneoithree vays:aw utting, otary uttingor flat slicing.Saw utting,whichgoes

back o theearly19thCenti"rry,mployshuge ircular awso rip strips fveneerfrom ogs.Althoughnot asefficient sother echniques,aw utting s still usedto produce ome rotch eneersromirregularly rained rdense oods uchasebony.

Rotary uttingand latslicing anproduce eneerss hin as7s o l,/rzo nchandas ong s B eet.n rotary utt ing,a og mounted n a huge athe otatesagainstpresslu€arwhilearazor-sharp

knifeoeels ff a continuous heet fveneeitheength f the og.Firplp,vood,aswellassome ecorativeeneersuchasbird's-eye aple, renormally otarycut.Half-round,ift andback uttingare ariationshatproduce eneerromhalf-lossather hanwholeones.

In lat licing,half-logsheld ntoaframe hatswings-rp nddownagainsta stationary orizontai nife;a slice fveneers removed ith everydown-stroke. Iatslicing roducesrown-cut

veneers. typeof flatslicing nownasquarter-clrtlicingsused nwoodshatdisplay striking igurewhenquarter-sawn, sn sapeie,hiteoakor acewood.

Flat-sliced heets f verteermove

nlortg t conveyorfor drying tud

storage r n vetreer.fnctory.

VENEER-CUTTINGETH(lDS

Rotary auttingUsedLo cut con'etruction plywoodand eomedecora'tive veneera uch

ao btrd'o-eyemaple

Half-roundauttingA method used orburlaand aomedecorattve pectea

Eack cuttingA rotary cuttingmethod hat.yieldebuLLand croLchveneer9

Flat eliaing

Uaed o make rown-cut veneer?; ro'duceaveneerawiLhrepeatinq igure haLfacrl tLaf,eaook'matchingand oLherdecorative effects

Quarber-auialiaingUaed o cut decora-f,tve eneerg, uchae ribbon, tripeand flake, hat areobtarned rom quar'Lereawnoqe

Ri{t cuttingYieldeveneerwtththe raye at rou7hly45" to the eurface;uoedprimarilyonwhiLe ak



VENEERS ND MANUFACTUREDBOARDS

VENEERYPESNDSIZES

VENEERYPE

R n i e n r n r r l

Flat-sl iced

Quarter-cut

Butt nd iump

Crotch

Bur l

stzEs

Lengthp o 10 eet;width rom to 36 inches

Length to 16 eet;width rom to 24 inches

Length to 16 eet; idthrom to 12 nches

lrregularimensions.heetizesaryrom 0x 36to 18x 54 nches;verageheet ize 2x 36 inches

Lengthro m 8 o 54 nches;idthrom 0 o 24inches;verageheet ize 2x 36 nches

lrregularimensions.heetizesaryrom x l0 to

18x 54 nches;verageheetize 6x 24 nches

AVAILABLEPECIES

Bird's-eyeaple,ubinga,ouglas-fr,masur irch

Ash, razi l ianosewood,herry,maple,ak,eak

Avodi16,ahogany,ak ,Queenslandmaple,apele,atinwood,ebrawood

Maple ,a lnut

Amburana,ahogany,alnut

Carpathianlm,Englishak ,madrone,

myrtle,live sh, edwood,huya, alnut

SH()P.MADEENEER

1 Settinep he utt -

I Tocu tvenee r n he band aw , i r s tm ake p i vo t l ock rom wop i eces fw oodo i nedn a T , w i t h heou t e r ndo f hesho r t e r i ece r immedo f o r marounded ose. nsta l l 3/q- inchesaw lade n hesawand nsta l l the ip enceon he able.Screwhe pivot lock o the ence o hat he roundedip is a l ignedwith he blade. os i t ionhe ence or hewidthof veneerouwant above) ,yp i -ca l ly /einch. f thestock ouarecut t ing s relat ivelyh in,c lamp featherooarot o he ab le o suppor tt dur i nghecu t .



VENEERSAND MANUFACTURED BOARDS

r) Cuttinghe eneerL f eeaheworkpiecento hebladewithboth ands,eepinghestocklushagainsthe ip of hepivot lock abovd.

Topreventhebladeromdrift ing ffl ine, teerhe ra i l ingnd f hework-piece. earheend f he ut,moveotheback f h e able ith hesaw t i l lrunn ingo in ishhepass. o ld inghestock quaregainsthepivot lock,oul l t oastheblade.

Illllltlll lll lll lltlltlll lulltlll lltlll lll lt lll llt1HO?TI?)alvaqin6 warped veneerCrotchand burlveneerzeomelimesbecome ---1,warped nd bril-Nle,he reeulL faqinqor improVeroNorage.Iolattenthe eheeNe,ampenthem ueing e?on7emoisNenediNh armwaf,erandelackthemon a piece f Vly-woodwilh lwo or Nhree heeloof newopaperetween achslice. lace heavy eiqhl, uchas a concrele lock, n op .Let,the eneeroitfor a dayor two.Wraphe sheets n Vlao-t ic andeloreLhem nder weiahl nt i lvouneed hem.



VENEERING

I pplyingveneers ike woodwork-A ing n reverse.nstead fstartingwith a board,hencuttingandsandingit down to its finisheddimensions.

veneered ieces rebuilt up alayeratatime. Beglnningwith a substrate-orbase-of solidwoodor a manufacturedpanel, ou gluebanding o theedges ndthenwiderpiecesf veneeroboth aces.

Withaplywood ase, rient hegrainofthe veneer o hat t is perpendicularto thegrainof theplywood,andbothfaces f theplyr,voodmustbeveneeredopreventcupping.(Neverapplyveneerover ir plywood, ecausehe grainofthe fir canbe seenhrough he veneer.)

With a hardwood ase, eneer houldbe appliedparallel o the grain.

Furniture-quality articleboard ndmedium-densityiberboardalsomakegoodsubstratesorveneering. incehesematerialsave o grain(theyaremadeof

woodparticles ressedogether ith anadhesive),ou mayarrangehe veneeron thepanels nywayyouwish.But helackofa graindirectionsalso disad-

vantage: eitherof these roductssasstrongasplywood, ndany ointscut n

Specificallydesignedfor cutting veneer,

a yeneer aw s usuallyused n

tandemwith a guide blockor a

straightedgeo ensurestraightcuts.

themmustbe reinforced ith splinesmade f some thermaterial.

Brittleveneers ustbeapplied verathickerunderlay eneer uchaspoplar.

Always ut the veneerarger han theactualsizeneeded, llowinganoverhangof about z nchall thewayaround.Theoverhangstrimmedofflater.

If you arepressing own veneerhetraditionalway-with a veneer am-mer-use hideglue,which s reheatableOtherwise, hitegluesyourbest hoice.Whichever dhesiveouemploy,t willbeeffectivenly fthe veneers lat,cleananddry.

Asshown n thissection, eneer an

alsobepressedown n a veneer ress.Newer ommercialacuumpressesea-ture a pump ha tsuckshe air out ofa plasticbag hat surrounds he sub-strate ndveneer,llowingatmosphericpressureo hold heveneern place.

VENEERINGOOTS

VeneerpreaaFor preeain7veneerdownon a subatrate

paneL eatureaa base,pipe clampe,pipeClamPgaddleaand veneer

Veneeraaw

For trimmin4and cuttingveneer;te curved blade,offaet handleand thin,eharp-tipped teethenaure lean

preaaclampa.Componentaare bouqht.aaa kit andaaaembled y uaer o auitdimenaione f panel

Veneer apeA thin, etronq, perforatedtape ueed orjoinin7 pieceoof veneerbeforeqluin4

Hand rollerA hard rubberroller uaed oapplyedqe bandin4 o theedgeeof eubetraLepanele

VeneerhammerFor preoeing veneerdown on a subatratepaneLpuahedalonq heaurface likea equeeqee.Featurea three workin4aurfacea for veneeraofvaryinqwidtha



VENEERSAND MANUFACTUREDBOARDS

APPLYINGENEER' l Gluingown dge andingI Cut our trips f bandingor heedges

of hesubstrateanelromhe ameeneeryouwil luse or he aces. akehe t r ipsover laphepanel dges yabout% inch,

and e urehe i r ra in i l l un longheedges,atherhanacrosshem.Secure

thepanelna vise,hen pply hinbead

ofglue oanedge. se small rusho

spreadheadhesivevenly,hen enterhebandingverheedge. ay strip f waxpaper verhebandingnd hen, singwood ad so protectheedge nd aces,

clamphebandingown ith hree-way

clamps,pacinghem t6- o8- inchintervals,nt i l he lue r ies.ightenachclampn urn r ight)unt i lhin lue eadsqueezesut .Tr im heexcessanding(step ), hen epeator heother dges.

r") TrimmingxcessandingL Onceheglue as r ied, o ldhepanel nedge na work urface. utttheback fa veneeraw gainsthe ar

endof hepanel ith ts eeth n hebanding.irmly rawhesaw owardyou o,tr im wayheexcessanding

hbovd.Make ureheback f hesa wremainsush gainsthe ace f hepanelhroughouthe ut.Turnhepan-

elaroundnd epeatn heother ide.Excessandinganalso e emovedwitha laminaterimmerpage 8).

llll lI]ll1lll llj lltlll lIlll lll jll lll ll lll ll r]I1IJgHO?TI?Cutting edge banding *..o.siTocut several NriVe f S\veneer dge andinqnoneoperaLion,lack Lhemonealop Nhe bher, dqeo ligned,beNweenwopieceo f l/+-inchply-wood.Tackthewo plywood ieceoNoqebheri lh in ishinq ai lo laced lonqIhe edqeo; esure he nailNipe o not perto-rale trhebandinq r ?aeeLhrouqhhe boIbompiece f plywood. ar kcuLlinq ineo or lhe banding n heLoppiece f Vlywood,Ihenut a lonqNhe inee na Nable awor bandeaw.be carefulnol lo cul alona he lineof nails.



VENEERSND MANUFACTUREDOARDS

Edginghe ace eneerTheedges f ad jo in ingheets j

veneer ust eperfect lyquaref thetw opiecesre o butt ogetherroperly.

Tosquarehem, ouwil lneed shoot-ingboard. ut hree iecesf3/rinch

plywoodl ight lyongerhan heveneer.0nep iece hou ld ewide noughoholdheotherwopiecesn opandthewidth f heplaneying n tsside.Placehe wopiecesf veneerace oface nd andwichhem etweenhetop woplywoodieceso hat heedgesof heveneerre l ignedndprotrudebyabout/einch.Set hesandwichntopof he hird, ider oardnd lamp

theentiressemblyo a work urface.Run heplane longhe hootingoardfrom ne nd o heothero r imofftheproject ingeneer. ake ure oukeephe ole f heplanelush gainsttheedges f he opplywoodiecesduringhe cut(left).

Tapingeneerheetsogetherl f you re ressingown our eneer

heets ith veneerammer,lueheminplacendividual lystep ). f you re

pplyrngorehan ne heet fveneeropanelace ndusing veneerresso

holdhe m own,ape hesheetsogethernd luehem own sa unit . l ignhe

dge-to-edgena work urface,hem ood-sidep o produce

nterestingattern.f here reetweendjoiningheets,rim he

nashootingoard, he ombinedengthndwid th f he eneerhou ld

hedimensionsf hepanel yaboul/zinch.Once ouhave satjsfac-

rrangement,oistenfe w engthsapewitha water-dampenedap ehesheetsogethercross

oints t6- o8-inchntervals,henstr ip f ape long achoint

(right). resshe ape rmly n placeol ler ,




VENEER-TRIMMINGIGCu tsheets fveneero width uick-

lyandaccuratelyna routerablewiih he rimmingigshown t right.

Refero he llustrationorsuggest-eddimensions.

Cut hebase f he ig rom%-incfiplywoodnd he oppiecerom

hardwood.hoose board itha

slight ow or he oppiece,f possi-

ble; pplyinglampingressureear

th eends f heboard ill lattent,producingniform ressuregainstth ebase. he oppiece hould eslightlyongerhan our eneerheetsand hebase t east 2 ncheslonger. crew ood lockso thebase o he oppiece ill it snuglybetweenhem.Then crew toggle

clampoeachwood lock.Touse he ig, nstall f lush-cut-

t ingbitwitha bearinguide narouter,ndmounthe ool n a router

table.Placeheveneero be rimmedbetweenhe base nd oppiece fthe igasyouwould henrimmingwitha shootingoardpage 5).l{akesure hesheets rotruderom he ig

by7s nch, henpresshe oggleclamps own n he oppieceosecureheveneerheetso the ig.

Positionhe enceo seta cuttingwidthof 7e nch. Caution: uardand ence emovedorclarity.) urnon he outer nd lide he igacross

the able right, elow),rimmingheveneerlushwith heedge f he ig.

Besureo keephe ig butted gainstthe encehroughoutheoperation.

Toppiece1 1 / 2 " x 4 " x 3 0 "




f, Gluingownhe eneerSet hesubstrateanelace pon

work urfacend preadna thin ayerfg luewitha small rush rhand ol ler

(right). ono tapply dhesiveirectlyveneer ;luew i l lmaket cu r l .

emembero usewhite luefyou rea veneer ressstep );

ide lue fyou re sing veneerstep ).Handlingheveneer

enterhesheetsve rhepanel.fou aped eneerheetsogether,et

p.Make urehe eneerheedgesf hepanel venly.

Pressinghe eneernpositionith veneerresslf you reusing veneerress,ssemblehedeviceollow-

ng hemanufacturer'snstruct ions.ake urehespacinghepipe lamp addlesssl ight lyongerhan he

f hepanel. et hepanel n hebase f hepress,

veneeredace own itha strip f wax aper etweenheveneeredface f hepanel nd hebase. rotectheupperace f hepan-el withwood ads. ightenhepresslampsneata time above)unti l hin lue eadqueezesut rom nderhepanel.



DECORATIVEMATCHING

ince ertain[pes ofveneer,likeomeJ burlsandexotic pecies,reavailable

izes,ioducing sheet fufficientlyargeor your project

often nvolveoiningseveral mall-piecesogether, ith some uttingand

efore lue-up.Whenevereneerse oined, ou mustpayattentiono

and exture o avoidclut-or haphazard atterns. ut asbelow veneersarefullymatched

decorativeffectsn mindcanyield

ywood n itsnat-

Veneerheetshatare ntendedo bebe cut from the same

asses.he results ahatareessentiallyden-of matchyou achieve

n both the figureandgrainftheveneer nd hesize f

ou ntend o create.

Artfully matching en ercancreate ye-catchingffects.

This abletopfeaturescenter iamondmatch.

Straight-grainedoods, uchaszebra-wood and sapele,or example, ieldveneershat areexcellentor diamond,reverse-diamondndherringboneat-

terns.Burl, crotchand stumpveneerscanbe butt-and-book-matCh edntoIarge, laborateircular ndovalpatternsideal orcreatingnterestingabletops.

Recognizingrainpatterns uitablefor decorative atchingakes ractice.You have o know what to look for:A littleswirl at theedge f a sheet,orexample, ayyielda beautiful esign.To geta quick deaof whatan end-to-endor a diamondmatchwould ook ike,place mirrorat a rightangle o thesur-

face f theveneeri se wo mirrorssetat90oo each ther opreview butt-and-book-match. nce ou have ettled nyourpattern, tackhesheetsfveneer othat heirgrain saligned,ape heedgesandcut hepiecesor thematch.

End-to-endA mirrorlike?attern featurinqflat-cut veneerewith promi-nent landacape igure

Eutt-and-book-matchCommonly aed with butt, crotchand etump veneereo create anunfoldina, circula effect

Reverse-diamondmatchFeaLures our aheetEofveneerhat appear oconverqeat their center

1lip matahOften ueed o producedramatic effecta: reduceadratorDion auaedby iqhtrefraction problemawhenbook-matchinqmaple

Eook-matchA repeatingpattern whereadjoininqsheeta of veneerappear to radiate from Lhejoint between hem, like hepaqeaof a book

HerringboneVeneerawhoee i4uree rundiagonallyoff the aheet,creattnq a ztqzageffecL



I lthough t maynotbeasglamorousA or assteepedn woodworkingra-dition assolid umber,plywoodoffersseveral dvantageso the cabinetmaker.

First, t comesn a wide ange f stan-dard hicknessesndsizes. econd,t isdimensionally table nd s unlikely owarp or showsigns f checking r splirting.Third, t isavailable ith ustaboutanycommonlvavailableeneer n itsfaces. nd fourth, it is easy o cut.Indeed,plywood s a goodchoice oralmostanydesign hat does ot involveintricateoinerysuch sdovetails.

Although veneerhas a venerablehistoryandplyr,voods a relatively od-

ern development-fi stproduced om-merciallyn themid-1800s-the vvo reclosely elated. lyuood,afterall, s alayeredwood materialmade rom thinsheets, r plies,of veneer. ecorativeplywood s often acedwith matched

PLYWOOD

veneers ade rom high-gradeard-woods uchascherryor walnut.Theveneer sed n construct ion-gradeplywood s peeled n a rotary athe

from eight-foot-longog sof poplar,pineor Douglas-fir.

Asshownopposite, oth decorativeandconstruction-gradelywoodaremanufacturedith an odd numberofplies, iving he sheet balanced on-struction. hreepliesareusually heminimumnumber. eneathhe ace ndbackveneersfa typicalsheet re ayersknownas rossbands.hegrainofeachcrossbandunsat rightangleso thatofadjacent lies o counterwood move-

ment.The result s a warp-resistantboard hat sequally trongacross othdimensions. omeply,voods realsoavailable ith reinforced ores.

As with solid umber,plywood savailablen both hardwood nd soft-

woodvarieties,lthoughhe ermsstrictly o the faceand backvenHardwood lyr,voods astable ndcefitctive lternativeo solidwood,a

used n woodworking pplications appearanceatters,uch s or cabdrawer rontsand urniture.Softwplywood s generally sed or carconstruction,ookcasesndshelv

Not al l pliwoodsarecreatedMore han70woodspeciesreuseitsmanufacture. lywoods regrouaccordingo strength nddurabboth softwoodandhardwood ariareavailablen fourgroups r categthat areusually tamped n the sh

Group (softwood) nd Catego(hardwood) peciesre he stronandmostdurable;GroupandCateD are he poorest rades. efer ochart below)forhespecieshatmup thevarious roupings.

COMMON ()()DS SEDN PLYWOODONSTRUCTION

SOFTWOOD

Groupr American

Beech

r YellowBirch

. Douglas-fn

o WesternLarch

l R r ro : r

Maple

r LongleafPine

. ShortleafPine

oSouthernPine

. Tanoak

Groupo PortOrford

Cedar

'Cypress

. Balsamir

. Lauan

. BlackMaple

r Virg in iaP ine

oYel lowPoplar

r BlackSpruce

. SitkaSpruce

Groupo Red

Alder

. PaperBirch

r AlaskaCedar

. EasternHemlock

o BigleafMaple

. JackPine

o PonderosaPi e

o Redwood

o WhiteSpruce

Groupr Biglooth

Aspen

r QuakingAspen

. Basswood

r RedCedar

r WesternCedar

o Cotton-

wood. Sugar

Pine

o BalsamPoplar

HARDWOOD

Categoryo White

Ash

r Bubinga

. Hickory

r Re dOak

. White0a k

. Pecan

o Rosewood

r Q a n a l o

Categoryr Black sho Avodir6

. BlackCherry

o Rock lm

r AfricanMahogany

o HondurasMahogany

. Teak

o BlackWalnut

Categoryo American

Basswood

. Butternut

e AmericanChestnut

. Hackberry

o Si lverMaple

o EasternWhite ine

r WesternWhite ine

o BlackTupelo

Categoryo Bigtooth

Aspen

. QuakinA q n p n

o WesterCedar

. Fuma

. BlackWil low



VENEERSAND MANUFACTURE,DBOARDS

TYPES)FPLYWOOD

Thebasic es ign f a l l p lywoodss hesame: core overed

on bothsides y ayers f crossbandingnda face eneer. he

mostcommon ypehasa veneer ore.Al l softwood lywoods

aremade h isway, nd heyare tab le, arp- res is tantnd

inexpensive,ardwoodlywoodsanalso emadewithsol id

lumber r par t i c leboardores. hemiddle lyof Iumber -core

plywoodonsistsf severalarrowtrips f solidwood-usu-allymahogany,oplarr basswood-edge-gluedogether.Particleboard-corelywoodas solid ore f particleboardrmedium-densityiberboard.umber-corelywoodolds ai lsand crewsest nd spreferablehen ddit ionaltrengthand latnessre equired.

VENEERORE

Dack veneer

TUMBERORE

Lumper ore

PARTICTEBOARD()RE

Croaabande

TarDicleboardore Eack veneer



PLYWOODGRADING

tl - h. wide arrayof plywood ypesI available akeshoosingheappro-

priateone or a projectmore nvolvedthansimplyselectingparticularhick-

ness. othhardwood ndsoftwood lv-wood panels re ateddepending nhow theyshouldbe usedand on t heappearance f their face and backveneers. hey arealsoavailablen oneof threegrades, r durability atingsdependingon the gluesand veneersused n the construction f theoanels.Softwoodplywoodcomes n eiteriorand nterior grades,nd a category alledExposure

Exterior-gradend Exposure ply-

wood areusuallymadewith a water-proofadhesive,reating eatherproofpanelshat are resistanto moisture.

Their ace ndback eneersrecut roma relativelyweather-resistantood.Interior plywood s madewith a water-resistant dhesivend s usuallypro-

ducedwith an appearance-gradeaceveneer nd a lesser-gradeackveneer.Formost nteriorapplications, ood-workers enerallyhoose xposure orinterior-gradeanels.

The hreehardwood ly,vood radesareTypes , II and II. Type includesfully waterproof xteriorpanelswhileType I isan nterior-gradelywood bleto withstand omemoisture;TypeII isa moisture-resistantnteriorplr.wood.

TypesI and II areyourbest hoicesor

mostcabinetmakingrojects.Theappearancefthe faceandback

veneerss another actor hat distin-

guishes ifferentplpvood typesshown n thechartopposite, oth hawoodandsoftwood anels reavailin sixgrades.fyou aiebuyingsoftw

plywood ou candeterminets graplusadditionalnformation boutapticularsheet, y readingtsgrade ta(below). ardwood liruood s genely not stamped;f youneedaparticgrade, ouhaveo ask or it and akesuppliert wordthatyouaregettingwyou want.

Plywood smanufacturedn araof sizes. oftwood lywood angethicknesstomlE to 7anch,whilehawoodply,voods availablerom y

I inch hick. Thestandard anelsiz4 by 8 feet, ut special rders anplacedor largersheets.

DECIPHERINGSOFTW(|(IDLYWOODTAMPNDEDGEMARK

Readinggradetampnd dgemarkMost rade tampsnsoftwoodlywosuch s heone hown t eft , ontas ixbasic lements.nadd i t iono heAmericanlywoodssociat ionAPA

trademark,hestampdentifes hemthatproducedheboard nd heprodstandardubl icatronhat ontainshegradingules. hehyphenatedetterin h is ase -D-designatehegradof he ace ndback eneersespecly.The urabi l i tylassi fcat ion ay eeither xter ior,nter iorr Exposureand hespeciesroup umberndicath ewoodshatmay ave een sednthemanufacturef hepanel.Seehchart npage 0. ) nordero avoidma

ringa plywoodith wogoodaces-Agrade,orexamplanedgemark,uchtheone hown t oer eft, s used. anedgesometimesarycolor tripeso deignatehegrade.

