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GUIDE
WORKSHOP I
TIPS
SAFETY t
o T u r nt h em a c h i noef f i f i t p r o d u c e s s a w d u satn dw o o ds c r a p cs a nb e a
machines
Stationary
a n u n f a m i l i av ri b r a t i oonr n o i s eh; a v e firehazard. I
o Wearappropriate safetygear:safety t h e m a c h i nsee r v i c ebde f o r e resum-
g l a s s eosr a f a c es h i e l da, n dh e a r i n g
protectors or earplugs.lf thereis no
ingoperations. saws
Chain I
d u s tc o l l e c t i osny s t e mw, e a ra d u s t . D on o tu s ea m a c h i n ief a n yp a r to f i t . Wearsafetygoggles, hearing protection,
mask.Forexoticwoodslikeebony,usea is wornor damaged. workbootsanda hardhat.Makesure
y o u rc l o t h eas r ec l o s e - f i t t i n
agn dl o n g
t
respirator; the sawdust maycausean
Wearworkgloves . Rollup longsleeves andremove rings h a i ri s t i e db a c k .
allergic reaction.
h a n d l i nrgo u g hl u m b e r .
when
a n do t h e jre w e l rtyh a tc a nc a t c hi n I
movingparts. . O p e r a taec h a i ns a wo n l yo u t d o o rosn
. Makesurethatworkshop and
lighting
andthatwork
areadequate
ventilation . K e e py o u rh a n d w f r o ma
s e l la w a Y
a dry,clearday. I
arelargeandsturdy.
surfaces turningbladeor cutterhead . M i xf u e la n da d di t t o t h ef u e lt a n ka t

r F i n da c o m f o r t a bsl e
least10 feetawayfromyourworkarea. I
. Readyourowner's manualbefore t a n c ea; v o i d
ing. o Tostartup thesaw,carryit to thework
o p e r a t i nagn ym a c h i n e . over-reach
a r e aa n ds e ti n o n t h eg r o u n dm ; ake I
. Keepchildren, andpetsaway
onlookers on thejob;do notrush.
. Concentrate surethechainis notcontacting anything.
fromtheworkarea. Neverworkwhenyouaretired,stressed
or using
alcohol
or havebeendrinking
Brace t h et o o lw i t hy o u rf o o ta n do n e
h a n da, n du s ey o u ro t h e h r a n dt o P u l l
I
. Unplug a m a c h i nbee f o r p eerforming thatinduce
medications drowsiness. the startercord.
perations.
s e tu p o r i n s t a l l a t i o n
. K e e py o u rw o r ka r e ac l e a na n dt i d Y ; . W h i l eo p e r a t i nt hges a w h
, o l di t f i r m l y
I
. Keepblades c l u t t ecr a nl e a dt o a c c i d e n tasn, d w i t hb o t hh a n d s .
knives
andcutterhead sharp.
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A TREE
FELLING
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Makingtheundercut andthebackcut
To fell a treeto makeyourownlumber
(page36), beginwithan undercut
I
one- Direction of fall <--
thirdthewaythrough thetrunkontheside I
facingthedirection in whichthetreeshould
fall.Cutthewedge angling up fromthe I
baseof thetree.Knownasthe Humbolt
undercut, thismethodsaveslumberfrom
partof a tree-the lower
t
the mostvaluable
partof thetrunk-a chunkof which I
willbelostwiththetraditional technique
of undercutting. Thenmakea backcut I
a couDle of inchesabovetheundercut from
the opposite sideto fell thetree.The I
backcut shouldstopan inchor twofrom
the undercut to leavea hingethatwill I
control thedirection of thefall andhelp
prevent bladekickback. t
OFA BOARD
ANATOMY I
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THEARTOFWOODWORKING
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 THE ART OF WOODWORKING

ENCYCTOPEDIA
OFWOOD

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t TIME-LIFE
BOOKS
ALEXANDRIA,VIRGINIA
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ST.REMYPRESS
I MONTREAL.
NEWYORK
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THE ART OF WOODWORKING was produced by THECONSUTTANTS
ST. REMYPRESS I
JohnArno is a consultant,cabinetmakerand
PUBLISHER KennethWinchester
PR.ESIDENT PierreL6veill€
freelancewriter who livesin Troy Michigan.
He alsoconductsseminarson wood identifica-
I
tion and earlyAmericanfurniture design.
Editor
Series PierreHome-Douglas
Giles Miller-Mead taught advancedcabinet-
I
SeriesArt Director FrancineLemieux
making at Montreal technicalschoolsfor more
SeniorEditors Marc Cassini(Text)
HeatherMills (Research)
than ten years.A nativeofNew Zealand,he has I
worked asa restorerof antiquefurniture.
Art Directors Normand Boudreault,SolangeLaberge

Research
Designer Luc Germain,Michel Gigudre
Editor Jim McRae
Andrew Poynter is Presidentof A&M Wood I
SpecialtyInc., of Cambridge,Ontario, Canada,
PictureEditor ChristopherJackson
Writers ThmsinM. Douglas,Andrew fones,
merchantsoffine hardwoodsand veneers.He
beganhis careerin the wood industry in the
T
Rob Lutes
early'70smaking customfurniture. He is now
Cont r ibut ing lllu strators RonaldDurepos,Jean-Pierre
Bourgeois,Michel Blais,Jacques
a director of the WoodworkersAlliancefor I
RainforestProtectionand an interim director
Perrault,Alain Longpr€,Jocelyn
Veillette,RobertPaquet
Administrator Natalie Watanabe
ofthe ForestStewardshipCouncil.
I
JosephTruini is SeniorEditor of Hoze
ProductionManager MichelleTurbide
SystemCoordinator Jean-LucRoy
Mechankmagazine.A former Shopand Tools
Editor of PopularMechanics,he hasworked as
t
Photographer RobertChartier
a cabinetmaker,home improvementcontractor
and carpenter. I
Time-Life Booksis a division of Time-Life Inc.,
a wholly ownedsubsidiaryof I
THE TIME INC. BOOK COMPANY EnryclopediaofWood
p. cm.-(The Art of Woodworking)
Includesindex.
I
TIME-LIFBBOOKS ISBN0-8094-9916-9. (trade)
President Mary N. Davis
ISBN 0-8094-9917 -7 (Ltb) I
l. Woodwork--Enryclopedias.
Publisher RobertH. Smith
ManagingEditor ThomasH. Flaherty
2. Wood--Encyclopedias.
I. Time- Life Books. IL Series
I
Directorof Editorial Resources EliseD. Ritter-Clough TTl80.E6l3 1992
AssociatePublisher Tievor Lunn
684' .08-dc20 92-37293
CIP
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EditorialDirector
ConsuhingEditor
Donia Ann Steele
Bob Doyle,JohnSullivan
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R 1 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 r
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CONTENTS
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6 INTRODUCTION 78 DRYINGAND
I STORINGWOOD
r 12 UNDERSTANDINGWOOD 80 Waterand wood
14 Anatomvof a tree 86 Estimatingwood movement
t 16 Softwoobsand hardwoods 87 Air-drying wood
I 18 From log to lumber 89 Storingwood
24 Lumbercutting methods
I 26 Propertiesof wood 98 WOOD DIRECTORY
t 30 Identifting wood
34 Wood identificationkeys 138 GLOSSARY
I 36 Portablelumber mills
I L42 INDEX
40 SELECTINGTUMBER
I 42 Orderinglumber IM ACKNO\ArLEDGMENTS
t 45 Gradinglumber
46 Hardwoodgrades
I 48 Softwoodgrades
50 Lumber defects
I 53 Preparinglumber
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56 VENEERSAND
I MANUFACTURED BOARDS
I 58 Veneers
60 From log to veneer
I 63 Veneering
I 69 Decorativematching
70 Plvwood
t 72 Pliwood grading
r 74 Concealingplywoodedges
76 Particleboard
I 77 Fiberboard
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 INTRODUCTION

Iohn Sharptalksabout
WOOD
IDENTIFICATION
f *ur exposed to woodidentification at anearlyagewhileworkingat our family
I sawmillin UnionCounty,Tennessee, duringthesummers. I felta greatdealof
curiosityaboutthevastdifferences I couldseebetween thelogsofvariousspecies as
"opened up" andthelumbermovedfromthesawdeck.
theywere
Oak,poplarandothercommonhardwood logsmadeupthemajorityof logsdeliv-
eredto themill,buttherewastheoccasional oddspecies, suchaspersimmon or sas-
safras. Myjobwasto separate thelumberbyspecies. If apoplarboardwasfoundin
a stackof oak,thatwasmyfault,soI quickiylearned mywoods.
At thattimeI onlyknewthecommonnamesof thedifferentspecies. Not until
I encountered woodanatomy courses in forestryschooldidI realize theimportance
of scientificnames, for commonnames werevariable fromregionto region.
Woodidentification hascomealongwaysincetheturnof thecentury, whenYale
wasthegnlyschoolteaching forestrystudies.Nowthereare25to 30places wherewood
identificltionisofferedaspartof thecurriculum. WhenI wasin forestryschoolin
NorthCarolina, justafterWorldWarII, anintegralpartof ourworkinvolved iden-
tifringwoodsamples. Whenwecameacross anunfamiliarspecies, saysourwood,
whichwasn'tacommercial wood,ourtaskbecame moredifficult.I canstillremember
aclassmate of mine,awarveteran whosurvived Guadalcanal, remarking thatheswore
he'dneverworryaboutanother thingin hislife,buttherehewasworrying,asweall
did,because hecouldn'ttellthedifference between ashandhickory.
At thetime,woodidentification toolsconsisted of a handlensandtextbooks fea-
turingsmallblack-and-white photosof species samples. Withaviewto reducing the
anxietyassociated with identifringwood,I haveworkedveryclosely overtheyears
withaphotography labattheUniversityof Tennessee to getbetterphotos. Woodlovers
cannowreferto goodqualityS-by-lO-inch photosof woodtypesin all sortsof
places-fromwoodworking publications to bookstores in ournationalparks.

lohn Sharpis a retiredUniversityof Tennessee

offorestryand a memberof theInter-
professor
nationalWoodCollectors Society.He woiles
from hishomenearKnowille, Tennessee.
 INTRODUCTION

Andrew Poyntertalksabout
BITYINGAND
SELLINGWOOD
I r.r rupplierof hardwoods andfineveneers for thelast20years, I havebeenpriv-
,{, \ ilegedto getto knowsomeof thefinestwoodworkers in NorthAmerica. I've
alsolearneda lot aboutwoodanditsqualities, not onlythegoodqualities, but the
bafling onesaswell.
. .lookingbachI suppose myowninterestin woodbeganmanyyears beforeI estab-
lishedmy company. In fact,I canvividlyrecallmyfirsi hands-onexperience with a
pieceof Brazilianrosewood-completely captivating!
Thatwasin themid-'60s, andin thosedayswoodiurners, luthiersandfurniture-
makershadlittle to choosefromin thewayof differentwoods.Althoughtheycould
readwonderful{esgriptiygp.assages aboutMacassar ebony, satinwood, kingwood, and
soon,tryingto find a reliablesourcefor allthosefinewoodswasnextto impossible.
Theneedto inventoryaselection ofwoodforthefurniturethatI picturedmfermak-
ingwasoneof thereasons I started mywooddealership n 19j3.
My furnituqemafing gradgally tapuedoff,andby 1975I wasputtingallmyefforu
intottretaskof marketing andsellingfinehardwoods andveneers. At thattime,every-
onesaidtherain forestswouldgoon forever,andthattherewassomuchwoodin
theAmazonthatwewouldneverrun out.However, thepassage of timeandthe
demandfor woodhavedonetwothingsto thetimbertrade:First,aproliferationof
wooddealers andwoodvarietieshaveenteredthemarketplace-aplusfor thoseof
uswholovewood.Second, webecame complacent aboufthetruevalueof various
species andthesustainability of theirsupply.Wearenowonlytooawarethattherain
forestsmaynot goon forever.
A+howhqe proble-rns causing deforestation
areverycomple6therearestepsthat
woodworkers shouldtaketo helpimprovethesituation. "Measure
twiceandcufoncd'
mayseemalmosttoobasic,butit canmakeadifference in reducingourconsumption.
Usingveneer whenever possible is anotherstepin therightdireition.
I've becomean activememberof thewoodworkeisAlliancefor Rainforest
Protection. wr\RPwasfoundedin 1989byaconcerned groupofwoodworkers, wood
turners,luthiers, woodmerchants, tooldealersandloversof wood.Centralto manv
ofirprograms,Wz\RPencg,urages $e useofwoodfromsusainable orwell-managed
sources. It is nowevidentthatmuchhasto change in globalforestrypractices olver
th; nextfewyears ifwoodworkers in thefutureareto enjoytheremarliable selection
of woodthatis available to all of ustoday.

AndrewPoynterholdsa pieceof redwoodburl at his

store,A dt M WoodSpecialtyInc., in Cambridge,
Ontario.Thecompanysellsmorethan 100typesof
woodto woodworkers throughoutNorthAmerica.
 INTRODUCTION

Ion Arno talksaboutsome

FA/ORITE
WOODS
Q in.. I grewup in afamilythatownedalumberbusiness, workingwithwoodhas
t. l beena lifelonginterestof mine.Whilemanyfellowwoodworkers tendto con-
centrate ontoolsandmethodsofconstruction, I findthattherealessence ofthecraft
liesin themediumweuse-the wooditself.Theworldprovidesa greatmanyfine
timbersandsomeof them,suchaswalnut,mahogany androsewood, lenda certain
prestige to thefinished project.Forme,thejoyofwoodworking comes fromdiscov-
eringthespecial properties of variousspecies andlearninghowto choose themost
functionalwood for theintended purpose, regardless of itsnotorietyor reputation.
Everywoodhas anapplication forwhichit isunsurpassed. Thegoalof goodcrafts-
manshipis to discover justwhatthatapplicationis.
Thereareliterallyhundreds of woods,someof themreasonably plentifirldomestic
species, thatseldomfind theirwayintolumberyards. Neveflheless, theyarestillout-
standingwoodsfor certainapplications. A fewof my favoritesarecatalpa,balsam
poplarandblackash.Recently, I haveaddedanotheroneto mylist-sassafras.
A memberof theLaurelfamily-alongwith cinnamon,camphorandbay-sas-
safras iswellknownfor itssweet-scented oil usedin cosmetics andsoaps. Itsbuoyant
decay-resistant wood hasalsogainedsomepopularitywith boat builders.
Cabinetmakers, however, havelongdismissed sassafrasasbeingtoosoftandbrittle.
Basically, theseassesments areaccurate;thechallenge formehasbeento findanappli-
cationwherethiswoodexcels. Oddlyenough,theanswer hascomefromwhatmany
perceive asoneof its negative qualities.
Sassafras isbrittle,but itsresistanceto flexinggivesit outstanding resonance when
usedasthesoundboard in dulcimers. Thebright,bell-liketoneit yieldsisaspleasant
asthespicyaromaof thewoodwhenit isbeingcut,shapedandsanded. And what
rolecouldbemorefittingfor thisuniquelyAmerican species thanin helpingto provide
thevoicefor anAmerican musicalinstrument?
I startedmakingdulcimers onlyacoupleof yearsago,whenmydaughte6 amusic
lover,chose to buildonefor ahighschoolproject.Weboughtakit, butwhenI opened
theboxI realizedthattherewasn'tanythinginsidethatI couldn'tmakein my own
shop,soI startedto experiment. My onlyregret,sofar asbeinga luthier,is I don't
possess a sense of musicto goalongwith it.

lon Arno displaysa home-made dulcimer,fashioned ftom

sassafrasand osageorange.He is a woodtechnologist,
consultantandfreehncewriter living in Troy,Michigan.
 '{"

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I TINDERSTANDNG
WOOD
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s you striveto improveyour woodsuchaspineis moreforgiv-
I l, \ masteryof the demanding ing of lessprecise joinery,while
craft of woodworking, muchof dense,brittlespecies suchasma-
I your attentionwill be devotedto hoganydemandjoints that are
learningabouttoolsandthetech- cut to closetolerances. And every
I niquesfor usingthem.Butin your beginner quicklylearnsthatsandin!
questforperfection, donotneglect woodacross thegrain,ratherthan
I themostfundamental component parallelto it, results in scratchesthat
of everyproject-thewooditself. areaccentuated whena finishis
I Rarelyperfectandalwaysvary- appliedto thepiece.
ing,eachpieceofwoodexhibitsits Remember, too,thathowapar-
I owncharacter, just ascertainlyas ticularpieceof woodbehaves in
a humanbeing:Somewoodsare yourshopdepends in largemeasure
I plain,somecolorfi.rl; somearesta- A pile of logssitat a sawmillin Oregon" on whathappened to it beforeit
ble,someunpredictable; somework readyto bemilledinto lumber. reached thelumberyard. Howthe
I easily,
somewithdifficulty. A knowl- woodgrewin thetree,theweather
edgeof theseproperties will allowyouto makethemostof thetreeenduredandhowthewoodwascutanddriedallaffect
I your abilities,achieving a weddingof form,substance and thefinalproduct.Thewoodof aleaningtree,for example, will
technique thatcantransformevenanordinaryprojectinto reactdifferentlyduringmachiningthanthatsawnfromthe
I aworkof art. trunkof anerecttree.Andwhetheraboardisquartersawn or
Youcanobtainmuchfactualinformationabouttheprop- plain-sawn hasanimpacton itsdimensional stability.
I ertiesofwoodin readilyavailable booksandarticles. Learning Onewayto obtainintimateknowledge of yourmaterialis
to applythatknowledge ismorechallenging. Forexample, the to sawit yourselffrom a treeusinga portablelumbermill
I knowledge thatmapleboardsmaycontainwidevariations in (page36).Selectingandfellinga tree,bucking-or crosscut-
color,textureandfigurewill assume greater meaning asyou ting-it intologs,andmillingtheplanksimparta hands-on
t learnto usethesecharacteristics to bestadvantage. Likewise, understanding thatisimpossible to acquireanyotherway.The
althoughDouglas-fir isanattractive,easilyworkedwood,vari- workisarduous, andit alsotakesconsiderable timeto cutand
I ationsin itssurfaceporositycanmakeit difficultto finishwell. drytheboards. Buttherewards-bothin theuniquelumber
Butwhenyoulearnhowto sealthewood,youwill findmany produced andthepersonal satisfaction in producingit-are
I usesfor Douglas-fir.Experience will alsotellyouthataresilient wellworththeeffort.
I
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I A standof Douglas-firtreesbaslcs in thesunlight
in a WestCoastforest.Many softwoods,like Douglas-
I frr areidealfor interiortrim or cabinetwork.

I 13
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arvestedfrom the trunks and

branchesof trees,wood is a
Crown
resilient,dynamicbuildingmaterial. Thebranches
Understanding howtreesgrowcanshed and leavesof a
considerable lightonwhywoodbehaves tree, wherepho-
asit doeswhenit isworkedor finished. tooyntheoia
All treesconsistof threemajorsys- takee plaae
tems:a root networkthat drawswater
andmineralsfrom the soil;a crownof
leaves, wherewaterandmineralsare
combinedwith carbondioxidein the
presence ofsunlightto producefoodfor
thetree(photosynthesis); and--ofmost
interestto woodworkers-asupporting
trunkthattransporhthewaterandfood.
Viewedin crosssection,a treetrunk
at first appears to be a fairlyhomoge-
nouscolumnof wood,markedby a
series of concentric bandscalledgrowth
rings.However, a closeviewreveals a
seriesof distinctlayerswappedaround
eachother,someliving,somenot. At
thecenteris theheartwood, thedens-
est-and dead-part of the trunk.
Encirclingtheheartwoodis thepaler
sapwood, whichin turn is surrounded
bythecambium, thetrunk'sonlyactive-
ly growingsegment.The cambium's
growthaccounts for thelayersof sap-
woodthatareaddedeachyear.Oneither
sideofthecambiumarelayers thattrans-
port sapthroughoutthetreeandstore
surplusfood. As the inner sapwood
recedes from the cambium,its pores
graduallyclogwith resinsandgums,and
becomeheartwood. As the outersec-
tions becomedormant,they form a
Trunk
trunk'soutermostlayer,thebark.
Thedifferences between sapwood and
Alao called stem
or bole;aupporto
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heartwood areimportantto everywood- tree and channela
worker.Because
RootE
it ismoreporousthan Anchor tree and nutriente to and t
from roote
heartwood, sapwood
better.Butthedenser
absorbs
heartwood
finishes abaorb water
isusu- and minerals r
allvmoredurableanddecav-resistant.from the aoil
Thecarbohydrates presentin sapwood I
cellsmakethewoodvulnerableto fun-
gi andinsects. Thecolorsofheartwood
are also generallyricher and more
vibrantthanthoseof sapwood.
I
I UNDERSTANDING
WOOD

I Growth rings
In regions wherea tree'sgrowthis intenupted byseasonal wood,isformedtowardtheend.Earlywood is moreporous than
I change, its woodis characterized bygrowthrings:concentric latewood, whichaccounts for the contrastbetween the two.
bands, usually of an inchwide,perpendicular
fractions to the Takentogether, the earlywood and latewood of a growthring
I axisof thetrunk.Treesthatgrowin temperate areaswitha win- in temperate climates represent oneyearin a tree'slife.The
terseason display wheregrowth
distinctrings.In thetropics, is widthof a ringdepends ongrowing conditionsandvaries from
moreor lesscontinuous, a sharply definedringmayonlybevis- speciesto species, butchanges fromyearto yearreveala tree's
ibleasthe resultof a dryseason. Theringsareintersected by history.
A wideringsuggests a growing season withamplesun
a seriesof rays:flattenedbandsof tissuethatradiateoutward andmoisture, whilea narrow ringis evidenceof disease, unfa-
fromthe pithto the phloemof thetree.Growthringsconsistof vorableweather or insectattacks.Forthewoodworker, groMh
twoseparate layers.Thefirst,calledearlywood,is laiddownat ringsarealsocluesto thestrenghof thewood:uncharacteristi-
the beginning of thegrowing season; thesecondlayer,or late- callynarrow orwideringscansignalweaktimber.

Heaftwood Grotvth ring

A amall and often pulpy core
runninqup the center of the trunk
)apwood that haa beencloqqed
with resina, quma and other
extractivea: eupportg tree
A concentric rinq divided into
aarlywoodand latewood indi-
catin7 the amount of wood
added to a.tree'a diameter
in one growingaeason

Ray
Carriea nutrienta
laterally throu4h
the wood;alao
atoreg nutrientq

9apwood
Activo parA of the
tree'e wood throu7h
lneulatea tree which water and
aqainst temper- minerals are con-
ature extremeo; ducted from the
keepooapwood roote to the leavea:
and phloemfrom al6o storea nutri-
dryin1 out enta and helpa to
support.the tree

Phloem Cambium
I A thin, spon7y layer of tubea that
carry diaaolvedeu4ara and qrowth
A thin reproductive layor that forma
newt'isaue,addinq to the phloemand
hormoneafrom the leaveato other aapwoodto increase a tree'a 1irbh
I parta of a tree

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I- A thickslicefrom thetrunk of a mature
oakformsan oval-shaped tabletop.The
( \ growth rings that characterizedthis tree

s.
q
areclearlyvisible:Light-coloredearly-
woodalternates with darkerbands
of latewood,etchinga distinct line
betweeneachyear'sgrowingperiods.

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AND HARDWOODS
SOFTWOODS
f reesareroughlydividedinto soft-
I woodsand hardwoods, but the
termsare inexact:Somehardwoods,
suchasbasswoodor aspen,for exam-
ple,aresofterthanNorth Americansoft-
woodslikelongleafpineor Douglas-fir.
Thetypeandshapeof a tree'sleaves
are more accurateindicatorsof a
particularwood'sidentity.Softwoods
includeevergreen coniferswith needle-
whilehardwoodscomprise
like leaves,
broad-leaved deciduous,or leaf-shed-
ding,trees.But it is at the microscopic
levelthat the true differences between
softwoods andhardwoods canbe seen.
Softwoods arecomposed mainlyof tra-
cheids,dual-purposecellswhich con-
ductthe sapup throughthe trunk and
providesupport.Hardwoods, whichare
believedto haveevolvedlater,havenar-
rowet thicker-walled fibercellsfor sup-
port and large-diameter thin-walled
vesselsfor sapconduction,Thesecells
determinethi textureof a tree'swood.
In spring,whenthereis abundant
moistureand rapid growthof early-
wood, the tracheidcellsin softwoods
havethin wallsandlargecavitiesto con-
duct the sap.The resultis relatively
porouswood.As latewooddevelops in
the latterpart of the growingseason,
thetracheidsbeginto form thickerwalls,
creatingdenserwood.
In hardwoodssuchas oak or ash,
mostof thevessels developin theearly-
wood,resultingin unevengrain.These
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speciesarecalledring-porous.With dif- I
fuse-porous hardwoods suchas maple,
the vesselsaredistributedmore evenly I
in the earlpvoodand latewood. Some
species,suchas walnut, exhibita more t
gradualtransitionfrom earlpvoodto
latewoodand aretermedsemi-rine- I
porousor semi-diffuse-porous.
The differencesin cell structure r
betweensoftwoodsand hardwoods
becomeapparent whena stainisapplied. I
In softwoods, the light,porousearly-
wood absorbsstainmore readilythan I
the dark,denserlatewood-in effect
reversingthegrainpatternlikea photo- I
graphicnegative.Hardwoods,however,
absorbstainmoreevenly,enhancingthe I
croin naffprn

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()FSOFTWOODS
CELLSTRUCTURE ANDHARDW()()DS I
Latewood
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A microscopic
view
between
Thedifferences softwoodandhardwood arereadily (above,right),thesapis conducted through vessels,
a series
of I
apparentwhenviewed undera microscope's magnif ication. tubelikecellsstacked oneatoptheother. Support forthetrunk
of softwoods
Thecellstructure (above,
/eff)is muchsimpler is providedbyf ibercells.In thering-porous hardwood shown, I
thanthatof hardwoods.Almostallsoftwoodcellsarelong, aremoreprominent
vessels f ibersarethepre-
in earlywood;
whichsupport
thintracheids, an unbrokencolumn of sapthat dominant celltypein latewood. In bothhardwoods andsoft- I
cantowermorethan200 feet.Thetracheids in Iatewood woods,storage cellsforcarbohydrates andstarch makeupthe
become thanthosein earlvwood.
thrcker-walled In hardwoods remainins non-vascularwoodtissue. I
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I UNDERSTANDING
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A ROSEWO(ID
BYA]TYOTHER
NAME...
I Forthepracticing woodworker, call- woodinstead, sincebothbelong to Asshownbelow,in a botanical
I inga pieceof woodbyitscommon
nameseldom creates
therosewood familyandarenative analysis
of Brazilianrosewood,
confusion. lf to Brazil.In fact,thereareseveral Linnaeus'nowuniversallyaccepted
I youaskfora fewplanks of whiteoak
yard,forexample,
at a lumber
genuine rosewoods, suchasEast scheme plantsintothe
classifies
there Indianrosewood andcocobolo, that various
taxonomic groups of phyla,
I is noreason whyyoushouldnotget
whatyourequested.
costmuchlessthanthe Brazilian classes,
orders,
families,generaand
Butwithsome v a r i e t ya n d a r ee a s i e tro f i n d . species.
Almostall treesbelongto
r species,particularly
bepurchased
exotics
bymail-order,
thatmust However, theymightnotfit thebill
identities fora guitar-maker. Otherspecies,
thespermatophytaphylum,
woodsin theangiospermae
withhard-
sub-phy-
I canbe lesscertain.
aremisleading
Common names suchasbocote,
whentreeswithdiffer- areoftensoldas rosewood
bubinga andpadauk, lumandthedicotyledonae class,and
substi- softwoods to thegymnosper-
belonging
I entcharacteristics
sharethesame
name,orwhenthesamespecies
tutes,butdo notlookat all like maesubphylum,
has Brazilian rosewood.
I different
common
localities.
names in seoarate Toavoidconfusion, it is helpfulto A botanical breakdown
referto certainwoodsbytheirbotan- of Brazilianrosewood
I Suppose youwanted
veryrareandexpensive
samples of a icalnames. Brazilian rosewood is Phyfum:Spermatophyta
species like Dalbergia nigra,anda guitar-maker Sub-phylum: Angiospermae
I Brazilian
rosewood, a black-streaked,whorequests
darkbrownwoodoftenusedin the
it bythatnamewill not Class:Dicotyledonae
bedisappointed. Order;Rosales
I makingof superior-qualityguitars. Thisscientific naming system was Famify:Leguminosae
couldin goodconscience developed
A supplier morethan200 yearsago GenusrDalbergia
r sendyoupieces of kingwood or tulip- bySwedish botanist CarlLinnaeus. Species:Nrgra

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I THEHIDDEN
HARVEST
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In additionto lumberand manufactured
I boards,treesprovidea cornucopiaofraw
materialsfor productssuchasrollsof
I newsprint(left).For centuries, people
haveextractedsuchnaturalproductsas
I cork,rubber,gum, medicine,spices, drugs,
oils,charcoal,camphorand resins.The
I cellulose
fiberfound in treesis usedin the
productionof plasticsand lacquersaswell
I aswoodpulp. Coniferoustreessupply
turpentineand resins,whichare usedin
I paints,inl<sandfinishes.Modernchem-
istry hasunlockedstill moreof wood's
T hiddentreasures,finding waysto remoye
suchdisparate productsasglues,poisons
t andarfficialvanilla.

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 WOOD
UNDERSTANDING
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I UNDERSTANDING
WOOD

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I FROMLOGTOLIIMBER
I .p
etweenthestandingtreeandthe causedduringfelling,poorjudgmentin pit sawsin the forestandat the mill,
I Ll boardsyoupickofftherackat the buckingor inattentivesawingat the andcutsarenowguidedbylaserbeams
lumberyardstandsa complexprocess mill cansabotage the valueof a tree andcomputertechnology insteadof
I thatrequires
manypeople to applyenor- andraisethesawmill's-andthewood- chalklines,no replacement hasbeen
mousskill at everystep.Undetected buyingconsumer's-costs. Although devisedfor the practicedeyeof an
I defectsin the standingtree,damage powersaws havereplaced muscle-driven experienced lumberman.
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I A tractor-Iikeskidderhaulsa
hitch oflogsfrom theforest.
T A logger(left) makeshisundercutin a mightyDouglas-firtreein therain
forats of British
columbio,canada.Fellingthesebehemoths wasoncetheworkof two menpushingand
I pulling a hugefelling saw;today,a chainsawreduces
fetling to a quick one-manjib.

I L9

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UNDERSTANDING I

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itscontentsontoa truck.
Ahydrauliclogloaderdispenses I
I
Selecting thetrees in thisarea.Knots,for example, canbe are rapacious: In beechand hard
A neetjoumeyto thelumberyard begins particularlytroublesome, depending maple,for example, a singlebodyof I
in thewoods,whena foresteror timber on wheretheyarelocated.In thebot- falsetinderfunguson theoutsideof a
cruiserevaluates thetreesfor cutting. tompartof thetree,wheretheyareusu- treemaysignalthepresence of a 12-to I
Not all cut treeswill beearmarked for allyindicated bya slightdisfigurationof l4-foot-longcolumnof decaywithin. If
thesawmill; somewill beusedfor pulp thebark,knotsmaybesodeeplyover- thedecaywere confinedto thecenterof I
or firewood.Theselower-grade treesare grownthattheywillnot affectthevalue thetree,thiswouldbelessof aproblem,
deliberatelyharvested to givetheresidual of theouterwood. Butfurtherup,where but manyfungiinfestthemostvaluable I
stockbetter accessto nutrientsandmore theyaretypicallyindicated by concen- outerwood.Anyscarring of thebarkis
roomto grow,thusincreasing thetim- tric circlesor evenbumpsin thebark, thussuspicious, sinceeventhetiniest I
berstand'svalue.Theverybesttreeswill knotsposemoreserious problems in openingmakesa treesusceptible to
bereserved for veneer. termsof qualiry fungalinfection. I
Sincemostof thehighest-grade lum- Theabilityto distinguishbetween dif- Birddamage-specifically peckholes
berwill comefromtheareajustunder ferenttypesof fungiis anotherimpor- madebytheyellow-bellied sapsucker- I
thebark,the forestermustbe ableto tant skill in treeevaluation. All fungi alsoaffectsa tree'scommercial value.
detectataglance cluesthatbetraydefects cause somedamage, butcertainspecies Unlikeits woodpecker cousins, which I

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I eatwood-boringinsectsthat infestdead of woodbetween thewedgeandback- face;large-diameter rottingbranches
wood,theyellow-belliedsapsucker feasts cut.Expertfellers
considermanyfactors pointto decay withinthetreetrunk.
I on the sap,wood cells,and innerbark beforemakingthecuts-the condition Whiletheoptimallengthfor hardwood
oflive trees.Persistent
feedingresultsin of thefellingsite,wind direction,the logsis 16feet(8feetforveneer-quality
I longstreaksofstain that effectivelyren- leanofthetree,andthepresence ofdead logs),cuttinglogsto this lengthis
der the wood worthless. branches in adjacenttrees,aptlycalled not always possible. Sometimes the
I "widowmakers."
buckercuts8-footand l2-footloss
Felling and bucking Oncethelimbshavebeenremoved, to avoiddefects that wouldrender-a
I Tieesarecut with threepasses of a chain thetreeis skidded to a stagingarea,or largerlogworthless.
saw The first two cutsiemovea wedge landing,
whereit isbuckedintologs.To
I aboutone-thirdof the diameterof the ensurethatthewoodiscutto thehigh- Tiansporting the logs
tree,facingtheintendeddirectionof fall. estpossible grade,thebucker-likethe In somepartsof NorthAmerica, espe-
I The tree is felledby the third cut, or forester
or treecruiser beforehand-has ciallythePacificNorthwest wheretrees
backcut,madeoppositeto and a few "read"
to thetreefor signsofdefects areexceptionally large,buckingisdone
I inchesabovethewedge.Asthetreefalls, beforesettingto work.Bulges in thebark atthefellingsitebeforethelogsaretrans-
"hinge"
its directionis controlledby a indicate
knotsthatarecloseto thesur- portedto a centralyard.Steeply sloping
I
I Althougha varietyof methodshavebeenusedto movelogsto
thelumbermill,from river runsto draft horses,
truckingremains
I themostcommonmethodof transportin NorthAmerica.

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WOOD
UNDERSTANDING I
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Thenarrowkerf I
of abandsaw
producesless I
wastethan a
circularsaw. I
Here,aworker
at aVermont r
mill removes a
j8-foot-long I
bandsawblade
for sharpening.
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terrainmayrequirethelogsto begath- arebucked, logsareloadedontotrucks Thesawing processgenerates agreat I
"waste"-almost
eredin fromtheforestfloorusingaseries with a hydraulicgrapplehookfor the dealof one-thirdof the
of cables.Onesuchsystem isknownas trip to thesawmill. bulkof eachlog-but everypossible bit I
high-leadlogging.Twomaincables- of woodis chippedup andused.Some
onecalleda haulback andtheothera In the sawmill issoldtopaperpulp millsorwood-fired I
mainline-areriggedto thetopof atall Therearetwo maintypesof sawmills: utilities.(Thevolumeof wood-burned
mast.Several othercables,calledchok- thosethatuseabandsawandthosethat fuelhasincreased sincethe
substantially I
ers,danglefromthemainline. Tieesare usea circularsawA sawmillis often energy crunchoftheearly1970s. Today
felledsotheylandwith theirbutt sec- describedaccording to thetypeof wood woodsupplies about3 percentof the I
tionspointinguphill;crewmen wrap it cutsandthetypeof sawit employs, UnitedStates' energyconsumption.)
eachchokeraroundthebutt sectionof suchasasoftwood bandmill or ahard- Eventhebark,whichis immediately t
abucked-up log,signaltheheadopera- woodcircularmill. Largebandmillsare strippedoffthelogs,frequently powers
tot andthelogsarereeledupthehill to oftenrequiredfor thelarger-sized logs thesawmill's dryingkilns. I
thecentralpile,usuallylocatednextto a thatarecommonin thesoftwood indus- Thebarkisstrippedfromthelogwith
lumberroad.Whenthelogshavebeen try in western
NorthAmerica. Circular largegrindingcutterheads or blastedoff I
detached. thehaulback cableis usedto sawmills,more commonin smaller by high-pressure waterjets.Thelogis
pull themainlineandits chokers for hardwood operations in theEast,have thenmountedon a logcarriage, posi- I
anotherload.No matterhowtheyare butarefarlessexpen-
a smallercapacity, tionedsothatthefirstcutssliceoffthe
movedfromthefellingsiteor whenthey sivethanbandmills. mostvaluable
widest,clearest, boards. I

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I UNDERSTANDING
WOOD

t In lessthan 2 seconds,this
bandsawblade,drivenby
I a 1S0-horsepower engine,
canslicethrougha 16-foot
I log. Thered line-a laser
beam-sh ows the operator
I wherethebladewill cut.

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I In themill, thesawyermayrotatethe made.In themostefficientmills,sophis- ing squaretimber-called a cant-to
log to "read"thelog'shiddendefects. ticatedcomputers areusedto selectthe a resawingareafor cuttinginto var-
I Whilein thepastthis mighthavebeen bestpositionto obtainthemaximum ious sizes of dimensionlumber.
doneby hand,it is not uncommonto productionfrom eachlog. Hereagain,this sawyermust deter-
I seetoday'ssawyers work in a glass- First,thefour outerslabsof thelog mine the optimum cutting pattern
endosed booth,formingjudgments with areremoved,givingthesawyera clean that will yield the mostvaluablelum-
I thehelpofadvanced electronicequip- planefrom which to makehis next ber.All theboardsareedged,trimmed
ment.In sucha mill, the sawyeruses cut-the so-called "opening
face"-to to lengthandgraded.
I joysticks-like thoseof a computer givethewidest,clearestboardavailable. Smallermills,andthosehandling
gam+-to twirl thelogalmostafull turn Oncethis faceis cut,thelog is rotated, smallerlogs,mayusea differentsawing
I in a matterof seconds,firing abeamof andthreeadditionalboardsarecut- strategf.Afterremovingtheouterslabs,
laserlight downits lengthto visualize onefrom eachremainingface.Large theboardsarecutfromtheopeningface
I theeffectof a particularcutbeforeit is millshandlingbiglogssendtheremain- until defects interfere.Thenthelog is
rotatedto thenextclearest face.Aswith
I thefirst method,theremainingcantis
resawn intolowergradelumber.Finally,
I theboardsaresorted,stacked andstick-
ered-separated by thin stripsto allow
I airto circulatebetween them-for their
trip to thedryingkiln, wheretheywill
I remainfor up to 50days.
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I A deviceknown asa "slot machine"
sortsfreshlysautnboardsinto the
t right widthsand lengths.

