Easily learn about the most common wood types
Hardwoods
Most Common Wood types Table of Contents:
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Red Oak
Uses: Indoor furniture, trim, flooring, plywood, and veneers
Sources: the United States and Canada
Characteristics: Straight, wide grain pattern with larger pores. Tanto reddish-pink in color. Quarter sawing reveals narrow medullary rays.
Workability: Machines easily with sharp steel or carbide blades and bits. Not prone to burning when machined. Drill pilot holes first for nails or screws.
Finishing: Takes stains and clear finishes well, but pores wall show through if painted unless they are filled
Price: Moderate
White Oak
Uses: Indoor and outdoor furniture, trim, flooring, plywood, and veneers
Sources: the United States and Canada
Characteristics: Straight, wide grain pattern, tan with yellow to cream tints. Quarter sawing reveals wide medullary rays. Naturally resistant to deterioration from UV sunlight, insects, and moisture.
Workability: Machines easily with sharp steel or carbide blades and bits. Not prone to burning when machined. Drill pilot holes first for nails or screws.
Finishing: Takes stains and clear finishes like red oak, but narrower pores reduce the need for filling
Price: Moderate to expensive
Hard Maple
Uses: Indoor furniture, trim, flooring, butcher block countertops, instruments, plywood’s and veneers
Sources: the United States and Canada
Characteristics: Straight, wide grain with occasional bird’s eye or fiddle-back figure. Blonde heartwood.
Workability: Difficult to machine without carbide blades and bits. Dull blades wall leave bums.
Finishing: Takes clear finishes well, but staining may produce blotches
Price: Moderate to expensive, depending on figure
Cherry
Uses: Indoor furniture, cabinetry, carving, turning, plywood and veneers
Sources: the United States and Canada
Characteristics: Fine grain pattern with smooth texture. Wood continues to darken as it ages and is exposed to sunlight.
Workability: Machines easily with sharp steel or carbide blades but is more prone to machine bums
Finishing: Takes stains and clear finishes well
Price: Moderate
Walnut
Uses: Indoor furniture, cabinets, musical instruments, clocks, boat-building, carving
Sources: the Eastern United States and Canada
Characteristics: Straight, fine grain. Moderately heavy. Color ranges from dark brown to purple or black.
Workability: Cuts and drills easily with sharp tools without burning Finishing: Takes natural finishes beautifully
Price: Moderate
Birch
Uses: Kitchen utensils, toys, dowels, trim, plywood, and veneers
Sources: the United States and Canada
Characteristics: Straight grain with fine texture and tighten pores.
Workability: Machines easily with sharp steel or carbide blades and bits. Good bending properties. Drill pilot holes first for nails or screws.
Finishing: Takes finishes well, but penetrating wood stains may produce blotching
Price: Inexpensive to moderate
Hickory
Uses: Sporting equipment handles for striking tools, furniture, plywood, and veneers
Sources: Southeastern United States
Characteristics: Straight to wavy grained with coarse texture. Excellent shock-resistance.
Workability: Bends well, but lumber hardness will dull steel blades and bits quickly. Resists machine burning.
Finishing: Takes stains and clear finishes well
Prices: Inexpensive where regionally available
Aspen
Uses A secondary wood used for drawer boxes, cleats, runners, and other hidden structural furniture components. Crafts.
Sources: the United States and Canada
Characteristics: Indistinguishable, tight grain pattern
Workability: Machines easily with sharp steel or carbide blades and bits.
Finishing: Better suited for painting than staining. Tight grain provides a smooth, paintable surface.
Price: Inexpensive
White Ash
Uses: Furniture, boat oars, baseball bats, handles for striking tools, pool cues, veneers
Sources: the United States and Canada
Characteristics: Straight, wide grain pattern with coarse texture. Hard and dense with excellent shock resistance.
Workability: Machines easily with sharp steel or carbide blades and bits. Drill pilot holes first for nails or screws. “Green” ash is often used for steam bending.
Finishing: Takes stains and clear finishes well
Price: Inexpensive
Poplar
Uses Secondary wood for furniture and cabinetry, similar to aspen. Carving, veneers, and pulp for paper.
Sources: United States
Characteristics: Fine-textured with straight, wide grain pattern. Tanto gray or green in color.
Workability: Machines easily with sharp steel or carbide blades and bits. Not prone to burning when machined. Drill pilot holes first for nails or screws.
Finishing: Better suited for painting than staining. Tight grain provides a smooth, paintable surface.
Price: Inexpensive
Softwoods
White Pine
Uses: Indoor furniture, plywood, veneers, and trim, construction lumber
Sources: the United States and Canada
Characteristics: Straight grain with even texture and tight pores
Workability: Machines easily with sharp steel or carbide blades and bits. Not prone to burning when machined. Lower resin content than other pines, so cutting edges stay cleaner longer.