ExPosuRt-- 2'':f;::

. Gr1 EXPOSURE1APA.0Q0.PS1-93



CONCEALINGPLYWOODEDGES

or all its advantages,lywoodhasonemajor drawback or cabinet-

making: hemulti-plycomposition fthepanelssclearlyvisiblen theiredges

and ends.Fortunatelvherearea num-ber of simpleoptions or concealingthe unsightlyplies.Pressure-sensitivewood-grain ape, or example, anbepressedn place yhand.Or,asshownbelow, elf-adhesivedge anding anbe appliedwith an ron.Bothproducts

come n several tandardwidthsandwoodspecies.

The illustration at right shows ev-eralmore nvolved dgereatment lter-natives deallysuited o customwork.

Wth thesplinedmiter oint, or exam-ple, he miterededges f two panels reglued ogether nd reinforcedwith sol-id wood splines. he other methodsinvolve cutting strips of hardwoodbanding r moldingandbonding hemto theedges f thepanel. hestepsor

applyingone of these ypes-tongue-and-groove dgemolding-are shownon the ollowing age.

SELF.ADHESIVEANDING

EDGEREATMENTSOR TYWOOD

Tongue-and-4rooveedqe moldinq

)olid woodedqe banding

Applyingelf-adhesivedge andingSet householdron nHigh withou

steam)nd llowt oheat p.Meanwsecurehepanel nedgena vise rwclamps,sshown,nd uta strip f baing l ight lyongerhan heedgeo becovered.et hebandingdhesive-down n hepane l dge. o ld ingheband ingnp lace i th ne and,un hiron lowlylonghepanel dge, res

the rim lat. he eat f he ron i l lmtheglue nd ondhebandingo hepa

el .Keephe ronmoving;estingt onospotormorehan few econdsil l escorch arks. la t tenut hebandiby unn ingsmal l ando l le rack nforthalonghe ength f hepanel dgShave ff any xcessanding itha lanaterimmerpage 8).



VENEERS ND MANUFACTUREDBOARDS

T()NGUE-AND-GROOVEDGE OLDING

rlll]IlllrrJllril lll]lllll lluilllllltllJllt lllltl]l5HO7 t?thop-madeedgebandingCutthin eNripe fedqe andinqroma board nLheNableeaw. ./takehe etriVo:,'i

a l iqhNlyonqerhanLhepanel ndaN eaelas wide e trhe anel'eLhickneee.ecurehe paneluVriqht,na viee,henaVplyLhin luebead lonq to edqe.Tlacehe bandinqn Vlace nd ape tf i rmly t 2- inch nlervale.Whenhe qlueiodry ehave ff any exceo;banding iI,ha laminaterrimmerpaqe6B).

Making nd pply inghemold ing

Ins ta l l com b i na t i onl ade nyou r

table awandmake evera l asseso

cut a groovene h i rdas h ickas hepanel .Next , ouneed o cut he match-

ing ongue;t should esawn n heedge

of a hardwoodoardhesame hicknessas hepane l . d j us theb lade e igh t

so hat t equalshe amount f stock

remain ingn e i ther ide f thegroove.

Cut hewasteromonesideof the

t ongue ,hen urn he board ver nd

repeathe procedureo completehe

tongue; n isheachpass i tha push

sltck above,eft).Cut he pieceof mold-

ing rom he board. in ishhe obby

secur inghepanel pr ightn a v iseand

spreadingome lue n thegroovend

on he ongue. i t he wopiecesogeth-er ( inset ) ndclamp hem n place i th

three-waylamps.



PARTICLEBOARD

oodcompositesuch sparticle-boardand iberboard rea pop-

ular choiceor carcaseacks, rawerbottoms nd concealedanels.Made

fromblends f woodparticlesndsyn-theticadhesiveonded ogether nderin tenseeat ndpressure ,omposi teboards reasstrongand asdurable smost solid woodsan d generallyessexoensive.hevarealsomoredimen-sronallvtaDle.

Particleboardas irstdevelopednthe 1930s sa wayof recycl ing oodflakes. hiosand sawdust ismissedssawmillwiste.Today,manymills ocusmainlyon particleboardroduction,

processingoftwood ndmedium-den-sityhardwoodsnto compositearticlesrvithmachinesalled rum flakers, hip-ners ndhammermil ls.

Particleboards manufacturedy womethods: xtrusion ndmat-formins.In the ess orlmon extrusion ro..ri,

wood articlesndadhesivesre orcedtogetherhrougha small, hin openingto formpanels.hegrainorientation ftheparticlessperpendicularo the acesof the panels.With mat-forming,he

particles nd adhesivesresqueezedinto a mat n apress.With thismethod,thegrainof the ibers s parallelo theoanelaces.

Mat-formed articleboardomesnthree onfi urationsrigl ).Single-layerparticleboardeatures oodparticlesfuniformsize ndshape. ulti-layerar-ticleboard ascoarser havinss t thecore f thepanel rrd inerorreisn theoutside urfaces. raded-densitvarti-

cleboardssimilaro multi- aver aiticle-

board, utwitha moregradual'charrgefrom coarseo fine particles. tandardpart ic leboardheets re4 by B feet ,although -by-10 anels reavailable;thicknessesange rom 7+ o 2 nches.

TYPES FMAT-FORMEDARTICLEB()ARD

Made rom a mat of aimilarlyetzedand evenlydistributed coar6ewoodparticleo

Featureaa core layerof coarae woodparDiclea etnforcedby two ouLer ayereof fine, high-denettyparticlee

G ra ded-d enaity pa rti cleboa rdCharacLertzedy a gradual ranstttonfrom coareewoodparbicleo t Lhecare o very tne,htgh-denetLy oodpar-ticlee on the outer eurfacee



FIBERBOARD

f, iberboard,r hardboard,s pressedI' into matsmuch ikeparticleboard,but becausehe wood oarticles rereducedo individual ibers.he result

is a thin, hard and dense heetwithsmoothsurfaces. ardboard omesnthreegrades: tandard,empered ndservice. empered ardboard s harder,heavier nd morewater-resistanthanthe two other ypes.Thicknessesangefrom 1Azto s/a inch.Anothervarietv.called medium-density iberboard(MDF), eatures fine surfaceexturewith faces ndedges lmostasworkableassolidwood.MDF is availablen thick-nessesrom 1/+to IV+ nch and canbe

boughtwith veneeredurfaces.

WORKINGHARACTERISTICSFMANUFAGTUREDOARDS

STAI{DARDARDBOARD

Hardboard

Made of individualwood ibera; commonlyuaed n furni|ureand cabinet work becaueeof ite fine. amooth aurface

BOARDYPE

Plywood

Particleboard

Hardboard

Medium-densityfiberboard

WORKABITITY

Easyowork;ineface eneerseedlit t le anding

Difficulto work;use fcarbideippedtoolsecommended;wear dustmaskwhenworking

Edges asyo rout,shape rgroove;sandingf acesnot equ i red.seof carb ideippedtools ecommended

Edgesasyo rout,snape rgroove;sandingf aces otrequired.se fcar-bide ippedoolsrecommended

FASTENING

Face oldsastenerswell, utedges ftenspl i t . ore i lot o les;

screw iameterhouldno texceedne-quarterof panelhickness

Hold n astenerspoor; ore i lot o les.Usein ish inga i l s nddrywall crews

Face f emperedard-board olds crewsell.(otherypes otaswell)Bore ilotholes

ndusesheetmetal crews

Hold nnai ls xcel lent ;hold nscrewsoor

VENEERING

Softwoodlywoodcanbeveneered

Mult i- layerndgraded-densityar -ticleboardxcellentfo rveneering

Temperedard-board anbeveneere0

Canbecoveredwith hinveneer

Frl{tsHrl{G

Premiumndgoodgradesf hardwoodplywoodeedittle inish-

ing; oundradeanbepainted;oftwoodly-wood rades andA canbepaintedr in ished

Mu ti-layerarticleboardaccepts os tinishes;otherypes ot uitableforpaint ingr in ishing.

Accepts ostinishes

Can e inishedrpainted



separateayersf umbernapile,allow-ingaircirculationroundhe ndivid-

DRY]NGAI.{D

STOruNGWOOD

vYmarenar:"uo'o,l:r'll!!firri',s.i-.:,,,'l

'"1?,1lo'inl",Tff:?T:*::'"*.p-T*-Y E

--

ple, our oinerymethodshould llowfor woodmovement.f thevdo nor.p i e c e s o f f u r n i t u r e c a n l i t e r a l l y s e l f - _ ; - . f - - : . . - - . ^ v . 5 v r v v r ! u r r r \ v !Aao+q,n+̂/ l^il^+L^^'-'.r i^^+j^- '^-.-^^r *

whitepine'air-dryingtoa l0to l2per-destruct'hi]e he.pnlicationfawood A resistanceoisture eterike centmoistureevelssufficient"#r,finishmayslowdimensionalhange the ne hownbovesacylin- furniture rojects. hicheverryingnothingcantopt. drical evice ith wopinshoto* method* .iroor.,y*iun ur. u rp.-

Freshlyut umber, r greenwood, pressedntoa board. hemeter cialmeterike heone hownnthepirohas, relativelyighmoistureontent, measureslectricalesistance, toaboveomeasureoistureontent.whichorhardwoodsan angerom,60 whichwitlvarydependingn he Apart rom

controlover hewood,percento 100 ercentf hedryweight. amount fwatein thewood. theprincipalU.n.ntofatyinliun'b.,Thischapterocusesn ways f reduc-

1^ < in heshopseconomic.heewerper-ing hat o a evel uitableorcabinetmaking,round to l0 ations erformedn1nl.ank efor"y""U"y i-ru.n u,ary-pelc:lt'dependingn heclimate.andpecies. ingandsurfacing-thiesst costs.or arge uantitiesf

unlessoubuygreenoodwith he ntention fdryingt luirber-say, ,060boardeet r more-theiavings anaddyourself,our umbersalreadyither ir-driedr kiln-'driid. up o hundredsf dollars.Air-driedwood.may.havep to 25percent oistureon- Proper toragesas mportant sdrying.Driedwoodtent.Kiln-driedumberhasa owei evel, to 8percent. .*por.d o heeiementsarire-absorbome f themoisture

lthough.kiln-driedood s generallyreferableor furni- thatwas xtractedrom t.There re everalayso ioi. r"ooa,urebuilding,ome uristsvoidt,contendinglalttrgprocess dependingnthe.kind fG. youhave nd hewood ouubdueshenatural olors f certain oods nd,n thi short workwithl-froq longpia-nlis-iohort tockoopi..i*, toU.

can nducenternal tressesn thewood,makingt consignedo he indiingox.

oucan esign6uio*n tun'-

-L_--_-, r , r , berraik,usingth.o*rtlio*ninthischapteias'startingLargendustrialilnshouse undredsfptafl15t a ime, or nstall coirmercialurnberruil. id;;;;;rlir.rn.n,

here reanumber f.do-it-yourselfodelshatare ela- tostore ood, onsidernstallingdehirmidifiJrorejucehesimpleo built, ncluding small-scaleolar-powered high elativeumiditylevel.o.111onn such narea.

providea astandffictive wayofdryingoa moistureevelappropriatefor cabi-

ere, tacks f hardwood lanksoaded yforklift intoan ndustrial iln.



WATERANDWOOD

oisture hangesn woodcancause

problernsorapiece f [urniture,

somemerely nnoying, thers uiteseri-

ous.A freshlyut ogcan ontain ater

equal o twice tsdryweight;madentoa oiece f furniture,t can urn stone

diy. This capacityo hold different

amounts f moisture ,rnderifferent

conditions auses ood o swelland

contract.f thispropertys not consid-

ered y hecabinetmaker,drawerhat

oDensmoothlvn thedead f winter

cin swell nd am shut n thehumidity

of summer. perfectly quare arcase

cabinet anpull tself part shumidity

levels hanserom seasono season.

The am6untof water n a piece fwood soften xpresseds percelrtage

of its oven-dry r water-free eight.

Forexample,f a 50-pound lockofwooddrops o 30pounds fteroven-

drying, heweight f theshedwater-pounds-dividedby the wood'sdweight-30 pounds-is thernois

content f heoriginalpiece:n thisc

66oercent.Wood oldsnoisturen woway

freewater n cellcavities ndasbouwater n cellwalls. swooddries,water sexoelledirst.When his sdischarged,he wood eaches hatermedts iber aturationoint FS

At his oint ,he e l lcavi t iesre mbut he oundwateremairts,erming hecel lwal ls. ormostwoods

FSP ccurs etween 3percent ndpercentmoisture ontent ependin

thespecies,ith 28percentheaverThekevooint o remembers hatatfiber aiurationoint. heresno dimsional hangen wood rom ts recnt size.t simplyweighsess. oweow wet s wood?Thisf'e*ly

cut logof Eastenthemlock on-

tains1.5gallonsof water or sap

Conrpletelydry, the log wotld

weigh ne-hafns rruch s ts

green weight.

As hemoistureontentfa pla in-sawn

plank f2-by-10oftwoodumberropsbelowhe iber aturat ionointFSP),

thewood hrinkscrosshegrain. t 17nercpnt he hoard s l,/atnchnarrower

than t wasat i ts FSP. t loses notherr /q inchof widthwhen i ln-dr iedo an 8

percentevel . hr inkageepends art ly

n n a c n o e i o c ' d a n c i t v . o o n p r : l l v d o n c p rv , , u J v v L , v J u v , , J , L J ,

woods hrink ndswel lmore han ighter

ones . apw oodlso ends o change

dimensionsore uick lyhanhear twood.

MoiaLure ontentabove30%(n ochanqe)

MoiaturecontentaL F9?-26%(nochange)

Moisturecontentat 17%(1/+' hrtnkaqe)

MoisLure ontent^ + l z o /

(3/a"ehrinkaqe)

MoieLure ontenLat B%(1/z' hr inka4e)



DRYINGAND STORINGWOOD

if thewooddries urther,alling elowtheFSBt losesoundwaterrom tscellwalls. hecells hrinkandsodoesthewood. s he llustrationnpage 0

shows,hemoreboundwatera boardloseshemoret shrinks.

Theonlyway oprevent ood romshrinkings o treat t witha chemicalsuch sPEG-1400.PEGsanabbrevi-ationofpolyethylenelycol; 400s hechemical'soleculareight.)EG- 400diffirsesnto hewoodand eplacesheboundwater,eepinghecell-wallsul-Iyswollen.he reatmentssuitablenlyfor green ood, owever,nd s most

opularorusewith urning nd arv-

ngblocks.Wood ains nd oses oistures he

elativeumidityn theairaroundtf the elativeumidityoseo

100 ercent,piece fwoodwould each

its ibersaturationointandbeat thesameize swhent wasmilled.f rela-tivehumidityell o0percenthewood'smoistureontent oulddrop o0per-

cent.Becauseelative umidity allsbetweenhose xtremesnlyaportionof theboundwaters ost.Realisticallv,themoistureontentangef most tockis5 o 20percent.

From easono season,he elativehumidityn agivenocationan ary80percentr more. his sbecauseelativehumidityand emperaturerecloselyintertwined.Warmair canholdmoremoisturehancoldair.Asa result, hencoldwinterair sheated,s t is n homesandworlshops,tsabilityoholdmois-turencreasesramatically.ftheresnoaddedmoisture vailable,herelativehumidityplummetso extremelyowlevels.n contrast,otsummer ir can

hold a argeamountof moisture.Butwhencooledndoors,t canholdmuchless.The resultcanbe fairlyhigh rela-tive humidity. Both extremes ausechangesn themoistureevelof woodand n itssize.

Youcan akeseveral recautionsocounteract he effectsof changinghumidity levels. f you store umbeiindoors,ryto keephe relative umid-ity fairlyconstant, singa dehumidier,forexample, hen tre evels et oohigh.And although ou maynot be able ocontrol heenvironmentwhere ourfur-niturewill endup,youshouldbuildthepieceo compensateor wood move-ment.Whencuttingapanelor a rame,for instance,eave t/s-inchgapin thegrooveshatwillhousehepanel. heextraspacewill allow hepanel o expandandcontract shumidity evelsiseand all.

Relatingwood'squilibriumoisturecontento elativeumidityWhetheroods n he orm f a log,a ki ln-driedoardra f inishedieceof urniture,tsmoistureontentaries

with he elat iveumidityf heairaroundt.Ashumidityises,odoesthewood's oistureontent,xpressedin percentn hegraph hown t eft.Themoistureevel fa piece fwoodeventual lyeachestsequiibriummoistureontentEMC)fterhehum-idity tabilizes.heEMC lso ariesdependingn he emperature.heband hownn hegraph overs MCvaluesormostwoods t 70 degreesFahrenheit.hosealuesecrease

sl ightlyt higheremperaturesndIncreasearginal lyi th ool ing.

30

s== 2 2

C'tJ

e 2 0o.E

= l b

'=

=Elrt

6

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Relative umiditynAtmosphere%)

90 100

I

7

7

7




W(IODHRINKAGE

SHRINKAGEATUESlFDIFFERENTOODPECIES

Findingimensionallytable ood

The hart t ight howshe ypicalmountf shrink-

age fvariouspeciesn both he angentialnd

radial irectionshen reen oo ds dried o zero

moistureontent.Valuesre hownn percent;

a 10 percentaluen he angentialolumn,or

examole, eansha ta 10-inch-wideoard ould

shrink y hatamounio 9 inches ide.) lthough

tangentialhrinkagexceedsadial ontractionn

every ase, o wospecieshrink y h esameamount.heaverages8 percentangentiallync

4 percentadial ly.he ey olumnf he harts

the hird: heT/R ationdicatesheproportionf

tangentialo radial hrinkage.he owerhe atio,

th e esshedifferentialetweenhe wo ypes f

shrinkagend hemore tablehewood. pecies

with elativelyow atios,ikemahoganyi.4)an d

teak 1.8), re ess usceptibleowarpinghan

woods ithhigheratios,uch sbeech2.2).

Tangentialnd adial hrinkage

Lumberoe s ot ontractniformly;sshow

thedotteded inesn he llustrationt eft, agentialhrinkage-parallelo hegrowthings

aboutwicehe adial hrinkage,hich ccu

acrosshe ings. his ifferenceccountsor

warpingf boardsndpanelsswood xpand

contractsit h luctuationsn moistureonte

Shrinkagelonghe engthfa boardsusua

negligible.2-by-i0 lankha tshrinks/zinc

width,orexample,ightoseesshan%o nc

alongts8-footength.

SPECIES

Ash,White

Basswood,merican

Beech, merican

Butternut

Catapa

Cedar, laskaellow

Cedar,WesternedCherry,lack

Douglas-fr

Elm, merican

Hackberry

Hickory,hagbark

Holly, merican

Madrone

Mahogany,onduras

Maple,ugar

0ak, ed

Oak, hite

Persimmon

Pine, asternhite

Pine, onderosa

Sassafras

Sycamore,merican

Teak

Walnut,lack

Wil low,lack

TANGENTIAL%)

7.8

9.3

1 1 . 9

6.4

4.9

6.0

5.07. r

7.8

9 .5

8.9

10 . 5

9 .9

12 . 4

5 . 1

9.9

8.6

10 . 5

II.2

6 . 1

6 .2

8.4

4.0

t . 6

8.7

RADIAL%) T/RRATI

4.9

6 .6

5 .5

3 .4

2 .5

2.8

2 .43 .7

5.0

4.2

4 .8

7 .0

4.8

5.6

4.8

4.0

5.6

7 .9

2 . 7

3.9

4.0

5.0

z . t

5 .5

3.3

1 . 6

1 .4

2 .2

1 . 9

2.0

2 . I

2 . r1 . 9

1 . 6

2 . 5

1 . 9

1 . 5

2 . 1

z - z

1 . 4

2. r2 . r1 .9

1..4

2 .9

1 . 6

1 . 6

I . 7

1 .8

7 .4

2 .6




MEASURINGHEMOISTUREONTENTN WOOD

ehoulddeal ly :reach he ::

middle f a -

boardwhen .:takinqa read-inq,they endNobe nade-

ill' llf"llffil'1ll-fl1-lllf-lll'llf'IIlIIfll-fll-fiI"ll lllffilll

5HO?Tt?Re ding moist ure aontentin thick stockTh emelal pinson commercialeeis-Iance-Iy?e moieluremelero are ypi-cal ly bouL nch ong. inceLhepine

quate or slocklhat ie hicker han 2 inches.YouanexNendhe each f he pinebydrivin7Iwo iniohing ai lointo the woodunLi l he Lipe each he middle nd LheheadsproNruderom Ihe eurface. hen ouch LhemeLerpine o he nai lheads nd akea readina.

Using resistance-typeoisture eterTodeterminehemoistureontent fyour tock, se moisture eter. etthestock na work urfacendpushthemetal ins n heen dof hemeterinto he ace f heboard s aras heywil lgo.Twisthedial n opof hebar-relunti l he ighturns nand akereadingabove).epeattseveralointsandaveragehe esults. lternatively,crosscutheboard 2 nchesrom itherendand ake readingrom he reshlycut endgrain photo, age

79).MosImetersre alibratedorwood t roomtemperature-about8' F.Followhemanufacturer'snstructionso adjustyour esultsf youareworkingn em-peraturesignificantlybover belowthis evel.




sotARIU{Thekilnshown elow, it ha roof nd

frontwallof emperedlass, rovides

a natural ryingycle. uringheday,

warmedysunl ight,hewood ries;

at night,hemoisturen hewetter

core f hestockmigratesoward oard

surfaces,nsuring ore ven rying.

Bui ldheki ln ccordingo he

amount f wood ouplano dryand he

spaceouhave vai lable.f you re

reusinglass aris, uch sused atio

doors rstorm indows,oumaywish

to basehesize f heki lnand ts

framingn hedimensionsf he ecy-

cledmaterial.he ilnshown elow

andopposites 5 feetwide, 6 eet

long nd b out feethigh.Choosesunnyocationor hekiln,

then evelhesurfacendspreadrav-

el overt. Lay oncretelocks t 2- to

3-footntervalssa oundation.he n

builda baserame f pressure-

4-by-4s n opof he blocks. he

of he raming nd afters reco

structed ith2-by-4 tock;he lo

walls nddoor remade f3/+-i

exterior-gradelywood.

0nce hebaserames n pla

nai l he loor n opof t , hen o

struct studwall rameor he r

of heki ln.Cut hestudso eng

andnaila sole lateo heir ott

FRONTIEW

Topplate

Faecia board

Lumberaupport

Glaea atop

Concreteblock

1ole plaLe

Baee rame



DRYING AND STORINGWOOD

stDE tEw

)tick

D'*

nda topplate t heir opends,he ront dges f hestuds

Vt inch rom he rontedge feplateso provide ledgeor he

akehegapbetweenecenter f hestuds oualo he

f hepanels,pacinghemnohan4 feetapart. et hewallpright ndnail hesole late

baserame. epeateorocedureomake ndattachwall

or heback nd ides f hehis imewithout ffsettingherom heplates. ut hestuds

r hesidewalls o hat he oo fwill

l ope 4 inches f

rise or every 2 horizontalnches).Cut he oof afterso allow few

inches f overhangt he ront ndback,hennail he afterso he opplates,pacinghem o it theglasspanelso be nstal ledn he oof .