I 23

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LUMBERCUTTINGMETHODS I
I
f onverting alogintolumberrequires The third method.calledcuarter- I
\-r certain compromises. Mostlogsare sawingor edge-grain sawing,dividesthe
sawnin oneof tlueebasicways. Thesim- log into four quartersand cuts every I
plestmethodsquares thelogandslices board more or lessradially.Quarter-
it intoboardsstraightthroughfromone sawnboardshavetheir annualgrowth I
sideto theother.Thistechnique, known ringsperpendicularto the face.
asthrough-and-through sawing,results This orientationof the growthrings t
in stockcuttangentially to theannual accountsfor thedimensionalstabilityof
growthrings.A second method,plain- cuartersawn boards.Woodshrinksand t
sawing, is similar,exceptthatthelogis
rotatedasit is cut,andthelow-quality
expandsroughlytwiceasmuchtangen-
tially to the rings asits doesradially. r
pithissetasidefor itemssuchaspallets. When ouartersawnboards swell or
Plain-sawn lumberisalsoknownasflat- shrinktheydo so mostlyin thickness, I
grainedlumber. whichis minimal,whereasa plain-sawn
board changesacrossits width. A din- I
ing tablemadefrom plain-sawnpine
Thegrowthringsin this boards,for example,canchangeasmuch I
quartersawn oakboard asI inch in widthl a similartablemade
appearaslinesthat are from quartersawn boardswould only t
parallelto theboard'sedges. swellor shrinkby one-thirdasmuch.
I
THREE ()FSAWING
METHODS IOGS I
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Choosingthebestmethod
Cuttinglogsintolumber at a sawmillisa balance
between intend- radius of thelog.Butit producesmoredimensionally
stable I
ed use,structural andesthetic
stability appearance.Plain-saw- lumber, makingit idealfordrawersides,tabletops
andframe
ing(above, /eft)produces boardsof diminishing
widthasthe log rails.Through-and-throughsawing(above,rghf)yieldsthe t
is rotated
to makesuccessive cuts.Themoreexpensive method, maximum number of usableboardsfroma log;theouter
calledquartersawing (above, boardwidthto the
center),limits boards areplain-sawn,whiletheinnerboardsarequartersawn. I
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24 I
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I UNDERSTANDING
WOOD
I
I Quartersawing alsooffersan esthetic with ringsat 0oto 45oanglesto thewide
advantage:It exposesthe medullary surfacearetermedplain-sawn. Boards
I raysthat radiatefrom the heartofa log with growth rings at a 30oto 60oangle
like the spokesof a wheel. In most arealsocalledrift-sawnor bastard-sawn.
I speciesthe raysareonly one cellthick, In actualpractice,sawyers usea myr-
but in a fewspecies, suchasoak,theray iad of sawingpatterns,depending on the
I ceiisare thicker and appearas vivid type of machinerybeing used, the
streaks scatteredalong the grain. intendeduseof thelumber,logdiameter
I Sycamore, poplarandbasswood arealso andthetypeof tree.Forexample, in vir-
idealcandidates for quartersawing. tuallyall treesthepith or centralcoreof
I As the illustrationat the bottom of theheartwoodis lessdesirable thanand
page24 shows,quartersawnlumber is not asstrongastherestofthe heartwood.
I not alwayscut perpendicularto the Plain-sawing
"boxes
out the heart"by
grain,and somethrough-and-through cuttingaroundit to eliminateit.
I cut boardscloseto the centerofa log
will havequartersawn grain.Therefore,
t no matter how they are actuallycut, Thegrowthringsin thisplain-sawnoakboard
boards with growth rings at angles appearon thefaceasan ellipticallandscape
I between45oand90oto thewidesurface figure.Plain-sawnstockis slicedfrom logs
areclassified quartersawn,whileboards with mostof thecutstangentto therings.
I
I ADVANTAGES
OFPTAIN.SAWN
ANDSUARTERSAWN
LUMBER
t PTAIN-SAWN OUARTERSAWN
I Cheaper
andeasierto obtain Moredimensionally
stable
Shrinks
andswellslessrnthickness Shrinks
andswellslessacross
theboard
I comesin greater
Usually variety
of widths Twists
andcuosless
I Lesssusceptible
to collapse duringdrying;
easier
to kilndry Splitsandcheckslessin seasoning
andin use
Figurepatterns
resultingfromthedifference between Raised graincausedbytheswelling
of theearlywood
I earlywood
andlatewood in thegrowthringsare in growthringsnotaspronounced
moreconsoicuous
I Hasmoreinterestingfigure Figuredueto pronounced raysmoreconspicuous
Roundor ovalknotsthatmayoccurhavelesseffect Holdsfinishesbetterin somesoecies
I on structural
integrity
I Pocketsof pitchextendthroughfewerboards Sapwood in boards
appears
at theedges
andis
easilycutoff
I Notassusceptible
through
face
to splitting
whennailsor screws
driven Wearsmoreevenlv

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PROPERTIE,S
OFWOOD I
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n experienced woodworkerpays woodis theresultof extractivessuchas depends on the growthpatternof the I
closeattentionto the selection of tannins,gumsand resinsin the wood. treefrom whichit wascut.
wood for a project.Everyspecies has Whencut lumberis exposed to air,these A wood'stexturedepends on thesize t
uniquequalitiesthat canmakeit ideal substances graduallyoxidize,deepening anddistributionof itscells.Ring-porous
for oneapplication but unsuitable for thewood'scolor.In somecases, howev- hardwoodswith largevessels havea I
another. Amongthekeyproperties that er,thecolormayfade. coarsetexture,while diffuse-porous
distinguish woodsarecolor,grain,tex- Grainand texturearetwo distinct hardwoods with finevesselshavea fin- I
ture, figure,weightand odor. propertiesthatareoftenconfused. Grain er texture.In somesoftwoods, abrupt
Manyspecies areprizedfor theirdis- describesthedirectionandregularity of transitions from earlp,vood to latewood I
thewoodfibersrelativeto theaxisof the producean uneventexture.Wherethere
tinctive colors.
Padauk is a fiery orange-
red;blackwalnut often exhibitsdeep treetrunk.Asillustratedon page28,the asin whitepine,
islittleor no transition, r
purplesand chocolate tones.Colorin grain displayed by a pieceof lumber thewoodhasan eventexture.
I
ftqure
Landacape figure
Fiddleback MoLLle
fi4ure I
on white birch onperobarooa on movin4ue
I
: t
'', '.
, i
i " I
rl lt ,
'
" l i :i.,' ',,1,
,t,'
. r.1

, ,r,:' ,1i,i;,.
,1 "
r
, ; . 1 1 r, ', ,: , ' l , , , , ; , , ,,' ". ., .,
I
i'r'ill;''1 , ,,;. ;,ir , r I
';, r ''r r'
l 'i ",\,' , ,','
i;l:li,1 1r1';'
I
I
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r
t
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I
' '' "'
,',"' l ,, l 'Ii , I
. l ' l , i , '! '.l ' ., ' , ' .
i ,1,,;',
'-,
, l i r . ' - i , , 1r
" ,;,
.
,r,l' I
.]i ri;' i,':, .'l'li, ,,,'
I
I
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I
I UNDERSTANDING
I
I Figure-an important quality in
veneers-is the patterndisplayedon the
I surfaceof a board.Thisis theexpression
"61n1261s1"-fte
of a board's sumof its
T grain,contrastbetweenearlywoodand
latewood,eccentricityof growth rings,
I mineralstreal6,disease andthe method
WOOD
bonfigurecommon in Africanmahogany.
Wavygrainin maplesresultsin a fiddle-
backfigure,sonamedbecause ofitsusein
thebaclaofviolins.Andinegular growths
ontheoutersurfaces of trees,
suchaselm,
yieldanintricateburl figure.
Theweightof differentwood species
asa tropicalhardwoodlike ekki,which
hasthesamespecificgravityaswater-
1.00.Lignumvitae,the heaviest wood,
hasa specificgravityof L23.Thehigh-
er a wood's specificgravity,the less
porousit is and the more impervious
it will be to a finish.

r usedto sawthe log. Someof the more

stunningfiguresin differentspecies are
isexpressedasspecific
sitycompared
gravity,or itsden-
to an equalvolumeof
A wood'sodor-usually causedbv
oils in the heartwood-may alsodeter-
illustratedbelow.Forexample, plain-sawn water.Thespecificgravityof anoven- mine its use.An aromaticspecies like
I whitebirch reveals a so-calledlandscaoe dried sampleof Americanelm, for cedar,for example,is often usedfor
figure.Interlockedgrainproducestherib- example,is0.50,makingit halfasheavy clotheschestsand cigarboxes.
I
I Kibbonfiqure Dird'e-eyefigure Burlfigure
on Africanmahogany on maple on Carpathian
elm
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UNDERSTANDINGWOOD t
t
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grnvityis a betterirdicatorof n
Specific I
wood'sweightthartsize.Witha speciJic
gravityof 0.90,a pieceof cborryweiglrs t
thesanrcttsa trtttcltlnrgerblockof white
pine,wlrcsespeciJicgrovityis only0.35. t
I
TYPES()FGRAIN
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t
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Featured tn lumber wiLh even wood Found tn lumber where the ftbera devi' Froduced by wood ftbere
ftbere thaL are parallel Lo the verLtcal aLe from the verLtcalaxie of the Lrunk; Lhat undulatetn ehort,even I
axta of the trunk; makea for eLronq not ao atronq ae etraiqhL-qratned wood, wavee:yielde fiddleback ftqure
wood, but hae ltttle or no fi4ure but producee an attracttve fiqure
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Interlocked grain
treea with twtEted trunka; common
in 1coLchpineand aweetcheetnuL
Foundtn lumberfrom treeE with oppoein7internal LwtaLe;
eomeLimeefound in elm and verycommonin tropical epeciee
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I UNDERSTANDINGWOOD

I
I W()RKING
WITH
THEGRAIN
I Reading thegrain
Manywoodworking tasks, especially plan-
I ing,require
grain.
working in thedirection of the
Youcanusually tellgrainorrenta-
I tionbyrunning yourhandalong a board
face:Thesurface willfeelsmoother when
I yourhandis moving withthegrainand
rougher whenrunning against it.Another
I method is to slidea smoothing plane
l i g h t lay l o n g
t h ef a c ei n o n ed i r e c t i o n ,
t thenrepeat in theopposite direction. The
blade willchatter orcatchonthewood
I fibers whenit iscutting against thegrain.
Asshownontheplain-sawn boardat right,
I thewoodfibers slope"uphill"in thedirec-
tionof thegrainand"downhill" against it.
I
I
I Determiningthebestdirection to plane
To preventa planebladefromcatching
I thegrainandtearing orchipping thewood
f ibers,
alwayscutin theuphillgraindirec-
I tion.Thiswillproduce cleanshavings and
a smooth surface.Beespecially careful
to
I spotgrainthatchanges direction withina
singleboard.Thedragram at leftshowssev-
I grainpatterns
eraltypical witharrows indi-
catingthebestplaning direction.Theuphill
I drrectionmaybeconstant fromoneendof a
boardto theother(A).Orit maychange,
I demanding thatyouplane fromeachend
towardthemiddle(B).lt couldalsochange
I fromthemiddle to theends(C).lf thegrain
doesnotslope at all,youcanplanein a sin-
I glepassfromeitherend(D).

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IDENTIFYINGWOOD I
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hetheryouarerestoring apieceof maybeableto tell with thenakedeye allyor tangentially. Eachmethodexpos- t
furnituremadefromanunfamil- whetherahardwood isring-or diffirse- esa differentviewof a sample's anatom-
iarwoodor debating theauthenticity of porous. Asshownin thephotosonpage icalstructure. Thesimplest is the
view I
a particular boardwith a locallumber- 33,these twotypesof hardwood arerel- transverse sinceit involves lookingatthe
yard,a knackfor identifringa pieceof ativelyeasy to tellapartwhenviewed with endgrainof thesample. However, to I
lumberisa usefrrlskill. ahandlens.Notewhether thetextureof avoida blurredviewof crushed fibers,
Of course,anentirebranchofknowl- thewoodiscoarse or smooth.Ifthe sam- youmustfirstshave thesurface with a I
plehasbeenrecentlycut,it mayhave razorbladeor a well-sharpened knife.
edgeis devotedto woodscience
technology. Bookshavebeenwritten
and
a recognizable odor. If it hasbeen Togetatangential viewof asample, you r
aboutthe subject,careers havebeen sufficientlydried,you maybe ableto will needto makea cleancutalongthe
foundeduponit, anduniversities offer calculate itsspecific gravity. growthringsof the wood (page32). t
coursesand degreesdevotedto it. Aithoughtheseobservations canhelp Makinga second cut at rightanglesto
Scientists identifrwoodby firstslicing narrowdownthechoices, youwill still thefirstexposes a radialview. t
offa thin sliverof asample, thenmount- haveto viewawoodsample undermag- Onceyouhaveobserved andrecord-
ingit on a slideandexamining it under nificationin orderto hazardaneducat- edthesample's properties andmicro- I
a mlcroscope. edguess asto itsspecies. Theillustration scopicdetails,you cancomparethe
Thepracticing woodworker, however, on page31showsthethreewaysthata resultswith a printedkey of wood I
whoismoreinterested in sawing thanin sample canbestudied: radi- species
transversely, to identifithewood.
science, cansuccessfully identiff most I
woodsby methodically searching for a
fewsimpleclueswith thehelpof inex- SLEUTH
F(|RTHEWOOD
TOOLS I
pensive equipment. Mostof thetoolsyou
needareillustrated atright.Yourinves- I
tigationshouldbeginwith the easily Labeled wood samplea
observable propertiesofthesanrple (page A set of domeatic or tropical wooda with t
labelaindicatin1 the apeciea;can be ueed
26).Examne andfeelthesurface; deter-
minewhetherit isoilyor dry,dullor lus-
to help identify and aomparewooda r
trous.Checkits hardness
dentthesurface
by tryingto
with a fingernail. You Hand lens
r
Used to axaminewood
samplea;availablein Bx, I
1Oxand 12xma1nification
I
I
I
llluminaied magnifter
I
For axaminin7woodaamplea;
featu ree built- in illumination
Poaketkni e
Used to prepare
I
for aharper viawinqthan hand
the end qrain of
leno.Typicallyavailablewith up
to 2Ox maanification
wood aampleafor I
examination
I
Examiningtheendgrainof a board Razor blade I
Used to aut off wood alivers
throughan illuminated1& magnifier
enlnrgesseveralfeaturesof a wood
for viewinqunder a microacope;
einqle-adqedbladea are the
I
samplethatarehelpfulin species aafeat type
identification. I
I
30 I
I
I
I UNDERSTANDINGWOOD
I
T EXAMINING
A W()OD
SAMPTE
I Three viewing perspectives
The10xmagnification provided bya mag-
I niferor handlensallows youto examine
threeviewsof wood's

ffi
structure, represent-
I ed bythehardwood logsection shown at
rrght.Thetransverse section liesat right
I a n g l etso t h eg r a i na n di s v i s i b l ien t h e
endgrainof stock.Thetangential and
I radialsections areat 90'to thetransverse
section. Thetangential section follows a
I straight linethatis tangent to thegrowth
rings. Thissection isthesurface yousee
I onthefaceof plain-sawn lumber. A radial I
l)/
l-,- --
o^a
\-
\
section isexposed bycutting a straight line ,Y oXo ?

I fromthebarkthrough thepith,exposing o"o OoO

grainlinesthatappear asvertrcal strips.
I \..5---
I
I
I
I
Examining woodunder a microscope
I TRANSVERSE
SECTI()N TANGENTIAT
SECTION At 100xmagnif ication, a microscope
u n c o v emr so r ed e t a i losf t h ec e l l u l a r
I Earlywood La'ewood structure of woodthancanbeseen
through a handmagnifier. At leftare
I twoviewsof whitepine,illustrating key
elements in species identification. The
I transverse section(farlefDshowsthe
sizeof thetracheid cellsandthetransi-
t - ? _ - c = = - ^ - ^
tionin theirdensity fromear-lywood to
- -a^-)= -g c; latewood. Alsoevident is a longitudinal
I -
-
- n-U
!:-!r-\
-- -;,
/^-
resincanal.Thetangential section(near
/eff)shows thenumber andthickness
I of theraysin thewood.

I UU _\_t Tl -
_ _ U - u v
v. X
/ \ Jon X
Y f lO
t - rO
I L
f-LL-r;Uf'lr-r
\-ln uflX\-/

I
I
Tracheid Keeincanal Kaye
I
I
I 3l

I
 I
WOOD
UNDERSTANDING I
t
SAMPLES
W()()D
PREPARING WITHA LENS
F(lRVIEWING I
Preparinga tlansversesection I
Sliceoffa sliverof woodfromtheend
grainof yoursample usinga sharp I
knifeorrazorbladeUeft).Ihesurface
shouldbesmooth andeven.lf the I
woodis particularly denseanddtffi-
cultto cut,firstsoaktheendgrain
fora shorttimein hotwater.
t
I
I
I
I
I
I
t
I
I
I
I
r
r
I
tangential
Cufting andradialsections
Fora tangential marka cutting
section, I
linetangentto thegrowthringsonthe
edgeof thesample. Cutalongtheline I
witha bandsaw,making sureyourhands
arenotin linewiththebladeof thetool I
(right). makean
Fora radialsection,
end-to-endcutthrough thesample at the I
highpointof thegrowthringswiththe
piecefacedownonthe bandsawtable. I
Tocleanupthecutsforviewing, lightly
smooth thesurfaces witha handplane. t
Avoidusingsandpaper,
thefibers.
whichwillcrush
r
I
32 I
I
I
I UNDERSTANDING
WOOD

I
I
WOOD
IDENTIFICATION
METHODS
I Although identifying woodrequires andcanberevived by moistening a tivediameter (in hard-
of vessels
carefulobservation
I of theappropri- drywoodsample.
atefeaturesof a sample,practice Checking a sample for hardness
wood)or tracheids
important
(in softwood) is
in determining thetexture
makesthejob easier.
I Firstmeasure byrunning
thewidthof thegrowthrings,and
a fingernail
grainandnotingthedegree
alongthe
of inden-
of thewood;the larger thesecells,
thecoarser thewood.Thedistribu-
notethecolorandlusterof the
I wood.Remember
tationcanhelodifferentiate
thatwoodexoosed larspecies suchas butternut
simi-
and
tionof poreswithinthegrowthrings
willalsotellyouwhether a hard-
to sunlightandairchanges
I color,so
the hueof a freshlycut samplemay
blackwalnut.
Thestandard toolfor macroscopic
woodis ring-,diffuse-,
semi-diffuse-porous.
semi-ring- or
Whenviewing
bedifferent afterit hasdried,Luster viewing
I is nota commonfeatureof many Choose
of woodis a 10xhandlens.
onewithbuilt-inillumina-
endgrain,choose an areaof average
growthrate,avoiding defectslike
woods, but it canhelpdistinguish
I between species that areotherwise
tionforsharpresolution.
samples
Examine
in goodlight,holding the
crossgrainandknots.
Withsoftwoods, lookfor resin
alikein color,textureandweight.
I Although
lenscloseto oneeyeandmoving
odor,likeluster,is distinc- thesurface to bestudiedintofocus.
canals; theyareonlypresent in
pine,spruce,larchandDouglas-fir.
tivefor onlya fewwoods,it canbea
I usefulkeyto identification,
Notethedistribution
particu- features
andshapeof
suchasvessels, tracheids,
lf youarelookingforrays-animpor-
tantfeatureof hardwoods-they are
larlyamongsoftwoods. Odoris most
I pronounced in freshlycut lumber,
resincanals, earlywood,
poresandmedullary
latewood,
rays.Therela-
bestseenona transverse
tial surface,
or tangen-

I
I
COMPARING
MAGNIFIED (lFTWOWOOD
VIEWS SAMPTES

I Thetwophotosaboveshowwhat theendgrain,or transyerse sections,of two dffirent hardwoodsamples

wouldlooklikeunderthemagnificationof a handlens.A ring-poroushardwood(above,left)featuresrows
t of relativelylargeporesin theeailywoodand clusters
of smallerporesin thelatewood.Theverticalbars
interruptingtheporesaremedullaryrays.A semi-ring-porous wood(above,right) showslittle distinction
I betweentheearbryoodand latewood.Here,theporesareevenlydistributedthroughoutthe tissue.

I
t 33

I
 I
KEYS
WOODIDENTIFICATION I
I
t
A collectionof labeledwood I
samples canbeinvaluablein
helpingyou become familiar I
with a varietyof woods.It
mayalsocontaina species I
you wish to identify.
I
I
I
I orrectlyidentifyingan unfamiliar I
\; woodsampleout of thousands of
possibilities requires closeobservation, I
andathorough knowledge ofwoodand
itsproperties. Butasa practical matter, I
thepossible choices areusuallylimited to
several familiarspecies, anda commer- until reaching a leafthatidentifiesthe Avoidkeysthat try to coverevery t
ciallyavailable setof labeled woodsam- sample. Thefirststatement mayinvolve woodspecies in theworld;theywill prove
ples,suchastheoneshownatright,may thetextureof thewood.If thewoodis toogeneral. Choose onethat describes I
includea piecethatmatches thewood porous,for example, youaresentto one region,suchasNorth
treesin a specific
you areattempting to identifr.Most setof statements;if it isnon-porous, you Americansoftwoods or tropicalhard- I
often,however, youwill needto record jumpto adifferentsetof statements. You woods.Several keyscanbefound
classic
thefeatures of a sample,thenuseawood continuethisway,flippingfrompageto in woodworking boola;checkyourlocal I
identification keyfroma bookto make pagein abook,aseachanswer gradual- Somepublicagen-
libraryor boolstore.
sense ofyourresults. lyreduces thechoices. Finally,thesearch cies(below) alsoofferwoodidentifica- I
An identification keyis essentiallya isnarrowed to a singlespecies. tion services.
master listof woodsandtheirproper- I
tiesthat serves asa cross-reference to
link thefeatures of a particularsample SOURCES
FOR IDEI{TIFICATIOI{
WOOD I
to a species name.Somekeysrequire
thatyou compare theirentriesagainst Books Agricultural
ExtensionService,
I
features thatarevisibleto thenakedeye Forestry
andWildlifeExtension,
1990.
or with a 10xmagnifier,whileothers Edlin,Herbert
L., WhatWoodls That?
A Manualof Woodldentification. TimberResearchDevelopment
t
demandthat you note microscopic NewYork:Viking,1969. Association,
Timbersof the World:
details. Stillotherkeysarebased onthe VolumesI and2. Lancaster; I
userhavingwide-ranging sensory infor- Hoadley,Bruce,ldentifyingWood. Construction
Press,1979.
mationaboutthewood,includingits
colot odor andtexture,andthebark
Nevvton,
Connecticut:
Press,1990.
Taunton
r
Agencies thatofferwood
andleafshapeof thetreefrom which Panshin,A.J.andDeZeeuw,
of WoodTechnologr.
Carl,Textbook
identification
services I
it came. NewYork:McGraw Hill, 1980. CenterForWoodAnatomyResearch
Using a key is like climbing the U.S.ForestProductsLaboratory I
branches of a tree.Youareaskedto Rendfe,8.J., WorldTimbers:Volumes 1 GiffordPinchotDrive
answera seriesof pairedstatements,
1-3.London: ErnestBenn,1970. Madison, Wisconsi
n 53705-2398 t
choosing theonethatbestdescribes the Sharp,John8., Woodldentification: International
WoodCollectors
Societv
woodin questionandproceeding to the A Manualfor TheNon-Profexional.
Knoxville:
University
of Tennessee
2913ThirdStreet
Trenton,
Michigan
48183
I
nextpairindicated. At eachstatement,
theuserforksontoa differentbranch I
t
34 I
I
t
I UNDERSTANDINGWOOD

I
I USING
A W()OD
IDENTIFICATION
KEY
Wood wiLhout eLacked raya; Wood with aLacked
I Hereis anexample
keyworks.
of howa typical
In thiscase,wearestarting
woodidentif ication
witha plain-sawn
eLoraqe celle conapicuouo tn
conLinuouelineethrouqhoul,
raye, forming ripple
marksexLendiniq
I board of an unknown
narrowing
wood.
theinvestigation
Thefirststepisaimedat
to either thehardwood
laLewood: WaLer hickory acroea the 4ratn
when tanqenLial
orthe
gectton of wood ta
I softwood portion of thekey.Youexamine
witha handlensandobserve
yoursample
thatit hasvessels
viewed:?eretmmon
andis
porous;
I according
youmustdetermine
to yourkey,it is a hardwood.
whether
Next,
thewoodis ring-or dif-
HearLwoodcheeLnuL- Heartwoodbrown
brown Lo chocolat.e to yellow-brown
I fuse-porous:
defined;
Younotice thatitsearlywood
youaretoldthatit is diffuse-porous.
is notsharply or purplioh brown
Thenext
I features to examine
viewof yoursample,
aretherays.Seenin thetangential
theraysarerelatively narrow and
I uniform
cerning
in width.Thisobservation
thesizeof thepores
leads
in thegrowth
to another
rings.
con-
Since LaLewoodef,oragecelle LaLewoodatoraqe
t the poresin theearlywood
thanthosein thelatewood,
of yoursample arelarger appeartn fine,continu- cellenot evideni
thisindicates thatyouhave oue ltnea
I a semi-diffuse-porous
tribution of thepores
wood.Next,youexamine
in thegrowth
thedis-
ring.lf theywere
I unevenly
astanoak.
distributed,
Instead,
thekeywouldidentify
thepores in yoursample
yoursample Foreeevenlydia- Toreaunevenlydiotrtb-
areevenly t,ributedthrou6h- uLedthroughout growth
I distributed.
thelatewood.
Youmustthenevaluate
Seeing thattheyarepresent
thestorage cellsin
in a fine,
out growth rinq rin7 and found in cluaLere
aeparatedby eectiona of
fibrouaLtssue:Tanoak
I unbroken line,youaredirected
of theheartwood.
to determine
lf it werechestnut-brown
thecolor
orchocolate,
I youwouldhavea pieceof blackwalnut
Butsincetheheartwood
or butternut.
is brown to yellow-brown, you Toree in the earlywoodlarger Toree uniform in size
I haveeitherwaterhickory
of yoursample arestacked
or persimmon.
vertically,
Sincetherays
creating ripple
than thoee in the latewood;
Lranaition qradual (eemi-d tf-
throuqhoutthe rin4

fuee-poroue)
I marks,
quest:
thekeyleads
thesample
youto theendof your
is persimmon.
I
Kaye broad Kaye narrow and
t and viaible uniform in width

Woodrtnq-porouo(eaily- Wooddiffuee-poroue (early-

I woodeharply defined); wood not eharply defi,ned):
earlywoodporea larqer earrwooa Pore??malter
I LhanlaLewoodporeoand than latewoodporeoand
viaible1;othe nakedeye visibleto the naked eye
I
t
I
Wood non -poroue (without Woodporoua (with veoaelo):WoodLto-
I veeeelo): Wood tieaue domi-
nated by tracheide in dia-
sue dominated by veosele(poree)
embeddedin fibroue tiaaue: raJ6 may
LincL rowa; raye not viaible or may not be viaibleto the nakedeye
I 1,othe naked eye

I 5TART HERE

I
I 35

I
 I
LUMBE,RMILLS
PORTABLE I
I
-|a h. desireto gaina deeperunder- Theprocedures that followshowyou pingchaininstalled. Tominimizestrain I
I standingof woodeventually leads howto cut logsinto lumberwith a chain on thesaw,try to selectlogsthat arerel-
somewoodworkers out of the shop and sawthat is guidedby a jig that attaches ativelyfreeof defectssuchastwist and I
lumberyard,into the woods, and back thecuttingjig anda heary-
to it. Besides - with fewknotsandburls.
taper,
to the treeitself.By sawingyour own duty saw,this simplemethodrequires Fellingtreesand cuttinglogswith a I
Iumber from logs,you can produce nothingmore than a straightboard, chainsawis dangerous work requiring
boardsthatexactlymeeta project'sspec- a hammeranda fewnails. safeworkinghabits.Payattentionto I
ificationsand gain valuableinsight Most chainsawsaredesigned to cross- your taskat all timesand keepcutting
into woodasa living material.Eachstep cut trees-that is, buck the logsinto edges sharp,cleanandwellmaintained. I
yieldsa thrill of discoveryasyou watch shorterlengthsafterthe treesarefelled Sinceprolongedwork with chainsaws
patternsof grain and figureemerge anddelimbed.Cuttinglogsinto lumber candamage theears,wearhearingpro- I
from thelog. is a rippingoperationin whichthesaw- tection,suchasearplugsor earmuffs.
A numberof lumbermills on the ing is donealongthe lengthof the log, Prooerdressfor chainsawwork also I
marketallowyou to cut through-and- Rippingwith a chainsawrequiresat least includesa fuIl-faceshieldandsteel-toed
throughcut,plain-sawnor quartersawn threetimesasmuchpowerascrosscut- boots;do not wearlooseclothing.You I
boards.Thesetoolsincludelargesta- ting, andthesawmustrun at full throt- canalsodon specialchainsawgloves
tionaryproductionmills capableof cut- tlethroughoutmostof thecut.Because to protectyourhandsanda pairofsafe- t
ting logsmore than 20 feetin length, muchportablelumbermilling involves ty chapsmadefrom a tough,sytthetic
portablemodelswith toughbandsaw hardwoodlogs,it isbestto usea direct- fiber,suchasKevlar'", to protectyour I
blades,and still smallerunits that use drive chainsawratedat a speedof at legsshouldthe sawaccidentally slip or
chainsaws. least3000feetper minute,with a rip- iump back. I
t
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
Specializedcommercialjigsand
machines enableyou to cut logs I
into lumber.Here,a bandsaw
lumbermill cutsa 2-by-10board I
from a squared-offlog. Thedevice
featuresa narrow-kerfbladethat
I
produces lesswastethqna chain
saw,makingit feasibleto cut I
planksasnarrowas % inch
thickwithoutexcessivewqsle. r
I
36 I
I
I
t WOOD
UNDERSTANDING

I
I A t(lc INTOBOARDS
CUTTING
I 1 Squaring thelog
I Tomarkoutthecant-thesouared-
I off partof the log-andmaximize the
n u m b eorf b o a r dtsh e l o gw i l ly i e l d ,
I scribsasquare on bothendsof the log.
Startat theendwiththesmallest diame-
I ter.Place
ter'ssquare
the insideangleof a carpen-
justinsidethe bark,and
I marktwooutsideedgesof the square
witha pencil. Using thescribed lines
I asa guide,complete thesquare(/eff,).
Measure thesidesof thesouare and
I transferthemto theotherendof the log,
making surethatthepithis centered in
t thesouare.

I
I
I
I
I OUARTERSAWING
THROUGH.Al{0.
r THROUGH
CUTTIl{G
PATTERN
CUTTING
PATTERN

I
I
I
I
r
I
t
r Choosing thecuttingpattern
Beforecuttingthe log,choose between through-and- want.Forquartersawnlumber(above,righil,dividethe square
I throughcut and quartersawing and mark out the appropriate intothreesegments. Mark outthe middle segment asfor
cuttingpatternonthe ends of the log.Forthrough-and-through cut
through-and-through lumber,
thenscribe linesin the two
I cut lumber (above, /eff),
scribe a series of lines withinthe outsidesegments thatare perpendicularto those in the
squaresothattheboardfacesareroughly tangent to thegrowth middle.Thegrowthringswill bemoreor lessperpendicular to
I rings.Space the linesaccording to the board thicknessyou thefacesof these
boards.

I
I 37

I
 I
UNDERSTANDING
WOOD t
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
Q Cutting thecant I
r-t Setthelogon spacers, withoneside
of the marked s0uare vertical.
Cuta 2- I
by-4guidelonger thanthe log,thenposi-
tionit ontopof the logsothatit extends I
beyond eachend.Aligntheoutside edge
of theguidewiththesideof thesquare I
andnailit in place. Usewoodshimsto
leveltheguide.Place thelumber-cutting t
jig onthe guide(above) andadjustits
fencesothatit runssmoothly along the I
guide.Attach thechainsawto thejig fol-
lowing themanufacturer's instructions. I
To makethecut,position thejig onthe
guideat thesmallest endof thelog.Then, I
withthesawbladeclearof thelog,start
upthesawandtip it forward sothatthe I
bladebitesintothelog.Carefully step
backwards anddrawthejig alongthe t
guide, cutting through thelogto theoth-
erend.Tocuttheothersides,remove I
theguideandrotatethe log.Repeat the
procedure to aligntheguidewiththe I
square andmakethecuI(right). Continue
untilallthesidesarecut.To cut the I
resulting cantintoboards, usethechain
sawandthejigto cutalong thelinesyou r
marked in step2. lf youhavea bandsaw,
youcancutthe logintoa manageable 6- I
by-6cantwiththechainsaw,thenusethe
bandsawto cutthecantintoboards. With I
its narrower kerf,a bandsawbladepro-
duceslesswaste thana chainsawblade. I
I
r
38 I
I
t
I UNDERSTANDINGWOOD

I
I
I
I
t(lc CROSSCUTTING JIG
I Simplify thetaskof squaring the
endsof a logbeforecuttingit into
t lumberwiththecrosscutting
shownat right.Thejig,whichcan
jig

I be builtto fit a varietyof logsizes,

consists of a guideandan inverted
I L-shaped framewithtwotriangular
supportbrackets.
I To makethejig, cut twopieces
of 7a-inchplywood for theframe.
I Thelengths of the pieces should
exceed thediameter of the largest
t logyouexpectto handle.Thewidth
of thetop pieceshouldequalthe
t desired
pieces
widthof cut.Screwthetwo
together alongwiththetri-
I angularbrackets. Screwa 2-by-4
guidethatis at least8 incheslonger
I thanthediameter of thelogto the
toppiece,aligning itsedgewiththat
I of thetop piece.
To usethejig,setthe logonspac-
I ersandposition thejig atopthe log.
Nailthesidepieceof theframeto
I theendof the log,makingsurethat
theguideis levelandsquare to the
t log'saxis.Setup thechainsawand
the lumber-cutting jig ontheguide
I asyouwouldto cut a logintoa cant
(page38).Thenstartthe sawand
I tio it forward sothatthe bladebites
intothe log hight, below).Drawthe
I jig alongtheguideuntilyoucut
throughthe log.At the endof the
I cut,thecrosscutting jig andthecut-
off piecewilltoppletowardyou.Keep
I the bladefrombindingin thekerf
andstandclearof thejig at theend
t of thecut.

I
I
I
I
t 39

I
 I
i;.vffi--.=,' \
'"3*'.t
*t
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
i{rffSrrr** I

t
I
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t
r
I
t
..""*'
r
t
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I
I

I
I
I SELECTNGLI.A4BER
I
I
I
omecraftsmen buytheirwoodpro- theNationalHardwoodLumberAssoci-
I jectbyproject. Theydesignandlay ation.In addition,somecarehasproba-
out a pieceof furniture,calculatethe bly beentakento control the moisture
I amountandtlpe of woodrequired, then contentof thestockduringits stayin the
embarkonaquestfor exactlywhat they yard.Youcanalsoasktheretailerto fur-
I need.Otherwoodworkers stockpile nish stockthat is surfacedto a uniform
beautifulor interestingpieces
of wood thickness-anecessity for woodworkers
I evenbeforetheyhavea specific project who do not haveaccess to apowerplaner.
in mind.Picking throughthepilesatthe Thereareother,lesscostlywaysto
I localwooddealership, surveyingfelled obtain wood. If you live near a small
Iogsat a buildingsiteor scavenging sawmill,you mayfindgoodqualitylum-
I buckedlogsleft overfrom roadside ber at a very low price.However,the
treework,thesecraftsmen accumulate woodwill probablybegreen,roughand
I promising woodin thedryingshed-a Principaltoolof thelumbergrader's ungraded-and it mustbestickered,sea-
supplythatserves asaninspirationfor trade,a lumberruler measuresthe sonedandsurfaced beforeit canbeused
I futurework. width of aboard.With aflexible for furniture.Biggersawmillspreferto
Whateveryour approach,thereare shaftanda hookat oneendfor dealwith largevolumesof wood and
I severalsourcesto coverin your search Jlippingstock,therulerenables a maybereluctantto fill smallorders.One
for raw materials.The most obviousis gradertofill an orderfor woodquickly. answeris to pool your materialneeds
I the locallumberyard.Someyardsstock with thoseof otherwoodworkers. Some
specialtyitems,dependingon demandin theareastheyservice; sawmillswill sellyoutheir "planerouts"-small piecesof vary-
I lumberyardsalong the coast,for example,might carry ingwidthsandthicknesses thatcanbeboughtatbargainprices.
mahoganyand teakfor boat constructionand repair.But It may alsobe economicalfor you to buy wood that has
I because mostyardsprimarilysupplytheconstruction trades, beenrecycledaftermanyyearsof usein bams,factories,wharves
your solid-woodchoices will probablybelimitedto structur- and otherstructures.Youmayalsofind an opportunityto do
I al softwoodlumberand perhapsan occasional pieceof oak. your own recycling.Reusingold wood makessenseenviron-
For a wider choiceof hardwoods,and for wood carvingand mentally,and it is rapidly becomingthe only legalway of
I turning blanks,you will haveto rangefartherafield.Look in obtainingsomespecies. In addition,recycledboardsthat were
the YellowPagesfor dealerships that specialize
in fine hard- cut from straight-grained old-growthtimber maybe superi-
I woods,or scantheadvertisements in woodworkingmagazines or to freshlumbercut from smallertrees.Therearedrawbacks
for mail-orderwoodworking-supply companies. to recyclingwood,however.Wear,rot andinsectsmayaddup
I Youwill paytop dollarfor hardwoodsboughtfrom a retail to a wastefactorof 50percentor more.And you shouldexpect
source,but in return you will generallyreceivematerialthat to extractmanynails,boltsand staples-andstill ruin saw
I hasbeengradedfor qualityusingthestandards establishedby bladesin encounters with hiddenmetal.
I
r Differentgradesof lumbercanvary widely-even in the
samestackof boards.Thereis no morecertainwayof
I geningwhatyou want thanselecting thestockyourself.

I 4I

I
 I
ORDERINGLUMBER I
I
henit is time to orderlumber verydifferent. Board-foot calculations, ing surfaced lumber.A 1-by-6pieceof t
for a project,it paysto do your whichactuallydescribe a volumeof pine,for example,is actually3/qinch
homework beforeyougoto thelum- wood,areexplained atthebottomof the thickand5%inches widewhendried I
beryard. Bybecoming an informed and next page. As a general rule,you can andsurfaced. Withrough,or unsurfaced
well-organized consumer, you increase order stock of likedimension bythelin- greenlumber, thenominalandrealsizes t
youroddsof comingawaywith your earfoot-25linearfeetof 1-by-4lumber, arethesame. Formoreinformationon
needsmet andyourwalletintact.You for example. Themainlimitationof hownominalandrealsizescompare, I
will alsoavoidhaving to make extratrips this method, however, is that it only referto thechartson pages 46 (hard-
to your supplier. works with lumber of uniform width woods)and48(softwoods). I
. Species: Askfor a specific wood and thickness. Once you mix dimen- Thethickness of hardwood boardsis
species,notmerelyabroadfamilyname. sions-asyou probablywill end up commonlyexpressed asa non-reduced I
"white
Forexample, order oak,"notjust doing when orderinghardwood- fractionin quartersof aninch.A l-inch-
"oak."Every
specieshasuniqueproper- a boardfoot measurement becomes thickoakboard, for example, istermed I
ties;selectonewith thecharacteristics necessary to describeyour needs. % lumbera 1%-inch-thick plankis %
thatsuittheneeds ofyourproject. It can Howyouorderyourwoodcanalso andsoon. I
behelpfulto learnthebasics of wood dependonwhether youneedsoftwood . GradeWhenorderingaparticular
identification (page Wth
30),sinceat some orhardwood softwoods youcin usu- gradeofwood,usestandard terminolo- t
lumberyards several similartypesof allyspecifyanyboard width or lengh, gy.Referto the charton page47 for
woodsmaybelumpedtogetherunder whilehardwood boardsaregenerally hardwoods andon page49 for soft- I
thesamename. availablein randomwidthsandlengths, woods.Themaindifferences between
. Quantity:Lumbermaybeordered depending onthegradeyouorder. higherandlowerhardwoodgradeslie I
eitherby thelinearfoot or theboard . SizeWoodissoldin nominalrather in appearance ratherthanstrength. In
foot.Besureyoursupplierknowswhich thanrealsizes, soremember to make general, reservehigher-grade woodfor I
measure youareusing,because theyare allowances forthedifference whenorder- thevisiblepartsofyourprojects.
I
I
I
1HO?TI? I
Carryinglumberby aar
Traneportlumberon your car eafelyand oecurelywith juol a
I
f ew pieceoof rope.Tieone ropet o a eolid sf,ructure in t'he t runk
-a Lrunkhinqe,for example-and makea loopaf. lhe other end, I
Securea secondrooeunderlhehoodandform anolherloop,At,
the lumberyard, elipNhewoodthrouqhone loopand Nhenhitch bhe t
other one in poeition,TokeepN'helumberfrom lurchinqbackand
torLh,tie a ihird ropearoundlhe lumberand secureit to Nhewin- I
dow poel.Ueefoamorlowelslo proteclthe sideofyour car,
I
t
I
I
I
I
I
42 I
I
I
I SELECTINGLUMBER
I
I . Seasoning:Lumberis sold either . Surfacing:Alsoknownasdressing,
kiln-dried(KD) or air-dried(AD).The surfacing refersto howlumberhasbeen TIPS
ONBUYING
TUMBER
I practicaldifferencebetweenthe two is prepared at themill beforeit is sentto o Maketwocopiesof yourcutting
thatKD woodhasa lowermoisturecon- thelumberyard. Lumberthatissurfaced list (page44); giueoneto the lum-
I tent-about 8 percent,while air-dried, is usuallysurfaced on bothsides:S2S beryard andkeeponeforyourself.
high-densityhardwoodsgenerallyhave lumberhasbeenplaned smoothonboth r Whenordering
I a moisturecontentrangeof 20to 25 per- faces, whileS4Swoodhashadbothfaces
hardwoods,request
sizes.Largeplanksof some
realistic
cent.Softwoods andlower-densityhard- planedandbothedges jointed.Rough, speciesarenotavailable;hard-
I woodsareair-driedto 15to 20 percent or unsurfaced, lumber(Rgh)is less
woodsaregenerally
random
available
widthsandlengths.
in
moisturecontent.KD lumberii there- expensive thaneitherS2Sor S4Swood,
I fore preferablefor makingindoor fur- andif youowna planeranda jointer, . Whenever
possible,
inspect
the
youwillbebuying.
lumber
niture,becausethe wood is unlikelyto youcansavemoneybysurfacing rough
I dry out any further;aswell, the kiln's lumberin yourshop(page53). . Examine eachboardto seehow
heatallowsthe wood'scellsto reposi- A sample orderfor woodat a lum- it willfit intoyourproject. Where
I tion, reducingthe likelihoodof warp- beryardmightbeasfollows:100bd.ft.
appropriate, test-fit boards
for a goodvisualmatch;if, for
together
ing and checking.This doesnot mean %FASredoak,S2S. Thiswouldamount example, youarebuilding a table,
t you needto restrictyourselftobuying to 100boardfeetof nominally 2-inch- lineuptheboards youhaveselect-
edfor thetabletoo to becertain
onlyKD lumber,however;infact,many thickFAS(Firsts andSeconds) gradered
I carversprefermoisterwood,makingAD oakwithbothfaces planed smooth.
theyforman interesting pattern.

wood a betterchoicefor them.Youcan Onceyoureceive . Onceyouhaveselected the

yourlumber,check
I bring air-driedwood to the appropriate it carefullyto makesureyouaregetting
boardsyouintendto buy,besure
thepileneatly
to leave stacked.
moisturelevel for cabinetmaking,as whatyouwant.If theorderdoesnot Lumber thatis notstackedconectlv
I shownin the Drying andStoringWood meetyourspecifications, do not feel tendsto warpandcanbedamaged.
chapter(pageTB). obligedto buyit.
I
I CALCULATING
BOARD
FEET
I Ordering lumber bytheboard foot
IIIUMBEROFBOARD FEET Because theboardfootis a unitof measurement
I IN4 TII{EAR
FEET()F thatoffersa standard wayof totaling thevolume
DIFFEREI{T
SIZEBOARDS of stockregardless of dimensions, it is commonly
I 1"x 12"x 12"= | eYs11;12rd
board foot
usedwhendealing withlumber. Asshown at left,
thestandard board footisequivalent to a piecethat
I is I inchthick,12 inches wideand12 inches long.
Tocalculate thenumber of board feetin a particu-
r l-by-7=lboardfoot
larpieceof wood,multiply
together.
rtsthreedimensions
Thendividetheresultby 144 if the
I 1-by-6=2boardfeet d i m e n s i oanrsea l l i n i n c h e so,r b y 1 2 i f o n e
dimension is expressed in feet.Forthestandard
I board, theformula is:
I " x 1 2 "x 1 2 "+ I 4 4 = | ( o r1 "x 1 2 "x I ' + 1 2= I ) .
t 1-by-12=4boardfeet Soif youhadan8-foot-long 1-by-3, youwouldcal-
culatethe boardfeetasfollows: 1 x 3 x 8 + 12 = 2
I (or2 boardfeet).Otherexamples areshownin the
illustration. Remember thatboard feetarecalculat-
2-by-4 = 2 2/sboard feet
t edonthebasis of nominal rather thanactualsizes.

