Wood 101

[Tumbleweed]

I am not an expert on lumber but this is what I have learned during my many, many trips to the lumber yard. I have done my best to verify my memory is serving me correctly but please correct me if I am wrong, feel free to clarify something or make comments but please P.M. me or start a new thread as this thread is locked to posting. Thanks.

All about wood
Lesson 1

Classifications of wood.

1. Soft wood (conifers)are typically used in construction and wood pulp. We've all heard of 2x4, 2x6's and 4x4's. Ever wonder why they call a 2x4 a 2x4 when you actually get out the tape measure and it ends up being smaller? Originally it was cut as a 2x4 but because of planing and the wood drying the wood shrinks in size.

Keep in mind the opposite is true if the wood is cut green but I'm not sure why that is but it will end up being a little larger.
Examples of soft woods:

• Pine
  
• Cedar
  
• Fir
  

2. Hardwoods (Angiosperms) are used primarily for furniture and cabinets, etc.
Such as:

• Ash
  
• Basswood
  
• Cherry
  
• Oak
  

3. Hardwoods (monocotyledons) used quite often in floors/utensils. These are the only two I know of under this classification.

• Palmwood
  
• Bamboo
  

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Lesson 2

Grades of wood

You may have noticed when you have purchased lumber they have a stamp on them. You will see codes that denote the Manufacturer, a certification mark of the agency providing quality control, the grade and the moisture content.

Lumber manufacturer do not use the exact same code for the grades so if you aren't sure what they stand for do ask.

1.Soft lumber has basically 2 classifications.

• "Select" is lumber for natural or paint finishes.
  
• "1 Com" is for general construction purposes
  

2. Hard wood typically has several grades.

• Clear - has a few character marks and discoloration. It will have a uniform appearance.
  
• Select - It gets very technical but there can be slight imperfections from milling, pin worm hole & small tight knots, etc.
  
• 1 Common - There will be noticeable variations in color. Knots shouldn't be so bad they could fall out, etc.
  
• 2 Common - Just a perfectly fine grade for the "rustic" look or wood that has character.
  

The above grades; C (clear), S (Select), 1 Com, & 2 Com typically come in longer lengths.

There is one last grade called "Shorts" and it is just what it means. Short pieces of wood that may be of mixed grades but shorter pieces.

MC stands for 15% or less moisture

KD (Kiln dried) or S-Dry (not sure what the "S" stands for but my best guess is it means "sun dried" ) is 19% or less and S-GRN is green wood with more than 19% moisture content.

[Tumbleweed]

You folks will have to humor me in my collection of wood pictures in the following posts. Short story as to why I came to love wood. As a kid I lived on a ranch/farm and my siblings and I had to invent our own fun. We loved horses and when not actually riding them (which wasn't real often) we made our own horses out of sticks. The process was to find a great straight branch and peel the bark off to see what was underneath and then ask our Dad to drill holes in the tops for reins. Sometimes the wood grain was so beautiful and to this day I love wood. The bad news is that our Dad seemed to like to swipe them as walking sticks and we'd never see them again. ROTFL

Anyway, this is a work in progress but I hope to have sample pictures of all these woods soon. I want to especially thank Exotic Woods who were the first to give me permission to use their fantastic photographs. They own photos in Section 1: 1-3,6,8,13,14,16,20,21; Section 2: 2; Section 4: 1,2,3,4; Section 6: 1,8,9; Section 8: 2,4

www.exoticwoods.com/home.php

and Exotic Wood Group who also so generously gave permission to use their wood photos. They own photos in Section 1: 17,23; Section 8: 1, 3

www.exoticwoodgroup.com

[Tumbleweed]

Section 1: A, B, C (Not in alphabetical order)


1. African Blackwood - Dalbergia melanoxylon


2. Alder - Alnus Rubra


3. Ash - Fraxinus Americana

4. Aspen

5. Balsa


6. Bocote - Cordia Alliodora


7. Bois De Rose - Dalbergia Louveli



8. Basswood

9. Beech
10. Birch
11. Bamboo
12. Birdseye Maple - Acer Saccharum


13. Black Walnut - Juglans Nigra


14. Brazilian Rosewood - Dalbergia Nigra


15. Black Palm - Borassus Flabellifer


16. Bloodwood - Brosimum Paraense


17. Buck-eye Burl - Aeculus Octandra


18. Cedar
19. Cypress


20. Cherry - Prunus Serotina


21. Cocobolo - Dalbergia Retusa

22. Corkwood



23. Curly Maple - Acer Saccharum

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Section 2: D, E, F (Not in alphabetical Order)


1. Dogwood



2. Ebony - Diospyrus Malanoxylon

3. Elm
4. Eucalyptus
5. English oak
6. Fir
7. Fishtail Oak - Cardwelliea Sublimis

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Section 3: G, H, I (Not in alphabetical order)

1. Hemlock
2. Hicory

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Section 4: J, K, L (Not in alphabetical order)



1. Jatoba - Hymenaea Courbaril


2. Koa - Acacia Koa


3. Korina - Terminalia Superba


4. Lace Wood - Plantanus Hybrida

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Section 5: M, N, O (Not in alphabetical order)

1. Mahogany - Swietenia Macrophylla
2. Maple
3. Oak

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Section 6: P, Q, R (Not in alphabetical order)



1. Padauk - Pterocarpus Soyauxii

2. Pine
3. Red Oak
4. Poplar
5. Red Cedar - Thuya Plicata
7. Rosewood, Bolivian



8. Purple Heart - Peltogyne Pubescens



9. Poplar - Liriodendron Tulipifera

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Section 7: S, T, U (Not in alphabetical order)


1. Thuya Burl

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Section 8: V, W, X, Y, Z (Not in alphabetical order)


1. Walnut Burl - Juglans Nigra



2. Wenge - Millettia Laurentii



3. Ziricote - Cordia Dodecandra



4. Zebrawood - Microberlinia Brazzavillensis



Please do not copy them without the owners permission or this site.