Tack ascia oardso bothends fthe afters,eavingsmall ipabovethe opedges f he afterso hold heroofpanels. overheopeningetweenthe ascia nd heback al lwitha1-by-4 oard sa soffit. n the rontof heki ln. his oacehould e eftooen. ext ai l hewal lso heout-side dges f hestuds n hebackandone ide,nstal l ingingesnd

hasoocks none idewall o convertit intoa door.

To nstallheglass anelsn heroof, et hemon adjacentafters,leavingmple pace etweenhepan-

els orscrews. hen asten own -by-3 wood trips hatoverlapheedgesof hepanelso hold hem n place.

Toaccommodateheglass anelsnthe rontwallof hekiln, utnotches

in the bottom dges f the rafters,

then l idehepanelsp n to henotch,estinghebottom f hepan-

elson hesole lateedge. crew -by-3wood lockso the rontedge fthesole lateo supporthemiddleof each lass anel.

Tokeepheair n heki ln i rculat-ing, asten piece f plywoodsabaffle o twoadjacenttuds n hebackwall, eavingnopeningetweenthebaffle nd he opof hestudsorair o enter. t loor evel, onstruct

frame n he rontof he baffle oranexhaustan. he anwil lpul lwarm irdownhroughhebaffle nd ir culatei t hroughheki ln. nstal lheswitchfo r he anon hebaffle, long itha

thermostato start he anwhenheair emoeratureeaches0"Fandatimer o urn he anof fat night.

To keeo he umber tack ff hefloor, ail own -by-2 upportieces

spacedbout 6 nchespart. i lethe umbersyouwouldorair-drying,

leavingdequatepace etweendja-centboardsndseparatinghe ayers

of stockwith1-by-2 tickers.lf you annotupplylectricityo he

ki ln, eave ddit ionalpace etweentheboardso ensuredequateircir-culation. rying f hewoodmay akeseveral onths; se moisture eter(page 3)tocheck n he umber'smoistureontenteriodicaly.



ESTIMATINGWOOD MOVEMENT

J J nlesyouplano buildallyour ur-\-/ niture rommanufacturedoardssuch sparticleboardndplywood,oushould xpecthewood ouworkwith

to swell ndshrink lightly.his houldnot cause nyproblemss ongasyoucompensateor hechangef dimen-sions hen oubuild ourpiece.

A good irststeps o measurehemoisture ontent f the umber page83).Thendetermine owmuch hismoistureevelwill change s elativehumidity luctuatesn ttre ocation herethe finishedpieceof furniturewillbeplacedpage 1). inally,ry to esti-mate heamount f woodmovement

thatwilloccur sa result f thewood'schanging oistureontent. sa ruleofthumb, lain-sawnumberwill move0.04nchper ootofwidth oreveryer-cent hangen tsmoistureontent.hevalueorquartersawnoods 025nch.(Thedifferenceetweenhe wogivesgood ndication f whycabinetmakerschooseuartersawnverplain-sawnlumberwhen heywant o limit woodmovement.)f, for example,ouuseplain-sawnhitepinewith anequilib-

rium moisture ontent f 12percentnsummer hichdries o anEMCof 8percentn winter, oucancountonasmuch s .16nchofmovementnwidthper foot betweenhe two seasons.Changesn ength re egligiblenoughto bediscounted.

A thin ineof unfinished ood s a telhale ignofwoodmovementn thiscloseuphotographfpart of a rame-and-paneloor.After he inishwasapplied, he humidity evel n the oomwhere hecabinetwasstored raduallydropped, ausing hewood o contract. similaramount f movementn a carcaseonstruction ighthave hreatenedthepiece'structural ntegrity.Theframe-and-panelesign, owever,allowsor wood's aturalswelling ndshrinking. hepanelJloatsnsidea ixed ramewith roomfor % nchof movement orizontally.

1HO?Tt?Makin6 a moiet"u e indiaalo rKeep hio moi olure auqe nyourehoV e a reminder f therelationehip elween umidit y nd woodmovemenl,To akethe qauqe,'cuNlen7bh f woodfrom Nheend of aalued-uo anel. rf L l

bonda tew woodblocke oqelher

edqe-to-edqe. aila melaloointertooneendof hie arm,then altachbhearm'eotherendtoa pieceof plywood.Drivea screw hrough he pivot, oleof rhepointer nlo he plywood o hat the poinler o parallelo Lheendof the arm. Leavehe ecrew ooee nouaho allow hepointer o pivof,. s Ihe relative umidity litctuaVes nd hearm swells r shrinks,lhepoinber il lewivelo eilher side.



AIR.DRYINGWOOD

"l - h. illustrationsnpage 8showI wo simple ayso stackreenum-

ber o ensureroper rying. sshownin thechartbelow, rying imes ary

for differentwoods. oavoidconfusingifferent atchesfwood.mark heends f eachboardwith hespeciesnd hedate oustackedt. It is alsogooddeao reatheends ftheboards ith an mperviousoat-ing suchashot paraffinwax,varnish, iluted lue r a com-mercial ndsealer. therwise,the endsof boardsmay drymorequickly han adjoining

surfaces,ausingheckso formin thewood. fyou areworkingwith ogs, oatingheirends illincreaseheamount f usablelumber he ogswill yieldby asmuchas20oercent.

Whateveitheize r ocationof yourdrying tack, irmustcirculate venly roundall thesurfacesf thestock. hiswillensurehat hesurfacesftheboards tay ry enougho pre-

vent ungi from causing lue stain. twill alsohelp guarantee minimal

amount of warping of the boards.Placingstickers, r narrowstrips of

Logsfor carving can be stored n a pile one atop the

other,providedtheir endsare not in contact.The ends

should be coatedwith a sealer, owever, oonafter the

logsare bucked o ensureeven drying of the wood.

wood,between ifferent ayers f stockexposeshe op andbottom surfacesfthe boards o the same low of air.

Lumber anbe air-dried ndoorsor

outdoors, ut forbest esults,youshould tartheprocessut-side r n anunheateduildinglikea barnor garage.n a heat-ed indoor location,wherehumidity s typicallyow andtemperaturesrehigh,greenwoodmaydry oo apidly, hichpromoteshecking. utdoors,the umber hould ecoveredwith a sheet f plywood oserve sprotectionrom heele-

ments. s hewooddries, heckitsmoisture ontent eriodical-ly with a meter, eeping otesfor future eference.

Wooddestinedor outdooruse eed nlybedriedoutside.For ndoor urniture,hewoodshouldcompletets dryinginside, referablyt a humidi-ty levelsimilar o that n thelocationwherehe urniturewill eventuallyeused.

APPROXIMATERYINGIMES(lRVARIOUS(l(lDS

HARDWOODS

Ash,white

Basswood,American

Beech,American

Butternut

Cherry,lack

Elm, ray

Hickory

Maple,ugar

Oak,ed

Sycamore,American

Walnut,lack

DAYS

60-200

40-150

70-200

60-200

70-200

50-150

60-200

50-200

70-200

30-150

70-200

s0nwo0DsDouglas-fr

Hemlock

Pine,Eastern hite

Pine, ugar

RedwoodSpruce,ed

DAYS

20-200

60-200

60-200

15-200

60-36530-120

Thesehartsndicatehedryingime ora stack f 1-inch-thickreen oardsut -doors. he owendof he angeoreach

speciess or umbertackedn spring rsummer-primerying eather.hehighend s or umbertackednautumn rwinter. he iguresssumehat he um-ber sdr iedn a reg ion i th c l imate

simi laro hatwherehewood as ut.

87




TW()OPTIONSOR IR-DRYINGUMBER

Toair-dry arge uantityf umber,tart ou r tack ith wo4-by-4 upportsqualn engh o heboardso bedried above).

Resthesupportsnconcretelocks.hen lace -by-4 olstersat 3-footntervalscrosshesupports.egin tackingou rum-ber t right ngleso hebolsters,eavingspace etweenachpiece qualo heboardhickness,eparateachayer ith 1-by-2 t ickers ong s hewidth f hestack;ut hest ickersfrom ryheartwood.hinnertickersil lslowhedryingime or

di ff icul tpeciesikewhite ak. l ignhest ickersi th hebol-sters;fyou re ryinghin tock, lacehebolstersnd tickerscloserogetheropreventhewoodromwarping.overhe op

row fstickersithplywood,opped ith pair fconcretelotoapply niformressuren hestack ndprotectt rom ainStackmalleruantrtiesf umbernsupportrames aderofour iecesf 2-by-4tock ailedogetherbelow).uild raforeach ndof hestack ndone orevery feetof boardlengh. he rameshoulde l ightlyider nd igherhanhstack. rrangeheboardssyouwouldora argertack, eprating achayer ith tickers.pacehestickerst 18-inch

intervals,l igningnewith achrame nd lso enteringhbetweenhe rames.okeephestack ressedownirmly,nswedgesightly etweenhe ramesnd he op ow f sticke



STORINGWOOD

'fil-ffiill'llf 'ul"'III".lll""lIl"lll*If1HO?TI?Storing woodto preaerve ts

moieture aonientl f youare n he middle f aprojectand haveNo eave trtor acouVle f weeke ou may ind Vroblemeonce oureturn,A change n humidity-asudden eriod f humidwealher,or example-maycauoetrhewoodtowel l r shrink.Youaneolvehe problem y etoringLhewood n a plaeticqarbaqe aqor in vinyl, ealing ny oooe ndewith rape.Wrapping heboardwillkeepNhemoislurecontent of lhewood onelant,prevenlinq nydimenoionalhanqee,

hether ouwish o storeum-ber,manufacturedoards,ow-

elsor"shorts"-all

those dd-sizedpiecesoucannot ffordo toss ut-

youshould ind a storageption osuityourneedsn hepageshat ol-low.Thedimensionsrovidedn theillustrations re givenstrictly asguidelines.ach esign anbeadapt-ed o any ituation.

Theonlydesign lementoucannotskimpon sadequateupportor therack. dozen0-foot-longlanksf6l+whiteoakcanweigh smuchas400pounds. ack upportshould esecureddirectlyo wallstuds r o theoists bove

theceiling tno morehan40-inchnter-vals.n mosthomes ith 16-inch n-centerraming,hismeansying ntoeverv ther tud r oist. f thewalls nd

Commercialumber acks reavail-able n various izes nd canbeadjust-ed o dffirent heigh*. The ypeshown

canbescrewedo a concrete allor

to wall studs. ourbrackets ill holdmore hanone onof umber.

ceiling f yourshop re inished, sestud inder o ocateheseramingmem-bers. omeacla,likehecantileverlpeshown npage 1,mayneedootings,

joistsupportsr both.If spacesatapremiumnyourwork-

shop, ouneedo considerhedesignand lacementfyourwood torageys-temcarefully.heend-loadingypeof

rack sed tmostumberyardss mprac-ticalorstoringong tocknmost omeshops. ou re arbetter ffwitha ront-loading ystem,hichmakest easiero

loadup newmaterialnd oshiftwoodaroundofind heparticular lank ouwant.Avoidusing riangular-shapebracketso supportumber;heywastepreclouspace.




A TRIOlFTUMBERACKS

Buildingpipe torageack

The torageack l lustratedt eft eat

three-pieceerticalupportsoltedo w

studs. he upportsuttresshesteel ip

which arryhe umber.ouwil lneed

supportt each nd f he ack, i th

additionalne very2lo 48 ncheslo

thewal l .Use -by-6tockor hemid

strips f hesupportsnd2-by-4sor hside ieces;he teel ipeshoulde ou

ly20 nchesong i th 1 inch ntern

diameter.ark utt ingines n heedof hemiddletrips t each oint heyouwant o ocate pipebracket. a

sure ll hebracketsn hesame oriz

ta l owwillbeat hesame eigh t. aw

middle tripsor hebrackets,nglingcuts yabout " abovehehorizont

thepipes i l t i t up sl ghtlybelowopreventhe umberrom l idingff Onal l hemidd let r ips re u t , a i l n hside ieces,orming racketsitheve

spacedotchesor hepipe upports.pilot oles t24-inchntervalsnto hew

studs nd ri l l learanceoleshrough

supportsor%-inchagbolts. ecure

vertrcalracketso hestuds ithboltshpenetrateinchesntohewal l ,henthepipesnto heir otches.




MakingcantileveredtorageackThe ack hown bove ndat r ight sanchoredo he oistsn hecei l ingokeept romoppl ingorward.arkinesonyour orkshoploor irectlynder achjoist. oprovidesturdy aseor heposts,

nail hortengthsf2-by-6o h e loor sfootings,enteredn hemarkedines.Use -by-4sor heposts,he n uta oist

anchororeach ost nd smany rmsasyouneedrom -by-6 tock. nglehe

topedge f hearms l ightlyo i l t helumbern owardhewal l . ut mort iseat he opofeach ostor he oist nchors,and t every oint longhepost 'srontedge here ouwant o ocate narm.Make ure l l hemort i sesn he amehorizontalow re t hesame eight. uttenonst heends f he oist nchorsandarms,henbore oleshroughhesideof hepostsor3/q-inchdowels:woholesoreach rman done oreveryoist

anchor .nser the enonsnd ao he

dowelsnplace. oe-nailhepostso hefootings.ore learanceoleshroughtheanchorsndpi lot olesnto he oists

forcarriageolts,hen ecureheanchorsin positionabove).

1 3 / + " x 5 1 / 2 " x

Arma13/+"x 51/2" 20"




Fasteningumber-and-plywoodackoanunfinishedall

The ack hown elow, ade ntirelyf 2-by-4 tock,sattachedo exposed

wall tuds nd eilingoists. umberanbepiled n hearms, hile lywood

isstackednedge gainsthesupport rackets.ouwillneed t east % eet

of ree pacetone nd f he ackobeableoslidenplywoodanels.eginbycuttinghe riangular-shapedracketsnd crewinghem o hestudsnghf).

Cut he ootings ,lip hem nderhebracketsndnail hemo he hoploor.

Next, awheuprightso engthnd oe-nailheir ndso he ootingsnd hejoists. utasmany rms syouneed, ligninghe irst owwith he apered

end f hesupportrackets.se arriageoltso astenhearmso hestuds

and prights,akingurehearmsn he ameow re evel .he ackn he

illustrationeaturesrms oacedt 18-inchntervals.

9upport bracket11 /2 "x31 /2 "x41 . /z '

WallEtud

)ole plate

Footinq11 / 2 " x31 / z " xB "




PLYWOODACKS

rlllmlll lll ltlill llllt lll ]t]lltlltiIllll ]l1lulllllt5HO?TI?Holdingplywoodpaneloa4ainet a wallTreventplywood aneleetackedon edqeaqainela wall rom allin qoverwiNh ome opean da

Vair f window ashweiqh|o.)eNtwo 0-

inch-lonq-by-4e n hefloor n ronLof Ihe wall.Thenecrew wo eyehookentowal lebude bouN41/z eet,above he floor.Cut, wo7-foot lenqlhoof rope, ndNieoneen dof eachNo hookandtheoNher nd lo aweiqhtwrapVedn pipe nsulation.land NheVan-elson he 2-by-4o nd ean hemaqainoNhe wal l .OraVehe weiqhlooverNhe lywoodo keephem n Vlace.

Making reestandinglywoodackThe ack hown boveanholdply-wood anelsnedge i thoutnywal lsupport. ut hebasesnd egsro m2-by-4 tock ndnail hepiecesoge-ther. o einforcehe ack, ai l r ian-gular racesf t/z-inchlywoodo heoutsideegs nd hebases;se ol idlumberracesosupporthe egsnthemiddleow. oconnecthe hreesets f egs, ut ails rom1-by-4sndnai l hem nplace:ne al fwayp helegs nd nothert he opof he egs.Setup he ack hereou an

l ip hepanelsnand utend-frst .

Leq11 / 2 " x31 / 2 " x36 "

11 / 2 " x 31 / 2 " x 36 "

N




Buildingverticallywoodack

For ong-termtorage,tackinglywood

onendnotonly eepshepanelsromwarping;t also avesrecioushop oor

space. he ac k hown t r ight s bui l t

from urring tr ips,hreadedods nd

wing uts.Start yscrewingwo urring

stripso hestuds fonewal l , and

feet rom he loor. hen crewwo ods

4t/z eelapart nto he opstrip.Cu ta

third urrrngtrip ndbore holehrough

it 2 inchesrom ne nd nd aw notch

at an ntervalI 4Vz eeI.Both penings

should esl ightlyargerhan hediame-

terof he ods. lacewowood ad s n

the loor etweenhe ods nd tackheplywoodheetspright n hem.Place

the hird urring tr ip crosshe ace

of he ast anel,l ipptngne od hrough

thehole nd heothernto he lot. l ide

washersndwing uts nto he od s nd

tightenhem, ul l inghe urringtrip

tightly gainstheplywoodinseD.o

remove sheetrom hestack,oosen

thewing uts nd winghe urringtrip

down nd utof hewav.

illrlll ll lll ll Il ll lll lll lll illlll lll lltlt lflllt1HO?TI?Atemporaryplywoodpallet,

ForehorN-Nermtoraqe .of a few eheeLe f ply'wood,make pal leLfromfour ueed ar Lires,Tlace Lireat eachcornerof a 4-by-B-footarea;sNacklheplywoodheelsontop.lhe LireswillkeepNhe heetelevel nd elevaled bove nv moieLureon he floor.DonoN Lack nyLhinq n op of theeheeLe:LheddiLional eigh|maycau6eNhemNobend.

Furrtnqetdp3 / + " x 2 1 / 2 " x 5 '

Woodpad3/+"x31/2"x1




STORINGOWELS

Wrappingowels ith opeDowelsend o rol laround henhey re toredlat.Stacking

them prightsa better l ternative,ut hen heproblems okeephemrom lidingown r al l ingver.neanswers o oopthemogetherwithengh f ope,sshown t eft.Dri l l holethroughpain t an ustbe lowhe imand ieone nd f heropeo t; orm loop t heother nd.Drivecolumnf nai ls,spaced ew nchespart,nto wal l tud few eet bovehecan.Standhedowelsn hecanand oop he ope roundthem wice. u l l hecord ight ndhookhe oopedndonone f henai lshata l lowshe opeo hangaut .Moveheloop pordown s h esize f hedowel undle hanges.

Storingowelsn he eiling

Th e aps etweenxposedoistsn ashop eiling reoftenconsideredastedpace,utyou anmake ood se f hemto hold owels.crew couple f 1-by-3urring trips crossth ebottom f he oists nd hen esthestock n opof strips.Thismethodspart icularlysefulor ong owels,hich anclutter workshoo.




STORINGH()RTTOCK

Constructingrackwith mobilease

Sort inghrough umbled ood i le na

corner f heshopora piece f shortstock f he ight ize anbe rustrating.

The ack hown tright toreshort ieces

accordingo size. hebottom ections

a boxwith ividers,dealorstoringieces

ofplywood;heboxsmade ith%-inchplywood,hi le hedividersre /q- inch

plywood.he opsection,ui l t rom%-

inchplywood,onsistsf a back anel,

tr iangular-shapedides nd /q" lywood

shelvespacedccordingo hediameter

of hecontainersou lace etweenhem.

The ack howneatures-gal lonansbelowhebottomhelf ndplasticubes

ofvaryingizes n heother helves.ee p

short tockn hecans nd ubing. ut

triangularutouts earhe opof hesides

to hold owelslat.Tomakehe ackmobile,

fastent o a shop-builtolly ith asters(below).uta piece f plywoodo the

same imensionss hebase f he ack,

then crew orner lockso one ide. ttach

a heavy-dutyastero each orner lock.




Making combinat ionorkbench

andshort-cutin

In a w or kshop i th im i ted pace ,

bu i l da w o r k ab l ew i thsho r t - cu t

s t o r agepace nderneath ,uchasthe oneshown t r ight .Cut 2-by-4s

to leng tho r he egs ; uppor them

wi th 2-by-4braces-one et na i led

a few nches bovehe l oor nda

second e ta t t achedlushw i th he

top of the egs.Cut he op and wo

shelvesrom3/q" lywood,hennai l

t hem o t he b r aces . awno t ches

ou to f t he corners f t he she l veso

f i t a r ound he l egs .Make iv iders

from /qinchplywood nd at tach

t h e m b e t w e e nh e s h e l v e s s i n gquar te r - roundo ld ing t r i ps a i l ed

i n t o he she l ves .

Stackingtock etweenal lstudsStorehort tock etweenhestudsofanunfn ishedhop al l . okeepthewoodrom all ing ver, crewspring l ipso he tuds nd nsertdowelsntohe l ipsospanhegaps etweendjacenttuds /eftl.

Tostand horterengthsf stockh igherpon hewal l , u tshe lvesandsupportleatsrom crap ood.Screwhe leatso hestuds ndrestheshelvesn opof hem.

Front brace11 / z " x5 t / 2 " x36 "



WOODDIRE,CTORY

. rees aveormed partof theEarth'sandscapeor more

i',, than 300nillion vears- since efore inosaursirst

roamedheulanet.n that ime heyhave evelopedrernark-

able iversity f species,urrberingnole han ,000varietiesin theUnitedStateslone. iees ome n many izes ndshapes,

fiorn hestunted prucesf northernCanadao thesublime,

torvering tands f California'siantsequoias. ood's iversiti'

is also pparentn thewidearrayof colors ndgrainpatterns

availableo theu'oodworker,rom theboldvermiiion ueof

padauk ncl he nlyblaci<nessfebonyo the ntricate, wirling

designs f rvalnut url.

The78speciesf woodshownn thisdirectorywere ho-

sen th theneeds nd nterestsf hecabinetmakeroremost

in rnind.Thebasic abinetmakingoodsarehere-species

such soak,pine, herry ndash.But here realso number

of ess amiliarexoticwoods oo, rom afrormosiao ziricote.Some ou mayhave nlyreadabout; thers ou maybesee-

ing or the irst ime. n either ase,hephotos nd nforma-

tion may nspire ou to nervadventuresn yourupcoming

woodworkingrojects.

The directory s arranged lphabetically ccordingo a

wood'smostcommonly sed ame.Sometimeswoodmay

beknown by severallames; o avoidconfusion oumayneed

to use hebotanical amewhenbuyinga particular pecies("spp."ndicateshat thewood comes rom severalpecies

belongingo thatgenus). hewoods n thischapterwerepho-

tographedwith a clear acquer inish o highlight heir colorand

figure.For this reason-and becausef the nevitable aria-tionswithin species-theunfinishedwood hatyoubuy may

look somewhat ifferent.

Hardwoods re ndicatedwith an(H); softwoods ith an(S).

However, o not take he erms oo iterally.Some oftwoods

areactuaily arder hansomehardwoods. ormore nforma-

tion on the differencesetweenhe wo groups, ee age 4.

Theworkabilitycategory ivesnformationabout he ease

or difficulty of working vithaparticularwood.Some pecies

maybe ough o planeunlessou reduceheangle f theblade,

while othersmay equireyou o pre-boreor nailing.