I
2-by-6=4boardfeet
I
I
I 43

I
 I
SELECTINGLUMBER I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
Making andusinga cutting list I
A cuttinglistrecords thefinished sizes
of thelumber needed fora oarticular pro- I
j e c t .l t m a yb ei n c l u d ewdi t ht h ep l a n s
youpurchase; otherwise, youwillhaveto t
fashion yourownbased ona drawing of
t h ed e s i g n T .a l l yu pt h en u m b eor f b o a r d t
f e e tf o re a c hp i e c eu s i n gt h ef o r m u l a
Adjuotableehelf
shownon page43; tackon anextra30 t
to 40 oercent to account fordefects in
thewoodandwaste.Forthe project shown t
o nt h i sp a g ew, h i c ht o t a l sr o u g h lly6
boardfeet,youshouldorderat least20 or t
25 boardfeetof a/alumberin addition to
thenecessary quantity of plywood sheet- I
i n g .T i , ec u t t i n lgi s ts h o u l idn c l u dteh e
nameof thepart,thequantity, thedimen- I
sionsof thepieces andthekindof wood
suitable forthe prolect. Forconvenience, I
assign a letter to each piece.
I
CUTTING
LIST I
Piece Oty. L. W. Th. Material Board feet I
ATop 1 23Vt 13 1 ash 2 . I 0
B Bottom 1 z5'/4 13 I ash 2.I0 I
CS i d e 2 32 13 1 ash 5.78
D Fixedshelf 1 23Vq 13 1 ash 2.I0
I
E Adjustable
shelf 1 223/e I2Vz I ash L94 I
F Drawer
front I ZZ'/4 6 1 ash .77
G Drawer
side 2 IlVz 5 1 ash .80 I
I ash .74
H Drawer
back 1 2lVq 5
rlt
I
I Drawer
bottom i 2IVq 10 plywood
J Back 1 32 24 Yd plywood I
I
I
44 I
I
I
t GRADINGLUMBER
I
I T umbergradingisa wayof evaluating
l-.i thesurface aualiwof a boardaccord-
I ing to certainitandards,takinginto
accountfactorssuchasthenumber,size
I and degreeof defectsin thewood.The
goalis to ensurethat woodworkersget
t whattheypayfor; a boardof a certain
gradeof wood boughtin Mainewill
t closelyresemble a similar-gradeboard
purchasedin New Mexico.
t At first glance,the rulesof grading
may seemarbitrary.For starters,the
I standardsaredifferentfor softwoodsand
hardwoods, the resultof the enduseof
t eachtypeof wood.Softwoodsarepri-
marilyusedin construction, soa grad-
I er may assumethat a softwoodboard
will be usedasis, with no furthersur-
t facing.Hardwoodboards,on the other
hand,arealmostalwaysplaned,cross-
I cut andrippedinto smallerpiecesto fit
a particularpieceof furniture.Addedto
that is the factthat,while thereis one
standardfor hardwoods,softwoodsare
furtherdividedinto separate groupsand
gradedaccordingto rulesestablished by
differentorganizations.
Takingthe time to becomefamiliar
with hardwoodand softwoodgrading
will pay dividends.A sound under-
standingof the gradingsystemenables
you to selectthemostappropriate board
for thejob at hand;it canalsosaveyou
money.Thereisno need,for example, to
orderlongplanksoftop-gradeFAS(or
Firstsand Seconds)lumber if mostof
the piecesof the cabinetyou intendto
build areonly threeor four feetlong.
Youwouldprobablybe betteroffbuy-
ing No. I Common,whichis consider-
ablycheaper, andwill be adequate once
you havecut out the defects.
Lumberproducersandvendorshave
long found it advantageous to study
wood typesand set rulesfor grading
to guarantee a uniform product.Oneof
theearliestilstancesof gradingoccurred
in 1764,when SvenAversdonofStock-
hohn dividedSwedishpine into four cat-
egories-best,good,commonandculls.
During the lBth Century,appearance
wasthe primary criterionfor grading
wood,but asknowledge ofwoodprop-
ertiesincreased, standardschaneedto
includestrengthandtheamountolclear
or usablewoodin eachboard.
Thebestwayto becomefamiliarwith
gradesisto visita lumberyardandexam-
ine stockfirsthand.Getto know how a
hardwoodgradelike FASdiffersfrom
No. I Common.And whenyou Select
lumber,tryto picturehow eachpart can
becutout of a boardwith theleastwaste.

I
HARDWOOD
LUMBER
GRADER'S (lFA TYPICAL
EVATUATION BOARD
I
t N0.I
COMMON
GRADE Cutting No. lt Cutting No,5:
3 t/2" x 4',/z' (15 3/+ unita) 41/2" x 41/z' (2O 1,/aunite)
t
I
I
t
I B 1/2"x 41/z' (38 1/+unita)
Cutting No.4:
6" x 5 2/a'(34 uniLe)
I
Equipped withlumber rule,penandlogbook, a professional thenumber of imaginary defect-free
cutsthatcanbemade;
I lumber grader canevaluate a hardwood boardin roughly 15 in thiscase,4.
seconds. Although thesystem is scientific,
it is notfoolproof
. 3. Determine thenumber of portions
of cuttingunits-clear
I Grading is alldonebyeye-theeyeof a human grader.
Still, lumber1"wideby 1 long-thatcanbemadefromthe4 cuts;
rigidqualitycontrolensures thatonlya verysmallpercentage in thiscase,I08y4.(lf theboardwereperfect, it wouldyield
I of boardsarenotgraded correctly. 144cutting units.)
Herearethefourbasicstepslumber graders taketo make 4. Consulta chartthatliststhequalities grades
of different
I theirassessment: andfactorin thenumber of cutting
unitsandthenumber of
L Determine thespecies andmultiply thelength bythewidth allowablecuts:A No.1 Common boardrequiresthattwothirds
I of theboard to findthesurface measure (SM)in square feet- of thetotalcuttingunitsareclear.Given thesizeof thispartic-
in theboard above, 12 inches (1 foot)x 12 feet= 12 SM. ularboard, upto 4 cutswouldbeallowed. Sincethisboard
I 2. Choose thepoorest facefromwhichto gradeandvisualize meetsbothcriteria, it justifies
thegradeNo.1 Common.

I
I 45

t
 I
HARDWOODGRADES t
I
,.{ hundredyearsago,hardwoodgrad- Commonboardneedbedefect-fi'ee. But partsrvill end up beingsmall,lower- t
:i-l ing variedfrom mill to mill, but gradingis a moresubtleart than these gradewoodisuotonlyrrrore ecortortti-
u,ith the formation of the National calculations indicate.Tr,voboardsthat cal,it mayalsobenore suitablefor the t
Hardwood LumberAssociation (NHLA) arethesamesizewith thesamenumber taskat hand-by yieldingmoreattrac-
in 1898,gradingbecame standardized. ofdefectscanendup in differentgrades: tivelyfiguredrvood. I
At first,the ruleswerebasedstrictlyon Thepositionof thedefects mtryprevent
thenumberandsizeof defects; in 1932 oneboardfrom havinglargeenough I
theywerebroadened to reflectthepro- clearcuttingsto makethehighergrade
portionof a boardthiitcanbe cut into of theotherboard. FOR
THICKNESS
STANDARD
SURFACED
HARDWOOD
t
smallerpieces, calledcuttings. These Althoughpayingmore for better-
piecesmustbe clearon onesideand gradestockn-Ieans thatyouwill endup Nominal Actual
(rough) (surfaced
I
soundon theother.Theirsizealsodeter- rvithwoodhavingfewerdefects, thismay twosides)
minesthe grade.Today'shardwood not always be theeconomicalthing to 3/au 3/rc" I
gradingstandards assume thatboards do. If your projectis relatively modest, Vr" 5/to"
trreinvariablycr,rtinto smallerpiecesto hand-pickthelumberyourselffrom a
Te' 1/rc" I
makeftrrniture;thus,gradeis basedon varietyofgrades, depending on thefturc-
a board'spoorestface,exceptin thecase tion of eachboardin the piece.Where
3/+u e/rc"
I
3/4t or r3/16t1
of Select, rvhichtakesthe board'sbest onlyonedefect-li'ee faceisialledfor,the 1'
faceinto account. selectgradeis a goodchoice.Or,for the It/4' lrAa" I
isoneofsevenstandard
Select hard- piecesofyour ftirnitureprojectthatare 1 q / n

rvoodgrades. Thetop gradeis FAS(an relativelysmall,for example,you may

Lr/z' l"/16
I
abbreviation ofFirstsandSeconds), fol- be ableto getby with No. 1 Common z', IVz"or I3/q"
lowedby Select, No. 1 Cot.nuron, No.2A sradeboards. No.2A Commonboards 3" 2Y4" I
and28 Common,andNo.3ACommon ire suitable for thepartsofprojectsin 4u 33/4'
andNo. 3B Common(clnrt, opposite). rvhichappearance is not of paramount I
No. 2A and No. 28 Corrmonarefre- imoortance. suchashiddenfurniture
quently lumped togetheras No. 2 frames.If youdo buylower-grade lum- I
Common;likewise, manyiumberyards ber,however, planon morewastewher.r
sellNo.3AandNo.38 Commontogeth- youarecalculating thenumberof board I
er asNo.3 Common. feetto order. TlresetwLtoak boordsdentort-
Thebetterthegrade,thehigherthe Of course,beautyis in theeyeof the strstetlrc rottgeof hardtood I
pefcentrge of clerrcuttiugs:B3'r per- beholder. Somecabinetmakers feelthat t , r r ( / ( ' sT. l r c l o pb o , r r ,,l' o t r l , r i r t s
centof Select boardsmustbeclearface defects suchasknotsaddcharacter to a krnts artd is classi.ficd a,sNo.2A t
only 50 percentof a No. 2
cnttir-rgs; pieceof furniture.And if mostof the Corrrrrtort; the bottotrrboartlis
defbct-fi'ce FASgrodelrurilter. I
I
t
'f"#--
I
I
I
I
I
t
I
46 I
I
I
I SELECTINGLUMBER

t
t HARDWOOD
TUMBER
GRADES
t GRADE FAS SELECT N0.1 N0.2A& 28 NO.3A NO.38
r Allowable length
C()MMON C()MMON C()MM()N C()MMON
8'-16' 6 ' , -1 6 ' 4',-L6' 4' - I6', 4' - I6', 4' - I6',
t of board
Allowable width 6" orwider 4" orwider 3" orwider 3" orwider 3" orwider 3" orwider
I of board
Minimum % of 83Vt% 83Vz% 662/s% 50% 33%% 25%
I clearfacecuttings
M i n i m u smi z eo f 3 "x 7 ' ; 3 "x 7 ' ; 3 "x 3 ' ; 3" x2', 3"x2'
I clearcuttings 4"x5' 4"x5' 4 "x 2 '
Notlessthan
172"wide
containing
36
I square
inches
Formula to determine S M + 4 SM+4 S M + l+ 3 SM+2
I number of cuts
M a x i m unmu m b e r A
+
I ^{ ^l^^. ^,.++;-^^
ur Lrtrdt uuLUilB5
5 7 Unlimited Unlimited
permitted
I
I Reading thechart
Thischart,created bytheNational Hardwood Lumber Associa- videdataon minimum board dimensions foreachgrade.The
I tron(NHLA), records theminimum requirements a board must thirdrowgivesinformation onthepercentage of defect-free
meetto merita particular grade. Generally, a higher-grade board surface,orclearfacecuttrngs, a boardmusthaveforeach
I is longer,widerandmoredefect-free thanoneof a lesser grade. grade.Theminimum sizeof eachclearfacecuttingis listed
Theclearpieces areobtained wrthasfewcutsaspossible. jn rowfour.Oncethesurface area,orsurface measure(SM),
I B yc o m p a r i n
t hged i m e n s i oonfsa b o a r w
d i t ht h ef i g u r e s of a boardis determined,theformula in row5 willgivethe
supplied in thechart,it is possrble to determine thegrade of totalnumber of cuttings
allowed fora particulargrade.Row
I a particular pieceof lumber. Thefirsttwohorizontal rowsoro- 6 containsthenumber of clearcuttingseachgradepermits.

t
Thelocation of lumber grades ona log
t Highgrades of lumber, suchasFAS
andSelect, aregenerally cutfromthe
I FA9 outerpartof the log,nearthe bark.
N o .3 C o m m ognr a d e sf o, u n dc l o s e r
9elect
I t o t h ep i t h ,a r en o ta l w a yssu i t a b l e
forcabinetmaking andarefrequenily
t N o . 1C o m m o n usedfor packing cratesor pallets.
No.2A and 2E
In some species, suchaswalnut, where
I Common coloris important, thesapwood does
notqualify astopgrade, eventhough
I N o . 3 Aa n d 3 E it maybeclear.
Common
I
I
r
I
I 47

I
 t
SOFTWOODGRADES I
I
I lthoughcabinetmakers generally gradingstandardsfrom the American be clearof defects,while boardsin the t
fI preferhardwoods, manyfinepieces Lumber StandardsCommitteein Ger- Commongradesmay containdefects
of furniturehavebeenbuilt with soft- mantown.Marvland. suchastight knots.Selectand Finish I
wood.Therearegoodreasons for using Softwoodgradingtakesboth strength stockareseasoned to a moisturecontent
hardwood's lessexpensive cousin:Soft- and appearance into account.Three of 15percentor less.Commonboards, t
woodisgenerally morereadilyavailable gradecategories-Select,Finish and usedmainlyin constructionandhome-
thanhardwood, andis easyto work. Common-are often usedfor wood- building,may haveup to a 19percent I
Pineisoneofthemostpopularchoic- working.Selectand Finishgradesmust moisturelevel.Thequalityof Common
esof cabinetmakers. Itsvarieties
include gradeboardsis furtherdividedinto cat- I
Easternwhitepine,Southern yellowpine egoriesI to 5, with the highestnumber
andspecies fromtheWest,suchassugar corresponding to the lowestgrade. I
pine,Idahowhitepineandponderosa Someboardsdisplaya gradestamp,
pine.Douglas-fir, anotherWestern soft- like the one shown on page49. The t
wood,isalsogainingpopularityasacab- stampdisplaysinformationaboutthe
inetwood.Sitkaspruce andWestem larch species,moisturecontentwhensurfaced I
aretwoothergoodchoices. and gradeof the stock.To avoid mar-
Forcabinetmaking, youshouldrestrict ring their appearance, however,l-inch- I
to grades
yourself of softwoodshownin thick boardsin the better gradesare
thechartonthefollowingpage.Remem- often not stampedaftersurfacing.The f
berthatsoftwoods aregenerally sold stampmay alsobe missingfrom lesser
S4S-thatis,planedsmoothon both gradeboardsthat havebeencut into I
facesandjointedontheedges. Andthey shorterlenghsby retaillumberdealers.
aregraded based ontheboard's bestface Keepin mind that softwoodis sold I
aftersurfacing. accordingto nominal size,or green
Unlikehardwoods, softwoods are dimensions, which is differentfrom a I
gradeddifferentlydepending on the board'sactualsize.A2-by-4,for exam-
species;thegradefor a California red- Thk Fr ench- Canadian nightstand ple, actuallymeasureslt/zby 3t/zinch- I
woodboard,for example, doesnot was built entirely with pine-an es.Thechartbelowshowsnominalsizes
applyto a pieceofponderosa pine.You attractive alternative to more of somecommonly availableboards I
canobtaininformation aboutsoftwood expensivehardwoods. alonewith their true sizeswhensufaced.
I
ANDACTUAL
NOMINAL LUMBER
S()FTWOOD SIZES I
til0MlllAt ACTUAL it0MtNAt ACTUAT
I
(rNcHES) 0r{cHEs) 0NcHES) fl1{CHES)
I
dry
Surfaced green
Surfaced dry
Surfaced Surfacedgreen
I-by-2 3/q-by-Ir/z 2s/zz-by_teAo 2-by-4 I1/z-by-3t/z Le/rc-by-3e/rc t
1-by-3 2s/sz_by_2e/rc 2-by-6 ls/$-by-5Ye
1-by-4
.3/a-by-2Vz
3/q-by-3Y2 25/sz_by_3e/rc 2-by-8
Ir/z-by-5Vz
l1/z-by-7rh Ie/rc-by-7Vz
t
1-by-6 3/q-by-51/z 2s/ez-by-5Ye 2-by-I0 lr/z-by-91/t ls/rc-by-9Vz I
1-by-8 3/q-by-7t/+ 25/sz-by-7Vz 2-by-I2 IVz-by-Ilth Ie/rc-by-Mz
1-by-10 3/q-by-9t/q 25/zz-by-91/z 3-by-4 2Vz-by-3Vz 2s/rc-by-3s/rc
I
2s/gz-by-lI1/z 4-by-4
I-by-12 3h-by-IlVt 3r/z-by-3r/z 3e/rc-by-3eAo
I
2-by-2 I|/z-by-IVz Ie/rc-by-IsAa 4-by-6 31/z-by-5r/z 3eAo-by-55/a
I
I
I
48 r
I
I
I SELECTINGLUMBER

I
I SOFTWOOD
TUMBER
GRADES
FORCABINETMAKING
t GRADES CHARACTERISTICS
I SelectB andBTR(supreme) Clearappearance andhighest quality;minordefectsandblemishes.
ldealwithclearfinishes, Notalways available;
expensive
I C Select(choice) Highquality;
smalldefects andblemishes

r D Select(quality)
SuperiorFinish
Goodquality;
Highest
defects andblemishes
qualityof finishgradelumber;
morepronounceo
minordefects
andblemishes
I PrimeFinish Highqualitywithfewdefects andblemishes
No.1 Common (colonial) Haslimitedavailabilityandsizeranges; mayhavesmalltight knots,
I makingthisgradeappropriate if a knottyappearance
is desired
No.2 Common (sterling) Larger,
coarserdefectsandblemishes;
t appearancewithstrongcharacter
oftenusedwherea knotty
is desired
I
I, DECIPHERING
A GRADE
STAMP
t Reading a grade stamp
Mostsoftwood gradestamps, likethe
r oneshown
ments.
at left,contain
A codenumber
fivebasicele-
identifiesthemill
I thatproduced theboard, andthegrade
of thewoodappears nextto thetrade-
I markof theagency thatestablished the
rulesforgrading thewood(inthiscase,
I theNortheastern Lumber Manufacturers
Association). Thespecies is alsonoted;
t sometimes morethanonespecies is
stamped ontheboard, indicating it may
I beanyof thoselisted. Finally,thesea-
soning information reflectsthemoisture
I content of thewoodat thetimeit was
surfaced: S-DRY means thattheboard
t E S TW H I T E
PINE wassurfaced afterseasoning andhasno
O R W APYt N E @ morethan19 percent moisture content;
I MC15 refers to a board witha maximum
moisture content of 15 percent; S-GRN is
a reserved forunseasoned
witha moisture
woodsurfaced
content above19 oer-
t cent.A boardthathasbeensurfaced
whilestillgreen tendsto shrink andits
I dimensions willnotbeasaccurate as
thoseof a boardthathasbeensurfaced
I afterit wasseasoned.

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LUMBERDEFECTS t
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ostlumberdefectsadversely affect Because wood doesnot shrinkuni- mon defectsareexolainedin the chart I
a board'sappearance, strength, formly in all dimensions, warpingcan belowandopposite.
workabilityor ability to takea finish. resultwhen the moisturecontentof Althoughit isvirtuallyimpossibleto I
Sometimes, however, irregularities or lumber droosbelow a certainlevel. buywoodthatis completely defect-free,
abnormalities canactually make a piece (Referto theDryingandStoringWood youcanincrease yourchances ofobtain- I
of woodmoredesirable, especially when chapter for moreinformation on prop- ing thebestlumberfor your needsby
theyproducea popular,distinctivefig- er seasoning of wood.)Somecommon your woodcareftilly(page42).
selecting I
ure like bird's-eye or burl. Of course, seasoning defectsarechecks, bow,cup, Anotherpoint to consideris that you
intendeduseis the final arbiter;what twist,crookandsplit.Keepin mind that cansalvasesomelumberwith defects if I
maybea blemishto onewoodworker is thesedefectscanalsooccurin boards you havjaccessto the necessary tools
anotherboard'ssellingpoint.Knots, for cutcloseto thepith of a log.Somecom- andlearnhow to usethem (page53). I
example,would be a significantdefect
in boardsintendedfor a tabletop,but t
theyarean essential featureof some
typesofpaneling. I
Lumberdefectsareeithernatural,
man-madeor the resultof poor sea- I
soning.All woodharborsnaturaldefects
that arecausedby growingconditions f
or qualitiesof thespecies itself.Thesame
typeof defectmaybe presentin differ- I
ent woods.Someimperfectionsare
found in all species. Looseknots,for I
example, arecausedsimplyby theway
treesgrow.Theyaretheremnants of bro- I
kenbranches thathavebecome encased
by thegrowthof newwood.Othernat- I
ural defectsincludegum in hardwoods,
oitchin softwoods andreactionwood I
in all soecies. Naturalforcessuchas
fire,wind, fungi and insectscanalso I
causedefectsin wood. A common
defectoFthissortisbluestain. Threepiecesof oak with defects:The top board shows splits, I
Several defectsoccurwhenwood is the middlepiecerevealschecksat oneend,and the bottonr
exposedto the air and allowedto dry. boerddisplaysa crook,a looseknot and reactionwood. I
I
INWO()D
DEFECTS
I
CHARACTERISTICS REMEDIES I
Appears withthesurrounding Doesnotseriously
asa whorlthatis intergrown weaken
woodtissue.Knotsformasthegirthof thetreeincreas- a board; canbecutoutor I
es,gradually envelopingthebranches.lf thebranches asappearance
are used, dictates.
stillaliveat thetimeof theirenvelopment,
grates
theknotinte- I
withthewoodin thetreetrunk
Looseor dead Appears asa whorlencircled bya darkring.Whena Removeknotsbefore
working I
branch diestheremaining stumpiseventuallyenveloped withthelumber.
bythetrunk.Butthedeadstumpcannot
a loose
it, creating
integrate
with
ordeadknot,
I
thetissue surrounding
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50 t
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I SELECTINGLUMBER
I
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CHARACTERISTICS REMEDIES
I Anaccumulationonthesurface of theboardor in oock- Donotusewherea quality
t etswithintheboard.Usually
suffered
develops
an injury,exposure
whena treehas
to fireor insectattack.
finishis required,
bleedthrough
asgumwill
mostfinishes.
t
Lengthwise
I ruptures
allycaused
orseparations
in thewood,usu-
byrapiddrying.Maycompromisestrength
Canbecut off.

andappearance
of board.
I
I
I
,V Anend-to-end
byimproper
curvealongtheface,usually
storage
of lumber.Introduces
caused
internar
Flattenbowedboardson
thejointer(page55),or cut
stresses
in thewoodthatmakeit difficultto cut. intoshorterpieces,
thenuse
thejointer.
I An edge-to-edgecurveacross theface,usuallycaused Cupmaycorrect itselfif both
whenonefaceof a boarddriesmorequicklythanthe
I other.Common ontangentially cutstock,on boards
facesareallowed
thesamemoisture
to dryto
content.
cutcloseto the pith,or if onefaceof a boardhasless Cupped boardscanbesal-
I contactwiththeairthantheother. vagedonthe bandsaw(page
54) or jointer(page55).
t Uneven or irregular
warping whereonecorneris not Boardcanbesalvaged on
alignedwiththeothers.Resultsfromuneven dryingor joinler(page55),or cut into
I a crossgrainpattern
thatis notparallel
to theedge. shorterboards.
I
End-to-end
curvealongtheedge,caused by incorrect Boardcanbesalvaged
I seasoning
or havingthepithof a logcloseto theboard onjointerortablesaw
edge.Weakensthewood,makingit unsuitable for (page55).
I weight-bearing
applications.

t Similar to checks, appearing

asseparations
along Boardcanbe used,butsplit
thegrowth rings.Alsoknownasringcheckor ring maymartheappearance of
I shank.Results fromimproperdryingof woodor thewood,becomingmore
fellingdomage. noticeable
whenstainis
t applied.
Appearsasa darkstreakacrossthefacesoredgesof Remove machine burnwith
I lumber.
Occurs whenplaner knives
aredullorspin jointer(page53) or sander.
on onepartof boardfor toolong.
I
r Appearsasa discoloration
of thesurface on otherwise Conceal
witha darkstain.
normal-looking
wood.Results frommoldsthatflourish
I whenlumberis driedorstoredin warm,moistor poorly
ventilated
conditions.
Species likehollyandEnglish
I sycamoreareproneto bluestain.

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SELECTINGLUIV{BER I
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()FUNEVEN
THESTRESS GROWTH I
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Recognizing reaction wood
Reaction wood, shown above, ischarac- i l r r i i l i i rl i r i l i l
I
llil illt il{l ll{tlltl lill llll llll lill llll lltr llll llll
terizedby itscompressed
andsilvery, lifeless color.
growthrings
lt occurs when
llj lll ill {il ul irJi$ i$ ut iil ul ul i$ ul ul {Ij ru ui I
a t r e et r u n kh a sa p r o n o u n c ceudr v e ,
asoftenhappens whena treegrows on 1HO?TI? I
a sloneThisdefect canalsobeseenin
boards cutclose to thepithof a trunk. Checkinglumberfor lwist I
Warpedboardscan somelimeebetouqhI'o recoqnize, but you can
Working withreaction
lemsforthewoodworker;
woodposes
because
prob-
it has epoltwieled,olockquicklywit.hlheatdof ohop-made
CuI Nwonarrowboard,a
windinqslicks.
Io a lenqlhthatr ie trwicet'hewidLhof lhe
r
different shrinkage properties thannor-
malwood,the internal stresses in the
board Nobe tested.I eI Lheboard f acedownon a workLable,then
placebhewinding elickeaL bolh endo,Varallel to eachot'her.3i4hl
I
board cancause a sawblade to bindand acroo;Ihe t opeof Nheet tcks.Yourboardie twieted if NheLopo
k i c kb a c kW . h e nt h ew o o di s c u t o r of the slicks are noNperfectlyaligned.
I
s a n d e di t, h a sa f u z z ys u r f a caen d
absorbs stainunevenly. Bending reaction I
woodorplacing anyIoadonit maycause
it to break across thegrain. I
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I
I PREPARING
I
I hefirstjobin a cabinetmaking pro-
jectinvolves
preparing yourstock.If
I youowna jointer,a planeranda table
saqyoucandotheworkyourself.
I Whetherto construct alargecabinet
or a miniaturejewelrybox,lumberis
I generallyprepared in thesameway.The
procedures youfollowdependon how
I the wood was surfacedbeforeyou
boughtit. Forroughboards, youstart
I by smoothing onefaceon thejointer,
thenoneedge. Thiswill giveyouadjoin-
I ingsurfaces thatareperfectlysquare to
eachother.Next,passthesecond face
I througha planersothatthefacesare
parallel.Nowyoucanrip yourboards
I to widthandcrosscut themto lengh.
ForS2Slumber,whichhasalready
t hadbothfacessurfaced, youneedonly
LUMBER
passoneedgeacrossthejointer,thenrip
and crosscut.S4Swood,with all four
surfaces dressed.canbe cut to width and
lengthimmediately;only edgesthatwill
be gluedtogetherneedto bejointed.
Althoughlumberwith defectsshould
be avoided,you may find yourselfwith
a few warpedboardsyou do not want
to discard.Severalsimpletechniques for
salvagingdefectivestockareshownon
pages54and55.A cuppedboardcanbe
ripped into severalnarrowerpieces,in
effectflatteningthe curveinto stripsthat
can be jointed. A crookedor bowed
boardcanbe salvaged on thejointer by
graduallycutting awaythe high spots. Forsurfacinga boardface,push
And a simplejig canbe usedwith the blockshelpto keepstockflat and
tablesawto transforma boardwith an your handssafe.Lateralpressure
unevenedgeinto a squarepiece. keepstheedgeagainstthefence.

I
r SURFACING
STOCK

t
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I Jointing
a board
Seta cuttingdepthbetweenlAaand7einch.Jointa board faceasshownin the
I photoabove. To jointan edge,feedthestockslowly across thecutterhead,
making surethattheknivesarecuttingwiththegrain(page 29).While feeding
I theworkpiece overtheknives,usea hand-over-hand
motion to keepdownward
pressureonthepiecejustto the outfeed
sideof the cutterhead,maintaining
I pressureagainst
thefence.Continue thesemovements untilyoufinishthecut.

I
I 53
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LUMBER
SELECTING I
t
Planing stock I
Seta cuttingdepthupto %ainch.Stand
to onesideof the olaneranduseboth I
handsto feedthestockcarefully into
themachine, keepingthe boardedges I
parallelto theedgesof the planertable.
Oncethe machine gripsthe boardand I
beginspullingit acrossthecutterhead,
support thetrailingendto keepit flaton I
the table(right).Asthe cut progresses,
moveto the outfeedsideof the olaner I
andsupport the piecewithbothhands
untilit clearstheoutfeed roller.lf you I
aremaking severalpassesto reduce the
board's thickness,planethesameamount I
of woodfrombothfaces.Thiswillmini-
mizewarping. I
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WARPED
SALVAGING LUMBER
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Rippingcupped stockintonarrow
boards
Thistechnique forsalvagingcuppedboards involvestheband boards.Tomakea cut,settheboardconvex (high)sideup on I
saw,but you canachieve thesameresultwitha tablesawor a thetableand,buttingthe boardagainst thefence,feedit
radialarmsaw.lf youareusinga bandsaw,installyourwidest steadilyintothe blade(above).
Makesurethatneither handis I
bladeandsetup a ripfenceonthemachine's table.Setthe in linewiththecutting thecutwitha pushstick.
edge.Finish
widthof cut;thenarrower thesetting,
theflattertheresulting Remove anyremaining highspotson thejointer(page55). I
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54 t
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I SELECTINGLUMBER

t
I JOINTING ()RBOWED
CROOKED STOCK
I Jointing concave andconvex surfaces
Thediagrams at leftshowhowto
"straighten
I out"crooked boards onthe
jointer.Theseverity of thedefectsis
I greatly exaggerated forclarityin theillus-
tration; extreme crookshould bestraight-
I enedon a tablesawasshownbelow, 0n
thejointer, theideaisto passthehigh
I spotonthe board's edgerepeatedly across
thecutterhead untiltheedgeis straight.
I 7 Fortheconvex,
(left,above),
or outward-bowing, edge
passthehighspotat the
I middleof the boardacross theknives as
manytimesasnecessary (cutsI and2).
I Avoid"nose-diving," or allowing thelead-
ingedgeto rideupduringthecut.When
I thesurface is f lat,makea finalpass
alongtheentireedge(cut3).Toflatten
I theconcave, or inward-bowing, edge(/eff,
joint
below), oneendof theboardas
I manytimesasnecessary (cuts1 and2),
thenturntheboard around to reoeatthe
5
I :
process at the otherend (cuts3 and4).
Thisoperation is similar to basicjoint-
I 5 : i n g ,e x c e pt th a ty o uo n l yc u tt h eh i g h
spotat thetrailingendof theboard. Start
I thecutwiththeleading endof the board
an inchor soabove tablelevel.Feed
I llltflt]llllilltflltllltllltillttlllillll]IlilllflllilI]ultt][ltllll]ll the piecetowardthecutterhead
onlythetrailing endin contact
with
withthe
I infeedtable.Whenthedeepest partof
5HO?TI? theconcave edgeis above theknives,
I 5trai6hteningout
lowertheleading endof theboardonto
theoutfeed tableandcomplete thepass.
an unevenedge
I EvenouLlhe edgee
Oncethesurface is even,makea final
passthelenghof theboard(cut5).
of a crookedboardon
I the Lablesaw wiNha Flattening bowed stockis simrlar to face
ohop-made jiq. CUN jointing: withtheboard concave facedown,
I a pieceof 3/+-inchply- makeasmanypasses asnecessary to
woodwiLhpertectly remove thehighspotsneartheends.Use
I paralleledqeo.?laceNheboard pushblocks to keepyourfingers safely
oquarelyon to? of Nheplywood, with the awayfromthecutterhead.
I unevenparNoverhanging
againotNhetrailinq
oneedqe.tsult etop blocke
endandedqeoftheboardas shown,then screw
t NheblockeNoNheplywood. AtLachNoggle clampeto Ihe blocksand
preeeIhe clampodownNoeecurethe boardto the jiq. 1et Ihe width
-oliae
of cuI equalNo'Nhewidth of rhe Vlywoodpieceand *,e iiq acro*e
I lhe eawtable,cuttin4 the edqeof Nheboardetraiqht.

I
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I \TENE,ERSATD
I
I IIRED BOARDS
I
I
he time-honoredtechniqueof arrayof appealingconfigurations-her-
I veneering cantransforma simple ringboneand reverse-diamond among
cabinetdoor into a flamboyantburstof others.Theycanalsotakefull advantage
I colorandgrain,an unassuming pieceof of suchbeautifulbut unstablewoodcuts
furniture into a seamless work of art. ascrotchandburl, whichareimpossi-
I And thoughwood veneershaveshifted bleto work with in solidform.
in and out offavor overthe centuries, Theold masters veneered overa sol-
I woodworkershaveusedthem to mar- id-woodbase,or substrate, usinghot
r velouseffectsincetheancientEgyptians
embellished objectswith thin sheetsof
gluemadefrom animalhides,bloodand
bones.Theysmoothedthe veneerand
preciouswoods.In the lBth and early pressedout air bubbleswith special
I l9th Centuries,fineveneers becamethe hammers. Whilehammer-veneering is
hallmarkof sophisticated, high-style Decorativematching of veneerscan still practiced,today'scraftsmenmay
I furniture. Largeswathsof distinctive createunusual qnd breathtakingeffects, choosea moremodernveneerpress;
wood veneerscoveredtabletops;mar- such as the natural grain figure theycanalsochoosefrom a muchwider
I quetrypictures-delicatepatternsmade featured in this Victorian davenport. selectionof gluesand substrates. The
by aligningpiecesofveneerand inset- gluemaybean aliphatic-or plastic-resin
I ting them in the surroundingwood-decoratedall manner type;the substrate maybe anyoneof a numberof manufac-
ofcabinetry. turedboards,mostpopularlyplyvood,particleboard or medi-
I Veneering declinedwith the adventof productionmachin- um-density fiberboard.Theintroductionof thesemanufactured
ery in the l9th Century,only to reboundonceagainin the boardsrevolutionized furnituredesign:Because the boards
I early20thCenturywith advances in manufactured boardtech- aredimensionallystable-they neitherswellnor shrink with
nologyand improvedadhesives. As materialscontinueto seasonal changes in humidity-traditional frame-and-panel
I improve,veneeringmakesmore sensethan ever.Furniture designscanbe replacedby largeunbrokenveneeredsurfaces.
that wouldbe prohibitivelyexpensive to craftfrom solidexot- Of thevarietyof manufactured boards,cabinetmakersprob-
I ic woodscanbeveneered with thesamewoodsat a muchmore ablymakethemostuseof plpvood,itselfa productof veneer
reasonable cost. construction.Plywoodis availablein manygradesfor many
I And, of course,veneeringtodayoffersthe sameesthetic uses;always buythebestyou canafford.Cabinet-grade hard-
advantages it alwayshas.With veneers, woodworkersarefree wood pllwood, whichis alreadyfacedwith attractiveveneers,
I to createstunninggrainpatternswith suchtechniques asbook- is a cost-effective alternativeto solidwood-ideal for such
matchingor slip-matching;they canarrangeveneersin an projectsaswallandfloor cabinets, bookcasesanddrawerfronts.
I
I
I
Manufacturedboardsofferthesolidityof hardwoodalongwithgreater
I dimensional stability.Clockwisefrom lowerleft is a samplingof the
mostp op ular cabinetmaking typ es: softwood plnv ood, medium-den-
I sityfiberboard,particleboard,hardboardandBalticbirchplywood.

I 57

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\ / eneerrevolutionizedfurniture- stylesof theLouisXV periodin themid- servedboth the furnitureandconstruc- I

V makingasfarbackas2000sc,when 1700sfostereda demandfor kingwood, tion industries.
theEgyptians handsawed thin sheets
of tulipwood,purpleheartand rosewood Almostasfragileasan eggshell and I
wood and then adheredthem to thick- veneers, whilethefuts andCraftsmove- burstingwith thewarmthandopulence
er backingswith animalglueand heat- mentof thelate1800signitedacrazefor ofexotic hardwoods,veneersareavail- I
edsandbags. Veneeringsoondeveloped marquetrybasedon mahogany, walnut ablein morethan200varieties, some
into a refinedart andbecamea hallmark and satinwoodveneers. By the turn of cutasthin as%ooinch.Someof themost I
of many furniture stvles.The rococo the 20thCentury.modernveneermills popularvarieties arelistedbelow.
I
A GATLERY
OFCOMM()N
DECORATIVE
VENEERS I
VENEER ANDFIGURE
COTOR AVAILABLE
CUTS SUPPLY TEXTURE
ANDWORKAEILITY
I
Avodi16 Goldenyellow
mottled
to gold;
figure
cut
Quarter Plentif
uI Medium
Stains
textured;
unevenly
easy
towork. t
B l a c kw a l n u t Lightgray-brown
to darkpurple- butt,flat,
Crotch, Plentif
uI Medium texture;graindifficult I
brown;striped
figure quarter
cut,burlcut to work.Takesf inishwell
Brazilian to violetandblackto
Chocolate Flatcutand Rare Medium texture and I
rosewood brick-red;
stripedf igure nil2rf cr arrt oily;difficultto work.
Resists finish I
elm
Carpathian Brickredorgreenish-brown
to light Burl P l e n tui fl Medium texture;
easyto
tan;burlfigure work.Takesfinishwell I
lmbuia Richchocolateto olive-brown
and B u r lf,l a tc u ta n d Rare Medium texture;
easyto
gold;burlandstriped figures rotarycut work.Takesfinishwell I
Lacewood Silvery pinkto reddish-brown, cut,flat
Quarter Moderate Medium texture;
easyto
(Silky-oak) f leckf igure work.Takesfinishwell I
Mahogany Lightpinkto reddish-brown, cut,flatcut,
Quarter P l e n tui fl Coarsetexture,
difficult
striped
andfiddlebackfigures erninh hrrfi to work.Takes
finishwell I
Maple Creamy whitesapwood
withtan Quartercut,flatcut, P l e n tui fl Finetexture;
difficultto
heartwood;
curlyandbird's- crotch,rotary,burl work.Takesfinishwell I
eyefigures
Myrtle Goldenbrownto yellowish-green; Burl Moderate Finetexture;moderately t
burl mottled
andburlfigures difficultto work.Takes
f i n i s hw e l l I
0live Creamywhitewithdarkbrown B u r ls, t u m p Rare Coarsetexture;
easyto
ashburl streaks;
burlfigure work.Takesfinishwell I
Peanvood Rosycream;straight-grained
figure, cut,flat cut
Quarter Rare Finetexture;
easyto work.
sometimes
curly Takesfinishwell I
Purpleheart Deeppurplewithlightgraysap- cui,flatcut
Quarter Plentif
ul Coarse
texture;
hardto work.
(Amaranth) wood;stripedfigure Takes
f inishwell I
Sapele Reddishbrown; mottled
anc cut
Quarter Moderate Mediumtexture;easyto work.
ribbonstripefigures Takes
f inishwell I
Ceylon yellow;
Golden mottled
figure Flatcut,quarter
cut Rare Finetexture;easyto work.
satinwood Takesf inishwell I
Yew Warmorange
burlfigure
withdarkerstreaks; Flatcut Rare Finetexture;
Takes
easyto work.
f inishwell
I
Zebrawood Creambackground
lines;striped
withdarkbrown
figure
Quarter
cut Rare Medium texture;
moderately
ficultto work.Takes
dif-
f inishwell
I
I

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I VENEEITS
AN I) N{I\NUI:A(]'I'LI
II.EDI]OARDS
I
I WH E RVE
E NEERS
ORIGINATE
ONA TREE
I
I Birds'-eye
mapleveneer Mahogany crotch veneer

I
I \
I
I
I Crotch veneer
ili,i. ir'r itt iiii rll;.,i 1,.,1

I 1 1 , ' i I l ' I a :a : ' )i l i i ' : ' it iriir Iiii'rai-:

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

: , r 1 1 1 1 ' 11 1r 1 1 ; 1 1 1 . r1i 1l .i i 1 . f f l .
I
Carpathian
elmburl veneer
I
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t
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Eurl veneer
I i.i,1 i't:tii i i t ' i . i i . i ; 1 t . , , l i i, ' : i 'i ' 1 1 . ; 1 , ,
i.,i f i' i i i., f a-.I i. i I ra:,:::t,l,i i, -rr'r| :. a i-.1.i a-,ri a :

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

, l/.:'1
/l'ii rir. ;:,.;i i :: f:, 1 ::ri.,ti-ia a'\art ii-

I t r . l r ' , . 1 t t a r a , ; i r i' ,. ,- ' , 1i i i i i , , ' : . i . , ,

I Europeanbeechveneer Walnutbutt veneer

t
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Flat-cut veneer Eutt veneer
I |
: a.,) r , L , i - i r - t l i t l i i r l ' : ' . i . i , i i i ; . : . i r i i . : r r j i..
.; ;: I r':, : 1-.ii,. | )a.t| 1... i | |, ri i:'tti,:j. a)f a
-i.raa:
liiei,i', i'i;ittr:,,..i.
I r,),\,a.a.l..itli1.,rri t .i.:.,.jtl .j a,,\.::11.. at' l'-ll)itt t:j i.',r i:.,tr;i irii.,,n.:j

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FROMLOGTO VENE,ER t
I
1'\ nceitsbarkisstrippedaway, a log I
\J .un be cut into veneerin oneoi VENEER-CUTTING
METH(lDS
threervays: sawcutting,rotarycutting I
or flat slicing.Sawcutting,whichgoes
backto theearly19thCenti"rry, employs Rotary autting
UsedLo cut con'
I
hugecircularsawsto rip stripsof veneer etruction plywood
from logs.Althoughnot asefficientas and eomedecora' I
othertechniques, sawcuttingis still used tive veneeraguch
to producesomecrotchveneers from ao btrd'o-eyemaple I
irregularly grainedor densewoodssuch
asebony. t
Rotarycuttingand flat slicingcan
produceveneers asthin as7sto l,/rzoinch
Half-round autting
A method used for
I
andaslongasI B feet.In rotarycutting, burlaand aome
a log mountedin a hugelatherotates decorattveapectea I
againsta presslu€ barwhilea razor-sharp
knife oeelsoff a continuoussheetof I
veneeithelengthof thelog.Fir plp,vood,
aswellassomedecorative veneers such I
asbird's-eye maple,arenormallyrotary
cut.Half-round,rift andbackcutting
Eack cutting
A rotary cutting
I
arevariations thatproduceveneerfrom method that. yielde
half-lossratherthanwholeones. buLLand croLch I
In flatslicing,a half-logisheldontoa veneer9
framethatswingsr-rpanddownagainst I
a stationaryhorizontaiknife;a sliceof
veneeris removedwith everydown- I
stroke.FIatslicingproduces crown-cut Flat eliaing
veneers. A typeof flat slicingknownas Uaedto makecrown- I
quarter-clrt slicingisusedon woodsthat cut veneer?;pro'
displaya strikingfigurewhenquarter- duceaveneerawiLh
repeatinqfigure thaL
I
sawn,asin sapeie, whiteoakor lacewood. facrltLaf,eabook'
matchingand oLher I
decorative effects
I
Quarber-auialiaing I
Uaedto cut decora-
f,tveveneerg,auch
ae ribbon,atripe
I
and flake,that are
obtarnedfrom quar' I
Lereawnloqe
t
Ri{t cutting
I
Yieldeveneerwtth
the raye at rou7hly I
45" to the eurface;
Flat-slicedsheetsof verteermove uoedprimarilyon
whiLeoak
I
nlortgtt conveyorfor drying tud
storagehr n vetreer.fnctory. I
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60 I
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I
I VENEERSAND MANUFACTUREDBOARDS

I
I VENEER
TYPES
ANDSIZES
I
VENEER
TYPE stzEs AVAILABLE
SPECIES
I Rnienr nr rl Length
upto 10 feet;widthfrom8 to 36 inches Bird's-eye maple, bubinga,
Douglas-f
ir,
masur birch
I Flat-sliced Length
3 to 16 feet;widthfrom4 to 24 inches Ash,Brazilian rosewood,cherry,
maple, oak,teak
I Quarter-cut Length
3 to 16 feet;widthfrom3 to 12 inches Avodi16, mahogany, oak,Queensland
maple, sapele, satinwood,
zebrawood
I Buttandsiump lrregulardimensions.
Sheet sizesvaryfrom10 x 36 M a p l ew, a l n u t
to 18 x 54 inches;
averagesheetsize12 x 36 inches
I
Crotch Length from18to 54 inches;widthfrom10to 24 Amburana,
mahogany,
walnut
t inches;averagesheetsize72 x 36 inches
Burl lrregulardimensions.
Sheet sizesvaryfrom8 x l0 to Carpathian
elm,English
oak,madrone,
I 18 x 54 inches;averagesheet size16 x 24 inches myrtle,
oliveash,redwood,
thuya,
walnut

I
I SH()P.MADE
VENEER
t
T
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t
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I
1t Settine
upthecut
t -
I T o c u t v e n e eor n t h e b a n ds a w ,f i r s tm a k ea p i v o tb l o c kf r o mt w o p i e c e so f
w o o dj o i n e di n a T , w i t h t h e o u t e re n d o f t h e s h o r t epr i e c et r i m m e dt o f o r ma
I r o u n d e dn o s e .I n s t a l al 3 / q - i n c rhe s a wb l a d eo n t h e s a wa n d i n s t a l l t h er i p f e n c e
o n t h e t a b l e .S c r e wt h e p i v o tb l o c kt o t h e f e n c es o t h a t t h e r o u n d e dt i p i s a l i g n e d
I w i t h t h e b l a d e .P o s i t i o tnh e f e n c ef o r t h e w i d t ho f v e n e eyr o uw a n t( a b o v e )I ,y p i -
c a l l yr / ei n c h .l f t h e s t o c ky o ua r ec u t t i n gi s r e l a t i v e ltyh i n ,c l a m pa f e a t h e r o o a r o
I t o t h et a b l et o s u p p o ritt d u r i n gt h e c u t .

