ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Types Of Wood

Updated on October 22, 2011

Wood is a hard structured formed naturally on the bark of trees due to accumulation of dead cells.

For centuries wood has been used by man for various purposes like making furniture, lighting fire, making boats etc. due to the fact that they are obtained from trees which renewable sources, wood is low cost and preferably used for making furniture.

Since there are thousands of different types of trees, there are many types of wood. Different types of wood are differentiated on the basis of their strength, color and grain. Basically there are two main categories of wood:

  • Hard wood
  • Soft wood

However we can also classify them on the basis of their grain, according to which the two types of wood are:

  • Open pore grain wood
  • Tight grain wood

Let’s take a look at the major two categories of wood:

Hard Wood

Hard wood as its name suggests is the type of wood which has a high strength, is strong and is very durable.

Hard wood is obtained from trees which shed their leaves during the winter. Hard wood is used to make things which require strength such as cabinets, cupboards, desks, boats etc.

Hard wood is heavy and durable and resistant to environmental hazards. They usually have a very fine structure as their grains are quite tight.

Some common hard woods are:

Maple wood bench
Maple wood bench
  • Maple

    Maple is a very fine textured and hard wood. In fact it is one of the hardest woods in the world. This extremely durable wood is generally snowy white, cream white or slightly yellowish white in color.

    When rubbed with oil it gives a golden ivory color. The best thing about this wood is that it machines very well. The texture of this wood may contain specks and streaks of various designs.

    Due to its very fine texture and extreme hardness it is used in flooring, wooden ware and very fine furniture.

Oak wood table
Oak wood table
  • Oak 

    Oak is a very durable hard wood which can also bend. Because of its bending properties it is not as hard maple but it is extremely strong and durable. It does not break.

    It greatly resists moisture and has a good finishing. It is used in the making of furniture, used for flooring and due to its resistance towards water used in boat framing. 

Mahogany Vase
Mahogany Vase
  • Mahogany

    Mahogany is also a fine grained, durable hard wood. It is generally reddish brown in color while some of its varieties like the African mahogany are tan brown in color.

    Mahogany is very resistant to moisture, swelling, shrinking and warping. This wood is used for making of fine expensive furniture, for boat construction and for the making of veneers.

Walnut bowl
Walnut bowl
  • Walnut 

    Walnut is a strong, durable and easy to work with wood. It is very resistant towards shrinking and warping.

    It also has a fine texture and can be finished very well. It is used in for wall paneling, making gun stocks, cabinets, novelties etc.

Cherry hardwood floor
Cherry hardwood floor
Teak dining table
Teak dining table
Pine wood dining table
Pine wood dining table
Fir wood flooring.
Fir wood flooring.
Hemlock trees
Hemlock trees
  • Cherry

    Cherry is a resistant hard wood which has closed grains. It has gum and pitch pockets on its surface which makes it a unique wood.

    The color of this wood usually reddish brown to light brownish pink but when polished it becomes glowing and deep red. It is used for making all types furniture and in boat trims.

  • Teak

    Teak is a hard resistant wood which is very resistant towards moisture, cracking and decay. The color of this wood varies from dark brown to yellowish brown.

    The texture of teak is oily and its surface possess mineral streaks. It is used for window framing, making of furniture pieces and a general construction wood.

Soft Wood

Soft wood is obtained from evergreen trees and is light and flexible wood.

Some common soft woods are:

  • Pine

    Pine is a resistant soft wood which has a uniform texture. It is used in door paneling, some furniture and making wooden boxes due to its light weight.

  • Fir 

    Fir is an easy to work with and a uniform textured wood. However it has a very low resistivity towards decay. It is used for making doors, windows, frames and plywood.
  • Hemlock

    Hemlock like fir is also a good wood but is not resistant towards decay. It is used in making of boards, planks, doors and crates.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)