Ratherhanprovidingrspecificost erboarclbot-rv

can luctuate-foreachvood, rice s isted n a re atit'e

from nexpensiveo expensive.suallv,hc pricier vood

chosenor a specialpart f a piece f funtiturc. btr nrselectpiece f cocobolo,or exalnple,o make lt'atvt

or an nlay febony o adda decorativeouch o a chail

All thewoods hown re ommercia l\'availablen N

America;or speciesou cirnnot ind ocally, heckv

ivorkingmagazinesbr nrail-orderources.oweter,

speciesre ecomingncreasinglyare, nda brv ropical

lvoods re n danger fextinction.rade n matty'sPe

severelyestricted,nd or this reason, oodrvorliers

mustseek lternativeso usingraditional ,oods. ortun

there remany, nd heirnumber sgrowing. ome ave

been vailable:au erro,or exampie,vhichsstrikingll

ilar to the costly, ndangeredraziiian oservood. theso-called

goodwoods," rorvn ndharr,estedith avie

conservationndsustainablerowth-are recent rriva

NorthAmerica. heseesser-knownpecies,mported

marily rom Centrai ndSouthAmerica tpresent,r g

from sourceshat aremonitored n order o be certifi

well-managed.ourof these oods re batLrredn thisd

tory:bayo,hactacote,hontaquiromarillo nd ornillo.

can earnmoreabout hesewoodsandrvhere o buy t

through heWoodrvorkers lliance or Rainforest rote

in CoosBay,Oregon;heRainforest lliancen NervYo

Scientific ertification ystemsn Oaldand, alifornia.

Youmaywant o avoid heproblerns f scarcityby uilyourprojectswith moreplentifulwoodsor pl1nvood

coveringhem vitha beautiful eneer. notheralterna

rec,vcledood,scavengedrom old buildings, hipping

or pallets.With effort and magination ou can rans

manyworkadaytems nto handsome ieces.

N)Thissymbol ndicates specieshatis rare or endangeredn at east neofthecountrieswhere t is harvested.



\\roo ) I)t {E(.TOl{\'

,.,rl{o{tNioslAt - i

io lanical Narne:

lo t l. t :rloc',F.t:drain:moder'

ovtn, )arKart "oa rich qci)aen

boa* ' b t l C n q . caD i -

a !) t taazVal \ \ \ le1)

n

, o o

AGBA( H )

gOtan iCal Naff ie : i , r1 r , , r , " , , . , r . i i i ' r i l ', . i r : r t , i r ' . ,11- j r : ; t i r t , i . r r i r ,

11:3 9i i : . i1 i1 ;2 'b iq (a .a . f.y '1:1.2., ' ] . . . : t1r l r i r , , , , i ia I t r r I I

O i l 2 l ) , e t : t , .a O , l a i t , L . n . . ) 6 t , t t . : : ,. )) ' . , : f r . r ' r ; :i r t i . : . .

, : : , l r a c r , t t , eA u r a i e a t J : i q i t l ' ,, ' t e r , , l . t . .: , ' - ' ! r a i . r , . ' ' : ' . , r L

, - , ,mrr ican f ia lcqea. i a r , ) | :a : ' , i f : r [ ] r 'a , : i in r . r ' r . . ' r-n- .1

| r : , , , r . ''

=- , , re lq i . l , , . .ca : t ,o ra 0 aa.a :a )? \ i L 'a : : i . ; f . r i | i ! ' r r i i : . : ' i

qt:ir1a|\t. na<ilq ii aaaa.ta.)2t',1.a :)t:- -.i.)i:i-::r ,' .-,| "' ,vaenoe:ecLtr'q "h;,:tt ,mber.

Other Names: Io: a 17 ;ir it i : : t : . tt ; . ,r:: ' .1,.,. , , .. : -rr , i

| ' , ,nqc ): l l iaeriar, ;: l; :r Lll. i. . .; ni l i2 I. i-.. ; , ; . .4;; "ri. . . . ,r.: ir. , i

rn ntbc r: ( 't ler:: ).?ource: Troptca t"ieel lt ir ca.

Characterietice: 5tr ai4itt ia a r"r.' ,nt l, ' , ' . , 1; i. f :1 '1:1

qratn:moderat.ei,1inei.a'tt, t .)ra:rr:r:. j\ ' ,i .-r,,,N.,r1'1.1'l. . : ia Vtn l .: tL .

Uaes: -:Lrniltre.,L)raiaq,? lrooa, l;it:i: I; : l.:lil'rrl.r :r .r l rlr.

pare tnr4 nd occaairlna '! ro r \t',ttrt-.r:t'::.

Workabi l i t y : eneral l , l ,erydoo) : : : t q ' r ' , | Lr r t r r . , r li

al.1l ',er5',o'n Denitna pro2erlter,: aJft l t ' , {, 'arar..Jttr!

aarae aeN bladeaL.obntr.t.

Finiehing: \c,:;eg-'"zintel.,ee e.i, lr l tet i t t : t1.

Weight: 32 1v.lc'1.-v.

?rice: l,/oderaf,e.



\A/OOI)DIITECTORY

ALDER,RED(H )

bolanical Name: ,r',iiti's tibra

?..ea der ie eao'1 ,a cfv o.a iL LakeE inieheeverywe)|,

ee2ec ia i f a , t ,aeh oeLo l r .atnn.d Ae ac ie apV ed

be io re ia in inq . h ie tcod an beof e iqni f icanLa lae n

\,taca\Narki.q.espir-,ete re atr ively odeel repuT,at ion.z-vertaelectivealder eAcaldnoL be geqqedor l i rewood.

)efecLz.a lc i ae budeand e la ins ,can prodtce beat f i '

ft , ig.n"rru.

Other Names:\" leer"ern 1der, reqon a der.

9ource; Tacfic CoaeLof Nor"thAnter'tca.

Cha a c le rieti ce G ene ai l eLraiqht' qrain f i ne, ev n

lexlt iret paieye:iovt o readieh-brown.

Uees: I urnin,2, ,- trniLu e. carvin , plyw od a nd veneere.

Workability:Generaly qood: educebladeanqlewhenp)an rqLo prevenlLearouL: nlyol iqht blunt inqof cuL'

r er-. . ot b.r d r q ?-o?e-! e4.

Fini hing: l,c cepLe i nieh e vt l l ,

WeighhSS b, lca. t r . .

?r ice: nexgeneive.

-

AMBURANA( H )

6ot anical Namer Lm bu ana c. a r. n. i i .

KelaLt ' tely l ranqfcr tLe v,te f, . amo,Lrarta s a qr::::t)

chotce or lo inery . Le r requ la r ranE. raye 2rc l toeaLLrac l ive enee(a . oanAmair 'y : r - , "herrat )aa

, cr ' , \

reqioneof SouLh An:enca. he NreeeciLer',.otver' . t:

1aa feet . Ihe v tood an ptate L ie eeneeewt l l : an ca, : r

o f v an i J .

Other Namea Cerejeira,uff iare. cumart. rajada

(3raz i ) : rob le e l pate.Va lo rebo ( ,Ar4ent inal ' .

i ehp i nEo7e r u ) .

9ources: Cenlra and SauLh tmer'tca.

Characterislice: lnteriockecan d irreqt)ar qrain: qettt r,

ta coaroe vexture:ye)iow vopalebrownw)Ll a eJb::, :

oranqe .inr., arkeninqei iqhLly 't i",hx2ceure.Uses: FurniLure.oinery,boal butdinq ani var,aero.

Workability:GooA;aul la cult i .q edqeonod,erately.

reduce uLL inq nqleo f b ladewhenp lan in4rre4t lar

qrain;?re-bore or nai l inq:moderaLebendinq rogert ' iee

Finiohing: ',ccepte tnieheewellwhen i )ed..

Weight 37 \b.lcu. t.

?r icet Moderale.



ASH,BLACK( H )

bolanical Name: Fraxtnuentqra

OiLenk.nown a ewall? ar waLera",h,blackaeh qrov'te

mainiy n he wel lande of eaeNern ')orth America.Ae+,.1eolLeat y',mericanaeh, it , te more ik.e1yo be ound

in nter ior1onergand cabtneLwork thann eporLe quip-

menL,where , rht t ,eoh o common)y sed. l t a leohaea

eiqniltcan"vieLoryae a weavinqwood or many Lygeeol

bael .eLe.31acksh'a aLary J t and e l iced eneerz re

hiqhry ecoraLive nd much oouqhtr f ler.

Other Namee; 3r own aeh, hoogaoh,owamp aeh, waLer

' - ' . o - ?e ' n b r onn o \ .

1ources: l,).3.4,.nd Canada.

Characterist ics: 1LraiqhLqrain:coaree,even ext ure:

dark,qrayiehbrown.Uees: )oinery, cabiner.work, lywood nd , eneere.

Workability:General lyqood;blun|e cultero moderaNely:. ,ce l er beadi"q2-o2er t iee.F in ishing: ccepte in iaheswe1 l .tNeight:35 lb./cu. L.

?rice: nexpeneive.

WOOD DIRECTORY

-

ASH,WHITE,( H )

9otanical Name: Fraxinueamencana

V' lh i te eh can beconoidered hea l - ,mer ican eiet rc

wood.SLronqan d veryehock-reaiel anf, t. e ueedLo

makeoare,poolcuee and baaeba bala. lt ie a eo Lhe

woodof choice or qarden-I.ool andles,aeed exten"tive

in boaLbui ld inqnd, ut i nLo decorat iveveneer6. o fLen

hae a hiqhly ar ieqatedhearfwood,k.nown ., olivea""h

or ca )coaon.

Other Nameei A\rnerican h iLeaah, Canadianae l .Amer ican eh,

Souraes:Canadaand U.3.A.

Characteriel icat 3lr aiqhL qrain;coa ae LexLur : iqh-v-

brown hearLwoodwilh almoeL white eapwood.

Usea Saeeballbats, poolcuee,oare, ,oolhandee, boat.bui l , in , urn iXur and ven ere .

Wo rkability : 3 aLiofa cLo y mod, aLe b)u nti nq of c ut -

Lero:excellenlbendinqproperLieo; re-bore or nail inT.

Weight:42lb./cu. ft .

Trice: nexpeneive.



AVODIRE,(H )

9otanical Name:Tu reanLh e afr canuaConsidered's beoneof Lheworld's eoL uali tybloniwooda, vodirdarely eavailablen ar7e uant"iLiee.I;normallyameg o NorthAmerica e veneer, hich oe-oeoeee n aLi.racLive olLled all ,ern.LhaIe ueed nfine abinef,makinqnd,V nelinlq.Olher Names:Africansatinwood. fricanwhitemahogany,peya Ghana): paya Niqeria):nqan(Cameroon);ueambaZaire): qbe lvoryCoael): eu(Conqo): fr ican urniLure ood, lon,)ourcea W eI and Equat r ialAfr ica.Characterialica:LighL, lronq wood;mainly braighLgrainbuL an bewavy r inLerlocked:ediumo fineNex-

t"ure; olden ellow.Uges:Cabinetwork,eneere,marquetryand plywood,.Workabilityt air: ncreaae ladeanglewhenVlaninq eintrerlockedrain ende o cause earout;Voor endingp op rr i o'. re-b re o nail inq.F in ioh ing:ener l ly o d.Weight :36 lb. lcu.r .TricetExoeneive.

WOOD DIRECTORY

-

BALSA(H)

9otaniaal Name:O h oma py amda eSaleahae he l tghLeoLeiqht f anycommercial lyeedhardwood,.ThieroperLyas made La key nqredient.of life afLs and a wide arielyof eafeLy nd buoyancydevicea inceWorld,Warl. n acL,thewordbalsameanerafLinSpanish. , l thouqhri a dif f icul l todry,once Laoeoit iea relal ivelylableandsLronqwood or iLeweighL.OiherNames:Guano TuerloKico,I 'ondurae):anero(Cub) pol k (3el ize, i araqu ) ' , o (?e u) ami(Solivia).

?ources:Weer"ndiee, entralAmerica, roeical ouLhAmericaEcuadoi.

Charaal,erieticaztraiqht,qrain: ine,velv ty t exture:

white ooaf,mealbrowniL h pinkiehint.Ueea: / todelmakinq,toye,atere?orteequipment ndNheaf,ricalroos,

Workabilityt xXremelyood,Vrovided ladee re keptveryeharV: i l lnot bendwithoutbuckl inq:i t t leblunl inqof culNers.Finiehing: ccepte inieheawell: bsorbsa qreaLquan-Nityof iniohing alerial.Weight 6-16 lb.lcr'.L.TricetModerahe.



BASSWOOD(H )9olanical NametTtlia mencanaLiqhrweiqhtndeaoy o work,basewoodaebeen on-eidered neof the world, 'eoremoeNarvinq ood,eor

cenNur iee. lLanbeehapedo remarkablyine elai l . Iieodor-free ndha ebeen sed, xLeneivelyor d,omesLtcqood,euchae kiLchenlensi lo ndfoodconf,ainere.Saeewool,econeiAeredneutLableor ouLd,oor,uLybec u"e 16e21116ooorly.OlherNamea.A,mericaninden,inn, ime ,ree: mericanl i r re U.K.) .

5ourcea EaeternCanada nd U.9.4.Characberist ics:traiqhx rain:ine erturei creamywhitedarkeninqo creamy rown.

Ueea: urninq,arvinq,?atternmaking,oyo,piano eya,matcheplinto, oxeo nd, ratee.WorkabilitytVeryqoo : blunf,s utLeroeliqhty;poorbendinq roVerDiee,Finiohing: eneral lyoodwiLh l l inishee.Weight t 6\b. /cu. fL.?rice: nexpeneiveeliqhl;ly tqheror thick12/+and16/+kiln-driedcarvinq fock).

WOOD DIRECTORY

BAYO(H)9olanical Name:Aepido perma ue LumA wondertd, aey-workinqimber, ayo ea

"lesoer-

known peciee"ardwoodhaf,EofLen vai lablen arqesizes nd, omeLimeeul inlo veneere. oi or ly aL|rac-tive,bayo oalooverydecay-reliotant.5ouraes: oubhaot Mexico,rel ize, ondur s.Charaaterisl icot lraight o el iqhl ly nterlockinqrain',

medium o ineLexLure:eartwood'.rowniehink; ap-waod: reamwiNh VinkiohluehhroughouL.

Usea Cabinebwork,urninq,raminq,urniLurend, eco-raLive eneere.Workability:Generally ood: oeenoLLakenailEwell:good, ending roperLiee.

Finiohing: ccepLoinioheewell.Weighu 7-46lb./cu.t.?ricetModerate.



BEECH, MERICAN(H )

OotanicalNamerFaquaqrandifoltaleavy,hardand eLronq, merican eecheuaed oreverythinqrom loorinq owoodenware.l thouqh on-eideredeosallracLive han European eech, mericanbeech ae2rominent raye ndvio ib leinyporee, l tahiqhlyiquredwhen uarlereawn.Other Name:1eech.5ourceq EaeternU.3.A. ndCanada.Characterist icot traiqhtqrain:ine, ven exture;reddieh rown o iqhlbrown earLwooditrh lmoelwhiLe apwood.Ueee: enlwoodurniNure,urninq, andleendcabineLmakin4.

WorkabilifytSatiefactory:qoodwif,hmoettoole bu|mayburnwhen roescutor dri l led:ma ybind n aawe:exc l lenLurninqwo d;excel lenlen ,i n prop rLi e.,hiqhohrinkaqe akes Lunelablen use,Finiohing: ccepLeiniahee el l .Weight :46 lb. lcu. fL .?ricetModerate.

WOOD DIRECTORY

rr

:

BIRCH,PAPER(H )

DolanicalNametDeLula apyrifera7aperbirch oa Louqh, eavy ood, )LhouqhI. eeolLeLhanolher birches.Ie barkwaeuaedby r)ative mericanto faahion igwamend canoee o haL manypeop)eeLil l eferLo t ae

"canoebirch." hewoodpoeeeeeean

atLracLiveigure, nd,eaometimee l icednto decora-T,tveeneere.

OtherNameaWhiLe lrch. weeL trch. merican irch5ouraesz anada, .A.A.Charaateriet ica:Lraiqht rain;in e exture:wide,creamywhileeapwood:ale-brownearLwood.Ueeet urni q fo d, meeIic ulensi l ,dow l ,Lo thpi keeVoolo, obbine, ooVo nd, oye, plywood nd decoraf,iv

veneerg.Workability:Generally ood;moderatedullinq fcutfere:unueual ur lyqrairtmaypick. p nplaninq; at-ief cNoryen in p op rLi e.FiniehinqAccepte iniehes ell .WeighV 9 lb./cu.r.Trice: nexpenoive.



WOOD DIRECTORY

BOCOTE,(H)9otanical Name:Cordta op.A beautifuleubstiLuLeor roeewood.ocote eoneofLhemany ypee f cordia-a qroup f hardwoodeoundLhrouqhouthe West ndieo, roVical merica, fr icaand Aaia. rocotre'eexLuree similarNo eak-althoughit, e eomewhaL arder-and iXewild iqurepal\ernoproduce NunninqabineLwork.fheood eavailablenlyinsmal l i zes.Other NametCordia.Souraes:Mexico, el ize,'ondur s.Charact rielica;1traiqht,grain:moderat lycoareeLexLure;reen oqolden ellowwiLhblack iqurepaLterne.Usea Furnif,ure,abineLe,nterior oinery,urninqand

decorative eneerg.WorkabiliNy:enerally ood;bluntocu|tinq edqesoliqhLly;oo ben ingprop rLieo.Finiohing: ccep|o inieheswell.Weighh b lb./cu.fL.TriaetExpeneive.

BUBINGA(H )1otanicalname:Guibourtia oo.A rosewoodubetibut,bubinqa'ooqe flenweighmore han 10 ons:theycan becut intoexlremely ide

Vlanke. evazinqo,veneer eeledro m rreqularlyqrainedoqe,Voeeeooeewild,, f lame-l ikeiqure hat ioeopul r f o cabin twork.Olher Namee:African oeewood,seinqanq,evazinqo

\rotary cut veneeronly).Souraee,Equatoriallrica (Cameroon,abon nd7_aire).Charaat,er iat iaszerydenee;inegrain: urpl ieh in klo ealmon ed,wiLh ark Vurpleeining. uarLereawnboardeofLenehow eryatlracf,iveblackmotlle fiqure,UeeetTu ni q, urniture,cabin two kand ven ere.

Workabilityz enerally ood: rregular rainNendeto tear when and-planed:re-boreor nai l inq.Finiahin1 Excellent.Weight:55 lb./cu.r, ,?ricezExpeneive.



( H )bolanical Name: Jt . rqlane tnereai , m:rrtberof

"v le uartaL amily.br.ftfernfi haa aeeumed

a r. )tc.:of l ono;ae lhe vtr:od lLenciosen lor cAurcA

eli.ar.r'. fhie ree tr' rea"'tred for more LAan -" ewood:' . '1.

?a....a.6 a rich.dei icaro nJ-,ane ?roduceaa aa g

-vltate used, o mal.ea eweeL yruVsimi ar

1..,me? . t '!rn?.

Other Namee: V.lhfie talnuL, i nt,t i.

1ou r c ee : a+ od . 0 . 1 . t -

Characlerietica: Straiqlt qratn;eofl bu t coaree ex-

I . ' . e , m a ' l b ' o * r .

Ueea:7lrnir . l re. inl,etor Lr'tm n boate, nter ior o nery.

aaf" /n4. venaafa.

WorkabilitytGeneral ly ood:becaueewood e eofL, tie imgorLantto keepct)ttera eharg:will uzz uVwhen

aanded; ocr bend in7 rogerLiee.

FinishingzAccepl,e inieheevery wel l .

Weight 2b lb.lc', t .l.

Pr ice:ModeraLe.

\,\rOOl) ) l.HCTC)ItY

( H )6ot anical Name: CaLa pa apt : r : a

/,, co7r, at.lracltve vtor:d.oaLal2a t: ' a l,n,':aatit',e-;",'rt:r:,:

aa ey ta rvo k with a v avy I qt;re. I I e't't,:: j ia i a eLi't.::\'inerpertei , , ,e.tL olLendi+Jict to lini ctcal . Le c:ptn

qrainand exceear' ie af lnea'a ial .e t l L)1a.t - iar lor

f r . t rni lure hal wtll aae:e aeaq '.pe.F.r:ai'" lanl .r,

decay, L e tdea for r:t ldor:r oar\ 'f lQi.

Other Namee:Catawba. qe- ; rce. ndian- l t .an.r : rLr t '

e rn caLe l?a .

5ourcet 1-).3./:.

Chara cleri sti c s : Gene a|lyL) eve. , wa,"" qrain medi m

caarae,evenLetLrr. i I igl:f an wii ,ha 2ro' :ninent arl .er '

qrowil t nnq f iqure.

Ueee:Cabinelmaktnq.t rn inq,p i r :Lt re remeeand qen'e ra lornamenla uaea.

Workability Generallyvery qcod: may fray til'tencrr:ee'

c t t : dul le uLterson lyel iqht ly .

Finiohingz',cce2Loiniahee tel

Weight: 2b-32 lb. cu . L.

?ricez nexpenaiveo moderale.

-

BUTTERNUT CATALPA



WOOD DIRECTORY

CEDAR,ALASKAYELLOW(e)botanical Name;Cha maecy a ie nooLkaLee eA'taekaellow ed,areetable nd emarLablyeeisLanlto aecay, ik emoet,members f the cedar amily,I haea dJeLincLivedor hat, adeeae he wood 4eo.Thiewood a not, bundantly vai lable.he reeeqrow ro60lo ba feel; nheiqht nLhe orest,e f Lhe?acif ic orLh-weef,, n) if,can ake up u ZaOyeare or them o reachmarketableize.Olher Names:Yellowedar, acificCoasLyellowedar,nooLkaaleecypreoe, ellow y?re6e.Source:TacificCoasL f NorfhAmerica.Characterisliae;SLraiqht, ratn; ineLerture;pale ellow.Uses:Furni lure,oinery. oat bui ld, inqndveneers.

WorkabilitytVeryqood: owdullingof cutLere.Finiehinq: ccepte inishee ell .Weight:31b./cu.t.TricetModerale.

CEDAR, ROMATIC/ .q\

OotanicalName:Juniperue irqinianaLikemosL l,her reee nown e

"cedar,"aromaLicedar

ie nol boLanical ly"cedar"

at,al l . n acr.,he Lree romwhichhie softwood omeeea iuniper.uL he t imberconNaineedar ilandqivee ff ihefamil iar"cedai ' cenlthat, s eaid o reVelmoLhe.fheaewo characleriettcaare ,h e eaeon hyLhewoods frequently sed o l inecloeef,s nd chesLe.OtherNamee:Kedcedar, aeLernedcedar,fenneeeeere dcedar,uniper,SourceaCanada nd eaEternU.9.A.Characterielicsz Lraiqht, rain; ine exLurei eddieh-b owni boa r de ofLen have knoLe and bark incluaione,

Uaeo:Cawing,l ininqof cloeeLe ndcheete, eneeroandpenci le.WorkabilitytGenerally ood,but briXtle:maybreakorchipwhen ril led,; ayepli t n nai l inq.Finishin7: cceple inieheswell, xcept,or Lurpenline-baoedVroducf,e,WeighttSO b./cu.L.?rice: nexpensive.