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I 6l

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 I
VENEERSAND MANUFACTURED BOARDS T
I
I
t
I
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I
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I
I
T
I
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I
I
I
I
r) Cutting theveneer
L f eeatheworkpiece intotheblade t
withbothhands,
against
keeping thestockflush
thetip of the pivotblock(abovd.
Illlllltllllllllllllllltllltllllllullltllllilltlllllllliltllllllltlltl r
To prevent the bladefromdriftingoff
line,steerthetrailing endof thework- 1HO?TI? t
piece. Neartheendof thecut,move to
thebackof thetablewiththesawstill
)alvaqin6 warped veneer I
Crotchand burlveneerz
r u n n i ntgo f i n i s ht h ep a s sH. o l d i nt gh e eomelimesbecome ---1,
stocksquare against thepivotblock, warpedand bril-
I
oullit oasttheblade. Nle,the reeulLof
aqinqor improVer T
oNorage.Io flatten
the eheeNe, dampen I
them ueinga e?on7e
moisNened wiNhwarmwaf,er I
and elackthemon a pieceof Vly-
woodwilh lwo or Nhreesheelo of newopaperbetweeneach I
slice.Tlacea heavyweiqhl,suchas a concreleblock,on top.
Let,theveneero sitfor a day or two.Wrapthe sheetsin Vlao- I
tic and eloreLhemundera weiahluntilvou needthem.
I
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62 I
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t
T VENEERING
I
I I pplyingveneeris like woodwork-
A ing in reverse. Insteadofstarting
I with a board,thencuttingandsanding
it down to its finished dimensions.
I veneeredpiecesarebuilt up alayerata
time. Beglnningwith a substrate-or
I base-of solidwood or a manufactured
panel,you gluebandingto theedges and
I thenwiderpiecesof veneerto bothfaces.
With a plywoodbase,orientthegrain
I ofthe veneersothat it is perpendicular
to the grain of the plywood,and both
I facesof theplyr,voodmustbeveneered to
preventcupping. (Neverapplyveneer
I overfir plywood,because the grainof
the fir canbe seenthroughthe veneer.)
I With a hardwoodbase,veneershould
be appliedparallelto the grain.
I Furniture-qualityparticleboardand
medium-densityfiberboardalsomake
I goodsubstrates for veneering.Sincethese
materialshaveno grain (theyaremadeof
T
I
VENEERING
TOOTS
I Veneerpreaa
For preeain7 veneerdown on a subatrate
I paneLfeaturea a base,pipe clampe,pipe
ClamPgaddlea and veneer
I preaa clampa.Componenta
are bouqht.aaa kit and
aaaembledby uaer to auit
I dimenaioneof panel
woodparticlespressed togetherwith an
adhesive),
you may arrangethe veneer
on thepanelsanywayyouwish.But the
lackofa graindirectionis alsoa disad-
vantage:Neitherof theseproductsis as
strongasplywood,andanyjoints cut in
Specificallydesignedfor cutting veneer,
a yeneersaw is usually usedin
tandem with a guide block or a
straightedgeto ensurestraight cuts.
them must be reinforcedwith splines
madeof someothermaterial.
Brittleveneers mustbeappliedovera
thickerunderlayveneersuchaspoplar.
Alwayscut the veneerlargerthan the
actualsizeneeded,allowingan overhang
of aboutlz nchall thewayaround.The
overhangis trimmed offlater.
If you arepressingdown veneerthe
traditionalway-with a veneerham-
mer-use hideglue,whichis reheatable.
Otherwise, whiteglueisyourbestchoice.
Whicheveradhesive you employ,it will
beeffectiveonlyifthe veneeris flat,clean
and dry.
Asshownin thissection,veneercan
alsobe presseddown in a veneerpress.
Newercommercialvacuumpresses fea-
ture a pump that sucksthe air out of
a plasticbag that surroundsthe sub-
strateandveneer,allowingatmospheric
pressure to hold theveneerin place.
Veneeraaw
For trimmin4 and cutting
veneer;ite curved blade,
offaet handleand thin,
eharp-tipped teeth
enaureclean

I
I
t Veneertape
A thin, etronq, perforated
I tape ueed forjoinin7 pieceo
of veneerbefore qluin4
I
Veneerhammer
T For preoeing veneer
down on a subatrate
paneLpuahedalonq the
T Hand roller
aurface likea equeeqee.
Featurea three workin4
A hard rubber roller uaed to
I apply edqe bandin4to the
aurfacea for veneeraof
varyinq widtha
edgee of eubetraLe panele
I
I
I 63
I
 I
VENEERSAND MANUFACTURED BOARDS I
I
APPLYING
VENEER I
'l Gluing downedgebanding T
I Cutfourstripsof banding fortheedges
ofthesubstrate oanelfromthesameveneer I
youwilluseforthefaces.Makethestrips
overlap thepaneledges byabout% inch, I
a n db es u r et h e i g
r r a i nw i l lr u na l o n tgh e
edges, ratherthanacross them.Secure I
thepanelin a vise,thenapplya thinbead
of glueto anedge.Usea smallbrushto I
spread theadhesive evenly, thencenter the
banding overtheedge.Laya stripof wax
paperoverthebanding andthen,using
t
woodpadsto protect theedgeandfaces, I
clampthebanding downwiththree-way
c l a m p ss,p a c i ntgh e ma t 6 - t o 8 - i n c h T
intervals, untilthegluedries. Tighten each
clampin turn(right)until a thingluebead I
squeezes out.Trimtheexcess banding
(step2), thenrepeat fortheotheredges. I
I
T
I
I
T
I
llllilI]rll1
llllllljilltllllilIllll llllljlllllllll lllllll r]I1
IIJllll t
r") Trimming excess banding
gHO?TI? I
L Once thegluehasdried,holdthe Cutting edge banding
panelon edgeon a worksurface. Butt Tocut severaleNriVeof
*..o.si I
far S\
thebackof a veneer saw against the veneeredgebandinqin one
endof the panel with itsteeth on the operaLion, slack Lhemone t
banding. Firmlydrawthesawtoward alop Nheobher,edqeoaligned,
youto,trimawaytheexcess banding beNween Lwopieceoof l/+-inchply- I
hbovd. Make sure the back of thesaw wood.Tackthetwo plywoodpieceo
f lush
remains against the face of the Noqebher wilh finishinqnailoplacedalonq I
panelthroughout thecut. Turn the pan- Ihe edqeo;be sureihe nailNipedo not perto-
el around and repeat on the other side. rale trhebandinqor ?aeeLhrouqhthe boIbom
pieceof plywood.MarkcuLlinqlineofor lhe bandingon the
I
Excess banding canalsoberemoved
Loppieceof Vlywood,Ihen cut alonqNhelineeon a Nableeaw
witha laminate trimmer(page68). or bandeaw.be carefulnol lo cul alonalhe lineof nails.
I
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64 I
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I
T VENEERS
AND MANUFACTURED
BOARDS
I
I Edging
thefaceveneer
T h ee d g e so f a d j o i n i n gs h e e t so j
I veneer mustbe perfectly square if the
twopieces areto butttogether properly.
I Tosquare them,youwillneeda shoot-
ingboard. Cutthreepieces of 3/rinch
I plywood slightly longer thantheveneer.
0 n ep i e c es h o u l d
b ew i d ee n o u gtho
T holdtheothertwopieces ontopand
thewidthof theplanelyingon itsside.
I Place thetwopieces of veneer faceto
faceandsandwich thembetween the
I toptwoplywood pieces sothat the edges
of theveneer arealigned andprotrude
I byabout\/einch.Setthesandwich on
topof thethird,widerboard andclamp
T theentireassembly to a worksurface.
Runtheplanealong theshooting board
I fromoneendto theotherto trim off
the projecting veneer. Makesureyou
I keepthesoleof theplane flushagainst
theedges of thetop plywood pieces
I duringthe cut (left).

I
I
I Taping veneer sheets together
lf youarepressing downyourveneer
I sheets witha veneer hammer, gluethem
in placeindividually (step5). lf youare
I applyrng morethanonesheetof veneer to
a panelfaceandusinga veneer press to
T holdthemdown,tapethesheets together
andgluethemdownasa unit.Alignthe
I sheetsedge-to-edge on a worksurface,
arranging themgood-side upto produce
T a visually interesting pattern. lf thereare
gapsbetween adjoining sheets, trimthe
I edges ona shooting board, Thecombined
l e n g t ah n dw i d t ho f t h ev e n e esrh o u l d
I exceed thedimensions of thepanelby
aboulr/zinch.Onceyouhavea satjsfac-
T toryarrangement, moisten a fewlengths
of veneer tapewitha water-dampened
I sponge. Tapethesheets together across
theirjoints at 6- to 8-inchintervals, then
I applya stripof tapealongeachjoint
(right).Press thetapef irmlyin place
I witha handroller,

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I 65

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 T
VENEERSAND MANUFACTURED BOARDS I
T
t
T
I
VENEER-TRIMMING JIG
Cutsheetsof veneer to widthquick- t
ly andaccurately on a routertable
wiihthetrimming jig shownat right. T
Referto the illustration forsuggest-
ed dimensions. I
Cutthebaseof thejig from%-
incfiplywood andthetop piecefrom I
hardwood. Choose a boardwith a
slightbowforthetoppiece,if possi- I
ble;applying clamping pressure near
theendsof the boardwillflattenit, I
producing uniformpressure against Toppiece
11/2"x4"x30"
the base.Thetop pieceshouldbe I
slightlylonger thanyourveneer sheets
andthe baseat least12 inches I
longer.Screwwoodblocksto the
basesoihe top piecewillfit snugly I
between them.Thenscrewa toggle
clampto eachwoodblock. I
To usethejig, installa flush-cut-
tingbit witha bearing guideon a I
router,andmountthetoolin a router
table.Placetheveneer to betrimmed I
between the baseandtop pieceof
thejig asyouwouldwhentrimming I
witha shooting board(page65).l{ake
surethesheetsprotrude fromthejig I
by 7s inch,thenpressthetoggle
clampsdownon thetop pieceto t
securetheveneer sheetsto thejig.
Position the fenceto seta cutting I
widthof 7einch.(Caution: Guard
andfenceremoved for clarity.)Turn T
ontherouterandslidethejig across
thetable(right,below), trimmingthe I
veneer flushwiththeedgeof thejig.
Besureto keepthejig buttedagainst I
thefencethroughout theoperation.
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66 I
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I
I VENEERSAND MANUFACTURED BOARDS

T
I f, Gluing downtheveneer
r-,1Setthesubstrate panelfaceupon
t a worksurface andspread ona thinlayer
of gluewitha smallbrushor handroller
I (right).Donotapplyadhesive directly
r ;l u ew i l l m a k ej t c u r l .
t o t h ev e n e e g
I Remember to usewhiteglueif youare
working witha veneerpress(step6);
I choose hideglueif youareusing a veneer
hammer(step7). Handling theveneer
t gently, center thesheets overthepanel.lf
youtapedveneer sheets together, set
I themtaped-side up.Makesuretheveneer
overhangs theedges of thepanelevenly.
I
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T
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t Pressing in position
theveneer witha veneerpress
lf youareusinga veneerpress,assemble thedevice
follow- veneered facedownwitha stripof waxpaperbetween theveneered
I ingthemanufacturer's instructions.Makesurethespacing faceof thepanelandthebase.Protect theupperfaceofthepan-
between thepipeclampsaddles is slightly
longer
thanthe el withwoodpads.Tightenthepressclamps oneat a time(above)
I length of thepanel.
Setthepanelonthebaseof thepress, untila thingluebeadsqueezes outfromunder thepanel.
I
I 67

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 I
VENEERS
AND MANUFACTURED
BOARDS I
I
T
I
T
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I
I
I Pressing in position
theveneer t
/ witha veneer hammer
lf youareusinga veneer
hammer, setthegluedpanel veneered I
faceup on a worksurface.Buttwoodscraps against
theends
of thepanelasstopblocks,thenscrew themin place. Holding I
thehammer withbothhands, worktheheadof thetoolback
andforthovertheveneer, pressingdownf irmlyandfollowing I
thegrain.Toeliminatebubblesorto smooth outsections
that
havenotstuckproperly, meltthegluebyrunning a household I
ironovertheveneer,thenpress downagain withthehammer.
I
Trimming theexcess
Oncethesluehascured-2hours I
l]liilflllllt]l]I]IlllltfirlllltilIlIr]llfilll1
lll]ilIlu[tll]rll]llll i s t h et y p i c awl a i t i n p
ge r i o d - t r i m
t h ev e n e et rh a tp r o l e c tbse y o ntdh e t
f:np n f tLh' r ou n : n p l vRL p
v uel rt rr . ^ +L lhl C^ ^ ^ ^ ^ l
5HO?TI? veneered-face
lJuilur.

up on a worksurface,
Pdlltrl

T
Veneeringa p o s i t i o n i ns g
t o pb l o c kas sy o uw o u l d
aurvedsurfaae whenusinga veneer hammer (step7). T
Tn nraaa \raAaar F i ta l a m i n a t rei m m ewr i t ha f l u s h -
downon a con- c u t t i nhs i t .t h e nr e s t h em a c h i noen I
loured surface, thepanel withthebitjustclearof the
suchas the draw- e x c e svse n e e rH. o l d i ntgh et r i m m e r I
er fronLshown withonehandandsteadying thepanel
nere,uoeSana- w i t ht h eo t h e rt,u r no n t h et o o la n d I
baqoor pillow- g u i d ei t f r o mo n ee n do f t h ep a n e l
caeeefilledwiLh
sand,ForbesL
to the other(/eff).Repeat for the other I
threeedges of thepanel. Lightly moist-
reeulNe,etarE
layin4the baqe e n a n yv e n e et ra p ea n dr e m o vteh e I
on Nhemiddleof stripswitha scraper.
Nheeurface,workinqyour wayto Nheende.7ince I
moderateheal acceleraleslhe qlue-curinq?roceee,
keeplhe baqoneara healerao you ?re?arefor Nhejob. I
I
I
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I DECORATIVEMATCHING
I
I Q incecertain[pes ofveneer,like some
r.J burlsandexoticspecies, areavailable
I onlyin smallsizes, pioducinga sheetof
veneersufficientlylargefor your project
a will ofteninvolvejoining severalsmall-
er piecestogether,with somecuttingand
I tapingbeforeglue-up.Whenever veneers
arejoined,you mustpayattentionto
I grain,figureand textureto avoidclut-
teredor haphazardpatterns.But as
I shownbelow veneers carefullymatched
with decorative effectsin mind canyield
I resultsunmatchedby wood in its nat-
ural state.
I Veneersheets thatareintendedto be
matchedshouldbe cut from the same
I log in successive passes. The resultis a
series ofsheetsthatareessentially iden-
t tical. The type of match you achieve
dependson both the figureand grain
I orientationofthe veneerandthesizeof
thefinishedpatternyou intendto create.
t
I
I
I
I
t End-to-end
A mirrorlike ?attern featurinq
I flat-cut veneerewith promi-
nent landacapefigure
I
T
t
I
T 1lip matah
Often ueed to produce
I dramatic effecta: reducea
dratorDioncauaedby liqht
I refraction problemawhen
book-matchinqmaple
I
I
t 69
I
Artfully matchingveneers
cancreateeye-catchingeffects.
Thistabletopfeaturesa
centerdiamondmatch.
Eutt-and-book-match
Commonlyuaed with butt, crotch
and etump veneereto create an
unfoldina, circular effect
Eook-match
A repeating pattern where
adjoininqsheeta of veneer
appear to radiate from Lhe
joint betweenthem, like the
paqea of a book
Straight-grained woods,suchaszebra-
wood and sapele,for example,yield
veneersthat areexcellentfor diamond,
reverse-diamond andherringbone pat-
terns.Burl, crotchand stumpveneers
can be butt-and-book-matChed into
Iarge,elaborate circularandovalpatterns
idealfor creatinginteresting tabletops.
Recognizing grainpatternssuitable
for decorative matchingtakespractice.
You haveto know what to look for:
A little swirl at the edgeof a sheet,for
example,mayyield a beautifuldesign.
To geta quickideaof what an end-to-
endor a diamondmatchwouldlooklike,
placea mirror at a right angleto thesur-
faceof theveneeriusetwo mirrorssetat
90oto eachotherto previewa butt-and-
book-match. Onceyou havesettledon
yourpattern,stackthesheets ofveneerso
thattheirgrainis aligned,tapetheedges
andcut thepieces for thematch.
Reverse-diamondmatch
FeaLuresfour aheetEof
veneerthat appear to
converqeat their center
Herringbone
Veneerawhoeefi4uree run
diagonallyoff the aheet,
creattnq a ztqzag effecL
 T
PLYWOOD I

I lthoughit maynotbeasglamorous veneers madefrom high-grade hard- woodvarieties,althoughthetermsrefer I

A or assteeped in woodworkingtra- woodssuchascherryor walnut.The strictly to the faceand backveneers.
dition assolidlumber,plywoodoffers veneerusedin construction-grade Hardwoodplyr,vood is a stableandcost- I
severaladvantages to the cabinetmaker. plywoodis peeledon a rotary lathe efitctivealternative
to solidwood,andis
First,it comesin a wide rangeof stan- from eight-foot-longlogsof poplar, usedin woodworkingapplicationswhere t
dardthicknesses andsizes.Second, it is pine or Douglas-fir. appearance matters,suchasfor cabinets,
dimensionallystableand is unlikelyto As shownopposite, both decorative drawerfronts and furniture. Softwood I
warp or showsignsof checkingor splir and construction-grade plywoodare plywoodis generallyusedfor carcase
ting.Third, it is available with just about manufactured with an odd numberof construction, bookcases andshelving. I
anycommonlvavailableveneeron its plies,givingthe sheeta balancedcon- Not all pliwoods arecreatedalike.
faces.And fourth, it is easyto cut. struction.Threepliesareusuallythe Morethan70woodspecies areusedin I
Indeed,plywoodis a good choicefor minimumnumber.Beneath thefaceand its manufacture.Plywoodsaregrouped
almostanydesignthat doesnot involve backveneers ofa typicalsheetarelayers accordingto strengthand durability; t
intricatejoinerysuchasdovetails. knownascrossbands. Thegrainofeach both softwoodand hardwoodvarieties
Although veneerhas a venerable crossband runsat right anglesto that of areavailable in fourgroupsor categories I
history andplyr,vood is a relativelymod- adjacentpliesto counterwood move- that areusuallystampedon the sheet.
ern development-first producedcom- ment. The resultis a warp-resistant Group I (softwood)and CategoryA I
merciallyin themid-1800s-thetvvoare boardthat is equallystrongacrossboth (hardwood)species arethe strongest
closelyrelated.Plyuood,afterall, is a dimensions.Someply,voodsare also andmostdurable;Group 4 andCategory I
layeredwood materialmadefrom thin availablewith reinforcedcores. D arethe poorestgrades.Referto the
sheets,or plies,of veneer.Decorative As with solid lumber, plywood is chart(below)forthespecies thatmake- I
plywoodis often facedwith matched availablein both hardwoodand soft- up thevariousgroupings.
t
COMMON
W()()DSUSEDIN PLYWOOD
CONSTRUCTION I
SOFTWOOD HARDWOOD
I
Group I Group2 Group3 Group4 Category
A Category
B Category
C Category
D I
r American o PortOrford o Red r Biglooth o White r Black o o
Ash American Bigtooth
Beech Cedar Alder Aspen Ash o Avodir6 Basswood Aspen I
r Yellow 'Cypress . Paper r Quaking r Bubinga . Butternut . Q u a k i n g
. Black
Birch . BalsamFir Birch Aspen . Hickory Cherry e American A q n p n I
. Douglas- . r Alaska . Basswood Chestnut o Western
fn
Lauan
Cedar r Red
r RedOak o RockElm
. Hackberry Cedar
I
. Black . White r African
o Western . Eastern Cedar . Fuma
Larch
Maple
Hemlock r Western
0ak Mahoganyo Silver I
r Virginia . Pecan o Honduras Maple . Black
o Bigleaf
l Rrro:r
Maple
Pine
Maple
Cedar o
o Rosewood Mahogany Eastern
Willow I
o o Cotton- . Teak WhitePine
r Longleaf Yellow . Jack wood r Qanalo
I
Poplar o Black r Western
Pine Pine . Sugar
r WhitePine
. Shortleaf Black o Ponderosa Pine Walnut
I
Spruce o Black
Pine Pine o Balsam
. Tupelo
o Southern Sitka
Spruce
o Redwood Poplar I
Pine o White
. Tanoak Spruce t
I
t

70 I
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I
t VENEERSAND MANUFACTURE,DBOARDS

I ()FPLYWOOD
TYPES
T h e b a s i cd e s i g no f a l l p l y w o o diss t h e s a m e a plywoodconsists narrow
I on bothsidesby layersof crossbanding
: c o r ec o v e r e d
anda faceveneer. The allymahogany,
of several stripsof solidwood-usu-
poplaror basswood-edge-glued together.
plywood hasa solidcoreof particleboard
T mostcommontype hasa veneercore.All softwoodplywoods
a r em a d et h i sw a y ,a n dt h e ya r es t a b l ew , a r p - r e s i s t aanntd
Particleboard-core
medium-density
fiberboard.
Lumber-core plywood
or
holdsnails
I e ,a r d w o opdl y w o o dcsa na l s ob e m a d ew i t hs o l i d
i n e x p e n s i vH andscrewsbestandis preferable
whenadditional strength
l u m b e ro r p a r t i c l e b o acr d
o r e sT. h em i d d l ep l yo f I u m b e r - c o r e andflatness
arerequired.
I
I VENEER
CORE

I
I
I
I
Dack veneer
I
I
I Croaabande
TUMBER
CORE
I
I
I
t
Lumpercore
I
I
PARTICTEBOARD
C()RE
I
I
I
t
I
I TarDicleboard
core Eack veneer

t 71

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 I
PLYWOODGRADING I
I
tl- h. wide array of plywood types Theirfaceandbackveneers arecut from guishesdifferent plpvood types.As t
I available makeschoosingtheappro- a relativelyweather-resistant wood. shownin thechartopposite,both hard-
priate one for a project more involved Interior plywoodis madewith a water- woodandsoftwoodpanelsareavailable I
than simplyselectinga particularthick- resistantadhesiveand is usuallypro- in sixgrades. Ifyou aiebuyingsoftwood
ness.Bothhardwoodandsoftwoodolv- ducedwith an appearance-grade face plywoodyou candetermineits grade, I
wood panelsarerateddependingon veneerand a lesser-grade backveneer. plusadditionalinformationabouta par-
how theyshouldbe usedand on the For mostinterior applications, wood- ticularsheet,by readingits gradestamp I
appearanceof their face and back workersgenerallychooseExposureI or (below).Hardwoodpliruoodis general-
veneers.They are alsoavailablein one interior-grade panels. ly not stamped;if you needa particular I
of threegrades,or durabilityratings Thethreehardwoodply,voodgrades grade,you haveto askfor it andtakethe
dependingon the gluesand veneers areTypesI, II and III. TypeI includes suppliert word that you aregettingwhat t
usedin the constructionof the oanels. fully waterproofexteriorpanelswhile you want.
Softwoodplywoodcomesin eiterior TypeII is aninterior-gradeplywoodable Plywoodis manufacturedin a range I
andinterior grades,and a categorycalled to withstandsomemoisture;Type III is of sizes.Softwoodplywoodrangesin
ExposureL a moisture-resistant interiorplr.wood. thicknessftomlE to 7ainch,whilehard- I
Exterior-grade and ExposureI ply- TypesII andIII areyourbestchoicesfor wood ply,voodis availablefrom yato
wood areusuallymadewith a water- mostcabinetmaking projects. I inch thick. The standardpanelsizeis t
proof adhesive, creatingweatherproof The appearance ofthe faceandback 4 by 8 feet,but specialorderscanbe
panelsthat are resistantto moisture. veneersis anotherfactor that distin- placedfor largersheets. I
I
DECIPHERING
A SOFTW(|(ID
PLYWOOD
STAMP
ANDEDGEMARK
Reading a gradestamp andedgemark
I
Mostgradestampson softwood
suchastheoneshownat left,contain
plywood, I
s i xb a s i ce l e m e n tIsn. a d d i t i otno t h e
American Plywood Association (APA)
I
trademark,
thatproduced
thestampidentif iesthemill
the boardandthe product
I
standard
grading
publicatron
rules.Thehyphenated
thatcontains the
letters-
t
in thiscaseA-D-designate
of thefaceandbackveneers
thegrades
respective-
I
ExPosuR
et-- 2'':f;::
ly.Thedurability
eitherexterior,
classif
interior
ication
or Exposure
maybe
1,
I
andthespecies
thewoods
groupnumber
thatmayhavebeenusedin
indicates I
themanufacture of thepanel.(Seethe I
charton page70.)In orderto avoidmar-
ringa plywood withtwogoodfaces-A-A I
grade, forexample-
anedgemark,
theoneshown
suchas
at low-
I
er left,is used.Panel
edges sometimes
I
car-
. Gr1. . APA.0Q0. PS1- 93
E X P OSURE1 ry colorstripes
ignate thegrade.
to des- I
I
I
I
72 I
I
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I VENEERSAND MANUFACTURED BOARDS

I
T PLYWOOD
FACE
VENEER
GRADES
I
HARDWOOD
PTYWOOD SOFTW(IOD
PIYWOOD
I Premium Faceveneerwithwell-matched seams Sanded smooth; cantakea clear
andsmooth; madeof specific hard- finish;faceveneer matched forgrain
I wood,suchaswalnutor mahogany. andcolor,freeof opendefects
in colorandgrain
Freeof contrasts
Sanded smooth;cantakea natural
I Good Faceveneersimilar to premium, finish,butis moreoftenpainted
but notaswellmatched. Freeof Smooth andsanded; mayhave
I in colorandgrain
sharpcontrasts minorsolits
Sound Faceveneer smooth, butnotmatched Smooth; mayhavesomebroken grain,
I forcoloror grain;defects
onlyon back sanding defects
andknotholes up
veneer.Generally intendedforpainting to % inch
I Utility Veneers haveroughgrainandmay C Plugged Sanded; to C grade,
similar butknot-
haveknotholes upto 3/dinch,aswell holesandsolitsaresmaller
I assomediscoloration, staining
and
slightsplits.Notmatched forcolor D Usedmainly forinnerpliesand
I or grain backveneer; mayhaveknot-holes
upto 2% inches
Back Mayhavelarger
defects
thanutility
I grade,
butnonethatimpairpanel
strength.
Notmatched
forcolor
I orgrain
Specialty Madeto orderto meetspecific
I requirements,
suchasseparatepanels
grainpatterns
withmatching
I
I
t llllllltlllltllllllllll fillllltllllfiltlllllll lll llltlllliltll1ll
illt
I ?HO?Tt?
t A plywoodaarrier
eheele of plywood,particleboard
I or hardboardcan beheavyand
awkwardNocarry.Thecarrier
ehownherewillmakethe load
I eaeierNobear.RouLa |-inch-wide
rabbeLalon7oneface of a 12-
I inch-lonqboard.Cut a nohchoutr
of oneend of a pieceof plywood,
I Nhenscrewa woodblockacroee
the endof Nhenolch to serveae
I ahandle.ALIachLheotherend
of fhe plywoodpieceNothe rab-
t bebedface of Lhe board.Io use
lhe carrier,eimplyhookit,under
lhe loweredqeof the eheeNand
I Vullit up underyourarm.
I
I
I 73

I
 I
CONCEALINGPLYWOODEDGES I
I
or all its advantages,plywoodhas I
one major drawbackfor cabinet- EDGE
TREATMENTS
FORPTYWOOD
making:The multi-plycompositionof I
thepanelsis clearlyvisibleon theiredges
and ends.Fortunatelvtherearea num- I
ber of simple options for concealing
the unsightlyplies.Pressure-sensitive I
wood-graintape,for example,canbe
pressed in placeby hand.Or, asshown I
below,self-adhesive edgebandingcan
be appliedwith an iron. Bothproducts
comein severalstandardwidths and
Tongue-and-4roove r
edqe moldinq
wood species. )olid wood I
The illustration at right showssev- edqe banding
eralmoreinvolvededgetreatmentalter- I
nativesideallysuitedto customwork.
Wth thesplinedmiterjoint, for exam- I
ple,the miterededgesof two panelsare
gluedtogetherand reinforcedwith sol- I
id wood splines.The other methods
involve cutting strips of hardwood I
bandingor moldingandbondingthem
to the edgesof the panel.Thestepsfor I
applyingone of thesetypes-tongue-
and-grooveedgemolding-are shown t
on the followingpage.
I
BANDING
SELF.ADHESIVE I
Applying self-adhesive
Seta household
edgebanding
ironon High(without
I
steam) andallowit to heatup.Meanwhile,
secure thepanelonedgein a viseor with
I
clamps, asshown, andcuta stripof band-
ingslightly longer thantheedgeto be
I
covered. Setthebanding adhesive-side
d o w no n t h ep a n eel d g eH . o l d i ntgh e
I
b a n d i nign p l a c e
w i t ho n eh a n dr,u nt h e
ironslowly along thepaneledge,pressing
I
thetrimflat.Theheatof theironwillmelt
theglueandbondthebanding to thepan-
I
el. Keeptheironmoving; resting it onone
spotformorethana fewseconds will leave
I
scorchmarks.Flatten outthe banding
b yr u n n i nag s m a lhl a n dr o l l ebr a c ka n d
I
forthalongthe lengthof the paneledge.
Shave off anyexcess banding witha lami-
I
natetrimmer(page68).
I
I
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74 I
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I VENEERSAND MANUFACTUREDBOARDS

t
I T()NGUE-AND-GROOVE
EDGEMOLDING
I
I
I
t
I
I
I
I
t
I
I M a k i n ga n da p p l y i ntgh em o l d i n g
I n s t a lal c o m b i n a t i obnl a d eo n y o u r
I t a b l es a wa n d m a k es e v e r apl a s s e tso
c u t a g r o o v eo n et h i r da s t h i c k a s t h e
t p a n e l .N e x t y, o u n e e dt o c u t t h e m a t c h -
ingtongue;it shouldbe sawnin the edge
I of a hardwood boardthe samethickness
a s t h e p a n e lA. d j u s t h e b l a d eh e i g h t
I rllll]Il]llrlrJillrliltllll]llllllilluiltlllllltillJllltullilltll]l s o t h a t i t e q u a l st h e a m o u n to f s t o c k
remaining o n e i t h e rs i d eo f t h e g r o o v e .
I C u tt h e w a s t ef r o mo n e s i d eo f t h e
5HO7Tt? t o n g u et,h e nt u r n t h e b o a r do v e ra n d
t thop-made r e p e a t h e p r o c e d u r teo c o m p l e t et h e
edgebanding t o n g u e f; i n i s he a c hp a s sw i t ha p u s h
I Cutthin eNripeof sltck (above,left).Cut the pieceof mold-
edqebandinqfrom i n gf r o mt h e b o a r d F . i n i s ht h e j o b b y
I a boardon LheNable s e c u r i n tgh e p a n e lu p r i g h it n a v i s ea n d
eaw.l./take the etriVo:,'i s p r e a d i n sgo m eg l u e i n t h e g r o o v e and
t a l i q h Nl o
y n q etrh a n on the tongue.Fit the two piecestogeth-
Lhepaneland aNleael e r ( i n s e ta) n dc l a m pt h e m i n p l a c ew i t h
I as wideae trhepanel'e t h r e e - w acyl a m p s .
Lhickneee. 1ecurethe panel
I uVriqht, in a viee,then aVplya
Lhingluebeadalonqito edqe.
Tlacethe bandinqin Vlaceand tape it
I firmlyat 2-inchinlervale.When the qlue
io dry ehaveoff any exceo;bandingwiI,h
I a laminatetrrimmer(paqe6B).

I
I
I 75

t
 I
PARTICLEBOARD I
t
ood composites suchasparticle- I
boardandfiberboardarea pop- TYPESOFMAT-FORMED
PARTICLEB()ARD
ular choicefor carcase backs,drawer t
bottomsand concealed oanels.Made
fromblendsof woodparticles andsyn- t
theticadhesive bondedtogetherunder
i n t e n shee a ta n dp r e s s u r ceo, m p o s i t e I
boardsareasstrongand asdurableas
most solid woodsand generallyless I
exoensive. Thevarealsomoredimen-
sronallv staDle. t
Particleboard wasfirst developed in
the 1930s asa way of recycling wood t
flakes.chiosand sawdustdismissed as
sawmillwiste.Today,manymillsfocus I
mainlyon particleboard production,
processing softwoodandmedium-den- Made from a mat of aimilarlyetzedand evenly
distributed coar6ewoodparticleo
I
sityhardwoods into composite particles
rvithmachines calleddrum flakers,chip- I
nersandhammermills.
Particleboard is manufactured by two I
methods:extrusionand mat-formins.
In the lesscorlmon extrusionpro..ri, I
woodparticles andadhesives areforced
togetherthrougha small,thin opening t
to form panels. Thegrainorientationof
theparticles isperpendicular to thefaces I
of the panels.With mat-forming,the
particlesand adhesives are squeezed t
into a mat in a press. With thismethod,
the grainof the fibersis parallelto the I
oanelfaces. Featurea a core layer of coarae woodparDiclearetnforced
Mat-formedparticleboard comesin
by two ouLer layere of fine, high-denettyparticlee t
threeconfigurations( riglt ). Single-layer
particleboard features woodparticles of I
uniformsizeandshape. Multi-layer par-
ticleboardhascoarsershavinss at the I
coreof thepanelarrdfinerorreis on the
outsidesurfaces. Graded-densitv parti- I
cleboard issimilarto multi-laveroaiticle-
board,but with a moregradual'charrge t
from coarseto fine particles.Standard
particleboard sheetsare 4 by B feet, I
although5-by-10panelsareavailable;
thicknesses rangefrom 7+to 2 inches. t
Gra ded -d enaity pa rti cleboa rd I
CharacLertzed by a gradualtransttton from coareewood
parbicleoat Lhecare to veryftne,htgh-denetLy woodpar-
ticlee on the outer eurfacee I
I
I
t
I
t
I FIBERBOARD
I
I f, iberboard,or hardboard,is pressed
I' into matsmuchlikeparticleboard, HARDBOARD
STAI{DARD
I but becausethe wood oarticlesare
reducedto individualfibers.the result
I is a thin, hard and densesheetwith
smoothsurfaces. Hardboardcomesin
I threegrades:standard,temperedand
service.Temperedhardboardis harder,
I heavierand morewater-resistant than
the two other types.Thicknessesrange
t from 1Azto s/a inch.Anothervarietv.
called medium-densityfiberboard
I (MDF), featuresa fine surfacetexture
with facesandedgesalmostasworkable
I assolidwood.MDF is availablein thick-
nesses from 1/+to IV+inch and canbe Hardboard
I boughtwith veneered surfaces.
Made of individualwoodfibera; commonlyuaed in furni|ure
and cabinet work becaueeof ite fine. amooth aurface

I
I
WORKING OFMANUFAGTURED
CHARACTERISTICS BOARDS
I
I BOARD
TYPE WORKABITITY FASTENING VENEERING Frl{tsHrl{G
Plywood Easyto work;fine Faceholdsfasteners plywood
Softwood Premium andgood
I faceveneersneed well,butedgesoften canbeveneered gradesof hardwood
littlesanding split.Borepilotholes; plywood needlittlefinish-
I screwdiameter
notexceed
should
one-quarter
ing;sound
painted;
grade
softwood
canbe
ply-
of panelthickness woodgradesN andA can
I bepainted or finished
I Particleboard Difficultto work;
useofcarbide tipped
Holdon fasteners
poor;borepilotholes.
Multi-layer
and
graded-density
particleboard
Multi-layer
par- accepts mostfinishes;
toolsrecommended; U s ef i n i s h i nnga i l sa n d ticleboard
excellent othertypesnotsuitable
I weara dustmask drywallscrews forveneering forpaintingorfinishing.
whenworking
I Hardboard Edgeseasyto rout, Faceof temperedhard- Temperedhard- Accepts
mostfinishes
shapeor groove; boardholdsscrewswell. boardcanbe
I sanding of faces (othertypesnotaswell) veneere0
n o tr e q u i r e dU.s e Borepilotholesanduse
I o f c a r b i d tei p p e d sheetmetalscrews
toolsrecommended
I Medium-densityEdgeseasyto rout, Holdon nailsexcellent; Canbecovered or painted
Canbefinished
fiberboard snape0rgroove; holdon screws poor withthinveneer
t sanding of facesnot
required. Useof car-
I bidetippedtools
recommended
I
t
I
I 77

I
I
I

I
I DRY]NGAI.{D
I
I STOruNGWOOD
I
I
I vYmarenar:"uo'o,l:r'll!!firri' '"1?,1lo'inl",TffiYil'.!f
I :?T:*::'"*.p-T*-Y
E ,s.i-.:,,,'l
I -
-
I separatelayers
of lumberin apile,allow-
ple,yourjoinerymethods shouldallow ingair circulationaroundtheindivid-
I for woodmovement. If 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 !
whitepine'air-dryingtoa l0to l2per-
I Aao+q,n+
destruct'\^/l^il^+L^^'-'.ri^^+j^-
whi]ethe.pnlication ^'^-.-^^r
ofawood A resistance moisture meterlike
*
centmoisture levelissufficient f"#r,
finishmayslowdimensional change , theoneshown above isa cylin- furnitureprojects. Whichever
I drying
nothingcanstopit. dricaldevice with twopinsihoto* methody* .iroor.,y*iun ur. u rp.-
Freshlycut lumber,or greenwood, pressed intoa board.Themeter cialmeterliketheoneshownin thepiro
I has,a relatively
highmoisturecontent, measures electrical
resistance, to aboveto measure moisturecontent.
whichforhardwoods canrangefrom,60 whichwitl varydepending onthe Apartfrom controloverthewood,
I percent to 100percentof thedryweight. amountofwateiin thewood. theprincipalU.n.nt of atyinliun'b.,
Thischapterfocuses on waysof reduc- in theshopiseconomic.
I 1^ < Thefeweroper-
ingthatto a levelsuitable for cabinetmaking, around8 to l0 ationsperformed on 1 nl.ankUefor"y""U"yii-ru.n u, ary-
pelc:lt' depending on theclimate.and species. ing andsurfacing-thilessit costs.Forlargequantities
I of
unlessyoubuygreen woodwiththeintentionofdryingit luirber-say,t,060boardfeetor more-theiavingscanadd
yourself, yourlumberisalready eitherair-driedor kiln-'driid. up to hundreds of dollars.
I Air-driedwood.may.have up to 25percentmoisturecon- Properstorage is asimportantasdrying.Driedwood
tent.Kiln-driedlumberhasa loweilevel,6 to 8 percent. .*por.dto theeiements carire-absorbsomeof themoisture
I Although.kiln-dried woodis generally preferable for furni- thatwasextracted fromit. Thereareseveral waysto ,ioi. r"ooa,
turebuilding, somepurists avoidit,contending tlalttrgprocess depending on the.kindgf G. youhaveandthewoodyou
I subdues thenaturalcolorsof certainwoodsand,in thi short workwithl-froq longpia-nlis-io shortstocktoopi..i*, to U.
term,caninduceinternalstresses in thewood,makingit consigned to thekindiingbox.youcandesign y6uio*n tun'-
I difficulttoresaw' berraik,usingth.o*rtlio*ninthischapteias'startingpoints,
-L_--_-, r , r ptafl15,
. Largeindustrialkilnshousehundreds of at a time, or installa coirmercial lurnberruil.Iid;;;;;rlir.rn.n,
I butthereareanumberof.do-it-yourself modelsthatarerela- to storewood,consider installingadehirmidifiJr to rejucethe
tivelysimpleto built,includinga small-scale solar-powered highrelative humiditylevel.o.111on in suchanarea.
I
I
Kilnsprovideafast and ffictive wayof drying
I woodto a moisturelevelappropriate for cabi-
netmaking.Here,stacksof hardwoodplanks
I areloadedbyforklift into an industrialkiln.

