Know your woods

Topic in Cabinet making courses

When you work with wood, you want to make the best choice for which wood to use. When you have boards in stock you wish to be able to determine the type of wood by looking at it. Smelling the wood can also be a big help in determining the type of wood.

Images of wood

Click on the links of the trees to read a section 'Uses of wood', for example Castanea sativa

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  Acacia

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  African padouk, from Pterocarpus

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  Alder

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  Apple

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  Ash

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  Birch

• Bossé wood.JPG

  Bosse wood (pink mahagony). See Guarea

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  Beech (European beech)

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  Bilinga(Obebe), from Nauclea diderrichii

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  Cedar

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  Cherry, Black cherry

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  Cherry wood (Prunus avium)

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  Douglas-fir

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  Ebony wood, mostly from Diospyros

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  Elm

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  Fir (Abies alba)

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  Fir, from Picea abies(Norway spruce), see Spruce

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  Iroko wood

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  Larch

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  Maple

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  Mountain pine

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  Oak(Quercus robur)

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  Pine

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  Poplar, used for packaging, matches, clogs

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  Plum wood

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  Ramin, from Gonystylus

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  Robinia

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  Rosewood, from Dalbergia

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  Sorbus torminalis

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  Sweet chestnut, see Castanea sativa

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  Taxus baccata, see Taxus, historically used for the construction of longbows

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  Teak

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  Thuja

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  Tilia, Lime wood

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  Walnut

External links

• Houtsoorten Dutch Wikipedia
• Liste der Holzarten German Wikipedia
• Список пород древесины Russian Wikipedia
• List of woods Wikipedia
• Know your woods http://www.frontgate.com
• Wood Wikipedia
• Woodsampler Woodworker's Website Assocation, showing images of wood samples of many species