;iiF't:,\.1' 1 .

' . ' .. ' '

'f

:l l



CEDAR,WESTERN E,D

(e)botanical Name:Thuja licataA qrand-eizedree,weet rn ed, ed,ar anqrow o f iore

xhan 5O eet n heiqhL.L aoneol the tqhteel nd

mosL urable ofLwoode,akinqt ideal or ouLdoor

uoe. te diel inctqrowLh ng i4ureand, lLracl ive olor

aleoqive I eiqnif icant,alueor panelinqnd, eneer.

Eepecial lynoltypieceo re eoldae"knotty

cedar." hie

epecieeeelow o reqeneraLe;i furrenNheavyevele f

coneumpf, iono noLabate,weelern edcedar ould

become rarewood nLhe21elCentury,

OtherNamea Gianl arborviLaeU.3,A.);ed, ed,ar(C nada): 9 r ibi hC lumbi red, ed, r (U.K.)can e- eda .

1ourceetCanada,.e.A.

Characteriet ice: traiqhf, raini o ree exLure.Ueesz utd,oorurniture, oat bui ldinq,xLerior i l lwork.

Workabilityz enerally ood:keep ulLeroaharp.FiniehinqAccepLeiniehee ell .

Weiqht:23 b.lcu.t.

?rice:ModeraLe.

WOOD DIRECTORY

i

CEDAR,WHITE/41

Bolanical Name: Thuja occ d enta lie

Whttecedar ie oooular n NorDhAmerica or if ,e eeia'

Lance o decay. t is ofl.enueed ar canoea,ehinqlee

and other exLer ior ppl ica t ione.Whi leol eepec ia l ly

etronq, he wood e eaeyLo work and is wellauited

Lo out door d,ecoraLivebjecle. Smal er Lreeeare ueed

for po lee nd poete.Thewoodie eldomf iqured nd,

almo1T, everubeaa9 veneer.

Other Names: Arbowilae, eaglern whiLecedar,

ewampcedar.

Sourcea Canad,a nd,U.3.4.

CharaaNerielicezStratqh| 7rain: even erLure; liqht

brownhearlwood; eapwood ie white; many knol,e

commonly?reoent,.Ueea;7oai, bui ldinq, oele and d,ecoraLtveencinq.

Workability..Good.

Finiohinq Accepte f inieheewell .

Weight;23 lb.lcu, t.

Tricet nexpenoive.



WOOD DIRECTORY

CHACTACOTE( H )

9otanical Name: 9ickinqia ealvadoreneieChacLacote, hardwood ro m wellmanaqed eourcee,qrowo n heYucatan and Chiapaio eqiono f eouth-eaef,ernMextcoand Selize.Seau|i fuland eaoy ,a work,iL e a wood, f inleneecolor and olLenpoeeeeeee qor-qeoue lame i7ure. lL e recommend,edo ueea f in iehwiLhulLravioleLay proLecLanN,ince Le ncredible uefadee wiNh x?o6ure o f,heeun.Other Namea Chacahuante;Kedwood Selize\

9 ources: 9 out\ eaar, Mex ' o, 3 el ize.Charaaterist iae: Fair ly rreqularqrain; in eLexNure:hearLwood,:r i l l lanlcrimson red;eapwood: rearn,Ueeq FurniLure, abinelworkand Lurninq.

WorkabilityzVery ood,FiniehinryAccepf,e inieheswell .

Weight: 40 -45 lb./ u. tt.?riaet Mod,eraLe.

CHERRY,LACK(H)

OotanicalnametFrunueeeroLtnaExtremelyLable hen l camee ocheckinqndwarp-inq, ndexcepLionallyeauti fu|blackherry aoneofNorLh merica'eineet, abinef, oode, owever,Nheretoa ?ronaunced,ariancencolorbeLweente eapwoodand hearlwood, hich an somef, imeeeproblemaNic.l f Lhe wo are ueed ide-by-eide,iniehed orkmaydie-play discrepancyncolor,whichwill nNeneilye thewood gee. goodport ion f black herrywood on-t ainequrn eVoeiLehrou7hout.lLhouqhhiedoeenot.eignif icanr. lyffecI he lumber,t showe n veneero;1oqewiLh xceaeiveumareavoidedor veneers.Othernameat mericanherry,umcherry,whiekey

cherry, i lA herry,ruitwood.5ourcee;Canada, .9.A.CharacterislicetFineqrain;omooLhexture; reddiehbrowno deep ed hearLwood.U ea FurniLue, ,u ni n ,cawin , oi ery,muei alinsf,rumenLo,oat interiorsanddecoralive eneer..Wo rkabil*y Ve y good, blunte cutli nq edqee mode at ely :qoodbendinq roperLiee.Finiehing; ccepte inieheswet|Weight:36lb./cu.t,TriaetModeraNe.



CHESTNUT, ME,RICAN( H )

Ootanical Name: Castanea cenlta[a

i' irt .ra ;r er. r"erninaLedy a fun4t-te ieeaeeknownae

clteelntf i b tE6*',vl e

ma)onL'1 f chesLnul .ow corie.

i rom re,cyc ledtmbereron barnean) ' o ther bu i ld inqc

ll,a-v Stre-dalehe b qlL. ) l hae a eo beenavai lable

irorr eLandtnq ea d treee t 'hai havebeenaLLacled by:.naecle,Ih e ree,-t tr q

"wormycheeLnut" s noneLhe aE

cor,eidered n atLreclive woodLhat ' retaine cAeaI 'nut ,

.eL.Nradurabt |Ny nd makee t ' excel lenLor or, t ldoor ee

Or.herNamee: !\torrry cheeLnut',oweet cheaLnuL.

?ourcee: Canadaana Eaelern U.3.4,.

Characterislics: Toroueqrowth r inqe reeulNn promi-

rtenL iqure;coeree ,ey.ri lrei al ebrown.

lJseez tc ;1eeoLakee, ic ture rames, urn iLure nddeacraLlve eaeera.

WorkabiliNy Generallyea6y Lo work: erroue mer.ale

rnayotatn lhe wood blue:epl ir 'o aeily;mediumbendinq

properLiee.

Finishing':^,ccepte inieheeverywel l .

Weighr,:3a b. lct-t.L.

?r ice: " loberaLe a P\?c4a". .

WOOI) DII{EC'I'ORY

-

CHONTAQUIROMARILLO(H)

gotanical Namez .1 t , c ' | |

t hara, f 'eavy imber , honLaqui ro mar i io e ot :nd: . t

abunaancen le t rogicai ores l " o i 7er t . , tA l : raz i .

t ie a beatft, if t-t ood,wiil a atr ik inq iqlre or boLr:

p latn 'eawn nd qaarLereawnumber. .aA aca \ l aa a

maho4any e ob t tLr-tt, Lhie 1 s se -kno\ Ni 5p. ci. a |

beqinninqo be exporr,ednto l oft 'h l ' .merica cr tae

in t ne u rn iiu reand cabineLmaki r :q.

O lher Names:3 tcu2i ro. a l - t l c .

Source:3ouLhAmer ica.

Characterist ico: )LraiqhL to intedocLea ratn', ncaer'

at ely coaroeLo coar6e exLLrei iqht t o dark.brout 'n

hearLwood:el lowieh rearn eapw od.

Uses:Furni ture, abinet 'maLtnqnd a r aaq. a l con-eLrucLion see.

Workability:General ly qoo,): oee naL )r. or ehape ve

Fin iohinq: ccepte tntehee r l l .

Weiqht: 5B lb.lcu. L.

?rice: \,4oderate.



COCOBOLO(H)

v-

6olanical Name:Dalber4iaetueaA durable, ardwood, ocobolo?ae6egee6ome nler-eel inqworkinq roperLiee.lNonLaina nal,ural i lyeub-of,ance,haI noLonlywalerproofehe wood, ut makeeiN eryeaey o workand inieh.However,le fineeawdueLmaycauee tchinq nd eneezingnd, fLenemporari lyd,yeohe ek inoranqe.t , s recommendedocoverexpooedkinwhenworking ithcocobolo.Other Nameo Granadillo Mexico): icaraguanoee-wood, rendi l l .Source:WeeNoaeL f Cenbral merica.Characterietico:Heaug, eneewood: traiqhtlo irrequ-largrain;medium exlure: urple, ranqe,uel andyellow

olorwifhblackmarkinqe,,arkeningithexVosureLo a deep ed,d,ishranae.Ueeo:Turning, nifehaidles,bruehbacke, oolhanaws,inlaye ndveneerg.Workabilityt aliefacilory:eiqniticanLullinq f cuttersiblad,eehould eexiremely harp: educe lade nqlefor planing: erydifficult ,oqlue.FiniohinqAccepts inishes er ywell .Wei1httOB lb./cu,t.?riae:Expenoive.

WOOD DIRECTORY

C.YPRESS,ALDN)e)Ootanical Name:Taxodum d aLi humNormal lyound nweL eqione ndewampe,a ldcy?reesumbero ruly al home n waLer.n acL, LieofLen sed nbridqee nddocke,Old-qrowLhimberie eignif icantly oredecay-resieLant.hansecond-grow\hwood,thouqhob h re coneidereddeal orouLdoor ee.Valure s landsof thie epecies rebecomingcarce, ndae gwarype redrained,L esuffering rom a loseof habitat, whichwillmake Iincreaeinglyareao Limepaeeee, ald ypreee cca-e^ional lyield,antereel inqeneerend, anelinq.Olher Names Soulherncypre6e, wam? y?re6e,li dew Lercy? e6e,yellow yp eoe, whilecyp eee,

redcypreee, lack ypreeoSource:3 ouLh aeLernU,9.A.Charaaterietice: traiqht,Train:oily exture; yellow-brownto arkbrown.Uaeet oinery,hemicalaLe nd anke,boaL ui ldina.poleo, oeteand many onetrucl ion pplicat ione.WorkabilitytGenerally ood: eep utters sharp.Finiohing: ccepLainisheswell.w eight 2B-35 lb.cu. L.Trice: nexpenoive.



DOUGLAS-FIR

(e)7otanical Name: FEeudotouqamenzteeii

an e of r,hemoet wtdelyuee),woode n North America,

and Ae conl ine. I 'o moet plent i lu l pec iee , ouqlaa- f i r

ie htqhly aluedas a conetrucLionwood becauseol i f 'e

etrenqth, eLiffneoe,moderaLewelqhl ' nd avai labi l i ty f

Iarqeeize imbera, 1L e f requenLly pel led, i lhout ' 'he

iyphen ae"Oouqlae

fir," althouqh L e, n acL, not'a f ir

aL al l baLpart of Lhe qenuoTeeudot 'euqa,r" falee hem-

ock,"Current ehorLaqeo f t 'his u mberare due moreLo

loq1inqbans Nhanany real ecarc'tt 'y.Withf' 6prominenL

qrowLh inq iqure,Douqlae-f i r leoyieldear"traclive

"/eneera na ?tywaoa.Other Names: Srir" iehColumbiaVine,Oreqonpine, el low

ftr, red fir.Souraee;Canada,WeaLernU.3.4.,Europe.

Characterieticat 3f,raiqhf'qrain;medium exLure: ed'

d, ieh rown:may be reeinoue.

Useet ?lywood,,oinery, veneereani a wide ranqe of

conaL rucLion a2p|| a'i ona,

Workability: Oenerallyqood',beLLerwit'h machine oole:

blunLe uLLeremoAer Lely.

Finiehinq AccepNa iniehes air ly wel l ,

Weighu,33lb. lcu.tt .?rice:nexVeneive.

WOOD DIRECTORY

E,BONY(H )

7otanical Name: Dtoepyroo pp.

AI ebony e rare and expenoive,epectaly hefarned,

inLenee lackebonyv'thich, I ' one ime. wae obta ne d

grimari ly rorn )ndiaand )r i Lanka.Today, l e loun) in

l imited quant ir . iean areae ol EquatorialV' lesLAfri ':a.

l - )n l ike acaeearebony, f r icanebony e qenera lyeo l id

black,wt thoutet r ipeeor molL|nq.3h1p2edo North

America n ehorLhearLwooA i l let 'e,L e uaed n he

finestwood oblecLe, awdustlrom ebonycan cauae

reepiratory probleme.

Olher Names: SaLul inau, lndian bony,Ceylon bony,

Africanebony,MaAaqaocarebony,Gabonebonyetc.,

accordi "q o ca nt ry o" o r qt .

9ourceq lndia,Sri lanka, Africa.Charaateristics: )enee woodwith a coaroe 'exture;

eLraiqht o inLerlocked,rain:veryd,arkbrown 'o b1ack.

Ueee:Turninqa, ruehbacks,mueical netrumenf'e, an '

d leo, in lay ,bul ta f b i l l i a rd uee, ccaoianal lyeneerb

and other ht4hly ecoraNive ppl icaLione.

W orkability Diffic ulf,:dulle c ut er s aeve ely V e bo e

for nai l inq.

Finiehinq AcceVte inieheewell .

Weight 65lb.lcu, fL .

?rice:VeryexVeneive,

w, ,^-) i)



E,BONY, ACASSAR'ffil(H )

Botanical Name:Droepyroe pp.Macaeear bony, nl ike lack bony i th Le nteneedeep ue,e mulL ico lored, ,eual ly ore iqht handark.7oLhMacaeear bony nd, lack bony re ueed,n ,h efineel nlay nd, abineL ork.Macaeaar bony omeefrom a number f d, i f ferentpeciee hatare all parLofLheebonyamily: herema ybeeome ariaLionndenei-Ly.Lext)reand, ??earancerom onegieceo anor"her.Olher Namea Calamanderood, oromarlel U.K.);qol ene0 ny,marblewo .1ource: o LheaetAaia.Characteriat ica:xtrremelyenoewithverybrit t leheafLwood,:oetlyetraiqhL rain, uf,ma ybe rreqular

or wawt ine,even .eKLureiark brown o black,withl iqht-brownf,reaks.Usea Cabinetwork,urninqo,rueh acke, alkinq Licke,mueicalnelrumenLe,nlaywork, i l l iard uee nd deco'ral,ive eneers: aowood sed or lool handlea.Workability:Very ,ifftcull';:xlremeblunting f cuLLere;pre-boreor nai l inq;neui tab leor g lu ing.Finiahing: ccepte iniehee erywell .Weightz 0 -bO lb,cu. t .Trice:Very xpeneive.

WOOD DIRECTORY

ELM,WHITE(H)

9otanical Name:Ulmue mericanaWhite lm eLhe arqeet.ndarquablyhe moet. Latelyelmof a1l.More o han olherelme, hiemajeel icre ewaedevaet f,ed yDutchelmdiaeaoe na aaay tt i5relarivelyif f icult o ind whiteelm umber.Ihe ool, eexI;remelyaey o bendand e moet, lLenueedLo makefurniNure, hen l iced n he quarLer, hiteelmpro-duc e ov ly ibb n- f ,r ip d ven ere.OtherNamestAmerican lm,water lm, wamp \m(U.9.A.); rhamwooA,ra yelm Canada),Souraesz anada nd,U.3.4.Charaaieriet ico:oually Lr ightqrain,Lhouqh fteninberl cked: coa r ee f,eKLur : lighf,,yellowieh b own colo .

Usee:FurniLure,oat. ui ldinq,?arf,6 quipment.nddecoraf,iveeneerS.WorkabilitytGenerally ood:dullecuLtinqedqeemoder-alely;goodbendinqroperLiee,uxproneo warpinq.Finiehing; ccepLoiniohea el l .Weight:35 b. lcu.L.Triceznexpeneive,ut . ncreaoing ,ueo ecarciLy.

N



WOOD DIRECTORY

GONCALO IVF,SN-;( H )

Lv uv ' l >

Ootanical name: AaLrontum 7raveoleneSeauLifal , urableand etronq, qoncaloalveeeomef,imee

bearsa reeemblance,o bolh roeewood nd Macaeaar

ebony. I ie ueed,or f ine appl ical ione ikeknif handlee,

bi l l iard ue butt a, bruahback.e, nd dampero n grand

pianoo.SecauEe he ree has becomean endanqered

epecieo, oncaloalvee e diff icult.Lo ind in NorLh

America. L e avai lable rimari ly n veneere.

Olher Name:Iiqerwood

5ourcer Srazi l .

Characteristice: Dense,very heavywood; rceqular,

in te locke ,qrain: medium LexLue: reddieh brown

marbledwith blackelreako: argevariatione n color

and qrain.

Uses: Fine urniL ure, abineLmakinq,urninqandveneer6.

Workability: Difficult: blunLecu|I;inq edqee moderately

to eeverely;Vre-boreor nai l ing.

Finiahing AcceVX.oinieheewell .

Weight:59 lb.lcu. L.

Trice: Expeneive.

HACKBERRY( H )

Ootanical Name: CelLtaocctdenta|telackberry ie elaeLic, hack-resi""tanL nd eaey o bendcharacf,erieLiceXehareewith elmand,aeh', L e ofLen

uaedae an aeh eubstitut e in Lhe arniLure ndu ""fry,

Hackberry reeeqrow o more han 1aO ueI Lal l .Al l ,houghmoeLhackberry e ueed or conetraction, hewood'sdistinct, iguremakeo f,an at t racLive hoice or

veneer , cabineLworknd, urniLur .

Olher Names: euqarberry, hack-f,ree,baeLard e m, net

XleIree,beaverwood.

Sourceet Eaelern U.3.A.and eouLhernCanada.

Characteristics: lrregularqrain;moderalelycoaree exture: l iqht brownwith yel lowbande.

Usest Furnif,ure,?orlo equtpmenL,abineAwork,ly-wooaand veneer?.

Workability: Generallyqood: dulle cuttero moderately:interlocked, rain requiree educedplaninqanqle;qood

bendinqproVerLies,

Finiahinq Accep|e ftnieheawell:ea?eciallyaLLracLive nnaLuralcolor.tNeight':40 b.lcu.fL

Tricet nexpeneive.

r t

{II

i$i'

:' t n

tt i .

t .9 l; ;I Jt :! i

: ,i ; ,

t.;: 1.l;ir l it I

E** 4

fFt, ti; #i1 u;: { l

*

:*

iI

,7

Et

ai .t :

t#';f,t : '

; l-+

ri*+

-



WOOD DIRECTORY

HICKORY( H )9otanical Name:Caryaepp.Forol;renqLh,ardneoand lexibi l iLy,ickorya he besLcommercial lyvai lable ood n NorLh merica.L e ueedfo r Loolhandlee,uchae axee nd,maule, nd,for porL'in TequiVmenL.venIe wood hiVe re ueeful:heyareoflen uaed,nemokinq eal.Other NameetShaqbark ickory, iqnuthickory,mocker-nuLhickory,ed hickory, hitehickory.9 ource:Eaef,ern .5. .Charaolerist ice: ormally traighL rain, uL an beirreqular r wawi coaroe "exlure: rown o reddieh-brownhe rlwood; whitre apw od.Ueee;SporLtnq quipmenL,enLwoodurni lure, haire,

eLrikinqandlee,lywoodndveneere.Workability:DifficulL: lunLe utLingedqeemoderaLely:when laningrregular rain, educe lade'e utf, ing ngle;veryqood, endinq roVertieo.Finiohing: ccepte iniehee el|Weight:51b./cu.t.?rice: nexpeneive.

-

HOLLY(H)6otanical Namet exeoo.A clooe-qrained,lmoetr hitewood, i thvtrLual lyoviaibleiqure, ol ly o valuedor inlaywork.Holly eneer,dyedblack, ubatiLuleeor ebony.Veryit t le of thiet imber e cut,each ear,makinql a dif f icul lwood oobtain.Spri7e f hol ly, owever,it hLheir hiny eaveeandre dberr ies, re common hrietmae ecoral ione.Olher Names:Whiteholly.Sources: urope, .9.4. ndweelernAeia.Characterielice: rreqular rain; ine,even exLure:whiLeo grayioh-white;?raneo blue Lain.Uees: rnaLeLurninqe, usical nof,rumenle,nlay,rnarquetry nd veneere.

Workabilit"y: ifficult:keeV uNNingdqeo ery oharVandreduce uLbinq nqle f plane lade.Finiehing; cceple inieheE erywell.rN ightz 5-5O lb./ u. t .?riae:Expeneive.



WOODDIRECTORY



WOODDIRECTORY

LIGNUMVITAEN(H)Aotanical Namer Guaia cum officinaleLignum itaeor

"woodof life" eceivedle name or the

oupVooedlyuraf,ive ualilieeof its resin.Thie Vecieo,which s extremely low'qrowinq,roducee neol t'heworld'sheaviesl ommercialimbere,and ovirLually

self-lubricatingue o ito hiqh aeinconhent. his

makea t ideal or ito prinaiVal se,ao bearinqo ndbuohin7 locks or ehiVpropellor hafas, or whichhereie preoentlyno elfectiveoynNhebic ubot'ilute.Olher Nameer ronwood U,5.A.);7uayaaanneqro,palo

oanio (Cuba);bois egaiac Franae).

5ouraea T ooical America and Weet lndieo,Charact'erlEblaetHeavy,denoewoodi intarlocked, rrequ'

lar qrain:qraenioh-brov,no blaak.lJEes:Mannebearin4a,malleb eads,pulleyo ndu)minqz.

W orlability, Difficuli'; dulls autters moderawlg notouitable or qluinqunleao reated frroL,Flniehing Acc eVto finishes w ell.Weighb-77lb. lcu.ft , . '

?riaet,Veryl?eneive.,j,;i;l

MADRONE(H)9 otanical NamezArbutua men ieeiMadrone arieogreatly n size, ome reeo reaching125 eeL n heiqhtwilh enormouo nnchee somelirneeoLrelchinq ut overan area of IO,OOO quarefeet. t

offerea beauliful imber,which,houqhdiffiault o

dry,canbeqiven remarkablyrnoothf inish.Smallermadronetimber ften has burlqrowthoatit's baee;these are frequently developednf,ootunningveneers,It ie also known s one of r,hebeat,sourceeof charcoalfor makin1 unpowdenOhherNameal 7aofticma*rone,arbutuo, madrona.9ourceat Canadaand westernU.5.4.Chalz,otnriallcet5t raigWbo irreqularq? ini fine,even

iet&urei pale eddioh'yellowo deeVer ed or brown.UeeszFine urniture,htrninq ani decoraiiveveneero.

Wo*abiltq6 9 atisf act'oryt blunto cutting edqeo r aihereev rely mediumbandin ? o?e ti es.FlnlehingzAcce?t o finishes wellWaigltu48lb.lcu.ft.?dcrltModerata.



WOODDIRECTORY



MAPLE,, ARD( H )

Oolanical Name: Acer eaccharum

f' deneewood,harA maple'eueeaafLenLakeadvantaqe

of ite ree iet,a.ce o wear and,abraaion. i ie ueed n a

wide anqeof conoLrtc t ion,nc ludinq owl inq l leyo nd

dance loora.Olten poeeeeeinq n atlraclive l iddleback

or cur ly iqure, h ie e aleo he maplewhichproduceehe

f arroue bir d, 'a-eyeeneere.