Irt
79

t
 t
WATERANDWOOD I
I
oisturechanges in woodcancause drying,theweightof theshedwater-20 t
problerns for a pieceof [urniture, pounds-divided by the wood'sdry
somemerelyannoying,othersquiteseri- weight-30 pounds-is the rnoisture I
ous.A freshly cutlogcancontainwater contentof theoriginalpiece: in thiscase,
equalto twiceits dry weight;madeinto 66 oercent. t
a oieceof furniture,it canturn stone Woodholdsrnoisture in twoways: as
diy. This capacityto hold different freewaterin cellcavitiesand asbound I
amountsof moisturer,rnder different waterin cellwalls.As wooddries,free
conditionscauses wood to swelland wateris exoelledfirst.When this is all I
contract.If thispropertyis not consid- discharged, the wood reaches what is
eredby thecabinetmaker, a drawerthat termeditsfibersaturation point(FSP). t
oDenssmoothlvin the deadof winter At thispoint,thecellcavities areempty,
cin swellandjam shutin thehumidity buttheboundwaterremairts, Dermeat- I
of summer.A perfectlysquarecarcase ingthecellwalls.Formostwoods,the
cabinetcanpull itselfapartashumidity FSPoccursbetween23 percentand 30 I
levelschansefrom season to season. percentmoisturecontentdepending on
The am6untof waterin a pieceof thespecies, with 28percenttheaverage. I
woodisoftenexpressed asa percelrtage Thekevoointto remember isthatat the
of its oven-dryor water-free weight. fibersaiuration ooint.thereisno dimen- t
For example, if a 50-poundblockof sionalchangein wood from its freshly
How wet is wood?Thisf'e*ly wood dropsto 30 poundsafteroven- cnt size.It simplyweighsless.However, I
cut log of Eastenthemlockcon-
tains 1.5gallonsof water or sap I
Conrpletelydry, the log wotld
weighone-haf ns rrruchns its I
green weight. MoiaLurecontent
above30% I
(no chanqe)
I
Moiature content I
aL F9?-26%
(no change) I
I
Moisture content
at 17%
(1/+'ahrtnkaqe)
I
I
Asthemoisture of a plain-sawn
content
plankof 2-by-10
softwoodlumberdrops MoisLurecontent
^+ lzo/
I
below point(FSP),
thefibersaturation
thewoodshrinks thegrain.
across At 17
(3/a"ehrinkaqe)
t
nercpntthe hoardis l,/atnch narrower
t h a ni t w a sa t i t s F S P .l t l o s e sa n o t h e r I
r / q i n c ho f w i d t hw h e nk i l n - d r i etdo a n 8 MoieLurecontenL
at B%
p e r c e nlte v e l S. h r i n k a gdee p e n d p s artly (1/z'ehrinka4e) I
n n ua cJ vnv Lo, veJ i o c ' du av , n, Jc, Li Jt ,v .
v ,,
oonpr:llv doncpr

w o o d ss h r i n ka n ds w e l lm o r et h a n l i g h t e r I
onesS . a p w o oadl s ot e n d st o c h a n g e
d i m e n s i o nms o r eq u i c k l yt h a nh e a r t w o o d . I
I
80 I
I
I
I DRYINGAND STORINGWOOD
I
t if thewooddriesfurther,fallingbelow its fibersaturation pointandbeat the hold a largeamountof moisture.But
theFSBit losesboundwaterfromits samesizeaswhenit wasmilled.If rela- whencooledindoors,it canhold much
I cellwalls.Thecellsshrinkandsodoes tivehumidityfellto 0 percent thewood's less.The resultcanbe fairly high rela-
thewood.Astheillustration onpage80 moisturecontentwoulddropto 0 per- tive humidity. Both extremescause
t shows,themoreboundwatera board cent.Because relativehumidityfalls changes in the moisturelevelof wood
losesthemoreit shrinks. between thoseextremes onlya portion and in its size.
I Theonlywayto preventwoodfrom of theboundwaterislost.Realisticallv, You can takeseveralprecautionsto
shrinkingis to treatit with a chemical themoisture content range of moststock counteractthe effectsof changing
I suchasPEG-1400. (PEGisanabbrevi- is5 to 20percent. humidity levels.If you storelumbei
ationofpolyethylene glycol;1400isthe Fromseason to season, therelative indoors,tryto keepthe relativehumid-
I chemical's molecular weight.)PEG-1400 humidityin agivenlocation canvary80 ity fairly constant,usinga dehumidier,
diffirses
intothewoodandreplaces the percent or more.Thisisbecause relative for example,whenttrelevelsgettoo high.
I boundwater,keeping thecell-walls
ful- humidityandtemperature areclosely And althoughyou may not be ableto
Iyswollen. Thetreatment issuitable
only intertwined. Warmair canholdmore controltheenvironmentwhereyour fur-
I for greenwood,however, andis most moisturethancoldair.Asaresult,when niturewill endup,you shouldbuild the
popularfor usewithturningandcarv- coldwinterairisheated, asit isin homes pieceto compensate for wood move-
t ingblocks. andworlshops, itsabilityto holdmois- ment.Whencuttinga panelfor a frame,
Woodgainsandloses moistureasthe tureincreases dramatically. Ifthereisno for instance,leavea t/s-inchgapin the
I relativehumidityin theair aroundit addedmoistureavailable, therelative grooves thatwillhousethepanel.Theextra
changes. If therelativehumidityroseto humidityplummetsto extremely low spacewill allowthe panelto expandand
I 100percent, apieceof woodwouldreach levels. In contrast,hot summerair can contractashumidity levelsriseandfall.
I
Relatinga wood's equilibrium moisture
t contentto relative humidity
Whether woodis in theformof a log,
t 30 a kiln-driedboard ora finished oiece
s of furniture,itsmoisture content varies
I == 2 2
I
withtherelative humidity of theair
around it. Ashumidity rises,sodoes
I C'
tJ thewood'smoisture content, expressed
e 2 0 in percent in thegraphshownat left.
7
I o
.E 7
Themoisture levelof a pieceof wood
= l b eventually reaches itsequilibrium
I '= 7
moisture content (EMC) afterthehum-
iditystabilizes. TheEMCalsovaries
=
I E
lrt
depending onthetemperature. The
6
bandshownin thegraphcovers EMC
I valuesfor mostwoodsat 70 degrees
Fahrenheit. Those values decrease
I 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
slightly
at higher temperatures and
Increase marginally withcooling.
I Relative
Humidity (%)
in Atmosphere

I
I
I
r
I
t 81

I
 I
DRYING AND STORINGWOOD I
I
SHRINKAGE
W(IOD I
Tangential andradialshrinkage t
Lumber doesnotcontract uniformly;asshownby
thedottedredlinesin theillustrationat left,tan- I
gentialshrinkage-parallelto thegrowth rings-is
abouttwicetheradialshrinkage, whichoccurs I
acrossthe rings.Thisdifference accounts forthe
warping of boardsandpanels aswoodexpands and I
contractswithfluctuationsin moisture content.
Shrinkage alongthelength of a boardis usually
r/zinchin
I
negligible.A 2-by-i0plankthatshrinks
width,forexample, mightloselessthan%oinch t
alongits8-footlength.
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(lFDIFFERENT
VATUES
SHRINKAGE WOOD
SPECIES
I
Findingdimensionallystablewood
Thechartat rightshows thetypicalamount of shrink- SPECIES (%)
TANGENTIAL (%)
RADIAL T/RRATIO I
ageof various species in boththetangential and Ash,White 7.8 4.9 1.6
radialdirectionswhengreenwoodis driedto zero American
Basswood, 9.3 6.6 1.4 I
moisture content. (Values areshownin percent;
Beech,
American 11.9 5.5 2.2
a 10 percent valuein thetangential column, for
Butternut 6.4 3.4 1.9
I
examole, means thata 10-inch-wide boardwould
shrinkbythatamouni to 9 incheswide.)Although Ipa
Cata
yellow
4.9 2.5 2.0
I
tangentialshrinkage exceeds radialcontractionin Cedar,
Alaska 6.0 2.8 2.I
everycase,notwospecies shrinkbythesame Western
Cedar, red 5.0 2.4 2.r I
amount. Theaverage is 8 percenttangentiallyanc Cherry,
black 7.r 3.7 1.9
4 percent Thekeycolumn
radially. of thechartis Douglas-f
ir 7.8 5.0 1.6 I
thethird:TheT/Rratioindicates theproportion of Elm,American 9.5 4.2 2.5
tangentialto radialshrinkage.Thelowertheratio,
Hackberry 8.9 4.8 1.9 I
the lessthedifferentialbetween thetwotypesof
Hickory,
shagbark 10.5 7.0 1.5
shrinkage andthemorestablethewood.Species
Holly,American 9.9 4.8 2.1
I
withrelativelylowratios,likemahogany (i.4) and
teak(1.8),arelesssusceptible to warping than Madrone 12.4 5.6 z-z
I
woods withhigherratios, suchasbeech(2.2). Honduras
Mahogany, 5.1 1.4
Maple,sugar 9.9 4.8 2.r I
0ak,red 8.6 4.0 2.r
Oak,white 10.5 5.6 1.9 I
Persimmon II.2 7.9 1..4
Pine,Eastern
white 6.1 2.7 2.9
t
Pine,ponderosa 6.2 3.9 1.6
1.6
t
Sassafras 4.0
American
Sycamore, 8.4 5.0 I.7 I
Teak 4.0 z.t 1.8
Walnut,
black t.6 5.5 7.4 t
Willow,
black 8.7 3.3 2.6
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I DRYINGAND STORINGWOOD
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I MEASURING
THEMOISTURE
CONTENT
IN WOOD
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Usinga resistance-type
moisture meter
I
III"lIIfll-fll-fiI"
ill llll"ffilll
Todetermine themoisture content of
I ill'lllf"llf
lfil'1ll-fl1-lllf-lll'llf' yourstock,usea moisture
thestockon a worksurface
meter.Set
andpush
themetalpinsontheendof themeter
I 5HO?Tt? intothefaceof theboardasfarasthey
willgo.Twistthedialontopof thebar-
I Reading moist ure aontent
reluntilthelightturnsonandtakea
in thick stock
reading(above). Repeat at several points
I Themelal pinson commercialreeis-
andaverage theresults. Alternatively,
Iance-Iy?e moielure melero are lypi-
crosscuttheboard12 inches
t callyabouL1 inchlong.9inceLhepine
ehouldideally : endandtakea reading
fromeither
fromthefreshly
reachlhe :: cut end grain(photo,page79). MosI
I middleof a
-
metersarecalibrated forwoodat room
boardwhen .: temperature-about 68' F. Follow the
I takinq a read- manufacturer's instructionsto adjust
inq,theyLend yourresultsif youareworking in tem-
I Nobe inade- peraturessignificantly
above or below
quatefor slocklhat ie thickerlhan 2 inches.You can
thislevel.
I exNend Lhereachof lhe pineby drivin7Iwofiniohingnailo
into the woodunLilIhe Lipe reachthe middleand Lhe
I headsproNrudetrom Ihe eurface.Thentouch Lhe meLer
pineLo the nailheadsand t akea readina.
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I 83
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DRYINGAND STORINGWOOD r
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I
KIU{
sotAR reusingglassparis,suchasusedpatio builda baseframeof pressure-treated
Thekilnshownbelow,witha roofand doorsorstormwindows, youmaywish 4-by-4sontopof the blocks.Therest I
frontwallof tempered glass,provides to basethesizeof the kilnandits of the framingandraftersarecon-
a naturaldryingcycle.During theday, framing onthedimensions of therecy- structed with2-by-4stock;thefloor, I
warmed thewooddries;
bysunlight, cledmaterial. Thekilnshownbelow wallsanddooraremadeof 3/+-inch
at night,the moisturein thewetter andopposite is 5 feetwide,16 feet plywood.
exterior-grade I
coreof thestockmigratestowardboard longandabout8 feethigh. 0ncethe baseframeis in place,
surfaces, moreevendrying.
ensuring Choose a sunnylocationforthekiln, nailtheflooron topof it, thencon- I
Buildthekilnaccording to the thenlevelthesurface andspread grav- structa studwallframefor thefront
amountof woodyouplanto dryandthe el overit. Layconcrete blocksat 2- to of the kiln.Cutthestudsto length I
spaceyouhaveavailable. lf youare 3-footintervals asa foundation.then andnaila soleolateto theirbottom
I
FRONT
VIEW I
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Topplate t
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Faecia board I
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Lumberaupport
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Glaea atop I
Concreteblock Baee frame I
1ole plaLe
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I DRYING AND STORINGWOOD

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r hasolockson onesidewallto convert

t stDEvtEw it intoa door.
To installtheglasspanels onthe
I roof,setthemon adjacentrafters,
leaving amplespacebetween the pan-
t elsfor screws. Thenfastendownl-by-
3 woodstripsthatoverlap the edges
I of the panels
Toaccommodate
to holdthemin place.
theglasspanelsin
I thefrontwallof thekiln,cut notches
in the bottomedgesof the rafters,
I t h e ns l i d et h e p a n e l us p i n t ot h e
notch,resting the bottomof the pan-
t elsonthesoleplateledge.
by-3woodblocksto thefrontedgeof
Screw1-

I )tick
thesoleplateto support
of eachglasspanel.
themiddle

I Tokeeptheairin thekilncirculat-
ing,fastena pieceof plywood as a
I baffleto twoadjacent
backwall,leaving
studson the
anopening between
I thebaffleandthetopof thestudsfor
airto enter.At floorlevel,construct a
I frameonthefrontof the bafflefor an
exhaust fan.Thefanwillpullwarmair
D'*
I downthrough
it through
thebaffleandcirculate
thekiln.Install theswitch
I forthefanonthe baffle,alongwitha
thermostat to startthefanwhenthe
I endsanda top plateat theirtopends,
Recess thefrontedgesof thestuds
risefor every12 horizontal inches).
Cutthe roofraftersto allowa few
airtemoerature reaches
timerto turnthefanoff at night.
80"Fanda

I aboulVt inchfromthe frontedgeof

the platesto provide a ledgeforthe
inches of overhang at thefrontand
back,thennailtherafters to thetop
To keeothe lumberstackoff the
floor,naildown2-by-2support pieces
I glasspanels. Makethegapbetween
thecenterof thestudseoualto the
plates,spacing themto fit theglass
panelsto be installed on the roof.
spaced
thelumber
about16 inches apart.Pile
asyouwouldforair-drying,
t widthof the panels, spacing
morethan4 feetapart.Setthewall
themno Tackfasciaboards
therafters,leaving
to bothendsof
a smalllip above
leaving
centboards
adequate spacebetween
andseparating
adja-
the layers
I frameupright andnailthesoleplate
to thefloorandbaseframe.Repeat
thetopedgesof theraftersto holdthe
roofpanels. Cover theopening between
of stockwith1-by-2stickers.
lf youcannot supply electricity to the
I theorocedure to makeandattachwall
framesforthe backandsidesof the
thefasciaandthebackwallwitha
1-by-4boardasa soffit.0n thefront
kiln,leaveadditional spacebetween
the boards to ensure adequate aircir-
I kiln,thistimewithoutoffsetting
studsfromthe plates.Cutthestuds
the of the kiln.thissoaceshouldbe left
ooen.Nextnailthewallsto theout-
culation.
several
Drying
months;
of thewoodmaytake
usea moisture meter
(page83)tocheckonthe lumber's
I forthesidewallssothatthe roofwill
h a v ea 4 - i n - 1 2s l o p e( 4 i n c h e so f
sideedgesof thestudson the back
andoneside,installing hinges and moisture content periodical ly.

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ESTIMATINGWOOD MOVEMENT I
I
J J nlesyouplanto buildallyourfur- t
\-/ niturefrommanufactured boards
suchasparticleboard andplywood, you I
shouldexpectthewoodyouworkwith
to swellandshrinkslightly. Thisshould I
not causeanyproblems aslongasyou
compensate for thechange of dimen- t
sionswhenyoubuildyourpiece.
A goodfirststepis to measure the I
moisturecontentof thelumber(page
83).Thendetermine how muchthis I
moisturelevelwill change asrelative
humidityfluctuates in ttrelocationwhere t
the finishedpieceof furniturewill
beplaced(page81).Finally,try to esti- I
matetheamountof woodmovement
thatwill occurasa resultof thewood's A thin lineof unfinishedwoodis a telhalesignof woodmovementin this t
changing moisturecontent. Asa ruleof closeupphotographofpart of a frame-and-panel door.After thefinish
thumb,plain-sawn lumberwill move wasapplied,the humidity levelin the roomwherethecabinetwas I
0.04inchperfootofwidthforeveryper- storedgraduallydropped,causingthe woodto contract.A similar
centchange in itsmoisture The amountof movement
content. in a carcaseconstruction
mighthavethreatened I
valueforquartersawn woodis.025inch. thepiece'sstructuralintegrity.Theframe-and-paneldesign,however,
(Thedifference between thetwogivesa allowsfor wood'snaturalswellingandshrinking.ThepanelJloats inside t
goodindicationof whycabinetmakers afixedframewith roomfor % inchof movementhorizontally.
choosequartersawn overplain-sawn I
lumberwhentheywantto limit wood
movement.) If, for example, youuse t
plain-sawn whitepinewith anequilib-
rium moisturecontentof 12percent in I
summerwhichdriesto an EMCof 8
percentin winter,youcancounton as 1HO?Tt? I
muchas0.16inchofmovement inwidth M akin6 a m oiet"ure indiaalo r
per foot betweenthe two seasons. Keepthio moiolureqauqein your ehoVae a reminderof the t
Changes in lengtharenegligible enough relationehipbelweenhumidityand woodmovemenl,To make
to bediscounted. the qauqe,'cuN a I
len7bhof wood
from Nheend of a I
alued-uooanel.or
f L l
bonda tew wood
blockeNoqelher
I
edqe-to-edqe. Nail
a melal oointerto I
oneendof lhie arm,
then altachbhe I
arm'eotherendto
a pieceof plywood.Drivea screwthrough the pivot,holeof rhe I
pointerinlo lhe plywoodeo lhat the poinlerio parallelio Lhe
end of the arm. Leavethe ecrewlooeeenouahto allowthe I
pointerto pivof,.
As Ihe relativehumidityflitctuaVesand lhe
arm swellsor shrinks,lhepoinberwillewivelto eilher side. t
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86 t
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t AIR.DRYINGWOOD
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I "l- h. illustrations on page88show vent fungi from causingblue stain.It wood,betweendifferentlayersof stock
I wo simplewaysto stackgreen lum- will also help guaranteea minimal exposes the top andbottom surfacesof
I berto ensure properdrying.Asshown amount of warping of the boards. the boardsto the sameflow of air.
in thechartbelow,dryingtimesvary Placingstickers,or narrow strips of Lumbercanbe air-driedindoorsor
t for differentwoods.To avoid outdoors, but for bestresults,
confusing differentbatches of youshouldstarttheprocess out-
I wood.markthe endsof each sideor in anunheated building
boardwith thespecies andthe likea barnor garage. In a heat-
I dateyoustacked it. It is alsoa ed indoor location,where
goodideato treattheendsofthe humidityis typicallylow and
I boardswith animpervious coat- temperatures arehigh, green
ing suchashot paraffinwax, woodmaydrytoorapidly,which
I varnish, dilutedglueor a com- promotes checking. Outdoors,
mercialendsealer. Otherwise, thelumbershouldbecovered
t the endsof boardsmay dry with a sheetof plywoodto
more quicklythan adjoining serveasprotection fromtheele-
t surfaces,causingchecks to form ments.Asthewooddries,check
in thewood.Ifyou areworking itsmoisturecontentperiodical-
I withlogs,coating theirendswill ly with a meter,keepingnotes
increase theamountof usable for futurereference.
I lumberthelogswill yieldby as Wooddestined for outdoor
muchas20oercent. useneedonlybedriedoutside.
I Whateveithe sizeor location Forindoorfurniture,thewood
of yourdryingstack,air must shouldcompleteits drying
I circulateevenlyaroundall the Logsfor carving can be storedin a pile one atop the inside,preferably at a humidi-
surfaces of thestock.Thiswill other,provided their endsare not in contact.The ends ty levelsimilarto that in the
I ensure thatthesurfaces ofthe should be coatedwith a sealer,however,soonafter the locationwherethe furniture
boardsstaydry enoughto pre- logsare bucked to ensureeven drying of the wood. will eventually beused.
I
I APPROXIMATE TIMESF(lRVARIOUS
DRYING W(l(lDS
Thesechartsindicate thedryingtimefor
I HARDWOODS DAYS s0nwo0Ds DAYS a stackof 1-inch-thick greenboards out-
doors. Thelowendof therangeforeach
I Ash,white 60-200 Douglas-f
ir 20-200
species is for lumberstacked in springor
Basswood, 40-150 Hemlock 60-200
summer-prime drying weather. Thehigh
I American Pine, 60-200 endis for lumber stacked in autumnor
Beech, 70-200 Easternwhite winter. Thefigures assume thatthelum-
I American Pine,sugar 15-200 b e ri s d r i e di n a r e g i o w
n i t ha c l i m a t e
Butternut 60-200 similar to thatwhere thewoodwascut.
I Cherry,
black 70-200
Redwood 60-365
red
Spruce, 30-120
t gray
Elm, 50-150
Hickory 60-200
I Maple,sugar 50-200
Oak,red 70-200
I
Sycamore, 30-150
I American
black 70-200
Walnut,
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DRYING AND STORINGWOOD t
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TW()OPTIONS
FORAIR-DRYING
LUMBER I
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Toair-dry a largequantity of lumber,startyourstackwithtwo4- withplywood,
rowof stickers topped witha pairof concrete blocks I
by-4supports equalin lenghto theboards to bedried(above). toapplyuniform pressure
onthestackandprotect it fromrain.
Restthesupports
at 3-footintervals
onconcrete
across thesupports.
Thenplace4-by-4bolsters Stack
blocks.
Beginstacking
smaller
yourlum- fourpieces
quantrties
of lumber
of 2-by-4stocknailed
in supportframes
(below).
madefrom r
together Builda frame
berat rightangles to thebolsters, leaving
a spacebetween each for eachendof thestackandonefor every3 feetof board I
pieceequalto theboardthickness, Separateeachlayer witha 1- lengh.Theframes should beslightly widerandhigher thanthe
by-2sticker as longasthewidthof thestack; cutthestickers stack.Arrange theboards asyouwouldfora larger stack,sepa- I
fromdryheartwood. Thinner stickers
willslowthedryingtimefor ratingeachlayer withstickers.Space thestickersat 18-inch
difficult species likewhiteoak.Alignthestickers withthebol- intervals, aligningonewitheachframeandalsocentering them t
sters;if youaredrying thinstock,placethebolstersandstickers between theframes. Tokeepthestackpressed downfirmly,insert
closertogether to prevent thewoodfromwarping. Coverthetop wedges tightlybetweentheframes andthetoprowof stickers. I
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88 I
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I STORINGWOOD
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I hetheryou wishto storelum- ceilingof yourshoparefinished, usea rackusedatmostlumberyards isimprac-
ber,manufactured boards, dow- studfinderto locatetheseframingmem- ticalforstoringlongstockin mosthome
t elsor
"shorts"-all
thoseodd-sized bers.Someracla,likethecantilevertlpe shops. Youarefarbetteroffwithafront-
piecesyoucannotaffordto tossout- shownon page91,mayneedfootings, loadingsystem, whichmakes it easier
to
I you shouldfind a storage optionto joistsupports or both. loadup newmaterial andto shiftwood
suityourneedson thepages thatfol- If space
isatapremiumin yourwork- aroundto findtheparticular plankyou
I low.Thedimensions providedin the shop,youneedto consider thedesign want.Avoidusingtriangular-shaped
illustrationsare given strictly as andplacement ofyourwoodstorage sys- brackets to supportlumber;theywaste
I guidelines. Eachdesigncanbeadapt- temcarefully. Theend-loading typeof preclous space.
edto anysituation.
I Theonlydesign element youcannot
skimpon is adequate supportfor the
I rack.A dozenl0-foot-long planks of6l+
whiteoakcanweighasmuchas400
I pounds. Racksupports shouldbesecured
directlyto wallstudsor to thejoistsabove
I theceilingatnomorethan40-inchinter-
vals.In mosthomeswith 16-inchon-
I centerframing,thismeanstyinginto
evervotherstudor ioist.If thewallsand
I
I
I Commerciallumberracksareavail-
ablein varioussizesand canbeadjust-
I ed to dffirent heigh*. Thetypeshown
canbescrewed to a concrete
wall or
I to wall studs.Four brackets
will hold
morethanonetonof lumber.
I
I 'fil-ffi"ill'llf"'ul"'III".lll""lIl"
lll*IIf
I
t 1HO?TI?
I Storing wood
to preaerveits
t moieture aonient
lf you are in the middleof a
project and haveNoleaveitrtor a
t couVleof weekeyou may find Vrobleme
onceyou return,A changein humidity-a
I suddenperiodof humidwealher,for example-
maycauoetrhewoodto ewellor shrink.You
can
I eolvethe problemby etoringLhewoodin a plaetic
qarbaqebaqor in vinyl,oealingany loooeendewith trape.
I WrappingNheboardwillkeepNhemoislurecontent of lhe
woodconelant,prevenlinq any dimenoional
chanqee,
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DRYING AND STORINGWOOD I
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A TRIO(lFTUMBER
RACKS I
Building a pipestorage rack
Thestorage rackillustrated at leftfeatures
I
three-piece vertical supports boltedto wall
studs.Thesupports buttress thesteelpipes,
I
whichcarrythelumber. Youwillneedone
support at eachendof therack,withan
I
additional oneevery 32lo 48 inches along
thewall.Use2-by-6 stockforthemiddle
I
stripsof thesupports and2-by-4s forthe
sidepieces; thesteelpipes should berough-
I
ly 20 inches longwitha 1 inchinternal
diameter. Markcuttinglinesontheedges
I
of themiddlestripsat eachpointwhere
youwantto locatea pipebracket. Make
I
sureall the brackets in thesamehorizon-
tal rowwillbeat thesameheight. Sawthe
t
middlestripsforthebrackets, angling the
cutsbyabout3" above thehorizontal so
t
the pipeswilI tilt up slightly(below) to
prevent thelumber fromsliding off. Once
I
a l lt h em i d d l set r i p a
sidepieces,
s r ec u t ,n a i o
formingbrackets
l nt h e
withevenly
r
spaced notches forthepipesupports. Bore
pilotholes at 24-inchintervals intothewall
t
studsanddrillclearance holes through the
supports for%-inchlagbolts.Secure the
I
vertrcal brackets to thestudswithboltsthat
penetrate 2 inches intothewall,thenslip
I
thepipesintotheirnotches.
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I DRYING AND STORINGWOOD

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13/+"x51/2"x
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Making a cantilevered storage rack
I Therackshownaboveandat rightis
anchored to thejoistsin theceiling to
I keepit fromtoppling forward. Marklines
onyourworkshop floordirectly undereach
I joist.Toprovide a sturdybasefortheposts,
nailshortlengths of 2-by-6to theflooras
I footings, centered on themarked lines.
Use4-by-4s fortheposts, thencuta joist
I anchor foreachpostandasmanyarms
asyouneedfrom2-by-6stock.Anglethe
ll topedgeof thearmsslightly to tilt the
lumber in toward thewall.Cuta mortise
I at thetopof eachpostforthejoistanchors,
andat every pointalongthepost's front
I edgewhereyouwantto locatean arm.
M a k es u r ea l lt h em o r t i s ei n
s t h es a m e
I horizontal rowareat thesameheight. Cut
tenons at theendsof thejoistanchors
I andarms,thenboreholesthrough the
sideof the postsfor 3/q-inch dowels: two
I holesforeacharmandoneforevery joist
a n c h o rI .n s e rtth et e n o n a
s n dt a ot h e
I dowels in place.Toe-nail thepoststo the
footings. Boreclearance holesthrough
I theanchors andpilotholesintothejoists Arma
forcarriage bolts,thensecure theanchors 13/+"x 51/2"x 20"
I in position (above).

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DRYING AND STORINGWOOD I
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Fasteninga lumber-and-plywood rackto anunfinished wall I
Therackshownbelow,madeentirely of 2-by-4stock,is attached
to exposed
wallstudsandceiling joists.Lumber canbepiledonthearms, whileplywood I
isstacked onedgeagainst thesupport brackets.Youwillneedat least8% feet
offreespace at oneendof therackto beableto slidein plywood panels.Begin I
bycuttingthetriangular-shaped bracketsandscrewing themto thestuds(nghf).
Cutthefootings, slipthemunder thebracketsandnailthemto theshopfloor. I
Next,sawtheuprights to lengthandtoe-nailtheirendsto thefootings andthe
joists.Cutasmanyarmsasyouneed,aligning thefirstrowwiththetapered I
endof thesupport brackets. Usecarriage boltsto fastenthearmsto thestuds
anduprights, making surethearmsin thesamerowarelevel. Therackinthe 9upport bracket I
features armssoaced at 18-inchintervals. 11/2"x31/2"x41./z'
illustration
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WallEtud
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Footinq
11/2"x31/z"xB"
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92 I
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I DRYING AND STORINGWOOD
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RACKS
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11/2"x31/2"x36"
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I 11/2"x31/2"x36"

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I Making a freestanding plywoodrack
Therackshownabove canholdply-
I rllllmillllllliltlfillullillttlllI]t]llltllltfiIlllllI]l1
ilullllillt woodpanels
support.
onedgewithout
Cutthebases
anywall
andlegsfrom
I 2-by-4stockandnailthepieces toge-
5HO?TI? ther.Toreinforce therack,nailtrian-
I Holdingplywoodpanelo gularbraces of t/z-inchplywood to the
outside legsandthebases; usesolid
I a4ainet a wall
Treventplywoodpanele lumber braces to support thelegsin
t
I
etackedon edqeaqainel
a wallfrom fallinqover
wiNhsomeropeand a
Vairof windoweash
weiqh|o.)eNtwo20-
N themiddle row.Toconnect

nailthemin place:
legsandanother
Setuptherackwhere
thethree
setsof legs,cut railsfrom1-by-4s
onehalfway
and
upthe
at thetopof thelegs.
youcanslipthe
I inch-lonq 2-by-4eon the panels in andoutend-f irst.
floor in fronLof Ihe wall.
I Thenecrewlwo eye
hookeinto wallebudeabouN
I 41/zfeet,abovethe floor.Cut,two
7-foot lenqlhoof rope,and Nieoneend
o f e a c h N oa h o o ka n d t h e o N h eer n d l o a
I weiqhtwrapVed in pipeinsulation. eland NheVan-
els on lhe 2-by-4oand leanthem aqainoN the wall.
I OraVethe weiqhlooverNheplywoodto keepIhem in Vlace.

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DRYING AND STORINGWOOD I
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Furrtnqetdp
3/+"x21/2"x5'
r
Building a vertical plywoodrack I
Forlong-term storage,stackingplywood
onendnotonlykeeps thepanels from I
warping; it alsosaves preciousshopf loor
space. Therackshownat rightis built I
fromfurringstrips,threaded rodsand
wingnuts.Startbyscrewing twofurring I
stripsto thestudsof onewall,2 and5
feetfromthefloor.Thenscrewtworods t
4t/zfeelapartintothetopstrip.Cuta
thirdfurrrng stripandborea holethrough I
it 2 inches fromoneendandsawa notch
at an interval oI 4VzfeeI.Bothopenings Woodpad
t
should beslightly thanthediame-
larger 3/+"x31/2"x12"
terof therods.Placetwowoodpadson I
thefloorbetween therodsandstackthe
plywood sheets onthem.Place
upright I
thethirdfurringstripacross theface
ofthelastpanel, onerodthrough
slipptng I
theholeandtheotherintotheslot.Slide
washers andwingnutsontotherodsand
illrlllllll lllllll lIllll llllilllilllfillllllllllllltlltllflllltill] I
tighten them,pulling thefurringstrip
tightlyagainst the plywood(inseD. fo 1HO?TI? I
remove a sheetfromthestack,loosen
thewingnutsandswing thefurring strip
Atemporary
plywoodpallet,
I
downandoutof thewav. ForehorN-Nerm etoraqe .
of a few eheeLe of ply' I
wood,makea palleLfrom
four ueedcar Lires,Tlacea Lire I
at eachcornerof a 4-by-B-foot
area;sNacklheplywoodsheels on I
top.lhe LireswillkeepNheeheete
leveland elevaledaboveanv moieLure I
on Ihe floor.Do noNeLackanyLhinqon top of the
eheeLe:Lhe addiLional weigh|maycau6eNhemNobend. I
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I DRYING AND STORINGWOOD
I
I STORING
DOWELS
I Wrapping dowels withrope
Dowels tendto rollaroundwhentheyarestoredflat.Stacking
I themupright is a better alternative, butthentheproblem is to
keepthemfromsliding downorfalling over.0neanswer isto loop
t themtogetherwith a lenghof rope, asshownat left.Drilla hole
t h r o u gah p a i n ct a nj u s tb e l o w t h er i ma n dt i e o n ee n do f t h e
I ropeto it; forma loopat theotherend.Drive a column of nails,
spaced a fewinches apart,intoa wallstuda fewfeetabove the
I c a n .S t a n dt h ed o w e l isn t h ec a na n dl o o pt h e r o p ea r o u n d
t h e mt w i c e .P u l lt h ec o r dt i g h ta n dh o o kt h e l o o p e ed n do n
I o n eo f t h e n a i l st h a ta l l o w tsh er o p et o h a n gt a u t .M o v e
the
loopup ordownasthesizeof thedowelbundlechanges.
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Storingdowels intheceiling
I Thegapsbetween exposed joistsin a shopceilingareoften
consideredwasted space,butyoucanmakegooduseof them
I to holddowels. Screwa coupleof 1-by-3furringstripsacross
thebottomof thejoistsandthenrestthestockontopof strips.
I Thismethod is particularly
useful forlongdowels, whichcan
cluttera workshoo.
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DRYING AND STORINGWOOD I
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STORING
SH()RT
STOCK t
Constructing a rackwitha mobile
jumbled
base I
Sortingthrough a wood pile in a
corner of theshop for a piece of short t
stockof therightsizecanbefrustrating.
Therackshownat rightstores shortpieces I
according to size. The bottom section is
a boxwithdividers, idealfor storingpieces I
of plywood; theboxis madewith%-inch
plywood, whilethe dividers aret/q-inch I
plywood. Thetopsection, builtfrom%-
inch plywood, consists of a backpanel, I
triangular-shaped sidesandr/q"plywood
shelvesspaced according to thediameter I
of thecontainers youplacebetween them.
Therackshownfeatures S-gallon cans I
belowthe bottomshelfandplastictubes
of varyingsizes ontheothershelves. Keep I
shortstockin thecansandtubing. Cut
triangularcutouts nearthetopof thesides I
to holddowels flat.Tomaketherackmobile,
fastenit to a shop-built
(below).
dollywithcasters
Cuta pieceof plywood to the
r
samedimensions asthebase of therack, I
thenscrewcornerblocks to oneside.Attach
a heavy-duty casterto eachcornerblock. I
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I M a k i n ga c o m b i n a t i o wno r k b e n c h
andshort-cut bin
I I n a w o r k s h ow p i t h l i m i t e ds p a c e ,
b u i l da w o r kt a b l ew i t h s h o r t - c u t
I s t o r a g sep a c eu n d e r n e a t hs ,u c ha s
t h e o n e s h o w na t r i g h t .C u t 2 - b y - 4 s
I t o l e n g t hf o r t h e l e g s ;s u p p o rtth e m
w i t h 2 - b y - 4b r a c e s - o n es e t n a i l e d
r a f e w i n c h e sa b o v et h e f l o o ra n d a
s e c o n ds e t a t t a c h e d f l u s hw i t h t h e
I t o p o f t h e l e g s .C u t t h e t o p a n d t w o
s h e l v e sf r o m3 / q p" l y w o o dt,h e n n a i l
t t h e mt o t h e b r a c e sS . a wn o t c h e s
o u t o f t h e c o r n e r so f t h e s h e l v e tso
I f i t a r o u n dt h e l e g s .M a k ed i v i d e r s
f r o m r / qi n c h p l y w o o da n d a t t a c h
I thembetween t h e s h e l v e su s i n g
q u a r t e r - r o um n do l d i n gs t r i p sn a i l e d
I i n t ot h e s h e l v e s .