Finishing: Stains may blotch without using a stain controller first. Takes dear finishes and paints well.
Price: Inexpensive
Western Red Cedar
Uses: Outdoor furniture, exterior millwork, interior, and exterior siding
Sources: the United States and Canada
Characteristics: Straight, variable grain pattern with coarse texture. Lower density and fairly lightweight. Saw and sanding dust can be a respiratory irritants. Naturally resistant to deterioration from UV sunlight, insects, and moisture.
Workability: Soft composition machines easily but end grain is prone to splintering and tear-out
Finishing: Takes stains and dear finishes well, but oils in wood can bleed through painted finishes unless the primer is applied first
Price: Inexpensive to moderate where regionally available
Aromatic Cedar (Tennessee)
Uses: Naturally-occurring oils seem to repel moths, making this wood a common closet and chest lining. Also used for veneers and outdoor furniture.
Sources: the Eastern United States and Canada
Characteristics: Straight to wavy grain pattern with fine texture. Red to tan in color with dramatic streaks of yellow’s and creams. The distinct aroma emitted when machined, and dust can be a respiratory irritant.
Workability: Machines similarly to western red cedar
Finishing: Takes stains and dear finishes well
Price: Inexpensive
Redwood
Uses: Outdoor furniture, decks, and fences, siding
Source: West coast of United States
Characteristics: Straight, fine grain with few knots or blemishes. Relatively tight weight. Reddish-brown with cream-colored sapwood. Naturally resistant to deterioration from UV sunlight, insects, and moisture.
Workability: Machines and sands easily
Finishing: Takes stains and dear finishes well
Price: Moderate to expensive and not widely available in all nominal dimensions
Cypress
Uses Exterior siding and boat building. Interior and exterior trim, beams, flooring, cabinetry, and paneling.
Source: Mississippi delta region of the United States
Characteristics: Straight, even grain pattern with low resin content. Naturally resistant to deterioration from UV sunlight, insects, and moisture.
Workability: Machines and sands easily
Finishing: Takes stains and dear finishes well
Price: Inexpensive where regionally available
Exotic wood types
Padauk
Uses: Indoor furniture, cabinetry, flooring, turning, veneer
Source: West Africa
Characteristics: Coarse texture, straight interlocked grain
Workability: Machines easily with sharp steel or carbide blades and bits
Finishing: Takes stains and dear finishes well
Price: Moderate to expensive
Zebrawood
Uses: Turning, inlay, decorative veneers, furniture, and cabinetry
Source: West Africa
Characteristics: Interlocked, light and dark variegated grain pattern
Workability: Somewhat difficult to machine. Use carbide blades and bits
Finishing: Can be difficult to stain evenly
Price: Expensive
Wenge
Uses: Inlay, turning, decorative veneers
Source: Equatorial Africa
Characteristics: Hard, dense straight grain with coarse texture. Heavy.
Workability: Dulls steel blades and bits quickly, so carbide cutters are recommended. Drill pilot holes for screws and nails.
Finishing: Pores should be filled before the finish is applied
Price: Moderate
Honduras Mahagony
Uses: Indoor and outdoor furniture, veneers, and trim, boat-building
Sources: Central and South America
Characteristics: Straight, interlocked fine grain. Dimensionally stable.
Workability: Machines well with carbide blades and bits
Finishing: Takes stains and clear finishes well
Price: Moderate
Purpleheart
Uses Pool cues, decorative inlay, veneers, indoor and outdoor furniture.
Sources: Central and South America
Characteristics: Straight grain with coarse texture
Workability: Gum deposits in the wood make it difficult to machine; cutting edges dull quickly
Finishing: Takes stains and clear finishes well.
Price: Moderate
Teak
Uses: Boat-building, indoor and outdoor furniture, veneers, flooring
Sources: Southeast Asia, Africa, Caribbean
Characteristics: Straight grain with an oily texture. Dense and hard.
Workability: High silica content will dull steel blades and bits quickly. Oily surfaces require cleaning with mineral spirits first or glue will not bond.
Finishing: Takes oil finishes well
Price: Expensive
Rosewood
Uses: Inlays, turning, veneers, cabinetry, furniture, musical instruments
Sources: Southern India
Characteristics: Interlocked grain with medium to coarse texture
Workability: Dense structure dulls cutting edges quickly
Finishing: Takes stains and clear finishes well
Price: Expensive
For those who prefer a linguistic type of learning, there is also Ted’s Woodworking book, which we previously reviewed. It is a resource to 16,000 plans which contain step-by-step instructions. In addition, it also features a set of detailed plan charts from all corners, angles, and joints.