Other Names: Rockmaple,euqar maple,whiLemaple

(eapwood), i rd 'e-eye ap le 1t he diot inquiehinqra in

ie preaent).

Sources:Canada,U.3.4.

Charact'erist ' i ot 3t rai7h t qrain, occa eionally c u ly, wavy

or bird'e-eye;\ne exLure:hearLwoada reddiehbrown:

eapwood o whiLe,Ueee:Turning, urni lure, 6?arLoequiVment', ueical

inetrumenf,s, utcher' blo k.e,loorinQ, lyw od

and veneerg,

Workabilit'y:D tficult: blunle cutLing ed4ee mod,erately:

pre-bore or nai nq:qood bendinqproVerLiea.

Finiehing:Acceple f inieheowe1l.

Weighi 42lb. lcu. f t .

?rice: nexpeneiveo moderaf,e,

depend, ingn f iqure.

WOOD DIIIECTORY

-

MYRTLE(H)botanicalName:UmbellulartaaltforntcaEopecta)lyel l nownor iLeclueLer ndburl iqareAveneerg, yrLleoa favorif ,e monqtn ecrafLErnenor

cabinetnakinqndmarqueLry.Wht lel haea et ronqLendencyo check ndwarp ndryinq, nce eaeonedmyrt le oa touqhwood, ble owithet 'and uchwear

and, buse. le oa preferredurntnqwood,myrf ' lee

frequenLly ade nlo bowla nd, anaboticko, manqother f ine oode.Alher Names:Cali forntaaurel,mounlainaurel,bayrtree,piceLree.1ources;Oreqon ndCali fornia,).3.4.

Ch racl er ist icotGene al lyoI raiqhLq ain,bul occa5ion

ally rreqular;in eLexXure:ol)en anXo ellowieh-qreen,Uees; urninq,urniLure,oinery, abineImakinq,anel-inq, ndveneera.Workabilisytair:dullscuLtinqedqee everely nd quick'l y : educe utL ing nqlefor lantnqndehaVinq.Finishing: ccepts inieheeerywell .Weight:3b b.lcu.t.?r ice:ModeraLe',url o exVereive.



OAK,RED(H )

botanicalname;Quercue pp.Kedoak,l :hemoEt. aff irnanakvarieLyn NorthAmerica, rowa eryquickiy-youn treeoolLen 2routa foot. year.fhewooAa anal, lracl ive ndvaluaptehardv,toodnd, aebeen neol Lhemoef, opularNor1hAmerican ako' eed n Europe ince heearly BLhCentury.l ie coneideredneuiLableor exLerior ork.Olher Names:NorLhernedoak,Americanedoak,Canadianedoak, rayoak.Sources:Canada nd eaeternU.3.A.Char cteriet ce; 7tr aiqht.qrain coa ee texLue:pinkieh-red olor.Uses:Furniture,nLerioroinery,loorinq,Vlywoodand veneerg.Workability:Generally ooii moderaLe lunlinqof cuL-lere; moder te ben inq? o? rLi e,FiniahinqSatief ctory:becauoef open oree,Lehould e i l led, efore ny inishing r painLinq.Weight:40 b./cu.fL?ricetN4oderale.

WOOD DIRECTORY

-

OAK,WHITE( H)

Ootanical Name: Quercueepp.Thieoak-a woodof uniqae eroat i l i ty-prodacee LhefineeLoak veneerzand lumber, nd ie very reej" , t nL owear.Tieae qual iLieemaV.et eiqni l icant lymoreval lableNhan ed oak.7ut perhape ta moeL-valued roperty ielh e preeencen iLecel lsof tylosee,a honeyconblike ,ub-

etance thaL makee ;h ewoodwaLerLiqhLnd ideal orwhiekey arrela.Kecently,lheee barcelshavebequnLobe reuaed, ed,ucinqhe larqedrain on whtLe ak. orthat purpoee,

Other Namee: American while oak, burr oak, swamVwhileoak,cheotnJf,oak,overcuV ak, ewampcheetnuLoak.Sourcee:Canadaand l , ) .3.A,

Characteriatice,t f, raiqht qrain: moder tely coaroelexLure: liqhl Lan wif,ha yellowiehLint.Ueea: FurniLure,oinery,cabinef,making,oat bui ldinq,barrele,Vlywood nd veneers.

Workability: Good; pre-bore or nailinq:qoodbendinq roperLiee.Finiahing;Accepte f inioheawell.rNeight:47 lb.lcu. t.

?rice: ModeraL.e.



WOOD DIRECTORY

OLIVE,WOOD(H )AotanicalName: lea europaeaGrown lonq he lr4ed,i trerraneanaaot,Europeanlive-wood e a comelyree,andyielde f ine, t t 'racLtveood

Lhat,ernitaa oweelscent.when L s worked,.hie reeie aleo amouaor iLe rui l and, i l .Avai lablenvery

amall mounte, ndprone od,efecte,l ivewooda

ofLen aedtoproduce mallLurnedr cawedqoode

fo r sale n EuroVe'erourislmarket ', nA T'eaomefme e

cul inLo eneer.Otcher amet Nalian livewood.1ourcee; talyand, outhern urope, al i farnia.Characterist icatIr aiqhl ' o irreqular raiw in e 'ex-

f,ure; iqhL o dark brown ackqround it'hd, rkereNrake.

UeeetTurninq,arving nd nlaywork.WorkabilityrGener llygoo , t'houqh elativelydifficult'

to oaw.FiniohinqAcceVtoiniehee el l .Weight :5&b. lcu. f t .TricetExpeneive

I

{i

PADAUK, FRICANN(H)OotanicalName:?t;erocarpue oyauxiiAfr icanpadaukeexf,remelyf,ronq,urable ndslable.Thouqheeawellknownhan ,h e ar eAndaman adauk,iLcomparee ell ,s muchmore vai lablena 6Lrulyhandaome ood n Ne wn iqhL.n eomeVarteof heworldAfr icanpadaukecommonlyeed or f loorinq,whereif , iE oneidered,f excepLionalual iNy:ad,aukveneerare no eas aluedor their beauty.Olher Namest7ad,ouk,arwood,amwood.1ourcetWeet fr ica.Characlerist iaettraiqht' xo ntrerlocked,rain;moder'alely coaroeexfrorei eep ed o purple-brown if'hred et"reake.

Ueest Furni lu e,cabin tmakin , oin y, ur nin , handlesandveneerg.WorkabiliNyzood:dullscuttere eliqhlly.FiniohinyAcceple inishee erywell .Weight :45lb. /cu. tL.?riaetModerate.



WOODDIRECTORY



\ t t ) t ) l ) l l i l ' l r l i \

Dtr(- A h..|! j . - \ ; l \ 1 \

( H )

boLan i ca l Nanf e : , i r ' ! I : , : r . r 1 . , .: r l - i r : t : : f '. 1r . . : ; r ' ; : ; i i i l l i . t i : , ' i . , ]

. , , 1 r t t , i , ; . t i , " ' ' ' , ' . , . . i , r 1 . , r , : . l a f . t t : , . r , ; , t r j _ i r , L n t - ; , ' , 1 ' , j a i : ) a : i 'a j l '

.: r: .l .\ , ;r111t.1, i, ,111,,;,,.,,., ' i -: i ) l )a'a:t.a.t. t: ' .. i ,a.,.,,, ' , l . ,f iaa:",,t: i tt)' : ' ,

f , i l .al ' t t l ' t ...1-l t ' l . t ' j \ , ' , , i1..: t:t l ' .) ,tft aa. l ritr f i lk l t i . ' i i tr :

. f ' , ' ' r . ' . . . : l ' : ,1 . t t - t l l , tl t , ) i t . , ' a ) \ \ t \ t ' . \ . : t : r r ' .r ) - . l ra:d t . t . , : , t, J : , t

i - tt) f i i ) .r , -r f,rr,.r 'a':.1i , l :- i' l , : i t--;f 'a:t

' t) i : ' .a) l :..\,\ iaoa1,17,11',, ,1,, ' t-,al :f.

r i ' r i ; i . . / , i l f' , , ; : , , ; i , i r l t , ' : a ' , , i ! : . ' .f t lLr , r l t 1 l tet t . ) a l a t \ , ,a t . ) t : ) , .

I , " r . . : : i i l r , l ' i ' l i r ' . : l f , i - : i l : , t . , . . , " i l - . r1. - . , - , t l a : : l ] r : :aa . i ' aa f i . i , , " ,aO ' l '

, . , . i . . : , : t , . : . -l , , r : . . :- r . r . r t r a r . . l . i a : : i lt ,2L t r r ' . r r : i O f l i _ r , . t t - l rc . i. r

i i ri ,- '1-.1.t

| .2t:) aari-,tl )1.. ); ' t l ) :, i .,t) t. i l , .. al at.i .:. l tqr.l .,.

Otrher Nameg ' i t i , : : ' . t l l .r ; ' , [ l , t t. . \ , \aaL )a :a ,aa, ' , ^ , ,1Lar

I : . i i , r - \ / . )' . . ' , .t t ) i :a .2 i . . , ' ,1 , f tL t l . it t [ .O1" r .

Sourceg:'

Characteristics: !:t.r: tt'i;. qt a-lct.l

i,ltoito,rt i.:rfitl t1t t, . . , ,_ - l fi l . i r . , , . ,a i r l

) /: : , ( ) i . ) i . t ta ,,a i r f , . t fa : l . , r : .a f .1 t , ' i ; t ; ,4U

'- :,:.t,1', . '- ) t' ' t l ' , . ), ) .r t,. a,' . i iai r{ ' t t,at.

Uses : I l r t . , i f t rJ . ' r . r l. i I . r t .a . ,. . ) a ) ' t, , : .n ) ' te : t . r por ' l .e

' :I

Workability: iztr: i.:ar, t.tt,t.:.t-' f,,rta, iqe!, ee',,t:rt.-lytadtae

,. ' . . ' ; i t r . , , : t , . )a tA:\ , \ , , , ) t . . . l t .t , , : r , i r ,q r 1 | : l ; tp :nq .re! ' . t ar o ,r ' , ; in

i t t 'a i - . ) . . i . :: : t r : i l t t r j ; ' , ,11 i" ' , ,1 ,a : . : l : t : ,n) inq2rOpeiiee.

F i n i e h i n g : r : .

W e iqht : I ( , . ' i . , i - ' . r : . ' i . .

7 ri c e'. i',,1ri : r' al r:.

-

PERSIMMON( H )

Bolanical Narne:

, ' : , t , ii r L , 4 r . r i aa t 1a , , ' ) 1 t. " I ' i , i t t l

: . t t i :1 .' ,1 , . , , f. i , r r i l i ' : . ' l i . , i , ,r i l t " ! , : r i r r , , ' . , . ' ,1r I . f, - , : r il i '

: . . f i i ; , t1 r i l 1 i , r j i , t ' r t r t i l i f l t : r l - , , ,r l : j r ' f ' ,a . , . , , , i t . t i : : . i I r I

: . f fa t heal-1 . ' ,^ , , i - ,a, ! . . ' ,a : t : aN) . , iJ ta t ] ' : . i ' : l l r ' - r :1, i i r '

i , ,a i , - r ;1r ' , ' .a l .a f ,nr--r i i ' ] i - - , ' . . r r r l r , . , i .' . : . : : : i ' : ,1l ' - t t ) . . : l r / ] l , i ' : l

, z a ) l ' i r , i " ; , t i n aL r ; ; l i t ' : , i , .[ . r ' r i : l ' i - l ] i r . l t 1 , , ' , ; t 1 : i , 1 1

l :ea,) . . i , ) , : t - ,a=i ; r1 ; l ly .;1 .1 . ,. . r . . I 'i'

.l '

c2rt ltit,,it .ia all.,t a)aIt\.,a,irJLrrr.

Olher Nameg l : ,o t t ,oo l , . ' r rar ; r- ; , ; r ; , t .- . r i r : .1 .ar '{"r, . , . r r . , l, 1 , . :r

l .) l l1 , ' l . lq i f , t .a ; l ; f .cf L ; t r .f l r : r i t t l l f l r | i r i - 1. . f l / j : ' i ' l t i f ' r , l ' ' . . '

9ourceg: i . , - ' . r . " ; ranr ' i : , r - r r t l r i :l '

,1 . :p . . i i .

Characleristics: ' : i ra 'a l : i . .at a at i ' i l ' . t . . i ! 'a i f l1-r i r t ' / : : f t .

la're lar'r. t:'of,\/NOr i:'rt:,t.|.:,' i..rt,k:,.,' .t),,j1)\\(.)t))r, r;ii-;' ' ,1' . .U s e s : G o l ' t . . t b l ' , r a l z . : . 1t ' i t i , l - ' l l r r r ' . r j r , ,

I oolrq atd 1't.r'r,ii,t.,r"e.

Workabil i ty: ( ior , t : : ra | '1 r l t t t . tA:- . l l - , , l t i . . .a c , : .1r1r: , ,i t , . , .1r ' r

a- ta {, radJat. c tr i . r . . inq nqlt v ' , | - ' tn :). }1 t1a. : )p5 rpr ' . , ;r i , l '

nar inq: n ,c t i i t , r^a-, .ct t i t ; \nq ?ia i ) . i r i . . . : : . . ' ,t( l ' t i , f i i . i . r - r , : r i :

' . . . t . | .

F ni ohi n6 : i', r: : t-,1tL.. "' ,t , ,ta ., /a 'v f r/r'

W i7ht:7:2.1.ct. i..? rice: n ev.o nai\ta I.i.) t1odat' i,r:).

, t

: i I

,' 11



PINE,PONDEROSA(e)OotanicalName:FinueponderoeaOneof the mo6Laf,f,racf,iveinee,"heponderoea roweacroeawegternNorf,h merica ndeometimee akeoiLehome trelevaf, ionsf more han 1O,OOOeeL n heKockiee. ecauee f iLs esemblancen colorandtexLureo whiLe ine, onderoeaas ncreaeinglyeenusedas a eL)boLiLuteor that wood, onderoeain e eeornetiffie. liced nLo noLIypine eneer, uL |e primaryuee s inconelrucl ion ndae inLeriorrim.Ot her Namee:3iq Vin , bir 'e ey pin ,kn tty pin ,pole ine, r ickly ine,weoLernel low ine.Sources:Canada ndwesLern ,3.A.Characteristics:Wide iqhi-y llow apwood; arkeryellowo reddieh-brownearLwood:enerally

ilraight,qrain:even exture.Usea Furnit ,ure,turninqni cawinq eapwood):oineryand qen ral conelru Li n (hearLw od occaei nauypanelinqndveneers.Workability:Good;blunLs uLLinq d4ee liqhr,ly:oorbendinq roperl, iee.FiniohinqAcceVLoinieheewell,butdoesnot etainae well e whibe ine.tNeighfr 2\b./cu.tL.Triceznexpeneive.

WOOD DIRECTORY

PINE,SOUTHERN ELLOW(e)DotanicalName:Finueaoo.7ouf,hernel low ine e Lheheavieet ommercialofLwoodand cerLainly f foremoetrm?o-ance or theconef,rucf, ionnd pulp nduef,nee.ut, becauee f thedecreaeingupVly f whi t re ine, i lhae ecent ly equto beusedexleneivelyn veneere,whichre darkeranmarked ydieLinclgrowLh inqe. heee reeo leosupVlyurVenLine,ine i land eein eed n he coe-meNicenduetry.OtherNamea?il ,ch ine, horL eafpine,longeafpine,loblol lyin e ndseveral f ,herree namee.5 ourcet outhe etern \J.3. ,Characteristics:SLraighL rain:coareeNexf,ure;

yellow-browno reddieh-brownearLwood.Uses:FurniNure,onetrucf,ion,lywood nd veneers.Workabil i tyrair;higheein ontentwil l auae ummybuild-up n Loolo: ende o Learwhen rooecut..Finiohing: ccepLoinisheeairly well; ecauee fhi7h eein onhenL,inishee omelimeeubble p,eeVecial ly roundknole.Weight:3O-3B lb./ u. t .?riae: nexoeneive,



PINE,WHITE(e)9otanical Name:Ftnue LrobueWhiLeVine'eereal i l i ty, orkabi l i lyndnon-reeinouenaturemade f,a preferred ood or bothconolrucl ionandwoodworkingor cenf,uriee.arlyAmerican eLlleroolLenhonored,hewhibe ine, uNtinqt,on he coloniee'f la4 dur inq he AmencanKevolut ionnd on ot rherf laqeand coine hrouqhLheyeare. -)nforf"unalely,

becauae f iLewideeVreadee,whitepineha ebecomeecarcer , l thouqh econa enerat ion tranigarepreeently aLlr inq.Olher Namee:EaeLernwhiLe ine, orLhern hiLe ine,norLhern ine,QuebecVine, of l pine,baleamine,Canadian hif,e ine.

1ources:Canada nd,U.3.4.Characterielicet Lraiqht grain;even exLure:iqht-yel lowo reddiah-bow he rLw od.Uses': urniLure,oinery, oat bui ldinq,onef,rucl ion,plywood ndveneere.Workability:Good;blunt cuLf,ere liqhf,ly;oorbendinqpropertieg;oo sofL or some urnilureuses.Finiehing: ccepte inieheswell.Weight:28 b.lcu.ft .Triaetnexpenetve.

WOOD DIRECTORY

-

POPLAR, ELLOW(H)

9otanical NameszLr iodend on tulipiferaMuchof the remaininqupply f thie wood, eqarded ooneof he moeL aluableimbere n he eaelernU.3.4.l iee n he Appalachian ounlaine.-)eed,x\eneivelynEuropen ,he arly 9OOs,Loday,h ewood e ueed,mainlyn he l-).3.or a ranqe f woodworkingpplica-Nione nd or Vulp. heeapwoodeeometimesalledwhilewood.Ol her Na m s; C noe wood,xul iV opl , ul iplree.Souraet .3.4.Characterieliaa:Straiqht qrain; ine,even eKLoreiwhif,e apwood o pale-brownearLwood iLh reenor darkbrown f,reake.

Uaeoz oin y, urni lu e,cabin lwo k,muei al ineLr 'rYtent7,awingand veneerg.WorkabilitytGood:dullecu+vLerenlyeltqhtly.Finiehingz ccepbeinieheewell.Weight:, 0-35 lb.Icu.t.Trice: nexpeneive.



WOOD DIRE,CTORY

PRIMAVERA(H )

DotanioalName* Cybiotax onnell-emit ii,eyn.Tabebua donnellamith iSomelimee ronqlyeferred oae"whilemahoqany,"

Vrimaveraeoneof the f ineetrblond"

cabineL oodenthe world. ecauee f the depleLionf oupply,however,today iN o relatively ard o geL Thewood e wellknownfor ile beautiful iqht-coloredeneere. fIenLheyareelripedor havea handeomemoLLlediqure.Olher Nameo:DuranqaMexlco);)an uan Hondurae):

V lo bl nco (Guatemala); cortez,co Lezbl nco(ElSalvador).Source:CenLralAmerica.Charaateristiae;SLraiqht o irregular rain;medium ocoaree efrure: yellowieh-whiteo yellowieh-brown,Ueeq Cabinetwork, ine urnitureand veneero.Wo rkabilityt Very good: mode ale bending properLi e.Finishingl. ccepLeiniehee erywell.Wei6ht: 3O bB lb./ u. L?riaez xpeneive.

PURPLEHEART(H)

gotaniaal Name:Feltogyneepp.A uniquelyltracl iveanddurable ardwoodnda chal-lenge oworkwiLh. utt inq anbehamperedyqumdepoeiLe,hichwilleeep uLof Lhewood f i I io heaheiwiLh luntcutt inqed,geo.ladee,herelore, ueN ekeVNxlremely harp, ndwood hould e unelowlythrouqhmachines. hi le hewood e purple, lheee umdeposiLsan anqero mcoalblacktowhile, ndoltenetreakthewood.Ot,h r Namee:Am ranth,violelwod (U. .A. ; eakav l l i ,oaka, oroboreliGuyana);?au oxo, azarenoVenezuel

?au oxo, maranNeOrazil):ananeoColombia).5ouraeet enLral nd9ouLhAmerica.

Charaateristiaet traiqhLqrain;moderate o coaraeLerture:deeppurVle,maburinq o a rich brown fLerlonq xpoeure.Uses:Veneers,urninq, ndoorand outdoor, urniture,tool ehaflsandhandlee,nd butls of bi l l iard ues.Workabilibyt ifficult: moderaLe o eeverebluntin4;pre-bore or nai l inq; oderaLeendingropert iee.Finiohing; ccepte inieheswell:lacoruer?reoeNeo ur-plecolor:alcoholbased iniEheeemovehe color.Weightz 4lb./cu. L.Trice:Moderate.



WOODDIRECTORY

REDWOOD, ALIFORNIA(e)gotanical Name: equoi eempervi eneThe ascinalinqCalifornia edwood rowo o an incredi-bleeize.NaIive o coaslal California nd )reqon, t iocapable f reachinqwellover3OO eex n heiqhNndoneLreemayyield houeandeof board eet of lumber,Allhouqheuppliee f this woodhavebeen eriouelydepleted,edwood an eomelimes till beacquired nertremelywideplanko. hewood e noted or ito stabili-Iy , durabiliLy nd resisLanceo decay: to larqeburleare cul inlo veneers.Olher NametRedwood,SouraetWest oast of U.9,A.Charaoteriatioez?traight qraini ine,even exf,uretaeep

reddish-brown.Ueea Joinery,furniture,Vooto,panelin4,?lwood andveneere, nd much iqht ouldoorcon;lruction.Workabiliiy:Good:dullscuttera only sli4htly:moAeratebendin7 roperliee.F niehin zAccegta fi nishee well.Wei6ht;26lb./cu. t,?ricet nexpengiveo moAerale,

ROSEWOOD,ONDURASN)(H)6otanical Name;Da berqi eteveneonThiehard,heavy, urable osewoode primari lyaluedin he makinq f marimba areandqrowsonly n Selize,lhe formerDritishHondurae.o eupplieerevery imit-ed, Lsother mainuseeare confinedo finecabinelwork,marquelry ndlurned teme.1ome pecimenere veryoi lyand wil l ottake a hiqhnaturalpol ieh.Other NametNaqaed.5ourcet1elize.Characteristicst3t raiqhL o somewhal, treaked

6rain:moderatelyine exLurctpinkieh-browno purplewithdark, irre4ularrain inee,Uaes:Mueical neNruments,eneeroor fineaabinet-

work ndLurning,Workability. air,tough o machine ecauee f hard-nesaiseverely ullocuLtingedqee: oorbendinq?ro?er-tiea.Finiahin1z ccepto inisheswell,Vrovidedhe woodio nottroo oily.Weight 60 lb./cu.fL.?rlcetExoensive.



WOOD DIRECTORY



SASSAFRAS( H )

7otanioal Name: 7aeeafrae albidum

Saseaf raa. member l Lheeame ami lyae c innamon,ie beel known or i t e f raqranl oi l ,ueed or f lavorinq

and ocentinq,and Lhe Neamade rom iLe roof,barK.\Nhi leetmi lar n color , ratnand LexLureo black oh,aaeealrae Limber e briLtlean), aoft an d ie eedornavai lab)en larqe aizee. Ledecay reeietanceand reao-nance rnake Lan alLractive choice or eorneepeciA-tzedappl icat ione.