I
I Front brace
11/z"x5t/2"x36"
I
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I Stacking stockbetween
Storeshortstockbetween
wallstuds
thestuds
t o f a nu n if n i s h esdh o pw a l l T
thewoodfromfallingover,screw
. ok e e p

t springclipsto thestudsandinsert
d o w e lisn t ot h ec l i p st o s p a nt h e
I gapsbetween
To standshorter
adjacent studs(/eftl.
lengths of stock
I h i g h eur p o nt h ew a l l c, u ts h e l v e s
andsupport cleatsfromscrapwood.
I Screw thecleatsto thestudsand
resttheshelves ontopof them.
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WOOD I
DIRE,CTORY I
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I
. reeshaveformeda partof theEarth's landscape for more Ratherthanprovidingtrspecific costperboarclfbot-rvhiclr
i',, than 300nillion vears- sincebeforedinosaursfirst canfluctuate-foreachrvood,priceislistedon a relatit'escale, I
roamedtheulanet.in thattimetheyhavedeveloped a rernark- from inexpensive to expensive. Usuallv,thc priciertvoodsare
ablediversityof species, nurrberingtnolethan i,000varieties chosenfor a specialpartof a pieceof funtiturc.\btr nrisht
a pieceof cocobolo, for exalnple,to makea tlt'atvt'r
pull,
r
in theUnitedStates alone.Tieescomein manysizesandshapes, select
fiorn thestuntedspruces of northernCanadato thesublime, or an inlayofebonyto adda decorative touchto a chailleg. I
torveringstandsof California's giantsequoias. Wood'sdiversiti' All thewoodsshownarecommercial\'available in North
is alsoapparentin thewidearrayof colorsandgrainpatterns America;for species you cirnnotfind iocally,checkrvooc'l- I
available to theu'oodworker, from thebold vermiiionhueof ivorkingmagazines fbr nrail-ordersources. Howeter,soure
padaukancltheinlyblaci<ness of ebonyto theintricate,swirling species arebecoming increasinglyrare,anda tbrvtropicalharcl- I
designs of rvalnutburl. lvoodsarein dangerof extinction.Iradein matty'sPecics is
The 78 species of woodshownin thisdirectorywerecho- severely restricted,and for this reason,woodrvorliers oftetr I
senn ith theneedsandinterests of thecabinetmaker foremost mustseekalternatives to usingtraditionalu,oods.Fortunatcll',
in rnind.The basiccabinetmaking woodsarehere-species therearemany,andtheirnumberis growing.Somehavelong I
suchasoak,pine,cherryandash.Buttherearealsoa number beenavailable: pauferro,for exampie, rvhichisstrikingll'sirn-
of lessfamiliarexoticwoodstoo,from afrormosia to ziricote. ilar to the costly,endangered
"good
Braziiianroservood. Others- t
Someyou mayhaveonly readabout;othersyou maybe see- so-called woods,"grorvnandharr,ested with a vietvto
ing for thefirst time.In eithercase,thephotosandinforma- conservation and sustainable growth-are recentarrivalsin I
tion may inspireyou to nervadventures in your upcoming North America.Theselesser-known species, importedpri-
woodworkingprojects. marilyfrom CentraiandSouthAmericaat present, originatc I
The directoryis arrangedalphabetically accordingto a from sourcesthat aremonitoredin orderto be certifiecias
wood'smostcommonlyusedname.Sometimes a woodmay well-managed. Fourof thesewoodsarefbatLrred in thisdirec- I
beknown by severalllames;to avoidconfusionyou mayneed tory:bayo, chactacote, chontaquiro amarilloandtornillo.(You
to usethe botanicalnamewhenbuyinga particularspecies canlearnmore aboutthesewoodsand rvhereto buy them I
("spp."indicatesthat the wood comesfrom severalspecies throughtheWoodrvorkers Alliancefor RainforestProtectioir
belongingto that genus).Thewoodsin thischapterwerepho- in CoosBay,Oregon;theRainforest Alliancein NervYork;or I
tographedwith a clearlacquerfinishto highlighttheir colorand Scientific Certification Systems in Oaldand,California.)
figure.For this reason-and becauseof the inevitablevaria- Youmaywantto avoidtheproblernsof scarcitybybuilding I
tionswithin species-theunfinishedwood that you buy may your projectswith more plentifulwoodsor pl1nvood, then
look somewhatdifferent. coveringthemrvitha beautifulveneer. Anotheralternative is I
Hardwoodsareindicatedwith an (H); softwoodswith an (S). rec,vcled wood,scavenged from old buildings,shippingcrates
However,do not takethe termstoo literally.Somesoftwoods or pallets.With effort and imaginationyou can transform I
areactuailyharderthansomehardwoods.For moreinforma- manyworkadayitemsinto handsomepieces.
tion on the differences betweenthe two groups,seepage24. I
Theworkabilitycategorygivesinformationaboutthe ease This symbolindicatesa species that
I
or difficulty of workingrvith a particularwood.Somespecies
maybetoughto planeunlessyou reducetheangleof theblade,
while othersmayrequireyou to pre-borefor nailing.
N) in at leastoneof
is rare or endangered
thecountrieswhereit is harvested.
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 \\roo I) I )tI{E(.TOl{\'

E
T
ffi ,.,trl{o{tNioslA AGBA
m t - i

i o l a n i c a l N a r n e :I
(H)
g O t a n i C a l N a f f i e : i , r 1 r , , r , " , , . , r . i i i ' r i l ' , . i r : r it ,-ijrr' :. ;, 1
t i1r t , i . r t r i r ,
. ,.' ] . . . : tr1l r i r , , , , i i ai I t r r, I I
n 1 1 : 3 9 i i : . i 1 i 1 ; 2 ' bj i q ( a . a . f . y ' 1 : 1 . 2
O i l 2 l ) , e t : t , . a O , l a i t , L . n . . ) 6 t , t t . :):',..,): fi r . r ' r
';:
irti :.:..
,::,lracr,tt,e , A u r a i e a t J : i q i t l ' , , ' t e r , , l . ti .: ., r ' - ' ! r a i . r , . ' ' :. ' . , r L
U -.1
, - , , m r r i c a n f f i a l c q e a . i a r , ) | : a : ' , i f : r [ ] r ' a , : i i n r . r '-rn. . ' r | r : , , , r . '
= - , , r e l q i . l , ,a. . c a : t , o r a 0 a a . a : aa ) ? \ i L ' a a: : i . ; f . r i | i ! ' r r i i : . : ' i

T qt:ir1a|\t. fna<ilq ii aaaa.ta.)2t',1

',vaenoe:ecLtr'q +"h;,:t t,mber.
i.a :)t:-a-.i.)i:i-::rr,' .-,|i"

Other Names: I o:a 17;;irtit i ::t:.tit ;.,r::'. :1,.i,.,,i..: i -rr,i

I qrain: moder'
lo tl.t:rloc',F.t:d | /',,nqca): lliaeriar,r;:l;:r Lll.i... l; nili2 I.i-..;,;..4; t; "ri....,r.:ir.,i
ovtn,c)arKart-"oa rich qci)aen rnantbc r: ( I'tiler:: ).
T ?ource: Troptca \t"ieel,ltir ca.
boa*' btl C nq. caDi- Characterietice: 5tr ai4itt ia a ) r"r. a',ntl t;,','.,1i 1;; i.f i:1'1:1
T qratn:moderat.ei,1
a V t n ll.: t L .
finei.a'tt,t.)ra: trr:r:.j\', ti.-r,,,N.,r1'1.1'l ...:i

t Uaes: i-:Lrniltre.,lL)raiaq,? :lrooa, l;it:i: I; : l.:lil'rrl.

pare tnr4and occaairlna '! ror \t',ttrt-.r:t'::.
rr :rl.rlf rlr.

: e n e r a l l , lr , e r yd o o ) : : : ti q ' r ' , | L r r t r r . , lril

W o r k a b i l i t yO
t a ! ) t t a a zV a l \ \ \ l e 1 ) al.1l',er5', lo'n Denitna pro2erlter,: aJftl t',!{,'arar..J ittr!
aarae aeN bladeaL.obntr.t.
I Finiehing:l\c,:;eg-'"z fintel.,ee we.i,ltrltet i tt:t1.
Weight: 32 1v.lc'1. f-v.
t ?rice: l,/oderaf,e.

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\A/OOI)DIITECTORY I

AMBURANA I
ALDER,RED
(H) (H)
bolanical Name: ,r',iiti'srtibra 6ot anical Namer Lm b ura na c. a r. n.ii.
I
?..eaa der ie eao'1-,a cfv o.a iL LakeEfinieheevery we)|, KelaLt'telyalranqfcr tLe v,teqf,. amo,Lrarta:s a qr::::t)
e e 2 e c i ay i f a , t , a e hc o e L o l r . a t n n . de A e a c i e a p V i e d c h o t c ef o r l o i n e r y .l L e i r r e q u l a ra r a n E . r a y e 2 r c l t o e
-rrat)aa
t
b e i o r ea i a i n i n q .T h i ev t c o dc a n b e o f e i q n i f i c a n vL a l a ei n a L L r a c l i v ev e n e e ( a .T o a n Am a i r ' y : r - , " h e , cr',\
\,taca\Narki.q. despir-,e ite re atrivelynodeel repuT,ation.
z-vertaelective alder eAcaldnoL be geqqedlor lirewood.
reqione of SouLh An:enca.the NreeeciLer',.otver':.t: I
1 a a f e e t . I h e v t o o dc a n p t a t e L i e e e n e e ew t l l : a n c a , : r
) e f e c L z .a l c i a e b u d e a n d e l a i n s , c a n p r o d t c e b e a t f i ' o f v a n i Ja .
:
ft ,ig.n"rru. Other Namea Cerejeira,.uffiare. cumart. rajada
Other Names:\"leer"erna1der,areqon a der. ( 3 r a z i ) : r o b l ed e l p a t e .V a l ol r e b o ( , A r 4 e n t i n a l ' .
9ource; Tacfic CoaeLof Nor"thAnter'tca. i e h p i n E(o7 e r u ) . I
Cha r a cle rieti c e : G ene r aily eLraiqht' qr ai n; fi ne, eve n 9ources: Cenlra and SauLh /tmer'tca.
lexltiret paieye:iovtLo readieh-brown. Characterislice: lnteriockecand irreqt)ar qrain: rqettt r,
-vexture:ye)iow*vo
I
Ue es: I ur nin,2,f ',-t r niLur e. c arvinq, plywood and veneere. ta coaroe pale brownw)Ll a eJb::,e:
Workability:Generaly qood: reduce bladeanqle when oranqe r.inr.,darkeninqeiiqhLlyv'ti",h
Uses: FurniLure.joinery,boal butdinq ani var,aero.
ex2ceure. I
p)anrrqLo prevenl LearouL:only oliqht bluntinqof cuL'
r er-.. 'ot b.r d r q ?-o?e-! e4. Workability:GooA;aulla culti.q edqeo nod,erately.
Finishing: l,c c epLefi niehee vtell, r e d u c ec u L L i n qa n q l eo f b l a d ew h e np l a n i n 4i r r e 4 t l a r
I
WeighhSS b,lca.tr.. qrain; ?re-borefor nailinq:moderaLebendinqprogert'iee.
?rice: lnexgeneive. Finiohing:t',ccepteftnieheewellwhenii )ed.. I
Weight 37 \b.lcu.ft.
?ricet Moderale. t
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ASH,BLACK ASH,WHITE,
I (H)
bolanical Name: Fraxtnuentqra
(H)
9otanical Name: Fraxinue amencana
OiLen k.nownaa ewall? ar waLera",h,blackaeh qrov'te V ' l h i t ea e h c a n b e c o n o i d e r e dL h e a l -f , m e r i c a nJ e i e t r c
I mainiy tn lhe wellande of eaeNernl')orth America.Ae wood.SLronq and very ehock-reaielanf,it. le ueed Lo
+,.1esolLeat y',mericanaeh, it, te more ik.e1y Lo be lound make oare, pool cuee and baaebaI bala. lt ie a eo Lhe
I i n i n t e r i o r1 on e r ga n d c a b t n e L w o r k t h a ni n e p o r L ee q u i p - wood of choicefor qarden-I.oolhandles,aeed exten"tivey
m e n L ,w h e r ev , r h t t a, eo h i o c o m m o n ) yu s e d . l t a l e o h a e a in boaLbuildinq a n d ,c u t i n L o d e c o r a t i v e v e n e e r 6t . o f L e n
I eiqniltcan"v hieLoryae a weavinqwood for many Lygeeol
b a e l . e L e . 3 1 a caks h ' a r a L a r yc J t a n d e l i c e dv e n e e r za r e
hae a hiqhlyvarieqated hearfwood,k.nowna., olivea""h
o r c a ) c oa o n .
hiqhrydecoraLiveand much oouqhtrafler.
I Other Namee; 3r own aeh, hoog aoh, owamp aeh, waLer
Other Nameei A\rnericanwhiLeaah, Canadianael .
A m e r i c a na e h ,
' - ' . ' o - ?e ' n b r o n na o \ . Souraes: Canada and U.3.A.
I 1ources: l,).3.4,. and Canada. Characterielicat 3lr aiqhL qr ain; coa rae LexLure: liqh-v-
Characteristics: 1LraiqhL qrain: coaree,eventext ure: brown hearLwoodwilh almoeL white eapwood.
I dark, qrayieh brown. Usea Saeeballbats, pool cuee,oare, f,oolhand ee, boat.
Uees: )oinery, cabiner.work, glywoodand,veneere. bu i dl ,in q , f u r n i X uer a nd ve nee re .
Wo rkability : 3 aLiof a cLo ry : mod,er aLe b)u nti nq of c ut -
I Workability:Generallyqood; blun|e cultero moderaNely:
.,cel er beadi"q Lero:excellenlbendinqproperLieo;pre-borefor nailinT.
2-o2ertiee.
FinishingA : c c e p t e f i n i a h e sw e 1 l . Weight: 42lb./cu. ft.
I tNeight:35 lb./cu.fL. Trice: Inexpeneive.
?rice: lnexpeneive.
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WOOD DIRECTORY r
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AVODIRE, BALSA
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N
(H)
9otanical Name:TurreanLhue afr tcanua
(H)
9otaniaal Name:Ochroma pyramtda le
t
Considered t's beoneof Lheworld'sbeoLqualitybloni Saleahaethe ltghLeoL weiqhtof any commercially ueed
wooda,avodirdrarelyie available in lar7equant"iLiee.
II; hardwood,.Thie properLyhas madeiL a keyinqredient. I
normallycamegto North Americaae veneer, whichpoe- of life rafLs and a widevariely of eafeLyand buoyancy
oeoeeean aLi.racLive molLledoall,ern.LhaIie ueedin devicea ainceWorld,War ll.ln facL,thewordbalsameane I
finecabinef,makinq and,Vanelinlq. rafLinSpanish. A,lthouqh iria difficulltodry,onceiLaoeo
Olher Names:African satinwood.Africanwhite
mahogany, apeya(Ghana):apaya(Niqeria): enqan
it ie a relalively elableand sLronqwoodfor iLeweighL.
Oiher Names:Guano(TuerloKico,I'ondurae): lanero
I
(Cameroon); lueamba(Zaire):aqbe(lvoryCoael):eeu ( C uab ): po la k ( 3e l i z eN
, ci a raq ua ) ' N
, opa ( ?er u ): I a m i
(Conqo): AfricanfurniLurewood,olon, (Solivia). I
)ourcea WeeI and EquatorialAfrica. ?ources:Weer" lndiee,CentralAmerica,Lroeical7ouLh
Characterialica:LighL,elronq wood;mainlyebraighL America(Ecuadoi. I
grainbuLcan bewavyor inLerlocked: mediumlo fineNex- Charaal,erieticaz 7traiqht,qrain:fine,velvety t exture:
t"ure;qoldenyellow. whiteLo oaf,mealbrown wiLha pinkieh tint. I
Uges:Cabinetwork, veneere,marquetryand plywood,. Ueea:\/todelmakinq,toye, watere?orteequipment and
WorkabilitytFair:increaaebladeanglewhenVlaninqae proos,
intrerlocked qrainlende to causeLearout;Voorbending
Nheaf,rical
WorkabilitytExXremely qood,Vrovidedbladeeare kept
I
properrieo'.pre-boreI or nailinq. veryeharV:willnot bendwithoutbucklinq: little blunlinq
F i n i o h i n gO:e n ear l l yq ood . of culNers. I
W e i g h t : 3 6 l b . l c uf r. . Finiehing:Acceptefinieheawell:absorbsa qreaLquan-
TricetExoeneive. Nityof finiohingmalerial. I
Weightt 6-16 lb.lcr'.fL.
TricetModerahe. I
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BASSWOOD BAYO
I (H)
9olanical NametTtliaamencana
(H)
9olanical Name:Aepidoepermac ruenLum
Liqhrweiqht and eaoyto work,basewood hae beencon- A wondertd,eaey-workinq Limber,bayote a "lesoer-
I eideredoneof the world,'e foremoeN carvinqwood,e for knownepeciee" hardwood Lhaf,iEofLenavailable in larqe
c e n N u r i e e .cl aL nb e e h a p e dt o r e m a r k a bfl iyn ed e l a i l .l I sizesand,someLimee cul inlo veneere. Noi orly aL|rac-
I ie odor-freeand hae beenused,exLeneively for d,omesLtc tive, bayoio alooverydecay-reliotant.
qood,e euchae kiLchen ulensiloandfoodconf,ainere. 5ouraes:3 oubheaot Mexico, frelize,I onduras.
I Saeewool,
becau"e i16e21116o
ie coneiAered uneutLable
poorly.
for ouLd,oor d,uLy Charaaterislicot Slraight lo eliqhllyinterlockinq
mediumLo fineLexLure: heartwood'. brownieh
qrain',
pink;eap-
r Olher Namea.A,merican
l i r r e( U . K . ) .
linden,linn,limef,ree:American waod:creamwiNha Vinkioh
Usea Cabinebwork, Lurninq,
bluehthroughouL.
framinq,furniLureand,deco-
5ourcea EaeternCanadaand U.9.4. raLiveveneere.
I Characberistics: Straiqhxqrain:finelerturei creamy Workability:Generallyqood:doeenoLLakenailEwell:
whitedarkeninq lo creamybrown. good,bendingproperLiee.
I Ueea:Turninq, carvinq,?attern making, toyo,pianokeya, Finiohing:AccepLofinioheewell.
match eplinto,boxeoand,cratee. Weighu37-46lb./cu.ft.
I WorkabilitytVery qood: blunf,scutLeroeliqhtly; poor
bendinqproVerDiee,
?ricetModerate.

Finiohing: Generally qoodwiLhall finishee.

I W e i g h t t2 6 \ b . / c u . f L .
?rice:lnexpeneive (eliqhl;lyhtqherf or thick 12/+ and 16/+ kiln-
I driedcarvinqefock).

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BEECH,AMERICAN BIRCH,PAPER t
(H) (H)
OotanicalNamerFaquaqrandifolta Dolanical NametDeLulapapyrifera
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leavy, hardand eLronq,Americanbeechie uaedfor 7aperbirchio a Louqh,heavywood,a)Lhouqh iI.ie eolLer
everythinq from floorinqLo woodenware. Althouqhcon- Lhanolher birches.lIe barkwaeuaedby lr)ative Americane I
eideredleosallracLivethan European beech,American to faahionwigwame and canoeeeo thaL manypeop)e
b e e c hh a e2 r o m i n e nrtar y ea n dv i o i b ltei n y p o r e e , l ti a
hiqhlyfiquredwhenquarlereawn.
eLillreferLo it ae
"canoe
birch."Thewoodpoeeeeeea an t
atLracLive figure,and,ie aometimee elicedinto decora-
Other Name:1eech.
5ourceq EaeternU.3.A.and Canada.
T,tve
veneere.
Other Namea WhiLeblrch.eweeLbtrch.Americanbirch.
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Characteristicot Straiqht qrain:fine,evenLexture; 5ouraeszCanada,U.A.A.
reddiehbrownLo liqhl brownhearLwood witrhalmoel Charaaterietica: SLraiqhtgrain;finet exture:wide, t
whiLeeapwood. creamywhileeapwood: pale-brown hearLwood.
Ueee:7enlwoodfurniNure, turninq,handleeand UeeetI urninq f or d,omeeIic ulensila, dowele, Loothpicke, I
cabineLmakin4. eVoolo,bobbine,hooVoand,toye, plywoodand decoraf,ive
WorkabilifytSatiefactory: qoodwif,hmoettoole bu|
may burnwhencroescutor drilled:may bindon aawe:
veneerg.
Workability:Generallyqood;moderatedullinqof
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excellenLturninqwood;excellenlbend,in q properLiee., cutfere:unueualcurlyqrairtmaypick.up in planinq; oat-
hiqhohrinkaqe makesiL unelablein use, iefacNorybendinq properLiee. I
Finiohing: AccepLefiniaheewell. FiniehinqAcceptefinieheswell.
Weight:46lb.lcu.fL. WeighV39 lb./cu.fr. I
?ricetModerate. Trice:lnexpenoive.
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BOCOTE, BUBINGA
N
I (H)
9otanical Name:Cordtaaop.
(H)
1otanical name:Guibourtiaeoo.
A beautifuleubstiLuLefor roeewood. bocoteie oneof A rosewood
I LhemanyLypeeof cordia-a qroupof hardwoode found
eubetibute, bubinqa'o loqeoflen weigh
morethan 10 tons:they can becut into exlremelywide
Lhrouqhout lhe West lndieo,LroVical America,Africa Kevazinqo, a veneerpeeledfrom irreqularly
Vlanke.
I and Aaia.frocotre'e LexLure ie similarNoteak-although qrainedloqe,Voeeeooee a wild,,flame-like
fiqurethat io
it, ie eomewhaLharder-and iXewildfiqurepal\erno eopular f or cabinet work.
I produceeNunninq
i n s m a l ls i z e s .
cabineLwork.fhe woodie availableonly Olher Namee:African roeewood,
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eseinqanq,kevazinqo
\r otary cut veneeronly).
Other NametCordia.
I Souraes:Mexico,Selize,I'onduras.
Souraee,Equatorial
Charaat,eriatiasz
Alrica (Cameroon,Gabonand 7_aire).
Verydenee;finegrain:purpliehpink
Characterielica; 1traiqht, grain:moderatelycoaree lo ealmonred,wiLhdark Vurpleveining. QuarLereawn
I LexLure; qreenLo qoldenyellowwiLhblackfiqurepaLterne. boardeofLenehowveryatlracf,iveblackmotlle fiqure,
Usea Furnif,ure, cabineLe,interior joinery,turninq and UeeetTurninq, f urniture, cabinetwork a nd veneere.
I decorativeveneerg. Workabilityz Generallyqood:irregulargrainNende
WorkabiliNy: Generallyqood;bluntocu|tinq edqes to tear whenhand-planed: pre-borefor nailinq.
I oliqhLly; qood bendingproperLieo.
Finiohing:Accep|ofinieheswell.
Finiahin1 Excellent.
Weight:55 lb./cu.fr,,
Weighh4b lb./cu.fL. ?ricezExpeneive.
I TriaetExpeneive.

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BUTTERNUT CATALPA
(H)
bolanical Name: Jt.rqlanectnerea
(H)
6ot anical Name: CaLa Ipa apt:c rt:t a
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i , m:rrtberof "vle 'ua rtaLf amily.br.ftfernfi haa aeeumed /,, co7r, at.lracltve vtor:d.oaLal2a t:' a l,n,':aatit',e-;",'rt:r:,:i
a r.).tc.: of l tono; ae lhe vtr:odolLen ciosen lor cAurcA aa ey ta rvork with a vtavy I qt;re. I Ite't't,:: orj ia i a eLi't.::J\' I
eli.ar.r'.fhielree tr' lrea"'tred for more LAan i-"ewood: inerpertei,,,e. btL olLen di+Jictt to lini ctcaly. Le c:ptn
'.'1.
?a....a.6 a rich. deiic aro nJ-,ane ?roducea qrain and exceear'ieaaflnea'afial.e tl L)1a.t-iara lor I
-vltat e used,t o mal.ea eweeLeyruV simi ar fr.trnilureLhal wtllraae:e aeaq '.pe. F.r:ai'"lanlr.r,
a aag
1..,me? . t'!rn?. decay, iL ie tdea for r:tldor:r oar\'flQi.
O t h e r N a m e e :C a t a w b a .a q e - ; r c e . n d i a n - l t . a n t. r : r L r t '
t
Other Namee: V.lhfievtalnuL,oi nt,ti.
1 o u r c e e : a + o d ' . 0 . 1 . t -.
Characlerietica: Straiqlt qratn;eofl but coaree lex-
ern caLel?a.
5ourcet 1-).3./:.
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I . ' .- e , m a ' l b ' o * r . Cha r a cleri sti c s : G e ner a|ly L)aeve., wa,""1 qr ai n: m edi t m
Ueea: 7lrnir.lre. inl,etor Lr'tmon boate, int eriorjo nery. caarae,evenLetLrr.i Iigl:f tan wii,ha 2ro':ninentdarl.er' I
aaf"/n4. venaafa. qrowilt nnq fiqure.
WorkabilitytGenerallyqood: becaueewood ie eofL, it U e e e :C a b i n e l m a k t n qL.t r n i n q ,p i r : L t r ei r e m e e a n d q e n ' I
ie imgorLantto keepct)ttera eharg: willfuzz uV when e r a lo r n a m e n l a u a e a .
a a n d e d ;g o c r b e n d i n 7p r o g e r L i e e .
FinishingzAccepl,efinieheevery well.
Workability Generally very qcod: may fray til'tencrr:ee'
c t t : d u l l ec u L t e r s o n l ye l i q h t l y .
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Weight 2b lb.lc',t.fl. Finiohingzt',cce2Lofiniaheevtel.
Price: ModeraLe. Weight: 2b-32 lb.I cu. tL. I
?ricezInexpenaive to moderale.
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CEDAR,ALASKAYELLOW CEDAR,AROMATIC
t (e)
b otanical Name;Cha maecypa rie nooLkaLe nete
/.q\

t A'taekayellowced,arie etableand remarLably reeisLanl
to aecay,Likemoet,membersof the cedarf amily,iI hae
a dJeLincLive odorthat,f adeeae Ihe wooda4eo.Thie
I woodia not,abundantlyavailable. TheIreee qrowtro60
lo ba feel;in heiqhtin Lheforest,eof Lhe?acificnorLh-
I weef,,an) if,can take up tu ZaO yearefor them to reach
marketable eize.
Olher Names:Yellow
I cedar,?acificCoasLyellow
nooLkafalee cypreoe,yellowcy?re6e.
cedar,
Source:TacificCoasLof Norfh America.
t Characterisliae;SLraiqht,qratn;fineLerture;paleyellow.
Uses:Furnilure, joinery.boat build,inq
and veneers.
I WorkabilitytVeryqood:lowdullingof cutLere.
Finiehinq:Acceptefinisheewell.
I Weight:31lb./cu.ft.
TricetModerale.
t Finishin7:Acceplefinieheswell,except,for Lurpenline-
I ?rice:lnexpensive.
OotanicalName:J uniperuevirqiniana
LikemosLol,herLreeeknownae "cedar,"aromaLiccedar
ie nol boLanically a
"cedar"
at,all.ln f acr.,the Lreefrom
whichthie softwoodcomeeie a iuniper. 7uLIhe timber
conNaine cedaroilandqiveeoffihefamiliar"cedai'ecenl
that, is eaidto reVelmoLhe.fheae two characleriettca
are f,hereaeonwhyLhewoodis frequentlyusedIo line
cloeef,sand chesLe.
Other Namee:Kedcedar,eaeLernred cedar,fenneeeee
red cedar,juniper,
SourceaCanadaand eaEternU.9.A.
Characterielicsz7Lraiqht,qrain;finetexLureireddieh-
browni boa rd e ofLen have knoLe and ba rk incluaione,
Uaeo:Cawing,lininqo of cloeeLeand cheete,veneero
and pencile.
WorkabilitytGenerallygood,but briXtle:may breakor
chipwhendrilled,; mayeplit in nailinq.
baoedVroducf,e,
WeighttSO lb./cu.fL.

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CEDAR,WESTERNRE,D CEDAR,WHITE
(e) /41
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botanical Name:Thujaplicata B olanical Name: Thuja occ td enta lie
A qrand-eized Lree,weetern red,ced,arcan qrowLo ffiore
x h a n1 5 Of e e t i n h e i q h Ll L. i a o n eo l t h e l t q h t e eal n d
Whtte cedar ie oooular in NorDhAmerica for if,e reeia'
Lance lo decay. lt is ofl.en ueed far canoea,ehinqlee r
mosLdurableeofLwoode, makinqit idealfor ouLdoor a n d o t h e r e x L e r i o ar p p l i c a t i o n e . W h i lneo l e e p e c i a l l y
uoe.lte dielinct qrowLhnngli4ureand,alLraclivecolor etronq, the wood ie eaey Lo work and is wellauited I
aleoqiveiI eiqnificant, valuefor panelinq and,veneer. Lo out door d,ecoraLive objecle. Smal er Lreeeare ueed
"knotty
Eepecially knolty pieceoare eoldae
epecieeie elowlo reqeneraLe;if currenNheavy
cedar."Thie
leveleof
f o r p o l e ea n d p o e t e . T h e w o o d i ee e l d o m f i q u r e da n d ,
almo1T,neverubea a9 veneer.
I
coneumpf,ion do noLabate, weelernredcedarcould
becomea rarewoodin Lhe21el Century,
Other Names: Arbowilae, eaglern whiLecedar,
ewamp cedar.
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Other Namea Gianl arborviLae (U.3,A.);red,ced,ar Sourcea Canad,aand,U.3.4.
(Canada): 9 ribieh Columbi a red,ced,ar (U.K.) ; canoe-ceda r. CharaaNerielicezStratqh| 7rain: even terLure; liqht t
1ourceetCanada,l.e.A. brown hearlwood; eapwood ie white; many knol,e
Characterietice: Straiqhf,qrainicoareelexLure.
exLerior millwork.
commonly ?reoent,. t
UeeszOutd,oor furniture,boat buildinq, Ueea; 7oai, buildinq,poele and d,ecoraLtve fencinq.
WorkabilityzGenerallyqood:keepculLeroaharp.
FiniehinqAccepLefinieheewell.
Workability..Good.
Finiohinq Accepte finieheewell.
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Weiqht:23 lb.lcu.ft. Weight;23 lb.lcu,ft.
?rice: ModeraLe. Tricet lnexpenoive. I
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I CHACTACOTE
(H)
CHERRY,
BLACK
I 9otanical Name: 9ickinqia ealvadoreneie
(H)
OotanicalnametFrunueeeroLtna
ChacLacote,a hardwoodlrom wellmanaqed eourcee, Extremely eLablewhenil cameeLo checkinq
I q r o w o i n l h e Y u c a t a n a n d C h i a p a i or e q i o n oo f e o u t h - inq,and excepLionally
and warp-
beautifu|blackcherryia oneof
eaef,ernMextcoand Selize.Seau|iful and eaoy f,a work, NorLhAmerica'e fineet,cabinef,woode,However,Nhere
I iL ie a wood,of inlenee color and olLen poeeeeeeea qor- to a ?ronaunced,variancein colorbeLween ite eapwood
q e o u ef l a m e f i 7 u r e . l Li e r e c o m m e n d , eLdo u e e a f i n i e h and hearlwood, whichcan somef,imee be problemaNic.
r wiLh ulLravioleLray proLecLanN,
fadee wiNhex?o6urelo f,he eun.
since iLe incrediblehue lf Lhetwo are ueedoide-by-eide,
playa discrepancy
finiehedworkmaydie-
in color,whichwillinNeneily ae the
Other Namea Chacahuante;Kedwood(Selize\
t 9 ources: 9 out\ eaar, M ex'co, 3 elize.
woodagee.A goodportionof blackcherrywoodcon-
t ainequrndeVoeiLe Lhrou7hout. AlLhouqh thie doeenot.
Charaateristiae: Fairly irreqularqrain;fine LexNure: eignificanr.ly
affecI the lumber,it showeon veneero;1oqe
I hearLwood,: brilllanl crimson red; eapwood:crearn, wiLhexceaeive qumare avoidedfor veneers.
Ueeq FurniLure,cabinelworkand Lurninq. Other nameatAmericancherry,rum cherry,whiekey
I WorkabilityzVerygood,
FiniehinryAccepf,efinieheswell.
cherry,wilAcherry,fruitwood.
5ourcee;Canada,U.9.A.
Weight: 40 -45 lb./cu. tt.
I ?riaet Mod,eraLe.
CharacterislicetFineqrain;omooLhlexture; reddieh
brownto deepred hearLwood.
Us ea FurniLure,f,ur ninq, ca winq, joinery,mueical
I insf,rumenLo, boat interiorsand decoraliveveneer..
Wo rkabil*y: Very good,: blunte cutli nq edqee moderat e-
I ly:qoodbendinqproperLiee.
Finiehing;Acceptefinieheswet|
I Weight:36lb./cu.ft,
TriaetModeraNe.
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WOOI) DII{EC'I'ORY I

AMARILLO
CHONTAQUIRO I
AME,RICAN
CHESTNUT,
(H)
(H)
Ootanical Name: Castanea cenlta[a g o t a n i c a l N a m e z) . 1 | t , c ' | | I
i'irt.ra ;r er.r"erninaLed by a fun4t-tedieeaeeknownae t h a r a , f ' e a v yL i m b e r ,c h o n L a q u i r o amariio ie iot:nd:.t
clteelntfi b tE6*',
-vle ma)onL'1of chesLnul .ow corie. a b u n a a n c ei n l l e t r o g i c a if o r e s l " o i 7 e r t .a, t A l : r a z i . I
i r o m r e , c y c l e Ld t m b e r ef r o n b a r n ea n ) ' o t h e r b u i l d i n q c t ie a beatft,ift-t wood,wiil a atrikinq fiqlre or boLr:
ll,a-v Stre-dalethe b qlL. )l hae a eo beenavailable p l a t n ' e a w na n d q a a r L e r e a w nI u m b e r U . .aA aca \l aa a I
irorr eLandtnqdead treee t'hai have beenaLLacled by mah o4 a ny e obst tLr-tt e, Lhie 1es s er - kno\Nri 5p. ci. a |)
:.naecle,Ihe ree,-tLtrq "wormy cheeLnut" is noneLheeaE
cor,eideredan atLreclive wood Lhat' retaine cAeaI'nut, s
beqinninqto be exporr,edinto l loft'h l'.mericafcr tae
i n f t n el u r n i i u r e a n d c a b i n e L m a k i r : q .
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O l h e r N a m e s : 3 t c u 2 i r o c. a l - t l c .
.eL.Nradurabt|Nyand makeeit' excellenL
Or.her Namee: !\torrry cheeLnut',oweet cheaLnuL.
for or,tldooruee
S o u r c e : 3 o u L hA m e r i c a . t
?ourcee: Canada ana Eaelern U.3.4,. Characteristico: )LraiqhL to intedocLea4ratn',rncaer'
Characterislics: Toroue qrowth rinqe reeulNin promi- at ely coaroe Lo coar6e lexLLrei iqht t o dark.brout'n I
rtenLfiqure;coeree t,ey.rilreipale brown. hearLwood: y ellowiehcr earn eapwood.
l J s e e zI t c ; 1 e, eo L a k e e ,g i c t u r e l r a m e s , f u r n i L u r ea n d U s e s : F u r n i t u r e c, a b i n e t ' m a L t naqn d a r a a q . a l c o n -
eLrucLionusee.
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deacraLlveveaeera.
Workability:Generally,qoo,):doee naL t)r. or ehape tve)i.
WorkabiliNy Generally ea6y Lo work: ferroue mer.ale
rnay otatn lhe wood blue:eplir'oeaeily;medium bendinq F i n i o h i n qA : c c e p t e l t n t e h e ev re l l .
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properLiee. Weiqht: 5B lb.lcu.tL.
Finishing':/^,cceptefinieheevery well. ?rice: \,4oderate. t
Weighr,: 3a b.lct-t.fL.
?rice: "loberaLe ta P\ ?c4a"\.e. I
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I COCOBOLO
N v- C.YPRESS,
BALD N)
I (H) (e)
6olanical Name:Dalber4iaretuea Ootanical Name: Taxodrum d taLichum
A durable,hardwood,cocobolo ?ae6egee6 someinler- N o r m a l lfyo u n di n w e Lr e q i o n e
a n d e w a m p eb, a l d
I eelinqworkinqproperLiee.lN conLaina a nal,uraloilyeub- cy?reeslumberio truly al homein waLer.ln f acL,iL
of,ancef,haI noLonlywalerproofeIhe wood,but makee ie ofLenusedin bridqeeand docke,Old-qrowLh timber
T iNveryeaeyto workand finieh.However,
may caueeitchinqand eneezing
ile fine eawdueL ie eignificantlymoredecay-resieLant. Lhansecond-
and,ofLentemporarily grow\hwood,thouqhbobhare coneidered idealfor
d , y e ot h e e k i no r a n q e .l t , i s r e c o m m e n d eNd oc o v e r
I expooed ekinwhenworkingwith cocobolo.
o u L d o ou
becoming
r e e .V a l u r e s l a n d s o f t h i e e p e c i e sa r e
gcarce,and ae gwarypeare drained,iL te
Other Nameo Granadillo(Mexico):Nicaraguanroee- sufferingfrom a lose of habitat, whichwillmakeiI
I wood,qrendill. increaeingly rareao Limepaeeee,Daldcypreeeocca-
Source:WeeN coaeLof CenbralAmerica. e^ionally yield,a intereelinqveneere and,panelinq.
I Characterietico:Heaug,deneewood:otraiqhtlo irrequ- Olher Names Soulherncypre6e,ewam?cy?re6e,
lar grain;mediumLexlure:purple,oranqe,ruel and li dewaLercy?re6e,yellowcypr eoe, while cypr eee,
I yellowcolorwifh blackmarkinqe,
Lo a deepred,d,ish oranae.
d,arkening with exVosure red cypreee,blackcypreeo
Source:3 ouLheaeLernU,9.A.
Ueeo:Turning,knifehaidles, bruehbacke,t oolhanaws,
I inlayeand veneerg.
Charaaterietice:Straiqht,Train:oilytexture; yellow-
b r o w n t od a r k b r o w n .
Workabilitytgalief acilory:eiqniticanL dullinqof cuttersi UaeetJoinery,chemical vaLeand tanke,boaLbuildina.
I blad,ee ehouldbe exiremelyeharp:reducebladeanqle poleo,poeteand manyconetruclionapplicatione.
for planing:verydifficult f,o qlue. WorkabilitytGenerallyqood:keepcutters sharp.
I FiniohinqAcceptsfinishesverywell.
Wei1httOB lb./cu,ft.
Finiohing:AccepLatinisheswell.
w eight 2B-35 lb./ cu.tL.
?riae:Expenoive.
T Trice:lnexpenoive.

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DOUGLAS-FIR E,BONY:w \,,^-)i)

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(e) (H)
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7otanical Name: FEeudotouqa menzteeii 7otanical Name: Dtoepyroo .pp.
ane of r,he moet wtdelyuee),woode in North America, A I e b o n yi e r a r e a n d e x p e n o i v ee,e p e c t a l yL h e f a r n e d ,
a n d t A e c o n l i n e . I ' o m o e t p l e n t i l u le p e c i e eD
, ouqlaa-fir inLeneeblack ebonyv'thich, aI' one Iime. wae obta ned I
ie htqhlyvaluedas a conetrucLionwood becauseol if'e grimarilyfrorn )ndiaand )ri Lanka.Today,il e loun) in
etrenqth, eLiffneoe,moderaLewelqhl'and availabilityof limited quantir.ieain areae ol Equatorial V'lesLAfri':a. I
Iarqe eizetimbera, 1Lie f requenLlyepelled, wilhout't'he e a c a e e a re b o n y ,A f r i c a n e b o n yi e q e n e r a l ye o l i d
l - ) n l i kM
"Oouqlae
iyphen ae fir," althouqh lL ie, in f acL, not' a fir b l a c k ,w t t h o u t e t r i p e e o r m o l L | n q . 3 h 1 p 2 e tdo N o r t h
America in ehorL hearLwooAbillet'e,iL ie uaed in the
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aL all baL part of Lhe qenuo Teeudot'euqa,or"falee hem-
ock," Current ehorLaqeoof t'his umber are due more Lo finestwood oblecLe,Sawdustlrom ebonycan cauae
loq1inqbans Nhanany real ecarc'tt'y.Withif'6 prominenL reepiratory probleme. I
qrowLh rinq fiqure, Douqlae-firaleo yieldear"traclive Olher Names: SaLulinau,lndianebony,Ceylonebony,
"/eneeraana ?tywaoa. Africanebony,MaAaqaocarebony,Gabon ebonyetc., t
Other Names: Srir"iehColumbiaVine,Oreqonpine,yellow a c c o r d i " qt o c a ) n t r y o " o r q t .
ftr, red fir. 9ourceq lndia,Sri lanka, Africa.
Charaateristics: )enee wood with a coaroe I'exture;
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Souraee; Canada, WeaLern U.3.4.,Europe.
qrain: very d,arkbrownI'o b1ack.
Characterieticat 3f,raiqhf'qrain; mediumlexLure: red'
d,iehbrown:may be reeinoue.
eLraiqht to inLerlocked,
Ueee: Turninqa,brueh backs,mueical inetrumenf'e,han'
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Useet ?lywood,,joinery, veneere ani a wide ranqe of d l e o , i n l a y , b u l t ao f b i l l i a r dc u e e ,o c c a o i a n a l lvye n e e r b
c o naLrucLio n a 2 p||c a'i o na, and other ht4hlydecoraNiveapplicaLione. I
Workability: Oenerally qood',beLLerwit'h machine toole: W orkability : Diffic ulf,:dulle c ut ler s a ever ely: Vr e- bo r e
blunLecuLLeremoAeraLely. for nailinq. I
Finiehinq AccepNafiniehesfairly well, Finiehinq AcceVte finieheewell.
Weighu,33lb.lcu.tt.
?rice:lnexVeneive.
Weight 65lb.lcu, fL.
?rice:Very exVeneive,
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MACASSARl'ffil
E,BONY, ELM,WHITE
(H)
N
Botanical Name:Droepyroe opp. 9otanical Name:Ulmueamericana
Macaeearebony,unlikeblackebonywith iLeintenee Whiteelmie Lhelarqeet. and arquablythe moet.eLately
I d e e ph u e ,i e m u l L i c o l o r eude,u, a l l my o r el i q h tl h a n d a r k . elmof a1l.Moreso than olher elme,Lhiemajeeliclree
7oLhMacaeearebonyand,blackebonyare ueed,in I,he waedevaetaf,edby Dutchelmdiaeaoeana iaaay tt i5
I fineel inlayand,cabineLwork.Macaeaarebonycomee relarivelydifficultLo lind whiteelmlumber.Ihewool,ie
from a numberof d,ifferent epeciee Nhatare all parLof exI;remely eaeyto bendand ie moet,olLenueedLo make
I Lheebonyf amily:Nheremay be eomevariaLion
Ly.Lext)reand,a??earance from onegiecet o anor"her.
in denei- furniNure,Whenelicedon the quarLer,whiteelmpro-
ducee lovelyribbon-ef,rip ed veneere.
Olher Namea Calamander wood,coromarlel(U.K.); Other NamestAmericanelm,waterelm,ewampe\m
T qold en e0ony,marblew ood. (U.9.A.);orhamwooA, qrayelm(Canada),
1ource3 : ot L h e a e tA a i a . Souraesz Canadaand,U.3.4.
I Characteriatica: Extrremely denoewith verybrittle Charaaierietico: UouallysLraightqrain,Lhouqhoften
heafLwood,: moetlyetraiqhLgrain,buf,may be irreqular inberlocked: coa r ee f,eKLure: lighf,,y ellowieh- brown color.
T or wawt fine,evenf.eKLurei
liqht-brown ef,reaks.
dark brownto black,with Usee:FurniLure,
decoraf,ive
boat.buildinq,
veneerS.
o?arf,6equipment. and

t Usea Cabinetwork,
mueicalinelrumenLe,
Lurninqo, bruehbacke,walkinq
inlaywork,billiardcueeand deco'
eLicke, WorkabilitytGenerallyqood:dullecuLtinqedqeemoder-
alely;goodbendinqproperLiee, buxproneIo warpinq.
ral,iveveneers:saowoodusedfor lool handlea. Finiehing; AccepLo finioheawell.
I Workability:Veryd,ifftcull';: exlremebluntingof cuLLere; Weight:35lb.lcu.fL.
or gluing.
p r e - b o rfeo r n a i l i n qu;n e u i t a b lf e Tricezlnexpeneive, but.increaoingd,ueto ecarciLy.
I Finiahing: Acceptefinieheeverywell.
Weightz60 -bO lb,I cu.ft .
I Trice:Veryexpeneive.

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GONCALOAIVF,S
Lv uv .N-; HACKBERRY I
'l>
(H) (H)
Ootanical name: AaLrontum 7raveolene Ootanical Name: CelLtaocctdenta|te I
SeauLifal,durable and etronq, qoncaloalvee eomef,imee lackberry ie elaeLic,ehack-resi""tanLand eaey to bend,
bears a reeemblancef,o bolh roeewoodand Macaeaar characf,erieLiceiX eharee with elm and,aeh',iL ie ofLen I
ebony.II ie ueed,lor fine applicalionelikeknife handlee, uaed ae an aeh eubstitut e in Lhe farniLureindu""fry,
billiardcue butt a, bruah back.e,and dampero in grand
pianoo.SecauEeLhe tree has becomean endanqered
HackberryLreee qrow to more fhan 1aO fueI Lall. I
All,houghmoeL hackberryie ueed for conetraction, the
epecieo,qoncaloalvee ie difficult.Lofind in NorLh
America. lL ie availableprimarilyin veneere.
wood'sdistinct,figure makeo if, an att racLivechoicefor
veneerg, cabineLworkand,lurniLure.
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Olher Name:Iiqerwood Olher Names: euqarberry, hack-f,ree,baeLard e m, net -
5ourcer Srazil. XleIree, beaverwood. I
Characteristice: Dense,very heavy wood; irceqular, Sourceet Eaelern U.3.A.and eouLhernCanada.
int e rlocked,qr ai n: m edium LexLur e: r ed dieh-br own Characteristics: lrregularqrain; moderalely coaree t ex- I
marbled with black elreako: large variatione in color ture: liqht brownwith yellowbande.
and qrain.
Uses: FinefurniLure,cabineLmakinq, Lurninqand
Usest Furnif,ure,I?orlo equtpmenL,cabineAwork,
wooa and veneer?.
ply- t
veneer6.
Workability: Difficult: blunLecu|I;inq edqee moderately
Workability: Generally qood: dulle cuttero moderately:
interlocked, qrain requireereduced planinqanqle;qood t
to eeverely;Vre-borefor nailing. bendinqproVerLies,
Finiahing AcceVX.o finieheewell. Finiahinq Accep|e ftniehea well:ea?eciallyaLLracLivein I
Weight:59 lb.lcu.fL. naLuralcolor.
Trice: Expeneive. tNeight':40 lb.lcu.fL
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Tricet lnexpeneive.

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HICKORY HOLLY
t (H)
9otanical Name:Caryaepp.
(H)
6otanical NametIlexeoo.
For ol;renqLh,hardneoaand flexibiliLy,
hickoryia the besL A clooe-qrained, almoetrwhitewood,with vtrLually no
I commercially available woodin NorLhAmerica.lL ie ueed viaible
fiqure,hollyio valuedfor inlaywork.Hollyveneer,
for Loolhandlee, euchae axeeand,maule,and,foreporL' dyedblack,eubatiLulee for ebony.Verylittle of thie
I inTequiVmenL. EveniIe woodchiVeare ueeful:Ihey are timberie cut,eachyear,makinqil a difficullwoodLo
oflen uaed,in emokinqmeal. obtain.Spri7eof holly,however, with Lheirehinyleavee
I Other NameetShaqbarkhickory,piqnuthickory,mocker-
nuLhickory,red hickory, whitehickory.
and red berries,are commonChrietmaedecoralione.
Olher Names:Whiteholly.
9 ource:Eaef,ernU.5.A. Sources:Europe,U.9.4.and weelernAeia.
I Charaoleristice: NormallyetraighLqrain,buLcan be Characterielice:lrreqularqrain;fine,evenlexLure:
irreqularor wawi coaroet"exlure:brownto reddieh-brown whiLeIo grayioh-white; ?ranelo blueeLain.
I hearlw ood; whitreeapwood. Uees:)rnaLe Lurninqe,musicalinof,rumenle, inlay,
Ueee;SporLtnq equipmenL, benLwood furnilure,chaire, rnarquetryand veneere.
I eLrikinqhandlee, plywood and veneere. Workabilit"y:Difficult:keeVcuNNing edqeovery oharV
Workability:DifficulL:blunLecutLingedqeemoderaLely: and reducecuLbinq anqleof planeblade.
whenplaningirregularqrain,reduceblade'ecutf,ingangle; Finiehing;AcceplefinieheEverywell.
I veryqood,bendinqproVertieo. rNeightz35 -5O lb./cu.ft .
Finiohing:Acceptefinieheewel| ?riae:Expeneive.
I Weight:51lb./cu.ft.
?rice:lnexpeneive.
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n RurA \
YIN)
\ _\\, KINGWOOD SN)
v-
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9otaniaal Namet Hymena ea courbaril
(H)
1ot aniaal Name; Dalberqtacearenaia
A etronq, hard wood,iatoba has shock-reEist'ance Likemost rceewoodo,kinqwoodie heavyand very
I qualitieosimilarto ash and hickory,and i6 olLenueed aLiraclive.Oeeewinqof ite reqalname,NhieNimberwas
in tool handleoand eporte equipment. Althouqha diffi- ueedin lhe finesLfurnilure built for LouieXIVand
I cult woodIo work,lat obalakee on a e?ecialglowwhen LouisXVof France.Today,kingwood ie an endanqered
it io planed,lte bark is similarto that' of paperbirch epecieolhal is becominqe*remely ecarce.Thesmall
I and eheeNe of iL are usedin canoe-makinq.
Olher Namee Amerelo,cuapinol,courbaril,West lndian
amounf,olhat are availablefind ueein reetoralionwork,
finelurninqoand veneere.
|ocuet,(U.9.A., U.K.);|oouet,etinkinqtoe (Weot,|ndieo): Alher NameezVioletwood, violetta (U.9.A.);
I guapinol(CentralAmerica):jut'aby,iatai vermelho violete(brazil).
(Arazil):alqarrobo. 5ouraetOrazil.
I SourcesrCentraland )outh AmericaandtheWestlndies. Characterislioez )traiqht qrain; line texlure: violel'
CharacteriEtiaaMootly int'erlocked qrain;mediumto brown,dark violetand blacketripeeaqainet'yellowlo
I coa?6eteKVu?ei ^almonre+Lo oranqebrownhearLwood violeL-br ownbackqround.
with dark brownstreake,darkeninqto reddishbrown: UseezTurninqand veneerofor inlayand marquetry.
I whiie t o oinkishoagwood.
UeeetF urniiur",c)binetmakinq,turnin4,tool handles,
WorkabilltyrOenerallyqood;blunto lool and blade
cuthinq edgeemoderalely.
o?ortin7equipment,froorin4,Vanelinq and veneero. Finiahingl Aaaepto finishes well;well euit'edto a
I Worl'abilityt Faia lough to sawi interlockedqrain hard naturalwaxfinieh.
to plane;poorfor nailinq;moAeraNe bendinq?ro?erbiee. Weiglrf,r7O-75 lb./ cu. fN.
I Finiehin1Accefio stains well,butdoesnot poliahto ?rlcelVery expen6iv6.
a hi7h-qlooofinioh.
I tNaighrz4B'56 lb./cu. tN.
?riaezModerate.
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LIGNUMVITAEN MADRONE
I (H)
Aotanical Namer Guaia cum officinale
(H)
9 otanical NamezArbutu a menzieeii
"wood Madronevarieogreatly in size,sometreeo reaching
Lignumvitae or of life"receivedile namelor the
I oupVooedly curaf,ivequalilieeof its resin.ThieeVecieo, 125teeLin heiqhtwilh enormouobnnchee somelirnee
whichis extremelyolow'qrowinq, produceeoneol t'he oLrelchinqaut overan area of IO,OOOequarefeet.lt
I world'sheavieslcommercialtimbere,and io virLually offerea beaulifult imber,which,thouqh diffiaultto
self-lubricatingdueIo ito hiqhraeinconhent.This dry,canbeqivena remarkably srnoothfinish.Smaller
I makeait idealfor ito prinaiValuse,ao bearinqoand
buohin7blocksfor ehiVpropellorshafas,lor whichthere
madronetimberoften has burlqrowthoatit's baee;
these are frequently developedinf,ootunningveneers,
t ie preoentlyno elfective oynNhebic oubot'ilute.
Olher Nameerlronwood(U,5.A.);7uayaaanneqro,palo
It ie also knownas one of r,he beat,sourceeof charcoal
for makin16unpowden
oanio (Cuba);boisde gaiac (Franae). OhherNameal 7aoftic ma*rone,arbutuo, madrona.
t 5ouraea Trooical America and Weet lndieo, 9ourceat Canadaand western U.5.4.
Charact'erlEblaetHeavy,denoe woodi intarlocked, irrequ' Chalz,otnriallcet5t raigWbto irreqularq?aini fine,even
I lar qrain:qraenioh-brov,n to blaak. iet&urei palereddioh'yellowto deeVerred or brown.
lJEes:Manne bearin4a,mallebheads,pulleyoand u)minqz. UeeszFinefurniture, htrninq ani decoraiiveveneero.
I Worlability, Difficuli'; dulls autters moderawlg not
ouitablefor qluinqunleaotreated frroL,
Wo*abiltq6 9 atisf act'oryt blunto cutting edqeo r aiher
eevar elyi mediumbandin6 ?r o?efti es.
Flniehing AcceVto finishes w ell. FlnlehingzAcce?t o finishes well
I Weighb-77lb.lcu.ft, .' Waigltu48lb.lcu.ft.
?riaet,Veryil?eneive. ?dcrltModerata.
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HARD
MAPLE,, MYRTLE
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Oolanical Name: Acer eaccharum
(H)
botanical Name:Umbellularta caltforntca
f' denee wood, harA maple'eueea afLenLake advantaqe Eopecta)ly wellknownfor iLeclueLerand burlfiqareA
t of ite reeiet,a.ceto wear and,abraaion.)i ie ueed in a veneerg, myrLleio a favorif,e amonqftnecrafLErnen lor
w i d er a n q eo f c o n o L r t c t i o n ,i n c l u d i n qb o w l i n qa l l e y oa n d c a b i n e t n a k i naqn d m a r q u e L r y . W ht tl lhea ea e t r o n q
I dance floora. Olten poeeeeeinqan atlraclive liddleback Lendency lo checkand warpin dryinq,oncezeaeoned
o r c u r l yf i q u r e ,L h i e i e a l e o l h e m a p l ew h i c hp r o d u c e el h e myrtleio a touqhwood,ableLo withet'andmuchwear
I f arroue bird,'a-eye veneere. and,abuse.Aleoa preferred
frequenLly
turntnqwood,myrf'leie
madeinlo bowlaand,canaboticko, amanq
Other Names: Rock maple,euqar maple,whiLemaple
( e a p w o o d )b, i r d ' e - e y em a p l e( 1 tt h e d i o t i n q u i e h i nqqr a i n o t h e r f i n eq o o d e .
I ie preaent). Alher Names:Californta laurel,mounlainlaurel,
S o u r c e s :C a n a d a ,U . 3 . 4 . bayrtree, epiceLree.
I Char a ct'erist'icot 3t rai7ht qrai n, o c c a eio nally c urly, wavy 1ources;Oreqonand California, I).3.4.
or bird'e-eye;f\ne texLure:hearLwoadia reddiehbrown: Characl eristicotGenerallyoI raiqhLqrain,bul occa 5ion-
I eapwoodio whiLe, allyirreqular; fineLexXure: qol)enLanXoyellowieh-qreen,
Ueee: Turning,furnilure, 6?arLo equiVment', mueical Uees;f urninq,furniLure, joinery,cabineImakinq, panel-
I inetrumenf,s,butcher'a block.e,floorinQ,plywood
and veneerg,
inq,and veneera.
Workabilisyt Fair:dullscuLtinqedqeeeeverelyand quick'
Workabilit'y: Dttficult: blunle cutLing ed4ee mod,erately: l y :r e d u c ec u t L i n ga n q l e f o rp l a n t naqn d e h a V i n q .
I pre-borefor nai inq:qood bendinqproVerLiea. Finishing: Acceptsfinieheeverywell.
Finiehing:Acceple finieheowe1l. Weight:3b lb.lcu.ft.
I Weighi 42lb.lcu.ft. ?rice:ModeraLe', burlio exVereive.
?rice: lnexpeneive lo moderaf,e,
I depend,ing on fiqure.

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OAK,RED I
(H)
OAK,WHITE
(H)
botanicalname;Quercueepp. Ootanical Name: Quercue epp.
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Kedoak,l:hemoEt.caffirnan oakvarieLyin North Thie oak-a wood of uniqaeveroatility-prodacee Lhe
America,qrowaveryquickiy-younq treeo olLena2rout fineeLoak veneerzand lumber,and ie very reej",tanL t o I
a foot.a year.fhe wooAia an al,lracliveand valuapte wear.Tieae qualiLieemaV.eit eiqnilicantlymore vallable
hardv,toodand,hae beenoneol Lhemoef,popularNor1h
Americanoako'ueedin EuropeeinceLheearlylBLh
Nhan red oak.7ut perhapeita moeL-valuedproperty ie I
lhe preeencein iLe cells of tylosee, a honeyconblike",ub-
Century.Il ie coneidered uneuiLable for exLerior
Olher Names:NorLhern red oak,Americanred oak,
work. etance thaL makeeI;he wood waLerLiqhLand idealfor
whiekeybarrela.Kecently,lheee barcelshave bequnLo
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Canadianred oak,qrayoak.
Sources:Canadaand eaeternU.3.A.
be reuaed,red,ucinqthe larqe drain on whtLeoak.for
that purpoee, r
Characterietice; 7tr aiqht.qrain; coa ree texLure: pink-
ieh-redcolor.
Uses:Furniture,inLerior joinery,floorinq,Vlywood
Other Namee: American while oak, burr oak, swamV while
oak, cheotnJf,oak, overcuVoak, ewamp cheetnuL oak.
Sourcee: Canada and l,).3.A,
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and veneerg.
Workability:Generallyqooii moderaLeblunlinqof cuL-
Characteriatice,t1f,raiqht qr ain: moderately coaroe
lexLure: liqhl Lan wif,h a yellowiehLint.
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lere; moderate bendinq?ro?erLiee, Ueea: FurniLure, joinery,cabinef,making,
FiniahinqSatiefactory:becauoe of openporee,iL barrele,Vlywoodand veneers.
boat buildinq,
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ehouldbefilled,beforeanyfinishingor painLinq. Workability: Good; pre-bore for nailinq:qood
Weight:40 lb./cu.fL bendinqproperLiee. I
?ricet N4oderale. Finiahing;Accepte finioheawell.
rNeight:47 lb.lcu.ft. I
?rice: ModeraL.e.
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OLIVE,WOOD PADAUK,
AFRICANN
I (H)
Aotanical Name:)lea europaea
(H)
Ootanical Name: ?t;erocarpueooyauxii
Grownalonqthe lr4ed,itrerranean caaot,European olive- Africanpadaukie exf,remely 6f,ronq,durableand slable.
I woodie a comelytree,andyieldea fine,att'racLtve wood Thouqhleeawellknown than f,herareAndamanpadauk,
Lhat,ernitaa oweelscent.wheniL is worked,. Thietree iL compareewell,is muchmoreavailable ana i6 Lrulya
I ie aleof amouafor iLefruil and,oil.Available in very handaome woodin iNeownriqhL.ln eomeVarteof lhe
amallamounte,and proneLo d,efecte, olivewood ia worldAfricanpadaukie commonly ueedfor floorinq,
r ofLenuaedto produceemallLurned
for salein EuroVe'e
or cawedqoode
anAiT'ie aomefimee
trourislmarket',
whereif,iEconeidered,
veneera
of excepLional qualiNy:
are no leasvaluedfor their beauty.
pad,auk

cul inLoveneer. Olher Namest7ad,ouk, barwood,camwood.

I OtcherNametlNalianolivewood. 1ourcetWeetAfrica.
1ourcee;ltaly and,eouthernEurope, Califarnia. Characleristiaet grain;moder'
)traiqht' xo intrerlocked,
I Characteristicat 9Ir aiqhl'to irreqularqraiwfiner'ex- alely coaroelexfroreideepred to purple-brown wif'h
f,ure;liqhLLo dark brownbackqroundwit'hd,arkereNreake. red et"reake.
I UeeetTurninq, carvingand lnlaywork. Ueest Furnilure, cabinetmaking,joinery,lur ning, ha n-
WorkabilityrGenerally good, t'houqhrelatively difficult' dlesand veneerg.
I to oaw.
FiniohinqAcceVtofinieheewell.
WorkabiliNyzGood:dullscuttere eliqhlly.
FiniohinyAcceplefinisheeverywell.
W e i g h t : 5 &l b . l c u . f t . Weight:45lb./cu.tL.
I TricetExpeneive ?riaetModerate.

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\ PERSIMMON
I (H)
boLanical N a n f e : , i r ' ! I : , : r . r 1I. ,: .r l - i r : t : : f ' . 1r . . : ; r ' ; : ; i i i i l l i . t i : , ' i . , ]
(H)
B o l a n i c a l N a r n e :.
. , , 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 - ; , ' ,a1j' l,' j a i : ) a : i ' , ' : , tr, ii r L , 4 rt . r i a a t 1 a , , ' 1
) 1. t " I'i , i tt l
I .: r: .l
':',
.\, ;r111t.1,, i, ,111,, ;,,.,,.,'i '-:i )l)a'a:t.a.t.at:' i..it,a.,.,,,',l.,fiaa:t",,t:itt) : . tZ t i : 1t.' , 1 , . ,r,.f i , r r i l i ' : . ' l i . , ri , ,l r i l t " ! , : r i r r , , ' . , . ' , ,1r I . f : , - , : r i l i '
j
f ,il.al't tl't...1-lt'l.t' .j \,',,i1..: t:tl' .),tft aa. l ritr f ilklti.'iitr: : . . f i i ; , t 1 r i l 1 i , r j i ,i t ' r t : r t i l i f l t : r l - , ,i,r l : j r ' f r' , a . , . , , , , i t . t i i : : . i I r I
I . f ' , ' ' r . ' . . . : l ' : , 1 . t t - t l l.,lt , ) i t . , ' a ) \ \ t \ t ' . \ . : tt r: r) r- 'l.. l r a :d t . t . , : , f t , J : ,
-rf 't)i:'.a)l:..\,\iaoa1 j',, ,1,,'t-
t : . f f a t h e a l - 1 . ' , ^ , , i -a,a :,t!:. . a ' ,N ) . , i J t a t ] ' : . i ' : l l r '
-r:
1, i i r'
i -tt)fi i).r, ,rr,.r'a':.1i,l:-i t' l,:it--;f'a:t ,17,11 ,al:f. a rf ,- - r i i ' ] i - - , ' l . . r r r l i r , . , i .i ' . : . : : : i '):l,' 1- t t ) . . ' : l r / ] l , i ' : l
i , , a i , - r ; 1 r ' , ' . a l I. n

r ri' ri;i../,ilf
',,;:, ,;i,i
r l t , ' : a ' , , i ! : . 'l.f t l L r , r l t 1 l t e t t . ) a l a t \ , , a t . ) t : ) , .
I , " r . . : : i i li r , l ' i ' l i r ' . : l f l , i - : i l : , t . , . . l , " i l - . r 1 .
t - . , - , t l a : : l ] r : : aaaf.ii.'ia, , " , a O ' l '
,za)l'ir,i";,tina
l:ea,).. i , ) , : t - , a
r L r ; ; l i t, ' : , i ,[ .. r ' r i : l ' i - l ] i r . l , t 1 , , ' , ; tt 1 : i ; , 1
= i ; r 1 ; l l y, ;
. 1 . 1 . ,
.. ' . r ..
'1
'
I'i .l'
, . , . i . . : , : t , . : . -l , , r : . . ,: - r . r . r t r a r . . l . i a : :iitl, 2 L t r r ' .^ r r : i O f l i _ r , . t t - l r c .i i . r c2rt ltit,,it .ia all.,t a)aIt\.,a, IirJLrrr.
I 't
i i ri ,-'1-.1. | .2t:) aari-,t
l)1..a);'tl):,
qi.,t)t.il,t.. al at.i.:.ltqr.l.,. O l h e r N a m e g l : , o t t . , o o l , . ' r r a r ; r - ; , ; r ; , tr. - . r i r : . 1 ,. {a"rr',r . , . ' r r . , l , 1 , I. :r
i t i , : : ' . t l'lr. ; ' , [ l , t 1 . / . fl l / j : ': i 'j l t i f ' r , l ' ' . . '
Otrher Nameg' t. .\,\aaL )a:a,aa,',^,,1Lar l . )J l l 1 ,\ ' l . l q 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 -
I I : . i i . , r - \ / .i ) 'j . . ' , . t t ) i : a . 2 i . . i , ' l , 1 , fl t L t l . i t t [ . O 1 " r .
'
.l'
9 o u r c e g : i . , - ' . r . " ; r a; n r ' i : , r - r r t l r i : , 1 . : p . . i i .
Sourceg: C h a r a c l e r i s t i c s : ' : i r a ' a l : i . . a t a a t i ' i l ' . t .a. i ! ' a i fi l 1 - r i. rr t ' / : :I f t .r!
I Characteristics: !:t.r: tt'i;. qt a -lct.li,ltoito,rtbi.:rfitl t1t t
, . . , , _ -rl fi l . i r j . , , . , a i r)l/ : : , ( ) i . ) i . t t a ,t , a i r f , . t f a : l . , r : . a fr . 1 t , ' i ; t ; , ,4U
la're lar'r. t:'of,\/NOr i:'rt:,t.|.:,'i..rt ,,k:,.,'.t),,j1)\\(.)t))
,l-'
ir, r;ii-;'',1';. .
U s e s : G o l ' t . . t b l ' , r a l z ,. t: '.i 1t I i l lrrr'.rjr,,

I '-::,:.t,:1:',.l'-) t' t )'r tl', . ),) l.rt,. a,'.i i ai r{'it it,at.

Uses: I l r t . , i f t r J . i ' r . ril. i I . r) t . a . i,. . ) a ) ' ti , , : . n ) ' t e : t . r p o r ' l . e

I oolrq atd 1't.r'r,ii,t.,r"e.
W o r k a b i l i t y : ( i o r , t : : r a |1' r l t t t . t Ar: - . l l : - ,a , l t i1. .!.a c , : . 1 r 1 r : , ,
.it,.,.1r'r
' : , : )
a - t a { , r a d J a t . c t r i . r . . i n qa n q l t v ' , | - ' t n . } 1 t 1 a .i : ) p 5l r p r ' . ,f;r i , l '
I Workability: iztr: i.:ar, )t.tt,t.t:.t-'f,,rta,eiqe!, ee',,t:rt.-lytiadtae
I

n a r i n q : n , c t i i t , r ^ a - ,l.tct i t ; \ n q ? i a i ) . i r i . . . : : . .i't, ( l ' t i , f i i . i . r - r , : r i :

,.'..';itr.,,:t,.)a t :t\A
, \ , , , ) t .;.t.,l,t:.r , i r , qo r 1 | : l ; t p : n qt . r e ! ' . t a r o , r ' , ; i n '...t. | .
I i t t ' a i - . ) . . i .i : : t r : i l t t r j ; ' , , 1 1 i1" ',,a, : . : l l : t : , n ) i n q 2 r O p e i i e e . F i ni ohi n 6 : i', r:r: t-,1tL.. "':,t i",r,t a r., !/arr'v f r/r'
Finiehing: r :. Wei7ht:7:2.:1.I ct. i..
I W e i q h t : I ( , . ' i . , ir - ' . r : . ' i . .
o ri : r'ial r:.
7 ri c e'. i',,1
? rice: n ev.oen ai\ta I.i.) ft1odat'a i,r:).

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WOOD DIRECTORY I

PINE,PONDEROSA PINE,SOUTHERNYELLOW I
(e) (e)
OotanicalName:Finueponderoea DotanicalName:Finueaoo. t
Oneof the mo6Laf,f,racf,ive pinee,t"heponderoeaqrowe 7ouf,hernyellowpineie Lhe heavieetcommercialeofL-
acroeawegternNorf,hAmericaand eometimeemakeo woodand cerLainlyof foremoetrim?o-ancefor the t
iLehomeatrelevaf,ions of morethan 1O,OOO feeLin the conef,rucf,ion and pulpinduef,nee. 7ut, becaueeof the
K o c k i e eD. e c a u e eo f i L s r e s e m b l a n cien c o l o ra n d
texLurelo whiLepine,ponderoea has increaeingly been
d e c r e a e i nogu p V l yo f w h i t r e
to be usedexleneively
p i n e , i l h a er e c e n t l yb e q u n
in veneere,which are darkerand,
t
usedas a eL)boLiLute for that wood,Tonderoea pineie
eornetiffie.elicedinLoknoLIypineveneer,buLi|e primary
markedby dieLinclgrowLhrinqe.TheeeLreeoaleo
s u p V l yl u r V e n L i n ep,i n eo i l a n d r e e i nu e e di n l h e c o e -
I
ueeis in conelruclionand ae inLerior frim. meNiceinduetry.
Other Namee: 3iq Vine, bird'e-eye pine, knotty pine, Other Namea ?il,chpine,shorLleafpine,longleaf I
polepine,pricklypine,weoLern yellowpine. pine,loblolly pineand severalof,hertree namee.
Sources:Canadaand wesLernU,3.A.
Characteristics:Wideliqhi-yellowsapwood;darker
5 ourcetI outheaetern \J.3.A, I
Characteristics:SLraighLqrain:coareeNexf,ure;
yellowto reddieh-brown
qrain:eventexture.
hearLwood: qenerallyeilraight, yellow-brown
Uses: FurniNure,
to reddieh-brown
conetrucf,ion,
hearLwood.
plywoodand veneers.
t
Usea Furnit,ure,turninq ani cawinq(eapwood): joinery Workabilityr Fair;highreeincontentwillcauaeqummy
and qeneral conelrucLion (hearLwood ): occa eionauy build-upon Loolo:LendeLo Learwhencrooecut.. I
panelinq and veneers. Finiohing:AccepLofinisheefairly well;becaueeof
Workability:Good;blunLscuLLinqed4eealiqhr,ly: ooor hi7hreeinconhenL, finisheeeomelimeebubbleup,eeVe- I
bendinqproperl,iee. c i a l l ya r o u n d k n o l e .
FiniohinqAcceVLofinieheewell,butdoes not etain
ae wellae whibepine.
Weight:3O-3B lb./cu.lt . I
?riae:lnexoeneive,
tNeighfr32\b./cu.tL.
Tricezlnexpeneive. t
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I WOOD DIRECTORY

I PINE,WHITE POPLAR,YELLOW
t (e) (H)
9otanical Name:FtnueeLrobue 9otanical NameszLrriodendron tulipifera
WhiLeVine'e verealility,workabilily and non-reeinoue Muchof the remaininq eupplyof thie wood,reqardedao
I naturemadeif,a preferredwoodfor both conolruclion oneof lhe moeLvaluable timberein Ihe eaelernU.3.4.
and woodworking lor cenf,uriee. EarlyAmericanseLllero lieein the Appalachian Mounlaine.l-)eed,ex\eneivelyin
I olLenhonored, Nhewhibepine,puNtinqit,on the coloniee' Europetnf,heearlyl9OOs,Loday |,hewoodie ueed,
f l a 4 d u r i n qI h e A m e n c a nK e v o l u t i o an n d o n o t r h e r mainlyin the l-).3.for a ranqeof woodworking applica-
I flaqe and coinethrouqh Lheyeare.l-)nforf"unalely,
becauaeof iLewideeVread uee,whitepinehae become
Nioneandfor Vulp.Theeapwoodie eometimescalled
whilewood.
ecarcera , l t h o u q hb e c o n aq e n e r a t i o ng t r a n i ga r e Olher Names; Ca noe wood, xuliVpopla r, tuliplree.
I preeentlymaLlrinq. SouraetU.3.4.
Characterieliaa:Straiqht qrain;fine,evenLeKLorei
r Olher Namee:EaeLernwhiLepine,norLhernwhiLepine,
norLhernpine,QuebecVine,sofl pine,baleam
Canadian whif,epine.
pine, whif,eoapwoodLo pale-brown
or darkbrownef,reake.
hearLwood wiLhgreen

I 1ources:Canadaand,U.3.4.
Characterielicet)Lraiqht grain;event exLure:liqht-
UaeozJ oinery,f urnilure, cabinelwo rk,mueical ineLru'
rYtent7,cawingand veneerg.
y ellowlo reddiah-b rown hearLwood. WorkabilitytGood:dullecu+vLere onlyeltqhtly.
I Uses':FurniLure, joinery,boat buildinq, conef,ruclion, Finiehingz Accepbefinieheewell.
plywoodand veneere. Weight:,30-35 lb.Icu.ft.
I Workability:Good;blunte cuLf,ereeliqhf,ly; poorbendinq Trice:lnexpeneive.
propertieg;too sofLfor somefurnilure uses.
I Finiehing:Acceptefinieheswell.
Weight:28 lb.lcu.ft.
t Triaetlnexpenetve.

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PRIMAVERA
N PURPLEHEART I
(H) (H)
DotanioalName* Cybiotaxdonnell-emit hii, gotaniaal Name: Feltogyneepp. I
eyn.Tabebu ia donnell-amithti A uniquely altraclive and durablehardwood and a chal-
SomelimeewronqlyreferredLo ae"whilemahoqany," lengeLo workwiLh. Cuttinqcan be hampered by qum t
Vrimavera ie oneof the fineetr"blond"cabineL woodein depoeiLe, whichwilleeepouLof Lhewoodif iI io heahei
the world.Secaueeof the depleLion of oupply,however,
today iNio relativelyhard to geL Thewoodie wellknown
wiLhbluntcuttinq ed,geo.
keVN
Sladee,Lherelore, mueNbe
exlremelyeharp,and woodehouldbe run elowly
I
for ile beautifulliqht-coloredveneere.OfIenLheyare
elriped or havea handeomemoLLledfiqure.
throuqhmachines.
deposiLs
WhileLhewoodie purple,lheee
can ranqefrom coalblacktowhile,and olten
qum
r
Olher Nameo:Duranqa(Mexlco);)anJuan (Hondurae): etreakthewood.
Valo bla nco (Guatemala); cortez, corLezblanco Ot,her Na mee:Amaranth, violelw ood ( U.3.A.); eakavalli, I
(El Salvador). oaka,koroboreli (Guyana);?auroxo,nazareno(Venezuela):
Source:CenLralAmerica.
Charaateristiae;SLraiqhtto irregularqrain;mediumLo
?auroxo,amaranNe (Orazil):Lananeo(Colombia). I
5ouraeetCenLral and 9ouLhAmerica.
coar ee tefrure: y ellowieh-whiteto y ellowieh-brown,
Ueeq Cabinetwork,fine furnitureand veneero.
CharaateristiaetStraiqhLqrain;moderateto coarae
Lerture:deeppurVle,maburinqLo a rich brownafLer
I
Wo rkabilityt Very good: moderale bending properLiee. lonqexpoeure.
Finishingl.AccepLefinieheeverywell. Uses:Veneers, turninq,indoorand outdoor,furniture, I
Wei6ht: 3O-bB lb./cu.fL tool ehafls and handlee, and butls of billiardcues.
?riaezExpeneive. Workabilibyt)ifficult: moderaLet o eeverebluntin4;pre- I
borefor nailinq; moderaLe bending propertiee.
Finiohing;Acceptefinieheswell:lacoruer ?reoeNeopur-
plecolor:alcoholbasedfiniEheeremovelhe color.
I
Weightz54lb./cu.fL.
Trice:Moderate.
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I REDWOOD,CALIFORNIA ROSEWOOD,
HONDURASN)
(e)
t gotanical Name: I equoia eempervirene
(H)
6otanical Name; Da Iberqia eteveneonii
ThetascinalinqCaliforniaredwoodqrowoto an incredi- Thiehard,heavy,durablerosewood ie primarilyvalued
t bleeize.NaIiveto coaslal Californiaand )reqon, it io in lhe makinqof marimbabareand qrowsonlyln Selize,
capableof reachinqwellover3OOfeex in heiqhN and lhe formerDritishHondurae. Ao euppliee are verylimit-
I oneLreemayyieldlhoueandeof boardfeet of lumber, ed,iLs other mainuseeare confinedto fine cabinelwork,
Allhouqheupplieeof this woodhavebeeneeriouely marquelryandlurned iteme.1omeepecimene are very
I depleted,redwoodcan eomelimesstill be acquiredin
ertremelywideplanko.Thewoodie noted for ito stabili-
oilyand willnottake a hiqhnaturalpolieh.
Other Namet Naqaed.
Iy, durabiliLyand resisLanceto decay:ito larqeburle 5ourcet 1elize.
I are cul inlo veneers. Characteristicst3t r aiqhLIo somewhal,streaked
Olher Namet Redwood, 6rain:moderatelyfinetexLurctpinkieh-brown t o purple
I SouraetWestcoast of U.9,A. with dark,irre4ular6rainlinee,
Charaoteriatioez?traight qraini fine, eventexf,uretaeep Uaes:MueicalineNruments, veneerofor fine aabinet-
I reddish-brown.
Ueea Joinery,furniture,Vooto,panelin4,?lwood and
workand Lurning,
Workability.Fair,toughlo machinebecaueeof hard-
veneere,and muchliqht ouldoor con;lruction.
I Workabiliiy: Good:dulls cuttera only sli4htly:moAerate
nesaiseverelydullocuLtingedqee:poorbendinq?ro?er-
tiea.
bendin7properliee. Finiahin1zAccepto finishes well,Vrovidedthe wood
I Finiehin6zAccegta fi nishee well. io nottroo oily.
Wei6ht;26lb./cu.ft, Weight:60 lb./cu.fL.
I ?ricet lnexpengiveto moAerale, ?rlcet Exoensive.

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SASSAFRAS
r (H)
7otanioal Name: 7aeeafrae albidum
S a s e a f r a a .a m e m b e ro l L h e e a m el a m i l y a e c i n n a m o n ,
t ie beel knownfor it e fraqranl oil, ueed lor flavorinq
and ocentinq,and Lhe Nea made from iLe roof, barK.
I \ N h i l ee t m i l a ri n c o l o r ,q r a t na n d L e x L u r et o b l a c ka o h ,
aaeealrae Limber ie briLtle an), aoft and ie ee dorn
I availab)ein larqe aizee.ILe decay reeietanceand reao-
nance rnakeiL an alLractive choicefor eorneepeciA-
t z e da p p l i c a t i o n e .
I Olher Names: Cinnamonwood,red aasaafrae,qumbofile.
Source: EaeLernU.e.A.
I Charact erieiice: 7Xraiqht. qrain; coar ee f,exture: ljqhL
io darkbrown.
I Uees: Aoar"buildinq,kayak Vad,dleo,
tJre and,mueical ineLrarYentg.
I Workability: Fair: wood is briLLleand eofL, oo keep tool
edges very eharV:pre-borefor nailinqLoavoid eplittinq:
qood bendinqproperLiee,
I Finishing:AccepLefinieheewell.
Weight:2b lb,lcu,ft.
I Tricet lnexpeneive f,o moderate.
CEYLON .,
SATINWOOD,
(H)
Ootanical Nam e: ChIo roxyIo n ewieLen ta
Ihouqh Lhe name eaLinvtoodhae beenqivent"o many
world Limbero,CeyloneaLinwoodle one ol very few that
h a v ef o u n d o i q n i f i c a n L u a e i n N o r t h A m e r i c a .) l h a e
b e e na e e d i n f i n e w o o d w o r k i naqn d c a b i n e L m a k i nf qo r
c e n l u r i e e ,b u LL o d a y t a v a l u e dm a i n l yf o r i t e e t l n n i n q
veneere-ea?eciallyIhe f amoue bee'o-winqrnot;Lle.)n
aoliAforrn it qenerallyie ueed lor fine Lurned qoode
euch ae brush backa,reaordereand inlay v',ark.
Olher Names: Eaet lndian eattnwood.'yeltow eanAere;
billum , a a h w a l( l n d i a ) :C e y l o no a L i n w o o d( . 3 r iL a n k a ) .
S o u r c e s :l n d i aa n d 3 r i L a n k a .
Char a cterieli cs : Inle d ocked qr ai n; f ine, eve n *'exLLlr ei
conlainere,furni- l i q h t y e l l o w L oq o l d .
U e e a tC a b i n e L m a k i nfqu,r n i t u r e ,L u r n i n qj,o i n e r ya n d
decoralive veneere.
Workability:)ifficult: qrain lende ta tear in planing
quarLerbawn maLerial:qood bendinggrapertiea.
Finiehinq AccepLofinieheewellwhenfilled,
Weightt 6l lb.lcu. ft.
Tricet Expeneive.

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(H)
J ,N
SNAKEWOOD\:X
gotanical Names:Fiet inera7uianenoio.
SPANISH
(H)
CEDAR
Ootanical Name:Cedrelaeoo.
N) I
eyn.Droeimum 4uianenbio A.lLhouqhmanyopecieo are markeledunAerf,hename
lLomarktnqo, whichreeemble thoeeon enakeektn, qive Spaniehcedar,the moel imporLanL inLheNorLhAmerican I
r.hteemall,relaLively raretimberile name.Foundin lim- woodLrade,Cedrelamexicana, qrowein CenlralAmericaand
iNedquantitieein Guyanaand Surirtarn, it.ie predomi-
nanlly ueedin Lurneditemsand carriesa cerLaincachel .
Mexico.ExlremelyVrizedin iLenativeregionlor ito eLabiliby,
weatrhering
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qualitieeand relatrive eLrenqth,iNie expor1ed on
"cedare,"
A enakewood
considered
canear umbrella,lorinsf,ance,
a oreciouepoeseeeion.
miqhLbe
Secauseof iLshard-
a verylimiLed,scale.Likeolher
arouoeLhesenseswitha pleaeanl,
this hardwoodwill
aroma.
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nese,enakewood, ie verydifficultto work. Olher Names;Srazilian cedar,Honduraecedar,cedro,
Olher Namee:Lelterwood,leopardwood, epeckledwooa. ced,rorouqe. I
SouraetSouLh America. SourceszMexico, Centraland SouthAmerica.
CharacteristiaotStraiqh| qraln;fine,evenLextrure; Charaateristiae;)tr aiqht,occaeionallyinf,erl ocked, qrain: t
deepredLo reddieh-brown wiLhirreqular,
horizonLal fineLo coarse,uneven Lexf,ureipinkieh-toreddtsh-brown
blackmarkinqe.
UseszFineturnedqood,e, violinbowe,knifehandlee,
hearLwood, darkenewif,hexpoaurelo a deeeerred,occa-
eionallywilh a purpleNint:eaVwood ia whit,e
f,o Vink.
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marquetryand veneers. Usea:Furniture, cabinef,work, joinery,boal building,
WorkabilityzDifficult:d,ullocutt inq ed,qee. inetrruntente,lead pencile, ciqarboxee,plywood,
muaical
and decora- t
FiniehinqAccepr"o finiaheswell. T,Meveneere.
W e i g h tB
; 1lb./cu.fL. Workability:Generally good:difficulttroboreand veneeremay I
TricetVervexzenoive. tend to bewoollyin cuLLing; goodbendinqproperLiee.
FiniehinryFaicwood conlaineoilsandqumwhich maybetrou- I
bleeome,bu|if filled,rt canbebroughttoa emoothfrniah,
Weightt 3O lb.lcu.fL.
TricezVoderaLe.
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SPRUCE,
SITKA AMERICAN
SYCAMORE,
t (e) (H)
Ootanical Name: Ttcea eitchenato Ootanical Name:FIaLanuo occtd enLaIte
C,iVa
- - ' - a- nrr 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 o w Arowingto heighlelhat tropZaO fuet,thie opeciea and
I marethan ZaO feeLhighwiLhd,iametera exceed,inq eix f,ulip2oplarare r.helargeolhard,woode in eaelernNor|h
feet,.Albhouqh it.ie probablymooLvaluedlor newepaper America.With iIE liqh|qreenleh-gray bark,American
t prod,ucLion
workabiliLy
becauee of iLewhiLeneee,ite
rnakeiLa favorilein wood,workinq
etrenqthand
an) con-
lycarAoreie a prominentr
eomeLimes
?reeence
calledthe qhoallree.WhenquarLereawn,
in anyforeoi,and ie

oLrucLion.lL io alooa veryrezonantwoodand ie widely Lhietimber?abaeaoee a d,iolinctive fleckfiqure.Ueed, to

I ueedtnall typeoof otrinqand keyboard inef,rumenls. a qrear eKterLin furnilure,Arnericargycaorcreocca6oa-
SiLkaeoruceie olLenauarLereawn. allyia roLaryculfor veneer6.
I Other Namesz1ilvere?ruce,eeq,-toia eilverep'uce,tide- Other NameetAmericanplaneNree, buLLonwood, plane
)ande2ruce,Menzieso?ruce,coael,g?ruce,we6f,ern f,ree,water beech.
I g?ruceandwesl coaoLo?ruce.
5ources:Canada.U.K.and U.9.4.
9ouraeetEasf,ern and centralU,3.4.
CharacterieliaaUeuallyetraiqhl qrain:fine,evenf,ex-
CharacteriaticotSLraiqhLqrain;med,ium,
I whibeLo yellowieh-brown wiNha eliqhLVinkioh
evenlexfure:
tinge.Very
ture: pale reddieh-brown.
Ueea Furnibure, 1oinery, buXcher's blacke, and,veneere,
hiqh etr enqth-t o-weiqht,rabio. Workabililoyt Generallyqood:may bindon eaws',mainlain
t UaeatlnNerior 1oinery, muaicalineNrumenr,a, boat build- v e r yo h a r pc u t t i n qe d g e e : h i 7ohh r i n k a q e w i a
l ht e n d e n -
inq,oare,rowingeculla,qlidero,plywood, conotrucLion cy to war?.
t and veneers.
Workability:Good:ver! qood,bendinqpropertiee.
Finiohin1AccepNofinieheewell.
tNeightt35lb./cu.fL.
I FiniehinqAcceptefinieheewell.
W e i g h t ; 2 bl b . l c u . f t .
TricetlnexVeneive.