Olher Na mes: Cinnamon ood, ed aasaafrae, umbo ile.Source: EaeLernU.e.A.

Charact erieiice: 7X raiqht.qrain; coar ee f,exture: j hL

io darkbrown.

Uees: Aoar"bui ldinq, ayakVad,dleo,onlainere, urni-tJre and,mueical neLrarYentg.

Workability: Fair: wood is briLLleand eofL, oo keep ooledges very eharV:pre-borefor nai l inqLoavoideplitt inq:qood bendinqproperLiee,Finishing:AccepLe inieheewell .

Weight:2b lb,lcu, t.

Tricet nexpeneive,o moderate.

WOOD DIRECTORY

-

SATINWOOD,EYLON .,( H )

Ootanical Nam e: Cho oxy o n ew eLe aIhouqh Lhe nameeaLinvtood ae beenqiven "o manyworldLimbero,Ceylon aLinwoode on eol very ew thathave oundoiqni f icanL ae n North Amer ica. l hae

beenaeed n inewoodwork inqnd cabineLmakinqor

cenlur iee, uLLoday a valuedmainly or i te et lnninqveneere-ea?ecial ly he f amoue bee'o-winqnot;Lle.naol iA orrn i t qeneral lye ueed or f ine Lurnedqoode

euch ae brush backa, e aordereand inlayv',ark.

Olher Names: Eaet lndianeattnwood.'yeltowanAere;bi l lu ,maahwal lndia) :Cey lon aLinwood.3r iLanka) .Sources: ndiaand 3r i Lanka.

Char a cterieli cs : Inle docked qrain f ne, even *'exLLle

l iqhtyel lowLo old.UeeatCabineLmakinq,urni ture, urninq,o ineryanddecoraliveveneere.

Workability: if f icult: qrain ende ta tear in planingquarLerb wn maLerial : ood bendinggrapert ea .Finiehinq AccepLo inieheewellwhen il led,

Weightt 6l lb.lcu. t.

TricetExpeneive.



WOOD DIRECTORY

SNAKEWOODN(H )

J \: X

gotanical Names:Fiet inera7uianenoio.eyn.DroeimumuianenbiolL omarktnqo, hich eeemblehoeeon enakeektn,iver.hte mall , elaLivelyare imber le name. oundn im-iNed uanti t ieenGuyana ndSurirtarn,t. e predomi-nanllyueed nLurned temsandcarriesa cerLain achelA enakewoodanear umbrel la, lornsf,ance, iqhL econsidered orecioueoeseeeion.ecause f iLshard-nese, nakewood,e verydif f icult towork.Olher Namee:Lelterwood,eopardwood,peckled ooa.SouraetSouLh merica.CharacteristiaotStraiqh| qraln; ine,even extrure;deep edLo reddieh-browniLh rreqular,or izonLal

blackmarkinqe.Usesz in e urnedqood,e,iol in owe, nife andlee,marquetry ndveneers.WorkabilityzDifficult:d,ullo utt inqed,qee.FiniehinqAccepr"oiniahes el l .Weight ; 1 lb . /cu. fL .TricetVerv xzenoive.

SPANISH EDAR(H)

Ootanical Name:Cedrela oo.

N)A.lLhouqhany pecieore markeled nAer,he ameSpaniehedar,he moel mporLanLnLheNorLh mericwood rade,Cedrelamexicana,rowenCenlralAmericaMexico. xlremelyVrizedn Lenative egionor ito eLabiweatrheringualitiee ndrelatriveLrenqth,N e expor1eda very imiLed,cale. ike lher

"cedare,"this hardwood i

arouoe he enses i tha pleaeanl,roma.Olher Names;Srazi l ianedar,Honduraeedar, edro,ced,roouqe.Sourcesz exico, entral ndSouthAmerica.Charaat r ist iae; tr aiqht,occaeion l ly nf,er lcke ,qraf ineLocoarse, nevenexf,ureiinkieh-toeddtsh-brow

hearLwood,arkenewif,h xpoaureo a deeeer ed,occaeionally i lha purple int: aVwooda whit,e,oVink.Usea:Furniture,abinef,work,oinery, oal bui lding, uainetrruntente, leadenci le,iqarboxee, lywood,nddecT,Meeneere.Workability:Generallyood: ifficulttroboreandveneertend o bewoollyncuLLing;oodbendinq roperLiee.FiniehinryFaicwoodonlaine ils ndqumwhich aybetroubleeome,bu|ifilled,t canbebroughtto emoothfrniah,Weight 3O lb.lcu. L.Tricez oderaLe.

:ir'

i$ril .

$.1kiffi*



WOOD DIRECTORY

SPRUCE,ITKA(e)Ootanical Name: Ttcea eitchenatoC , i V a a n r r e l h e l a r n e a l a n e e i e a a f a a . t e e r a n ,- - ' - - r - - ' , r o wmare han ZaO eeLhighwiLh ,iameteraxceed,inqixfeet,. lbhouqht. e probably ooL aluedor newepaperprod,ucLionecauee f iLewhiLeneee,i tetrenqthandworkabil iLynakeLa favori le nwood,workinqn) con-oLrucLion.lLoalooa very ezonantwood nd e widelyueed nal l ypeoof otrinqandkeyboardnef,rumenls.SiLka orucee olLen uarLereawn.OtherNamesz i lvere?ruce, eq,-toiai lver p'uce,ide-)and 2ruce,Menzies ?ruce, oael, ?ruce, e6f,erng?ruce ndwesl coaoL ?ruce.5ources:Canada. .K. nd U.9.4.CharacteriaticotSLraiqhL rain;med,ium,venexfure:whibe oyel lowieh-browniNh el iqhLVinkiohinge.Veryhi hetren th t o wei ht, abi .Uaeat nNerioroinery, uaicalneNrumenr,a,oat bui ld-inq, are, owing culla, l idero, lywood,onotrucLionandveneers.Workability:Good: er ! qood, endinq ropertiee.FiniehinqAccepte inieheewell.Weight ;2bb. lcu. f t .?riaetMod,eraf,e.

SYCAMORE,MERICAN(H )O tanical Name:FaLanuo occ denLa eArowingo heighlehat tropZaO uet, hie opecieandf,ulip2oplar re .h eargeolhard,woodeneaelernNor|hAmerica.WithIE iqh|qreenleh-grayark, mericanlycarAoreea prominentr?reeencenan y oreoi,an d eeomeLimesalledhe qhoal ree.When uarLereawn,Lhie imber?abaeaoeed,iol inct iveleck iqure. eed,oa qreareKterL n urnilure,Arnericar ycaorcre cca6oa-al ly a roLary ulfor veneer6.OtherNameet merican laneNree,uLLonwood,lane

f,ree,waterbeech.9ouraeet asf,ernndcentralU 3.4.Characteriel iaaUeually traiqhlqrain:f ine,ven,ex-ture:pale eddieh-brown.Ueea Furnibure,1oinery,uXcher'slacke, nd, eneere,Workabililoytenerally ood:may bindon eaws',mainlainvery harp ut t inq dgee:h i7hhr inkaqewi lhtenden-cy o war?.Finiohin1AccepNoinieheewell.tNeightt 5lb./cu.fL.Tricet nexVeneive.



WOODDIRECTORY



WOOD DIRECTORY

TULIPWOOD(H)

Ootanical Name: Dalberqia ruteacenaThie ean extremely aluableimber,liqhterncolor hanany olher rosewood, ormally vailableinmallcultinqoonly.Likeall rosewoods,t qrow6veryolowly nd needscenNurieoor the heaibwoodo develoV,op-quality olor.1ecauee f ita pooravailability,tulipwood6 not,uouallyueed n eolid orm, bul ae veneeror inlayon rnepieaeo.When t, s worked, his wood ends n oplinf,er ntd,likemanyof the rosewood^, iveooff afraqirant'aroma.Ath er Namea b razili n pinkwod, pinkwod (U. .A,);pau de fuoo, acaranda rosa (Orazil),9ourae:5outh America.Charao't'enetlcatrre4ular4raintmeAium-frne*xhure:

richqolden-pinkioh ue with salmon o red otripeo.UaealTurnin6,brush backs,woodware,;auelryboxeo,cabinztwork,nlay work, nlaidbandin1o,marimbakoyo,decorativeveneers or inlay workand marquetryandantioLueeVaire.Workablfty: Difficult; extreme dullinq f cuttnr6: ?reborefornailinq.Finfahing: As6ePo frniahesvery wallicah be brouqbbw ahighnaturalpol loh.WeQltu65lb./cu.fr,

WALNUT,BLACK(H )

6otanical nametJuglaneniqraOwin4to treqreatbeautyand4oodworkinq haracler-isLice, lackwalnutrs oneol Lhemool valuable aLivewooden Norbh merica, ince olonialimes, te wideranqeof figureahasqracedLhe inee| American abi-network.Alxhouqh nownor iLeworkability, alnutdoeeaontainuqlone, chernical elievedo caueedermatitiein gomewoodworkerg.

OI,herNameetAmerican lackwalnut,Americanwalnul,Virqinia alnut U.K.); alnui,Canadian alnuf.5ources;EaeNern ,9.4.and Ontario,Canada.CharacterielicslTouqhwoodof rnedium eneity; ener-allyoiraiqht qrain:medium oareeNexlure; ark brown

tn purVliahblack.UaeotFine urnil,ure,qunof,ocke,nterior joinery, abi-nobmakinq,urninq, oai buildinq, uoicalnslrumenls,clock aeee, arving,?Wood, panelinq nd veneere.Workabifiy: Good;blunts cuttere moderaNely;oodbendinqproperlieo,Flniehingz ccefio nal,uralwood rnishesee?eciallywell.WeQhtl40 lb.lcu.ft.?naezModerata

N)



WOODDIRECTORY

WE,NGE, ..( H )

9otanical Name: MilleLl,ta lp ,t' , eLronq. teavy",lara trtod, tenqe ffere a f amiliarcom-binati:n lo Lle vtoodvtorV.er.L e dif f ic l lL Lo work,bu lAet iqhl fu o oo?. L .ar iq inat tnqf rom Lree of moder-a"te ize, Lh e dee2 crovn and blackwood can offer dis-t incLiveveneer. vtit"h haraclerioti c ItqhL treake of

2arenchyrna,-"reel ieeae involvedn ood eLoraqeand,

con6um?Lio..Fo r beoL eautLe, enqeehoulabe workedV'/ia.t),ery 'f)ar? Cl,Ller7,

Other Namee: Dikela,mibotu,Afr ican pal ieander.9 o u cee: 7oru io r al Al rica (C n oon, Gabon, Zai e) .Characteristico: Heavy, eneewood:etratqht 7rain;coarae LextJre:dark brownwiLhblackieh einoand,

eomel i f f iee Lreaked iLh ine. l iqhL rown inea.Uaee:Twninq, nLerior nd exLerioroinery,cabinef,rnak-' .1q.

ear'e rq atd deco'ar. lve e('eerq.

WorkabilitytGeneral ly oad;bluntecuLt inqedqeo apid,1y: re-bore or nai l inq; oo r bendingproVerLiee.Finiohing:Sat ielacLorytmu.JL e i l led or qood reeulto.WeighL:55 b. lcu,L.

WILLOW(H)

gotanicalName: al ix ni7raWhi leIe Euro2eanouain e ueedmoef , oLablyncr ickeL aLe, lackwi l lows moeL requent ly eed nNorLhAmerica y echoolwoodworkinqhope:L eLAemoelcommercial lyaluab)ef he more han1Oa ypeeof na l iveNorLh mer ican i l lowe. i l low'eLrenqLhand, e la t iveiqhtneee ake t ,Lheclearchoice orar t i f ic ial imbe.OtherName:3lackW l low.SourcesCanad,a,aef,ern .9.A, nd Mexico.Characterist iaeriqht, ouqhwood; traiqht, rain; inet eKLue;q ayieh b own with reddi eh b own eNr aks.Ueea ArLifi ial limb , oye, wi ke wo rk,baskete,boxe ,

craf,eo, ecor Liv ven ero.Workability: aLief ctory:mainLain har?cLtttera .o

? ev nt, ray inq: poo ben in p ope f, i e ofLen onL inereacLion aod.FiniahinqAccepte inishee el|Weight :26 lb, /cu.t .?r icetnexpeneive.

?rice: loderaLe.



WOODDIRECTORY

ZEBRAWOODN)(H)

9 otaniaal Name: M c obe l na b azzavienaieOiehincLivenappearance,ebrawoodomeeromLwoopeciee f larqeNreeeoundmainlynCameroonndGabon,W s| Af ica.Whil il ie ueu llyeeena6 a veneerir NorthAmerica, hen uarLersawnhis Nimberangivebeauliful esulte n eolid orm.kbrawood iedifficult Nowork,however,nd veneersend Nobe ragile.Other Names:Zinqana France,Gabon):Allen le,amouk Camercon):ebrano.Source;West Africa.Charao.trietiaozW vy o interlocked rain;medium ocoa?oeeKVurei earLwood,ale ellow rownwilh hindarkerstreaks;eapwood hite.

Uoeoz urninq,ool handles, kio, nlay, urniLure,cabineLworknd decorativ venee(6.Workabili?y: air:dullscuttinq edqeomoderately:interlocked{ain will end to leari suffers rom hiqhohrinkaqe nd maybe unslable n use.Flal-aut boardehardlo dry.Finiahingz aic may be difficult, o finieh becauseofinLerlockedrain.Weightz45-50 lb,/ u. L,?ficetExoensiva.

ZIRICOTE(H)

Ootanical Name;CordiadodecandraA ehunninq,arkwood, iricole oeaey rowork nI canbebroughttoa veryemooLhinieh,fhoughiff iculLNodry,onceNhis eachievedt ia relabivelytableand hiqhlydurable. ik ebocote, ir icote e a Cenbral mericanmember f the cordias. he wo woodo re, n act, quiteeimilar, ifferingmainlyncolor,Olher Name:Cordia,5 ourceszBelize,Mexi o.Characteristiaa:Sbraightqrain,mediumNomoderatelyfine exlure;black, rayor dark brownwithblackebreake.U est Furn i tu e, cabin Iw k, n ter i o in yandveneers.

Workabilityr eryqood: iLlleblunting f cutLers.FiniohinglAccepte tinieh well.Weightz 5-50 lb./ u. N.TricetExpenaive.



GLOSSARY

A-BAbsolute humiditv: A measure f theweightof watervairorper unit volumeofair, usuallyexpressedsgrainspercubic oot; see elative umidity.

Air-dried lumber:Dried umber hathas eachedts equilibriummoisturecontentby exposureo the air.

Angiosperm:Belongingo the botani-cal sub-phylumor groupofwoodyplants hat haveencapsulatedeedssuchasa walnutor acorn:ncludes llhardwoodreespecies.

Annualgrowth ring: Thevisible ayerof growth hat a treeputson in asingleyear,ncluding he earlywood nd

helatewood; eenn the endgrainofwood.

Bark The outermost ayerof a tree'strunk thatprotectshe nnerwoodand cambium rom the elements;composed f the outer,deadcorkand he nner, iving phloem.

Bird's-eye igure Figureon plainsawnandrotary-cutsurfaces fa fewspecies f wood-most commonlymaple-exhibiting numerous mall,roundedareasesembling irds' eyes;

caused y local iberdistortions.Blister figure: Figureon plainsawnor rotary-cutsurfaceshat ooks ikevarious-sized levated nd depressedareas f roundedcontour.

Board oot A unit of wood volumemeasurementquivalento apieceofwood I inch thick, 12 ncheswideand12 nchesong.

Bookmatch: n veneering, decorativepattern n whichsuccessiveeneers

in aflitch arearranged ide-by-sidena mirror formation, ikepages f anopened ook.

Boundwater:Moisturepresentnwood oundwithin the cellwalls;seereewater.

Bow:A lumberdefectn whicha boardis not flat along ts ength.

Bucking: Crosscutting a tree into logsofa desired ength.

Burl veneer: Highly decorative veneertaken from bulges or irregular growthsthat form on the trunks of somespecies nd on the roots ofothers.

Butt veneer: Veneercut from the areain a tree's runk just above he roots;also known as stump veneer.

CCambium: A layer of actively growingtissue, one cell thick, between hephloem and the sapwood,whichrepeatedlydivides itselfto form newcells of both.

Cant A log that has beendebarkedand sawn square n preparation forfurther cutting.

Casehardening: A lumber defectresulting from drying a board toorapidly; the outer layersofa boardare n compressionwhile the innerlayersare n tension.

Celft The smallestunit of wood struc-ture, eachwith its own specializedfunction; cells nclude vessels,ibers,

rays, and tracheids.

Chedc A lumber defect in whichsplits develop engthwiseacross hegrowth rings during seasoningbecauseof uneven shrinkage of wood.

Clear: Describesa board face hat isfreeof defects.

Common grade lumber: In softwood,lumber with conspicuousdefectssuchasred or black knots and pith.

Compression wood: Reactionwoodformed on the undersidesofbranchesand leaning or crooked stemsof soft-wood trees.

Conifer: Any of several families ofsoftwood trdes hat bear cones;seesoftwood.

Crook A lumber defect where there isan edgewise eviation from end-to-endstraightness n a board.

Crossband: In plywood with morethan three plies, he veneers mmedatelybeneath he surfaceplies areoriented with a grain direction pependicular to that of the surfaceplie

Cross grain: Generally, lumber inwhich the wood fibers deviate fromthe longitudinal axisof the board;seespiralgrain.

Cross section: A viewing plane inwood identification seen n the endgrain of lumber, cut perpendicular tthe axisof the tree trunk: also knowas a transyerse ection.

Crotchveneer: Veneercut from thefork

ofa tree trunk.

Crown-cut veneer: Decorativevenethat is cut from flitchesusing the flaslicing method.

Cup: A lumber defect n which thefaceof a board warps and assumesa cupJike shape.

Curlygrain: Seewavygrain.

Cuttinglish A list of the sizesof lumber needed or a specificproject.

D-EDeciduous: Any of several amilies otrees hat shed heir foliage annuallyseehardwood.

Defech Any abnormality or irregulaty that lowers the commercial valuewood.by decreasing ts strength orattectrng ts appearance;seewarp.

Dendrochronology: The scienceofdating past eventsand changes nenvironmental conditions by compa

ative study of annual growth rings.

Diamond match: In veneering,a deorative pattern formed when succesiveveneers rom the same litch,usually with a diagonal stripe figureare arranged n a diamond shape.

Diffuse-porous wood: Hardwoodswhich the pores tend to be uniformsizeand distribution throughout eaannual growth ring.



GLOSSARY

Earlywood: The portion of the annualgrowth ring formed in the early partof the growing season;see atetuood.

Equilibrium moisture content Themoisture content that wood eventual-ly reacheswhen it is exposed o a giv-en level of relative humidity andtemperature.

Extractive: Resinsand other sub-stancesdeposited n the heartwoodduring a tree'sgrowth that impartboth color and resistance o decay.

F-GFaceveneer: Veneer used for theexposedsurfaces n hardwood and

softwood plywood.

Fiber: A specific hardwood cell type,elongated with narrow ends and thickwalls; contributes to the strength ofthe wood.

Fiber saturation point (FSP):A con-dition in which wood cell cavities arefree of all water, yet the cell wallsremain fully saturated.

Fiddlebadc An attractive figure result-ing when wood with curly or wavy grain

is quartersawn;commonly used n themanufacture of stringed instruments.

Figure In the broadestsense, he dis-tinctive pattern produced in a woodsurfacebv the combination of annualgrowth rings, deviations from regulargrain, rays,knots, and coloration.

Finish gradelumber: Softwood lum-ber graded for appearance, otstrength, seasonedo a moisture con-tent of 15percentor less; ncludessuperior and prime categories.

Firsts and seconds:The top or premi-um gradeofhardwood.

Flat-slicedveneer: Veneer hat is slicedoffa log or a flitch with a veneerslicer.

Flitch: A section ofa log cut to extractthe best figure and yield ofveneersfrom a log; also known asa cant.

Free water: Moisture present n woodfound inside the cell cavities;seebound water.

Grade stamp: A stamp appliedto mostsoftwood and some hardwood lumber

indicating the grade, strength proper-ties, speciesof wood and the mill thatmanufactured it.

Grain: Generally, he direction, size,arrangement,appearance, r qualityof the elements n wood or lumber;specifically, the alignment of woodfibers with respect o the axisof thetree trunk.

Green lumber: Freshlysawn, unsea-

soned umber having a moisture con-tent above he fiber saturation point.

Gymnosperm: A botanical sub-phy-lum or group of woody plants thathave exposedseeds ike a pine seed;includes all softwood tree species.

H-r-J-K-rHardboard: A type of manufacturedboard with smoother surfaces hanparticleboard, madeby breaking wastewood down into its individual fibers,mixing them with adhesives, nd mat-

forming them into a strong, homoge-nous panel.

Hardwood: Generally, wood fromangiospermtree species.

Headsaw: The largebandsawor circu-lar saw at a mill that cuts logs intolarge slabsof timber for resawing; alsoknown as headrig.

Heartwood: The dead, nner core ofa tree extending from the pith to thesapwood, usually distinguishable

from sapwood by its darker color.

Herringbone match: In veneers,adecorative match createdwhen suc-cessive eneers rom one flitch, usuallywith a diagonal stripe, are arranged oform a herringbone pattern.

Humbolt undercut: A method offelling treeswhere a wedge s cut inthe stump of a tree rather than in theupper log before t is felled.

Hygroscopicity: The ability of a sub-stance o readily absorb,retain, anddesorb moisture.

Interlocked grain: Wood that featuresrepeatedalternation ofleft- and right-hand deviations of fibers from the axisofthe tree trunk, usuallyover severalgrowth rings; results n ribbon figureon quarter-sawnsurfaces.

Key: A master ist of wood speciesused n identification, ordered by cri-teria such as grossanatomical features,macroscopic eatures,or microscopicteatures.

IGln: A heatedchamber used n dry-

ing lumber, veneer,or wood productswhere temperature, humiditS andair circulation are controlled.

IGln-dried lumber: Lumber thathasbeen dried to a specific moisturecontent.

Knot: The baseof a branch or limbthat hasbeen overgrown by theexpanding girth of the trunk or otherportion ofthe tree.

Latewood: The portion of the annual

growth ring formed in the latter partof the growing season;seeearlywood.

ksser-known species LKS) Woodsrecently ntroduced to the market,such aschactacote, ornillo and chon-taquiro amarillo, many of which comefrom sources hat practicesustainabletorest management.

Linear foot A measurementreferringonly to the length of a pieceof wood;seeboardfoot.

Lumber: Logsthat havebeen roughlysawn nto timbers, resawn,planedand sawn to length.

Lumber-core plywood: Plywood inwhich softwood and hardwood veneersare glued to a core of narrow, sawedlumber.

Lumber ruler: A tool used to measurethe board-foot volume of a pieceoflumber with a flexiblewooden shaftand a hook for turning boards.



GLOSSARY

Luthier: A builder of stringed musicalinstruments such asviolins and guitars.