?riaetMod,eraf,e.
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TULIPWOOD
(H)
N)
Ootanical Name: Dalberqiafruteacena
Thieie an extremelyvaluablelimber,liqhterin colorlhan
I any olher rosewood, normallyavailableinsmallcultinqo
only.Likeall rosewoods,it qrow6very olowlyand needs
I cenNurieo for the heaibwoodio develoVr,op-qualitycolor.
1ecaueeof ita pooravailability,tulipwood i6 not,uoually
I ueedin eolidform, bul ae veneerfor inlayon frnepieaeo.
Whenit, is worked,this woodt ends tn oplinf,erantd,like
WALNUT,BLACK
(H)
6otanical namet Juglane niqra
Owin4to itreqreatbeauty and 4oodworkinqcharacler-
isLice,blackwalnutris oneol Lhemool valuablenaLive
woodein NorbhAmerica,1incecolonial times,it e wide
ranqeof figureahas qracedLhefinee| Americancabi-
network.Alxhouqhknownfor iLeworkability,walnutdoee
aontainjuqlone,a chernicalbelieved
in gomewoodworkerg.
to caueedermatitie

manyof the rosewood^,qiveooff afraqirant'aroma. OI,herNameetAmericanblackwalnut,Americanwalnul,

I Ath er Namea b razilian pinkwood, pinkw ood ( U.9.A,);
pau de fuoo,jacaranda rosa (Orazil),
t 9ourae:5outh America.
Charao't'enetlcatlrre4ular4raint meAium-frne t*xhure:
t rich qolden-pinkiohhue with salmonto red otripeo.
Uaeal Turnin6,brush backs,woodware, j;auelryboxeo,
I cabinztwork,inlay work,inlaid bandin1o,marimbakoyo,
decorativeveneersfor inlay workand marquetry and
antioLuereVaire.
I Workablffty: Difficult; extreme dullinqof cuttnr6: ?re
borefor nailinq.
I Finfahing: As6ePo frniahesvery wallicah be brouqbb
w ahigh naturalpolloh.
I WeQltu65lb./cu.fr,
Virqinia walnut(U.K.);walnui,Canadian walnuf.
5ources; EaeNernU,9.4.and Ontario,Canada.
CharacterielicslTouqhwoodof rnediumdeneity;4ener-
allyoiraiqht qrain:mediumcoareeNexlure;dark brown
tn purVliahblack.
UaeotFinefurnil,ure,qunof,ocke,interior joinery,cabi-
nobmakinq, t urninq,boai buildinq,muoicalinslrumenls,
clockcaeee,carving,?Wood, panelinqand veneere.
Workabifiiy: Good; blunts cuttere moderaNely; qood
bendinqproperlieo,
FlniehingzAccefio nal,uralwoodfrnishesee?eciallywell.
WeQhtl40 lb.lcu.ft.
?naezModerata

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WOOD DIRECTORY I

WE,NGE,".. WILLOW I
(H) (H)
9otanical Name: MilleLl,taelp, gotanical Name:)alix ni7ra I
t', eLronq.lteavy",laravtrtod,vtenqeoffere a f amiliar com- W h i l ei I e E u r o 2 e a n c o u a i ni e u e e dm o e f ,n o L a b l yt n
binati:n lo Lle vtoodvtorV.er. )L ie difficllL Lo work, bul c r i c k e Lb a L e ,b l a c kw i l l o wi s m o e Lf r e q u e n t l yu e e di n I
A e t i q h l f ul o o o ? a. L . a r i q i n a t t n q f r o ma L r e e o f m o d e r - NorLhAmericaby echoolwoodworkinq ehope:iL ie LAe
a"te.ize, Lh e dee2 crovn and blackwood can offer dis-
tincLiveveneer. vtit"hcharacleriotic ItqhLetreake of
moel commercially valuab)e of lhe moreLhan1Oatypee I
o f n a l i v eN o r L hA m e r i c a nw i l l o w eW . i l l o w 'e L r e n q L h
-"reelieeae involvedin food eLoraqeand,
2arenchyrna,a
con6um?Lio..For beoLreautLe,wenqeehoula be worked
a n d ,r e l a t i v el i q h t n e e em a k ei t ,L h ec l e a rc h o i c ef o r
a r t i f i c i al i m b e .
I
V'/ia.t),
very 'f)ar? Cl,Ller7, Other Name:3lackWillow.
Other Namee: Dikela,mibotu, African palieander. Sources Canad,a, Eaef,ern U.9.A,and Mexico. I
9 o u r c ee: 7 oruaio r tal Al ric a (Ca rner oo n, G abo n, Zair e). Characteristiaer Liqht,Louqhwood;otraiqht,grain;fine
Characteristico: Heavy,denee wood:etratqht 7rain; t eKLure; qrayieh- br own with r eddieh- brown eNreaks. I
coarae LextJre: dark brown wiLh blackiehveinoand, Ueea ArLificial limba, t oye, wickerwo rk,ba skete,boxee,
e o m e l i f f i e ee L r e a k e dw i L hf i n e . l i q h Lb r o w n1 i n e a .
Uaee: Twninq, inLeriorand exLeriorjoinery,cabinef,rnak-
craf,eo,decoraLive veneero.
Workability:SaLiefactory: mainLainehar?cLttteraf.o
I
'.1q.
ear'eirq atd deco'ar.lveve('eerq. ?revent,f rayinq: poor bendinq properf,iee: ofLenconLaine
WorkabilitytGenerallyqoad; blunte cuLtinq edqeo rapid, reacLionwaod.
I
1y:pre-borelor nailinq;poor bendingproVerLiee. FiniahinqAcceptefinisheewel|
Finiohing:SatielacLoryt mu.JLbe filledlor qood reeulto. Weight:26lb,/cu f t.. I
W e i g h L : 5 5 l b . l c u t, L . ?ricetlnexpeneive.
?rice: lloderaLe. I
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t ZEBRAWOOD
N) ZIRICOTE
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9 otaniaal Name: Microberlinia brazzavi||enaie
(H)
Ootanical Name;Cordiadodecandra
OiehincLive in appearance,
t zebrawoodcomeefrom Lwo
opecieeof larqeNreeefoundmainlyin Cameroon and
A ehunninq, darkwood,ziricoleio eaeytroworkanI can
be broughttoa veryemooLhfinieh,fhough difficulLNo
Gabon,Wes| Af rica.While il ie ueually eeena6 a veneer dry, onceNhisie achievedit ia relabively etableand hiqhly
I ir NorthAmerica,whenquarLersawn lhis Nimbercan durable.Likebocote,ziricoteie a CenbralAmerican
givebeaulifulresulte in eolidform.kbrawood ie memberof the cordias.Thetwo woodoare,in f act, quite
I difficult Nowork,however, and veneerstend Nobefragile.
Other Names:Zinqana(France,Gabon):Allenele,
eimilar,differingmainlyin color,
Olher Name:Cordia,
t amouk(Camercon):
Source;West Africa.
zebrano. 5 ourceszBelize,Mexico.
Characteristiaa:Sbraightqrain,mediumNomoderately
Charao.t erietiaozWavyto interlockedgrain;mediumt o finetexlure; black,gray or dark brownwith blackebreake.
t coa?oeteKVureihearLwood, paleyellowbrownwilh lhin Us e s t Fu rn i t ur e , ca b i ne I wo r k , in t e r io r j o i ner y
darkerstreaks;eapwoodwhite. and veneers.
I UoeozTurninq,tool handles,ekio,inlay,furniLure, WorkabilityrVery qood:liLllebluntingof cutLers.
cabineLwork and decorative venee(6. FiniohinglAccepte tinieh well.
t Workabili?y: Fair:dulls cuttinq edqeomoderately:
interlocked{ain willtend to leari suffersfrom hiqh
Weightz45-50 lb./cu. fN.
TricetExpenaive.
ohrinkaqeand may be unslablein use.Flal-aut boarde
I hardlo dry.
FiniahingzFaic may be difficult,to finieh becauseof
I inLerlocked 6rain.
Weightz45-50 lb,/cu. fL,
I ?ficetExoensiva.

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A-B
Absolute humiditv: A measureof the
weightof watervairorper unit volume
ofair, usuallyexpressedasgrainsper
cubicfoot; seerelativehumidity.
Air-dried lumber: Dried lumberthat
hasreachedits equilibrium moisture
contentby exposureto the air.
Angiosperm:Belongingto the botani-
cal sub-phylumor group ofwoody
plantsthat haveencapsulatedseeds
suchasa walnut or acorn:includesall
hardwoodtreespecies.
Annual growth ring: Thevisiblelayer
of growththat a treeputson in a single
year,includingthe earlywoodandthe
latewood;seenin the endgrain ofwood.
Bark The outermostlayerof a tree's
trunk that protectsthe innerwood
and cambiumfrom the elements;
composedof the outer,deadcork
and the inner,living phloem.
Bird's-eyefigure Figureon plainsawn
and rotary-cutsurfacesofa few
speciesof wood-most commonly
maple-exhibiting numeroussmall,
roundedareasresemblingbirds' eyes;
causedby localfiber distortions.
Blister figure: Figureon plainsawn
or rotary-cutsurfacesthat lookslike
various-sized elevatedand depressed
areasof roundedcontour.
Boardfoot A unit of wood volume
measurement equivalentto a pieceof
wood I inch thick, 12incheswide and
12incheslong.
Bookmatch:In veneering,a decorative
patternin which successive veneers
in a flitch arearrangedside-by-side
a mirror formation,like pagesof an
in
openedbook.
Boundwater:Moisturepresentin
wood found within the cellwalls;
seefreewater.
Bow:A lumberdefectin which a board
is not flat alongits length.
GLOSSARY
Bucking: Crosscutting a tree into logs
ofa desired length.
Burl veneer: Highly decorative veneer
taken from bulges or irregular growths
that form on the trunks of some
speciesand on the roots ofothers.
Butt veneer: Veneercut from the area
in a tree'strunk just abovethe roots;
also known as stump veneer.
C
Cambium: A layer of actively growing
tissue, one cell thick, between the
phloem and the sapwood, which
repeatedlydivides itselfto form new
cells of both.
Cant A log that has been debarked
and sawn square in preparation for
further cutting.
Case hardening: A lumber defect
resulting from drying a board too
rapidly; the outer layersofa board
are in compressionwhile the inner
layersare in tension.
Celft The smallestunit of wood struc-
ture, eachwith its own specialized
function; cells include vessels,fibers,
rays, and tracheids.
Chedc A lumber defect in which
splits develop lengthwise acrossthe
growth rings during seasoning
becauseof uneven shrinkage of wood.
Clear: Describesa board facethat is
free of defects.
Common grade lumber: In softwood,
lumber with conspicuous defectssuch
as red or black knots and pith.
Compression wood: Reactionwood
formed on the undersidesofbranches
and leaning or crooked stemsof soft-
wood trees.
Conifer: Any of several families of
softwood trdesthat bear cones;see
softwood.
Crook A lumber defect where there is
an edgewisedeviation from end-to-end
straightnessin a board.
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Crossband: In plywood with more I
than three plies, the veneersimmedi-
ately beneath the surface plies are t
oriented with a grain direction per-
pendicular to that of the surfaceplies.
I
Cross grain: Generally, lumber in
which the wood fibers deviate from I
the longitudinal axis of the board;
seespiral grain. I
Cross section: A viewing plane in
wood identification seenin the end
t
grain of lumber, cut perpendicular to
the axis of the tree trunk: also known t
as a transyersesection.
I
Crotchveneer: Veneercut from the
fork ofa tree trunk.
t
Crown-cut veneer: Decorative veneer
that is cut from flitches using the flat- I
slicing method.
t
Cup: A lumber defect in which the
face of a board warps and assumes
a cupJike shape.
I
Curlygrain: Seewavy grain. t
Cuttinglish A list of the sizesof lum- I
ber neededfor a specificproject.
D-E
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Deciduous: Any of severalfamilies of
trees that shed their foliage annually; I
seehardwood.
I
Defech Any abnormality or irregulari-
ty that lowers the commercial value of
wood.by decreasingits strength or
I
attectrng rts appearance;seewarp.
I
Dendrochronology: The scienceof
dating past events and changesin
environmental conditions by compar-
t
ative study of annual growth rings. I
Diamond match: In veneering, a dec-
orative pattern formed when succes- I
sive veneersfrom the same flitch,
usually with a diagonal stripe figure, I
are arranged in a diamond shape.
Diffuse-porous wood: Hardwoods in
t
which the pores tend to be uniform in
size and distribution throughout each I
annual growth ring.
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I GLOSSARY
t
I Earlywood: The portion of the annual
growth ring formed in the early part
I of the growing season;seelatetuood.
t Equilibrium moisture content The
moisture content that wood eventual-
ly reacheswhen it is exposedto a giv-
I en level of relative humidity and
temperature.
I on quarter-sawn surfaces.
Extractive: Resinsand other sub-
t stancesdeposited in the heartwood
during a tree's growth that impart
both color and resistanceto decay.
t fibers with respectto the axis of the
F-G
I Faceveneer: Veneer used for the
exposed surfacesin hardwood and
I softwood plywood.
Fiber: A specific hardwood cell type,
t elongated with narrow ends and thick
walls; contributes to the strength of
I the wood.
I Fiber saturation point (FSP):A con-
dition in which wood cell cavities are
free of all water, yet the cell walls
I remain fully saturated.
I Fiddlebadc An attractive figure result-
ing when wood with curly or wavy grain
I is quartersawn; commonly used in the
manufacture of stringed instruments.
I Figure In the broadest sense,the dis-
tinctive pattern produced in a wood
I surfacebv the combination of annual
growth rings, deviations from regular
I grain, rays,knots, and coloration.
Finish gradelumber: Softwood lum-
t ber graded for appearance,not
strength, seasonedto a moisture con-
I tent of 15 percent or less;includes
superior and prime categories.
t Firsts and seconds:The top or premi-
um grade ofhardwood.
I decorative match createdwhen suc-
Flat-slicedveneer: Veneer that is sliced
I offa log or a flitch with a veneerslicer.
I Flitch: A section ofa log cut to extract
the best figure and yield ofveneers
from a log; also known as a cant.
t the stump of a tree rather than in the
I and a hook for turning boards.
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Free water: Moisture present in wood
found inside the cell cavities;see
bound water.
Grade stamp: A stamp applied to most
softwood and some hardwood lumber
indicating the grade, strength proper-
ties, speciesof wood and the mill that
manufactured it.
Grain: Generally,the direction, size,
arrangement, appearance,or quality
of the elementsin wood or lumber;
specifically, the alignment of wood
tree trunk.
Green lumber: Freshly sawn, unsea-
soned lumber having a moisture con-
tent abovethe fiber saturation point.
Gymnosperm: A botanical sub-phy-
lum or group of woody plants that
have exposedseedslike a pine seed;
includes all softwood tree species.
H-r-J-K-r
Hardboard: A type of manufactured
board with smoother surfaces than
particleboard, made by breaking waste
wood down into its individual fibers,
mixing them with adhesives,and mat-
forming them into a strong, homoge-
nous panel.
Hardwood: Generally, wood from
angiosperm tree species.
Headsaw: The large bandsaw or circu-
lar saw at a mill that cuts logs into
large slabs of timber for resawing; also
known as headrig.
Heartwood: The dead, inner core of
a tree extending from the pith to the
sapwood, usually distinguishable
from sapwood by its darker color.
Herringbone match: In veneers,a
cessiveveneersfrom one flitch, usually
with a diagonal stripe, are arranged to
form a herringbone pattern.
Humbolt undercut: A method of
felling treeswhere a wedge is cut in
upper log before it is felled.
Hygroscopicity: The ability of a sub-
stanceto readily absorb, retain, and
desorb moisture.
Interlocked grain: Wood that features
repeatedalternation ofleft- and right-
hand deviations of fibers from the axis
ofthe tree trunk, usually over several
growth rings; results in ribbon figure
Key: A master list of wood species
used in identification, ordered by cri-
teria such as gross anatomical features,
macroscopic features,or microscopic
teatures.
IGln: A heated chamber used in dry-
ing lumber, veneer,or wood products
where temperature, humiditS and
air circulation are controlled.
IGln-dried lumber: Lumber that
has been dried to a specific moisture
content.
Knot: The baseof a branch or limb
that has been overgrown by the
expanding girth of the trunk or other
portion ofthe tree.
Latewood: The portion of the annual
growth ring formed in the latter part
of the growing season;seeearlywood.
ksser-known species(LKS) : Woods
recently introduced to the market,
such as chactacote,tornillo and chon-
taquiro amarillo, many of which come
from sourcesthat practice sustainable
torest management.
Linear foot A measurement referring
only to the length of a piece of wood;
seeboardfoot.
Lumber: Logs that have been roughly
sawn into timbers, resawn,planed
and sawn to length.
Lumber-core plywood: Plywood in
which softwood and hardwood veneers
are glued to a core of narrow, sawed
lumber.
Lumber ruler: A tool used to measure
the board-foot volume of a piece of
lumber with a flexible wooden shaft

Luthier: A builder of stringed musical
instruments such asviolins and guitars.
M-N-O
Macroscopic features: Referring to
anatomical featuresof wood identifi-
cation visible with low-power magni-
fication, typically a 10x hand lens.
Marquetry: Decorative inlay work
done with veneers,metals or other
materials.
Medium density fiberboard (MDF) :
A tFpe of tempered hardboard with a
fine texture used in cabinetmaking.
Moisture content: The amount of
water contained in wood, expressedas
a percentageofthe weight ofthe oven-
dried wood.
Mottled figure: A type of broken stripe
figure with occasionalinterruptions of
curly figure.
Nominal sizs The rough-sawn com-
mercial sizebywhich lumber is known
and sold.
Non-porouswood: Wood devoid of
vessels,or pores; softwood.
Oven-dried weighfi The constant
weight of wood that has been dried in
an oven at temperatures between 2l4o
and22l" F. to a point where it no
longer contains moisture.
P-Q
Parenchvma: Thin-walled cells in
wood; reiponsible for the storage
of carbohydr ates. Seeray.
Particleboard: A tyoe of manufac-
tured board made by breaking waste
wood down into small particles, mix-
ing them with adhesives,and extrud-
ing or mat-forming them into panels
ofvarying thickness.
Particleboard-core p\nuood:
Plywood in which hardwood and soft-
wood veneersare glued to a particle-
board core for added strength.
GLOSSARY
Phloem: The inner bark. which dis-
tributes nutrients derived from photo-
synthesisin the leaves.
Photosynthesis: A processby which
plants synthesizecarbohydratesand
other nutrients from water and min-
erals in the presenceofcholorphyll
and sunlight.
Phylum: A botanical group or class
ofplants.
Pitch pockeh A pocket found within
the grain of some conifers, containing
an accumulation of liquid or solid
restn.
Pith: The small, soft core occurring in
the structural center ofa tree trunk.
Plain-sawn lumber: Lumber that has
been sawn so that the wide surfaces
are tangential to the growth rings; also
known as flat-sawn lumber when
referring tb softwood; seequartersawn
lumber.
Plywood: A manufactured board con-
sisting of an odd number of layers
or Dliesof softwood or hardwood
veneer;may also be made with a solid
core, seelumber-coreplywood.
Pors A cross-sectionof a vesselas it
appearson a transversesection of
wood; see?esseL
Porouswood: Wood that has vessels.
or pores, large enough to be seenwith
a hand lens; hardwood.
Quarter-cut veneer: A veneer created
by slicing a flitch to exposethe quar-
tersawn surfaceof the wood.
Quarter match: A decorative veneer
pattern createdby arranging successive
veneersfrom the same flitch, usually
with a burl or crotch figure in a circular
or oval formation; also known as four-
way centerand butt.
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Quartersawn lumber: Lumber that
I
has been sawn so that the wide sur-
facesintersect the growth rings, at I
anglesbetween 45oand 90o;also
known as vertical-grained lumber
when referring to softwood; seealso
I
plain-sawnlumber.
t
Quilted figure: A distinctive, blister-
like figure found in bigleaf maple. I
R
Radial section: A viewing plane in
t
wood identification cut acrossthe
grain perpendicular to the growth I
rings and parallel to the wood rays;
the plane that extendsalong the axis I
of the tree trunk from pith to bark.
Radial shrinkage Shrinkage that
I
occurs acrossthe growth rings as
wood dries. I
Ray: A ribbon-shaped strand of cells t
extending acrossthe grain from pith to
bark that appearas streal$ on quarter-
sawn surfaces:sometimesreferredto as
I
medullary ray.
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Reaction wood: A lumber defect
causedby stressesin leaning tree I
trunks and limbs; known as compres-
sion wood in softwood, and tension
wood in hardwood; characterizedby
I
compressedgrowth rings and silvery,
lifelesscolor. I
Relative humidity: The ratio of the I
water vapor present in the air to the
amount that the air would hold at its
saturation point, usually expressedas a
I
percentagefigure; seeabsolutehumidity.
I
Resin canat Vertical passagesbetween
wood cells in conifers that conduct I
natural resins and pitch.
Ribbon figure: Distinctive vertical
I
bands ofvarying luster found on
quartersawn boards of wood with I
interlocked grain.
I
Riftsawn lumber: Lumber whose
growth rings are at anglesbetween 30o
and 60" to the board face;also known
I
as bastard-sawnlumber.
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t GLOSSARY
t
I Ring-porous wood: Hardwoods in
which the pores are comparatively
t large at the beginning ofeach annual
growth ring, and decreasein size
I toward the outer section of the ring,
forming distinct zonesof earlywood
and latewood.
I with solarenergy.
Roe figure: Figure formed by short
I stripes lessthan I foot in length,
found on quartersawn surfacesof
I woods with interlocked grain.
Rotary-cut veneer:A continuous sheet
I peeled from a log or flitch by rotating
it on a lathe against a stationary knife.
I Spermatophyte:Any of a phylum or
S-T-U
I Sap: The water in a tree, including any
dissolved nutrients and extractives.
I Sapwood: The outer portion of a tree's
trunk extending from the heartwood
I to the cambium; distinguishablefrom
the heartwood by its lighter color.
I Sawyer: The person at a sawmill
"read"
whosejob it is to a log before it
I is cut and selectthe appropriate cut-
ting patterns.
t arr crrculatron.
Seasoning:The.processor technique
.
I of removing moisture from greenwood
to improve its workability.
t Selects:In softwood, defect-freelum-
ber graded for clear appearancerather
I than strength, separatedinto firsts and
second,C selectand D selectgrades.
I In hardwood, selectsis one grade
below firsts and seconds.
I Semi-diffuse porous wood: Wood
with pores exhibiting the clear distinc-
I tion between earlywood and latewood
that is lacking in diffrrse-porous wood,
t yet not so pronounced a difference as
that shown by ring-porous wood; also
known as semi-ring porous wood.
I wood identification cut along the grain
Slipmatch: In veneering, a repeated
I decorativepattern createdby laying
successivesheetsofveneer from a
I flitch side-by-side.
I
I
r
I t41
I
Softwood:Generally,speciesfrom the
familiesof treesthat havea orimitive
cellstructure,bearconesand for the
mostpart haveneedle-likeleaves;
wood producedby softwoodtrees.
Solarkiln: A kiln that drieslumber
Sound:Describesa boardfacefreeof
defectsthat would weakenthe wood.
Specificgravity: The ratio of the
weightof a wood sampleto that of an
equalvolumeof water.
groupofhigherplantsthat reproduce
by seed;includesalmostall treespecies. Veneer: A thin layer or sheetof wood
Spiral grain: A form of crossgrain
causedby the spiralalienmentof wood
fibersin a staniing trei.
Stain:A discolorationin wood caused
by fungi, metals,or chemicals.
Sticker:A pieceof wood, usually3/+-
to l-inch thick,usedto separate
boards
of lumber in a drying stackto permit
SubstrateA pieceof plywood,soft-
wood or hardwoodusedin veneering
asa core.
Surfacing:The waylumber hasbeen
preparedat a mill beforeit goesto a
lumberyard.Alsoknown asdressing.
Sustainable forest management The
processof managing forest land to
ensure future productivity and maxi-
mize the flow of forest products with-
out placing undue strain on the phys-
ical and social environment.
Thngential section: A viewing plane in
tangentialto the growth rings;plain-
sawn lumber is sawn tangentially.
Tangential shrinkage: Wood shrink-
age that occurs tangentially to the
growth rrngs.
Tensionwood: Reactionwood formed
occasionalyon the upper side of
branchesdnd leanin!br crooked
stems of hardwood trees.
Texture: Refersto the size ofthe
cells in wood, indicatedby adjectives
from fine to coarse;often'confused
with grain.
Tiacheid: Long, fibrous cells that con-
duct sap and help support the tree.
Twist A defect causedby the turning
or winding of the edgesof the board,
so that one corner twists out of plane.
V-W-X-Y-Z
sawn,slicedor rotary cut from a log
or flitch.
Veneer-coreplywood: Plywood
that consistsof three or more plies
ofveneers, eachlaid at right angles
to each other with respectto graln
direction.
Veneerpress:A commercialor shop-
built pressused to apply veneersto
substrates.
VessehWood cells of comparatively
large diameter found in hirdwoodi,
set one atop the other to form a con-
tinuous tube for conducting water
and sap up the trunk; when viewed in
cross-section,vesselsappearaspores.
Warp: A lumber defect or distortion
of a piece of wood; seebow, croolgcup,
and, twtst.
Wavy grain: Grain resulting from
repeated,undulating right and left
deviationsin the alignment of wood
fibers from the axis 6f a tree's trunk;
also known as cuily grain.
 I
INDEX I
t
Pagereferencesin lralicsindicate Gradestamps,48,49 Sizes,42,48 t
an illustration of subiectmatter.
Pagereferencesin bold indicate
a Build It Yourselfproject.
PIywood, T2
Grading.SeeLumber: Grades;Plywood:
Grades
Storage,79
racks,89-92,95-97
storingwood to preserveits mois-
r
ture content(ShopTip), 89
ABC
Grain,26,28-29
Growth rings,.15,24,25,33 Surfacing/dressing,43, 53-55 t
Air-dried (AD) lumber, 43,79, 87-88 Gum (wood defect),5O 51 Seeabo Manufacturedboards;Plywood
American Lumber Standards
Committee,48 HIIK
Lumberyards,4l
Machineburn (wood defect),5l
t
Arno, Jon,l0-ll Hardboard,56,77 Manufacturedboards,56,57,76-77
Aversdon,Sven,45 Hardwood,16,98 SeealsoPlywood I
Bark, 15 Grades,46-47 Microscopicexamination,3I-33
Bird's-eyefigxe,27, 59
Blue stain (wood defect),50, 5l
Identification,33
Plywood,70,71,72,73
Mottle figure,26
National Hardwood Lumber Association
t
Board-foot measurement,42,43, 44 Heartwood,14, 15,25 (NHLA),46,47
Botanicalnames,17,98 Identificationkeys,34 35 Newsprint, 17 I
Build It Yourself: InternationalWood Collectors
Log crosscuttingjigs, 39
Solarkilns, 84-85
Sociery34
figs:
PQRS
Particleboard,56,76
I
Veneer-trimmingjigs, 66 Log crosscuttingjigs, 39 Phloem,15
Burlfigure,27 Veneer-trimmingjigs, 66 Pith, 15,25 t
Burl veneers,59 Jointing,53 Plain-sawnlumbet 24-25
Butt veneers,59
Cambium,14,i5
Concave/convex surfaces,55
Kiln-dried (KD) lumber, 43,78-79
Shrinkage,24,
Planing,54
86 I
Cant,37-38 Solarkilns, 84-85 Grain,29
Centerfor Wood Anatomy Research,34 Knots (wood defect),20, 50 Plywood,56,57,70-71 I
Common gradelumber, 45, 46,47, Edgeconcealment, 74-75
48,49 tM NO shop-madeedgebanding (Shop I
Crotch veneers,59 Landscapefr9ure,26,27 Tip),75
Cutting lists,44 Latewood, 15,16,31 Grades,72-73
Leaves,16 Plywoodcarrier (ShopTip),73 I
DEFG Linear-footmeasurement,42 Storage
Defectivelumber, 20-21, 50-52
SeealsoWarpedstock
Linnaeus,Carl,17
Logs,13
holding plywood panelsagainst
a wall (ShopTip), 93
t
Density.SeeSpecificgravity Sawinginto lumber, 22-25,36-39 racks,92-94
Diffirse-porouswoods, 16 Squaring,37-38 Temporaryplywood pallet (Shop I
Dowels,95 log crosscuttingjigs, 39 Tip),94
Drfttg processes, 43,50, 78-79
Air drying, 43,79,87-88
Storage,87
Veneer-cutting,59,60-61
Types,71
Poynter,Andrew, 8-9
I
Solarkilns, 84-85 Lumber: Quartersawnlumber, 24-25,37
Earlywood,15, L6,37 Abbreviations,back endpaper Shrinkage,24, 86 I
Edgebanding: Carryinglumber by car (ShopTip), 42 Rays,15,25,31
Plvwood,74
shop-madeedgebanding
Defects,20-2I,50-52
Grades,40,41,42,45
Reactionwood,50, 52
Resincanals,3.1,33 I
(ShopTip),75 hardwood,46-47 Ribbon frgtre,27
Veneers,64 softwood,48-49 Ring-porouswoods, 16,33 I
trimming edgebanding Measurement,42, 43 Safetyprecautions,front endpaper:
(ShopTip), 64 cutting lists,44 Chain saws,front endpaper,36
Edge-grainsawnlumber. See Moisturecontent,43,49,79,80-83 Sapwood,14,-15 I
Quartersawnlumber making a moistureindicator Sawmills,22-23,4l
Edgemarks,T2 (ShopTip), 86
readingmoisturecontentin thick
Selectgradelumber,46,47,48,49
Sharp,]ohn, 6-7
I
Endangeredspecies,98
FASgradelumber,46,47 stock(ShopTip)83 ShopTips:
Fiberboard,56,77 storingwood to preserveits mois- Lumber I
Fibersaturationpoint (FSP),80 ture content(ShopTip), 89 carryinglumber by cat,42
Fiddlebackfigure, 26, 27
Figure,2G27
Purchasing,42-43
Recycled,4l
checkinglumber for twist, 52
making a moisture indicator, 86
I
Veneers,59 Sawingfrom logs,24-25,3G39 readingmoisture content in
Finishgradelumber,48,49 Seasoning, 43,50,7&79 thick stock 83 I
Flat-cutveneers,59 air drying,43,79,87-88 storingwood to preserveits mois-
Flat-grainedlumber. SeePlain-
sawnlumber
solarkilns, 84-85
Selection,4l
ture content,89
straighteningout an uneven
I
Shrinkage/swelling, 24, 80-82,86 edge,55
I
I
r42 t
I
t
I
t
I Plywood Grain,26,28-29 mahogann58,59,82,120
holding plywood panelsagainst Identification,7, 30-35 maple,27, 58, 59,82, 87, 121
t a wall, 93
plywood carriet, T3
Luster,33
Odot27,33
movingue,26
myrtle, 58, 121
t shop-madeedgebanding, 75
temporaryplywood pallet,94
Species
African mahogany,27, 120
oak,82, 87,122
olivewood,58, 123
Veneers African padauk,123 padavk,123
I salvagingwarpedveneer,62
trimming edgebanding, 64
afrormosia,99
agba,99
paperbirch, 104
pauferro, 124
veneeringa curvedsurface(Shop Alaskayellow cedar,82, 107 pear,58,124
I Tip),68 alder, 100 pecan,125
Softwood,16,33,98 amburana,100 perobarosa,26
I Grades,4&49
Plywood,70,71,72,73
Americanchestnut,/I0
Americansycamore,82,87, 133
persimmon,35,82,
pine,31,82,87,126-127
125
Specificgraity,27,28 aromatic cedar,107 ponderosapine, 126
I Splits(wood defect),51 ash,82,87, 101 poplar, 127
Stripedveneers,59 avodir6,58, 102 primavera,128
I TU
bald cypress,111
balsa,102
purpleheart,58, 128
red alder, 100
Through-and-throughsawnlumber, basswood, 82,87, 103 redcedar, l08
I 24,37 bayo,103 red oak, 82, 87, 122
Tools: beech,59,82,87,104 red spruce,87
t Chain saws,36
Lumber mills, 36
birch, 104
blackash,I0I
redwood,87,129
rosewood,17, 58, 59,129-130
Moisturemeters,79,83 black cherry, 82,87, 109 sapele,58, 130
I readingmoisture content in thick
stock (ShopTip) 83
blackwalnut,58,82,87, 135 sassafras, 10,82,131
blackwillow, 82, 136 satinwood,58, 131
t Veneering,63
Wood identification, 30
bocote,I05
Brazlian rosewood,I 7, 58, 98
sitkaspruce,133
snakewood,132
Seealsoligs bubinga,105 SouthAmericanmahogann 82, i20
t Tracheids,16,3l
Trees:
butternut,82,87, 106 southernyellow pine, /26
California r edwood.,129 Spanishcedar,132
t Anatomy, 14-15
Botanicalnames,17,98
Carpathianelm,27,58, 59
catalpa,82, 106
spruce,87, 133
sugarmaple,82, 87
Conservation, 7,98 cedar,82,107-108,132 sugarpine, 87
t Felling,front endpaper,I8-22
Industrialuses,l7
Ceylonsatinwood,58, l3I
chactacote,109
sycamore, 82,87,133
teak,82, 134
Twisting. SeeWarpedstock
I cherry 82,87, 109
chestnut,I l0
tornillo, 134
tulipwood, 135
VWXYZ chontaquiroamarillo, I.l0 walnut, 58, 59,82,87, 135
I Veneers,57-58
Application, 63-68
cocobolo,IIl wenge,136
qpress,Ill westernred cedar,82, 108
trimming edgebanding (Shop Douglas-fir,12, 18,82,87,112
I Tip),64 EastIndian rosewood,59
white ash,82,87, 101
white birch,26
veneeringa curvedsurface(Shop ebony,112-1lj white cedar,108
t Tip),68
veneer-trimmingjigs, 65
e l m , 5 8 ,5 9 , 8 2 , 8 7 , 1 1 3
Europeanbeech,59
white elm, .l13
white oak, 82, 122
Cutting
t bandsaws,6l-62
goncaloalves,.l14
grayelm, 87
white pine, 31,82,87,127
willow,82, 136
from logs, 59,60-6I hackberry 82, 114 yelTowcedag107
I Decorativepatterns,69
Salvagingwarpedveneer(Shop
hard maple,I2I
hickory 82,87,115
yellow poplar, 127
yew,58
Tip),62 holly,82,I15
I Warped stock,50, 5l Hondurasrosewood,129
zebrawood,58, 137
ziricote,137
Checkinglumber for twist (Shop imbuia, 58, 116 Texture,26
I Tip),52
Salvaging,53,54-55
Indonesianrosewood,130
iroko,.l16
Weight,27,28
SeealsoHardwood;Logs;Lumber;
salvagingwarpedveneer(Shop jatoba,1l7
t Tip),62 kingwood,-117
Manufacturedboardi; Plywood;
Softwood;Trees;Veneers
straighteningout an unevenedge koa,l18 Wood samples,30,34
I (ShopTip), 55
Woods,13
lacewood,58,
lignumvitae,i19
118 WoodworkersAlliancefor Rainforest
Protection(WARP),8
a Color,26,33
Figure,27
macassarebony, l.l3
madrone,82, 119

I
I r43
I
 I
r
I
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I
Theeditorswishto thank thefoUowing I
UNDERSTANDINGWOOD
DeltaInternationalMachinery,Guelph,Ont.; SheilaFoley,Councilof ForestIndustriesof B.C.,Vancouver,B.C.;
I
fim Gundy, AppalachianHardwood ManufacturersAssn.,High Point, NC; Haddon Tool, Chicago,IL;
Richardfagels,Dept. of ForestBiology,Universityof Maine, Orono, ME; LeeValleyTools Ltd., Ottawa,Ont.; I
Doug MacCleery ForestInventory and Planning,U.S.Dept. of Agriculture,Washington,DC; Duncan
McTaggert,MacMillan Bloedel,Vancouver,BC; David Mitchell, CentennialAcademy,Montreal, Que.;
JackPitcher,National Hardwood Lumber Assn.,Memphis,TN; Woodcraft Supply,Parkersburg,WV
I
SELECTINGLUMBER I
LesBoisM & M lt6e.,St-Mathieu,Que.;fim Carse,A & M Wood SpecialtyInc., Cambridge,Ont.;
Communication Masters,Norcross,GA; Delta InternationalMachinery,Guelph,Ont.; DaveDoucette,
Highland Hardwoods,Brenfivood,NH; Hitachi PowerTools U.S.A.Ltd., Norcross,GA;
I
RogerLandreville,Montreal, Que.;JackPitcher,National Hardwood Lumber Assn.,Memphis,TN;
Bob Sabastina,National Hardwood Lumber Assn.,Memphis,TN; Tom Searles, American I
Lumber StandardsCommittee,Germantown,MD.; Shopsmith,Inc., Montreal, Que.

VENEBRSAND MANUFACTI.]RED BOARDS I

AdjustableClamp Co., Chicago,IL; Delta InternationalMachinery/PorterCable,Guelph,Ont.;
LeeValleyTools Ltd., Ottawa,Ont. I
DRYINGAND STORINGWOOD
LeeValleyTools,Ottawa,Ont.; Bill Simpson,U.S.ForestProductsLab,Madison,WI; I
WOODDIRECTORY
A & M Wood SpecialtyInc., Cambridge,Ont.; PeteAtkinson,World ConservationMonitoring Centre,
t
Cambridge,England;R.S.BaconVeneerCo., Hillside, IL Tom Barrett,GeneralWoods and Veneers,
Montreal, Que.;Jim Carse,A & M Wood SpecialtyInc., Cambridge,Ont.; Iohn Curtis, The Luthier's Mercantile, I
Healdsburg,CA; Michael Fortune,Toronto, Ont.; R€jeanGarandenr., St-R6mi,Que.;DebbieHammel, Scientific
CertificationSystems,Inc., Oakland,CA; BruceMacBryde,U.S.Fish and Wildlife Service,U.S.Dept. of the
Interior, Washington,DC; Gary Meixner, Pittsford Lumber,Pittsford,N.Y; Mark Platin,Wildwoods Co.,
I
Arcata,CA; JohnShipstad,WoodworkersAlliancefor RainforestProtection,CoosBay,OR
t
Thefollowingpersonsalsoassisted
in thepreparationof this book: I
Adrienne Bertrand,ElizabethCameron,Donna Curtis, LorraineDor€, Graphor Consultation,
Marie-Jos6eHarcc,CarolynJackson,LeonardLee,Ednaand William Mills, Brian Parsons,Maryo Proulx I
I
PICTURECREDITS
Cover RobertChartier I
5,7 Mark Tucker
8,9 Bob Anderson
10,11 BobAnderson
I
12 CourtesyWesternWood ProductsAssociation
13 Gloria H. Chomica/Masterfile I
17 Bob Anderson/Masterfile
18 Ed Gifford/Masterfile
19 Erik Borg
I
20 Al Harvey/Masterfile
21 CourtesyWesternWood ProductsAssociation I
22 Erik Borg
23 Erik Borg (2)
33 CourtesyU.S.ForestProductsLaboratory(2)
I
36 CourtesyBetterBuilt Corporation
a0 Philip C. Jackson t
60 CourtesyDavid R. Webb Co., Inc.
78 Erik Borg t
I
r44 I
I
I
I
WORKSHO
GPU I D E
I
I USEFUL
LUMBER
ABBREVIATI()NS
AD Airdried LINFT Linear,
or lrneal,
foot STD Standard
I BD Board MC Moisture
content STK Stock
' Footorfeet
I BDFT Boardfoot 0C 0n center SYMBOLS
"
CLR Clear - 0G Ogee Inchor inches
I COM Common P Planed
x by(asin2x4)
a / q6 h . 8 h( a n ds o o n ) '

I CUFT Cubicfeet PAD Partially

airdried R o u g ht hi c k n e s isn
DIM Dimension PC f r a c t i o nos f a n i n c h
Piece
I E Edge " RDM Random S&E Qidp :nd odop

FAS Firstsandseconds REG Regu

lar SIE Srrrfacod nnc pdoo

I FT Foot RGH Rough s2E Qrrrfanod tuin pdoes

FTSM Surface (infeet) RIP

measure Ripped sls S u r f a c e od n es i d e
\l GR Green RL Random
lengths s2s Surfacedtwo sides
I HDWD Hardwood RND Rou
nd s4s S u r f a c efdo u rs i d e s

HRTWD Heartwood SAP Sapwood s 1 s l E S u r f a c eodn es i d e ,o n ee d g e

I s 1 s z E S u r f a c eodn es i d e ,t w oe d g e s
lN lnches SD Seasoned
I JTD Jointed SE Square
edge T&G Tnnsrrpand srnnvp

KD K i l nd r i e d SEL Select VJ Vl o r n t
I LBR Lumber SF foot(1 square
Surface foot)
WDR Wider
WT Weight
I LGTH Length SM Surface
measure
LIN L i n e aorr l i n e a l S0 Square WTH width
I
I
REC()MMENDED
MOISTURE
C()NTENT
FORCABINETMAKING
LUMBER
I
Ave"ane mniaf.t tre rnnf.enl Asthismapprovided bytheU.S.
I B%

Forest Products Labshows, theideal

t , J moisture content forwoodusedto
b u i l di n d o of ru r n i t u rdee p e n dosn
\
t h er e g i o fno rw h i c ht h ef i n i s h e d
I a r t i c lies i n t e n d e dI n. t h er e l a t i v e l y
drySouthwestern states, forexample,
I lumber should bedriedto a moisture
content of 4 to 9 nercent. A levelof
I 8 to 13 percent wouldbe betterfor
I theSoutheastern region of thecountry
w h e r eh u m i d i tiys g e n e r ahl liyg h e r .
I Thenational average fallsbetween
5 and10 percent moisture content.
I
I
Average moteture
I conl;enL 6%
Average moteLure
contenL 11%

I
I
I