M-N-OMacroscopic features:

Referring toanatomical featuresof wood identifi-cation visible with low-power magni-fication, typically a 10x hand lens.

Marquetry: Decorative inlay workdone with veneers,metals or othermaterials.

Medium density fiberboard (MDF) :A tFpe of tempered hardboard with afine texture used n cabinetmaking.

Moisture content: The amount of

water contained in wood, expressed sa percentage fthe weight ofthe oven-dried wood.

Mottled figure: A type of broken stripefigure with occasional nterruptions ofcurly figure.

Nominal sizs The rough-sawn com-mercial sizebywhich lumber is knownand sold.

Non-porouswood: Wood devoid ofvessels, r pores;softwood.

Oven-dried weighfi The constantweight of wood that has been dried inan oven at temperatures between 2l4oand22l" F. o a point where it nolonger contains moisture.

P-QParenchvma: Thin-walled cells nwood; reiponsible for the storageof carbohydr ates. See ay.

Particleboard: A tyoe of manufac-tured board madeby breaking waste

wood down into small particles,mix-ing them with adhesives, nd extrud-ing or mat-forming them into panelsofvarying thickness.

Particleboard-core p\nuood:Plywood in which hardwood and soft-wood veneersare glued to a particle-board core for added strength.

Phloem: The inner bark. which dis-tributes nutrients derived from photo-synthesis n the leaves.

Photosynthesis: Aprocess

by whichplants synthesize arbohydratesandother nutrients from water and min-erals n the presenceofcholorphylland sunlight.

Phylum: A botanical group or classofplants.

Pitch pockeh A pocket found withinthe grain of some conifers, containingan accumulation of liquid or solidrestn.

Pith: The small, soft core occurring inthe structural center ofa tree trunk.

Plain-sawn lumber: Lumber that hasbeensawn so that the wide surfacesare tangential to the growth rings; alsoknown asflat-sawn umber whenreferring tb softwood; seequartersawnlumber.

Plywood: A manufactured board con-sisting of an odd number of layersor Dliesof softwood or hardwoodveneer;may also be made with a solid

core, see umber-core lywood.

Pors A cross-sectionof a vesselas tappearson a transversesectionofwood; see?esseL

Porouswood: Wood that has vessels.or pores, argeenough to be seenwitha hand lens; hardwood.

Quarter-cut veneer: A veneer createdby slicing a flitch to expose he quar-tersawn surfaceof the wood.

Quarter match: A decorativeveneerpattern createdby arrangingsuccessiveveneers rom the same litch, usuallywith a burl or crotch figure in a circularor oval formation; alsoknown as our-way centerand butt.

Quartersawn lumber: Lumber thathasbeen sawn so that the wide sur-faces ntersect he growth rings, atanglesbetween 45oand 90o;also

known asvertical-grained lumberwhen referring to softwood; seealsoplain-sawn umber.

Quilted figure: A distinctive, blisterlike figure found in bigleaf maple.

RRadial section: A viewing plane inwood identification cut across hegrain perpendicular to the growthrings and parallel to the wood rays;the plane that extendsalong the axisof the tree trunk from pith to bark.

Radial shrinkage Shrinkage hatoccurs across he growth rings aswood dries.

Ray: A ribbon-shapedstrand of cellsextending across he grain from pithbark that appearasstreal$ on quartesawn surfaces: ometimes eferred omedullary ray.

Reaction wood: A lumber defectcausedby stressesn leaning treetrunks and limbs; known as compre

sion wood in softwood, and tensionwood in hardwood; characterizedbycompressedgrowth rings and silverlifelesscolor.

Relative humidity: The ratio of thewater vapor present n the air to theamount that the air would hold at itsaturation point, usually expressedpercentageigure;seeabsolute umid

Resin canat Vertical passagesetwewood cells n conifers that conductnatural resins and pitch.

Ribbon figure: Distinctive verticabands ofvarying luster found onquartersawnboards of wood withinterlocked grain.

Riftsawn lumber: Lumber whosegrowth rings are at anglesbetween30and 60" to the board face;also knowas bastard-sawn umber.



GLOSSARY

Ring-porous wood: Hardwoods inwhich the poresare comparativelylargeat the beginning ofeach annualgrowth ring, and decreasen size

toward the outer sectionof the ring,forming distinct zonesof earlywoodand latewood.

Roe figure: Figure formed by shortstripes ess han I foot in length,found on quartersawnsurfacesofwoods with interlocked grain.

Rotary-cut veneer:A continuous sheetpeeled rom a log or flitch by rotatingit on a lathe againsta stationary knife.

S-T-U

Sap:The water in a tree, including anydissolvednutrients and extractives.

Sapwood: The outer portion of a tree'strunk extending from the heartwoodto the cambium; distinguishable romthe heartwood by its lighter color.

Sawyer: The person at a sawmillwhose ob it is to

"read"a log before t

is cut and select he appropriate cut-ting patterns.

Seasoning: he.process r technique.

of removing moisture from greenwoodto improve its workability.

Selects: n softwood, defect-free um-ber graded for clear appearance atherthan strength, separated nto firsts andsecond,C selectand D selectgrades.In hardwood, selects s one gradebelow firstsand seconds.

Semi-diffuse porous wood: Woodwith poresexhibiting the cleardistinc-tion between earlywood and latewoodthat is lacking in diffrrse-porouswood,

yet not so pronounced a differenceasthat shown by ring-porouswood; alsoknown assemi-ringporouswood.

Slipmatch: In veneering,a repeateddecorativepattern createdby layingsuccessiveheetsofveneer from aflitch side-by-side.

Softwood:Generally,peciesrom thefamiliesof treeshat havea orimitivecellstructure,ear ones nd or themostpart haveneedle-likeeaves;

woodproduced y softwoodrees.Solarkiln: A kiln that dries umberwith solarenergy.

Sound:Describesboard ace reeofdefectshat wouldweakenhe wood.

Specificgravity:The ratioof theweightof a woodsampleo that of anequal olumeof water.

Spermatophyte:Any of aphylumorgroupofhigherplantshat reproduce

byseed;ncludes lmostall reespecies.

Spiralgrain:A form of crossgraincausedy the spiralalienment f woodfibers n a staniingtrei.

Stain:A discolorationn woodcausedby fungi,metals, r chemicals.

Sticker:A pieceof wood,usually /+-to l-inch thick,usedo separateoardsof lumber n a drying stack o permitarr crrculatron.

SubstrateA pieceof plywood,soft-wood or hardwoodused n veneeringasa core.

Surfacing: heway umberhasbeenprepared tamill before t goeso alumberyard.Alsoknownasdressing.

Sustainable forest management Theprocessof managing orest and toensure uture productivity and maxi-mize the flow of forest products with-out placing undue strain on the phys-icaland socialenvironment.

Thngential section:A viewing plane nwood identification cut along the graintangential o the growth rings;plain-sawn umber is sawn angentially.

Tangential shrinkage: Wood shrink-age hat occurs angentially to thegrowth rrngs.

Tensionwood: Reactionwood formedoccasionaly n the upper sideofbranchesdnd leanin!br crookedstems of hardwood trees.

Texture: Refers o the sizeofthecells n wood, indicatedby adjectivesfrom fine to coarse;often'confusedwith grain.

Tiacheid: Long, fibrous cells hat con-duct sapand help support the tree.

Twist A defectcausedby the turningor winding of the edges f the board,so hat one corner twistsout of plane.

V-W-X-Y-Z

Veneer:A thin layer or sheetof woodsawn,slicedor rotary cu t from a logor flitch.

Veneer-coreplywood: Plywoodthat consists f threeor more pl iesofveneers,each aid at right anglesto eachother with respect o gralndirection.

Veneerpress:A commercialor shop-built pressused o apply veneers osubstrates.

VessehWood cellsof comparativelylargediameter found in hirdwoodi,set one atop the other to form a con-tinuous tube for conducting waterand sapup the trunk; when viewed ncross-section,essels ppearaspores.

Warp: A lumber defect or distortionof a pieceof wood; seebow,croolgcup,and, wtst.

Wavy grain: Grain resulting fromrepeated,undulating right and leftdeviations n the alignmentof wood

fibers from the axis6f a tree's runk;alsoknown as cuily grain.



INDEX

Page eferencesn lralics ndicatean llustration of subiectmatter.Page eferencesn bold indicatea Build It Yourselfproject.

A B CAir-dried (AD) lumber, 43,79, 87-88AmericanLumber Standards

Committee,48Arno,Jon, 0-llAversdon, ven,45Bark,15Bird's-eye igxe,27, 59Blue stain (wooddefect),50, 5lBoard-foot measurement, 2,43, 44Botanical ames, 7,98Build It Yourself:

Log crosscuttingigs,39Solarkilns, 84-85Veneer-trimming igs,66

Burlfigure,27Burl veneers, 9Butt veneers, 9Cambium,14, 5Cant,37-38Center or Wood Anatomy Research, 4Common grade umber, 45, 46,47

48,49Crotch veneers, 9Cutting lists,44

D E F GDefectiveumber, 20-21, 50- 2

SeealsoWarped tockDensity.See pecificgravity

Diffirse-porouswoods, 16Dowels,95Drfttg processes,3,50, 78-79

Air drying,43,79,87-88Solarkilns, 84-85

Earlywood,15, L6,37Edgebanding:

Plvwood,74shop-madeedgebanding

(ShopTip),75Veneers, 4

trimming edgebanding(ShopTip), 64

Edge-grain awn umber. SeeQuartersawnumber

Edgemarks, 2Endangered pecies, 8FASgrade umber,46,47Fiberboard,56,77Fibersaturationpoint (FSP),80Fiddleback igure,26, 27Figure,2G27

Veneers, 9Finishgradeumber,48,49Flat-cutveneers, 9Flat-grainedumber. See lain-

sawn umber

Grade tamps,48, 9PIywood, T2

Grading.See umber: Grades;Plywood:Grades

Grain,26,28-29

Growth ings, 15, 4,25,33Gum (wooddefect),5O 51

H I I KHardboard,56,77Hardwood,16,98

Grades,46-47Identification,33Plywood, 0,71,72,73

Heartwood, 4, 15,25Identificationkeys,34 35InternationalWood Collectors

Sociery34figs:

Log crosscuttingigs,39

Veneer-trimmingigs,66Jointing,53

Concave/convexurfaces, 5Kiln-dried (KD) lumber, 43,78-79

Solarkilns, 84-85Knots (wood defect),20, 50

t M N OLandscaper9ure,26,27Latewood, 5,16,31Leaves, 6Linear-footmeasurement, 2Linnaeus,Carl,17Logs,13

Sawingnto lumber, 22-25,36-39

Squaring,37-38log crosscuttingigs,39

Storage, 7Veneer-cutting,59,60-61

Lumber:Abbreviations, ack endpaperCarrying umber by car (ShopTip), 42Defects, 0-2I,50-52Grades, 0,41,42,45

hardwood,46-47softwood,48-49

Measurement, 2,43cutting ists,44

Moisturecontent,43,49,79,80-83makingamoisture ndicator

(ShopTip), 86readingmoisturecontent n thick

stock ShopTip)83storingwood to preservets mois-

ture content ShopTip), 89Purchasing, 2-43Recycled,4lSawingrom logs,24-25,3G39Seasoning,3,50,7&79

air drying,43,79,87-88solarkilns, 84-85

Selection,4lShrinkage/swelling,4, 80- 2,86

Sizes,42,48Storage, 9

racks,89-92,95-97storingwood to preservets mois

ture content ShopTip), 89

Surfacing/dressing,3, 53-55See bo Manufacturedboards;Plyw

Lumberyards,4lMachineburn (wooddefect),5lManufactured oards, 6,57,76-77

SeealsoPlywoodMicroscopic xamination, I-33Mottle figure,26National Hardwood Lumber Associa

(NHLA),46,47Newsprint, 17

P Q R SParticleboard,56,76Phloem,15

Pith, 15,25Plain-sawnumbet 24-25

Shrinkage,24,6Planing,54

Grain,29Plywood,56,57,70-71

Edgeconcealm nt, 74-75shop-made dge anding(Shop

Tip),75Grades,72-73Plywoodcarrier(ShopTip),73Storage

holdingplywood panelsagainstawall (ShopTip), 93

racks,92-94

Temporaryplywood pallet (ShopTip),94

Types,71Poynter,Andrew,8-9Quartersawnumber, 24-25,37

Shrinkage,24,6Rays, 5,25,31Reactionwood,50, 52Resin anals, .1, 3Ribbon frgtre,27Ring-porouswoods, 16,33Safety recautions,ront endpaper:

Chain saws, ront endpaper, 6Sapwood, 4, 15Sawmills, 2-23,4l

Select radeumber,46,47,48,49Sharp, ohn, 6-7ShopTips:

Lumbercarrying umberby cat,42checking umber for twist, 52making a moisture ndicator,86readingmoisturecontent n

thick stock83storingwood to preservets moi

ture content,89straightening ut an uneven

edge,55



Plywoodholding plywoodpanelsagainst

a wall, 93plywood carriet, T3shop-made dgebanding,75

temporaryplywood pallet,94Veneers

salvaging arpedveneer,62trimming edgebanding,64veneeringacurvedsurface Shop

Tip) ,68Softwood,16,33,98

Grades,4&49Plywood, 0,71,72,73

Specific raity,27,28Splits wood defect),51Stripedveneers, 9

T UThrough-and-throughsawn umber,

24,37Tools:

Chain saws, 6Lumber mills, 36Moisturemeters,79,83

readingmoisturecontent n thickstock(ShopTip) 83

Veneering,63Wood identification,30Seealsoligs

Tracheids, 6,3lTrees:

Anatomy, 14-15Botanical ames, 7,98Conservation,,98

Felling, ront endpaper,8-22Industrialuses,7Twisting.SeeWarped tock

V W X Y ZVeneers, 7-58

Application,63-68trimming edgebanding(Shop

Tip),64veneeringacurvedsurface Shop

Tip) ,68veneer-trimmingigs,65

Cuttingbandsaws,6l-62from logs, 59,60-6I

Decorativepatterns,69Salvaging arpedveneer ShopTip),62stock,50, 5l

Checking umber for twist (ShopTip),52

Salvaging,3,54-55salvagingwarpedveneer Shop

Tip),62straightening ut an unevenedge

(ShopTip), 5513

Color,26,33Figure,27

Grain,26,28-29Identification,7, 30- 5Luster, 3Odot27,33Species

Africanmahogany, 7, 120Africanpadauk,123afrormosia,99agba,99Alaska ellow cedar,82, 107alder, 100amburana,100American hestnut,I0Americansycamore, 2,87, 133aromaticcedar,107ash,82, 7, 101avodir6,58, 102bald cypress, 11balsa,102basswood,2,87, 103

bayo,103beech,59, 2,87,104birch, 104blackash, 0Iblackcherry,82,87 109blackwalnut,58,82,87,135blackwillow, 82, 136bocote, 05Brazlian rosewood, 7, 58, 98bubinga, 05butternut,82,87, 106California r edwood.,129Carpathianelm,27,58,59catalpa,82, 106cedar,82,107-108, 32

Ceylonsatinwood,58, 3Ichactacote, 09cherry 82,87,109chestnut, l0chontaquiroamarillo,I.l0cocobolo,Ilqpress, llDouglas-fir, 2, 18, 2,87,112East ndian rosewood, 9ebony,112-1l je lm,58, 9 ,82,87,113Europeanbeech,59goncaloalves, l14grayelm,87hackberry 82, 114

hardmaple, 2Ihickory82,87,115holly,82, 15Honduras osewood,129imbuia,58, 116Indonesian osewood,130iroko,. l16jatoba,1l7kingwood, 117koa, 18lacewood,58,18lignumvitae, 19macassarbony, .l3madrone, 2, 119

mahogann58,59,82,120maple,27, 58, 59,82, 87, 121movingue,26myrtle, 58, 121oak,82, 87,122olivewood,58, 123padavk,123paperbirch, 104pauferro, 124pear,58,124pecan,125peroba osa,26persimmon,35,82,25pine,31,82,87,126- 27ponderosa ine,126poplar,127primavera,128purpleheart,58, 128red alder,100redcedar, 08

red oak, 82,87, 122red spruce,87redwood, 7,129rosewood,17,58, 59,129-130sapele,8, 130sassafras,0,82,131satinwood, 8, 131sitkaspruce,133snakewood, 32SouthAmericanmahogann82, 20southernyellowpine, /26Spanish edar,132spruce, 7,133sugarmaple,82, 87sugarpine,87

sycamore,2,87,133teak,82,134tornillo, 134tulipwood, 135walnut,58, 59,82,87, 135wenge,136western ed cedar,82, 108whiteash,82,87, 101whitebirch,26white cedar,108whiteelm, l13whiteoak, 82,122whitepine, 31,82,87,127willow,82,136yelTowcedag 107

yellow poplar, 127yew,58zebrawood, 8, 137ziricote,137

Texture,26Weight,27,28See lsoHardwood;Logs;Lumber;

Manufacturedboardi; Plywood;Softwood;Trees;Veneers

Woodsamples,30,34WoodworkersAlliance or Rainforest

ProtectionWARP),8



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Theeditorswish o thank he oUowing

UNDERSTANDINGWOODDelta nternationalMachinery,Guelph,Ont.;Sheila oley,Councilof Forestndustries f B.C.,Vancouver, .C.;

fim Gundy,AppalachianHardwood ManufacturersAssn.,High Point, NC; Haddon Tool, Chicago, L;Richard agels,Dept.of ForestBiology,Universityof Maine, Orono, ME; LeeValleyTools Ltd.,Ottawa,Ont.;

Doug MacCleery Forest nventory andPlanning,U.S.Dept. of Agriculture,Washington,DC; DuncanMcTaggert,MacMillan Bloedel,Vancouver,BC; David Mitchell, CentennialAcademy,Montreal,Que.;JackPitcher,National HardwoodLumber Assn.,Memphis,TN; Woodcraft Supply,Parkersburg,WV

SELECTINGLUMBERLesBoisM & M lt6e.,St-Mathieu,Que.; im Carse,A & M Wood Specialtync., Cambridge,Ont.;

CommunicationMasters,Norcross,GA; Delta nternationalMachinery,Guelph,Ont.; DaveDoucette,HighlandHardwoods,Brenfivood,NH; Hitachi PowerTools U.S.A.Ltd., Norcross,GA;

RogerLandreville,Montreal,Que.;JackPitcher,National Hardwood Lumber Assn.,Memphis,TN;Bob Sabastina, ationalHardwood Lumber Assn.,Memphis,TN; Tom Searles, merican

Lumber StandardsCommittee,Germantown,MD.; Shopsmith, nc., Montreal,Que.

VENEBRSAND MANUFACTI.]RED BOARDSAdjustableClamp Co.,Chicago, L; Delta nternationalMachinery/PorterCable,Guelph,Ont.;

LeeValleyTools Ltd., Ottawa,Ont.

DRYINGAND STORINGWOODLeeValleyTools,Ottawa,Ont.; Bill Simpson,U.S.ForestProductsLab, Madison,WI;

WOODDIRECTORYA & M Wood Specialtync., Cambridge,Ont.; PeteAtkinson,World ConservationMonitoring Centre,Cambridge,England;R.S.BaconVeneerCo.,Hillside, L Tom Barrett,GeneralWoods and Veneers,

Montreal,Que.;Jim Carse,A & M Wood Specialtync., Cambridge,Ont.; Iohn Curtis, The Luthier's Mercantile,Healdsburg,CA; MichaelFortune,Toronto, Ont.; R€jeanGarandenr., St-R6mi,Que.;DebbieHammel,Scientific

CertificationSystems,nc., Oakland,CA; BruceMacBryde,U.S.Fish and Wildlife Service,U.S.Dept. of theInterior,Washington,DC; GaryMeixner, Pittsford Lumber,Pittsford,N.Y; Mark Platin,WildwoodsCo.,

Arcata,CA; JohnShipstad,WoodworkersAlliance or RainforestProtection,CoosBay,OR

Theollowingpersons lsoassistedn thepreparationof this book:

Adrienne Bertrand,ElizabethCameron,Donna Curtis, LorraineDor€,Graphor Consultation,Marie-Jos6e arcc,CarolynJackson, eonardLee,Ednaand William Mills, Brian Parsons,Maryo Proulx

PICTURECREDITS

Cover RobertChartier5,7 Mark Tucker8,9 BobAnderson

10,11BobAnderson

12 CourtesyWesternWood ProductsAssociation13GloriaH. Chomica/Masterfile17 Bob Anderson/Masterfile

18 Ed Gifford/Masterfile19 Erik Borg

20 Al Harvey/Masterfile21 CourtesyWesternWood ProductsAssociation

22 Erik Borg23 Erik Borg 2)

33 CourtesyU.S.ForestProductsLaboratory 2)36 CourtesyBetterBuilt Corporation

a0 Philip C. Jackson60 CourtesyDavid R. Webb Co., nc.

78 Erik Borg



WORKSHOPUIDE

USEFULUMBERBBREVIATI()NS

AD Airdried LIN T

BD Board MC

BD T Boardoo t 0CCLR Clear - 0G

COM Common P

CU T Cubicee t PAD

DIM Dimension PC

E Edge " RDM

FAS Firsts nd econds REG

FT Foot RGH

FT M Surface easurein eet) RIP

GR Green RL

HDWD Hardwood RND

HRTWD Heartwood SAP

lN lnches SD

JTD Jointed SE

KD Ki ln r ied SEL

LBR Lumber SF

LGTH Length SM

LIN L inearr inea l S0

Linear,r rneal,oot

Moistureontent

0n centerOgee

Planed

Part ial lyirdried

Piece

Random

Reguar

Rough

Rpped

Randomengths

Rou d

Sapwood

Seasoned

Squaredge

Select

Surfaceoot 1squareoot)

Surface easure

Sq are

Standard

Stock'

Foot r eet"Inch r nches

x b y ( a s i n 2 x 4 )a/q h.8h and oon) '

Roughh cknessn

fract ionsf an nch

Q i d p : n d o d o p

S r r r f a c o d n n c p d o o

Q r r r f a n o d t u i n p d o e s

Surfacedne ide

Surfacedwosides

Surfacedours ides

Surfacedneside, needge

Surfacedne ide, woedges

Tnns r rp and s rnnvp

V ornt

Wider

Weight

wid th

STD

STK

SYMBOLS

S&E

S I E

s2E

s l ss2s

s4ss 1 s l E

s1szET&G

VJ

WDR

WT

WTH

REC()MMENDEDOISTURE()NTENTOR ABINETMAKINGUMBER

Ave"ane mniaf. t t re rnnf.en l B% As hismap rovidedy heU.S.Forest roductsab hows,he dealmoistureontentorwood sedob u i l dn d o o ru rn i t u ree p e n d snthe eg ionorwhichhe in ishedar t i c les n tended.n he e la t i ve lydrySouthwesterntates,orexample,lumberhouldedriedoa moisture

contentf 4 to 9 nercent. level f8 to 13percent ould ebetterortheSoutheasternegionf hecountrywhere umid i tysgenera l l yigher .The ationalverageal lsbetween5 and10percent oistureontent.

, J

\

Average moteture

conl;enL 6%Average moteLure

contenL 11 %

Wood Encyclopedia

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