Hardwood Timber Species

Characteristics: 

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The sapwood and heartwood are almost white to beige with the heartwood having incidences of dark beige to brown features on occasions.

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Well figured with good strength, elasticity, toughness, stiffness and hardness allied to its light weight.

Working Qualities: 

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Machines reasonably well. Good staining and polishing qualities.

Uses:

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High class joinery,boat interiors, musical instruments and striking tool handles.

Product Attributes:

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Generally cream to white.

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Machines well.

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Good strength and toughness / weight ratio.

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Veneers available.

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Strong grain figure.

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Flat sawn.

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Good polishing and staining qualities.

Seasoning:

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Dries fairly rapidly but tends to warp, twist, check and split.

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Steaming which reduces the tension in the timber is normally introduced.

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This process however colours the timber to pink / red.

Characteristics: 

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No clear distinction between heartwood and sapwood by colour, which varies from cream to pink / red depending on the amount of steaming the timber is given.

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The wood is typically straight grained with a fine even texture but varying in density according to the locality of growth.

Working Qualities: 

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Works well and is capable of good smooth surfaces. Good turning and bending properties.

Uses:

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General utility timber for interior joinery, finishing and cabinetmaking.

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Used extensively in Europe for domestic woodware, tool handles and flooring.

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Produces good veneer.

Product Attributes:

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Consistent colour, pale pink.

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Machines and turns well.

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Good bending properties.

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Straight grained with a fine even texture.

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Stains and polishes satisfactorily.    

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Veneers available.

Product Limitations:

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Will discolour to pale yellow with time.

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Graded similar to American standards.

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Generally narrow with no fixed widths.

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Lengths seldom above 3.0m.

Seasoning:

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Dries fairly easily and without undue degrade, although there is some tendency to cupping.

Characteristics: 

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The heartwood ranges in colour from a lustrous golden-brown to reddish-dark brown with a fairly dark brown zone marking the growth rings.

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The grain is usually straight but may be interlocked or wavy and the texture is medium and even.

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The wavy grain produces a beautiful fiddle-back figure.

Working Qualities: 

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The timber works fairly easily but cutting edges must be kept sharpened for end grain working.

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A reduction of cutting angle to 20° is usually beneficial in planning and moulding, particularly when curly grain is present.

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It can be screwed and nailed well but gluing properties are often variable.

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It finishes well and takes an excellent stain and polish.

Uses:

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Fine furniture, shop fitting, cabinets, gun stocks, musical instruments and decorative veneer.

Product Attributes:

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Golden brown to reddish, dark brown.

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Attractive grain.

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Machines and turns reasonably well.

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Stains and polishes well.

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Veneers available.

Product Limitations:

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Short lengths and narrow widths.

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Wide colour variation.

Characteristics: 

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Fine, straight, close grain timber.

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The heartwood varies in colour from reddish-brown to rich red.

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The sapwood is yellow.

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Fine yellow, narrow brown coloured pith flecks and small gum pockets are a common feature.

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Sawn timber is graded on a one face heart basis.

Working Qualities: 

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Works easily.    

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Machines and turns well.

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Very good polish finish.

Uses:

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Fine furniture, high class joinery, boat interiors, musical instruments.

Product Attributes:

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Attractive fine, close grain timber.

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Takes stain and polish very well.

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Veneers available.

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Good machining and turning capabilities.

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Colour reddish brown to rich red.

Product Limitations:

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Random widths.

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Face graded for heart content and then generally to a minimum of 75% to 80%.

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American grading rules apply.

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Fine, narrow brown coloured pith flecks and gum pockets are a common feature.

Seasoning:

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Difficult to dry as prone to surface checking.

Characteristics: 

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The colour ranges from light to dark pink.

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The grain is usually interlocked, occasionally straight.

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The texture is coarse.

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To facilitate drying the timber is always quarter sawn.

Working Qualities: 

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The timber works fairly well but it is rather difficult to obtain a smooth surface unless the cutting angle is reduced to 20°.

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It nails and screws fairly well.

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Stains and polishes reasonably well.

Uses:

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Joinery and construction. 

Product Attributes:

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Light pink to dark pink.

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Good lengths available.

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Veneers available.

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Machines reasonably well with care.

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Takes stains and polishes well.

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Fixed widths. 

Product Limitations:

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Variable in colour.

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Grain usually interlocked with a coarse texture.

Seasoning:

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Slow to season with a risk of splitting.   

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Moves moderately once dry.

Characteristics: 

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Light greenish yellow to dark olive-green, sometimes marked with brown or black streaks.

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Sapwood pale yellow in colour, shading gradually into the heartwood.

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Texture fine and even.

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Grain straight or interlocked.

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Bole 50-80 ft long, cylindrical, diameter 20-35 inches.

Working Qualities: 

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Easily sawn, in spite of a slight blunting effect.

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Turns well.

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Planning is not difficult despite the high density of the wood and interlocked grain.

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Easy gluing. 

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Preboring is recommended for nails and screws.

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Good nail holding

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Staining rarely necessary.

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Polishes satisfactorily.

Uses:

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A very heavy hard timber, suitable for use under exacting conditions.

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Outstanding in most of its strength properties, and of very high durability and having excellent resistance to attack by marine borers.

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Available in very large sizes and long lengths, and is therefore suitable for piling, piers, lock gates, dock and harbour work.

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Useful for pier decking and hand rails, flooring and in engineering industry as bearers for engines.

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Gives good service in chemical plants for vats, filter press plates and frames.

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Suitable for joinery in both exterior and interior situations and used also for fishing rods and as centre laminates for longbow and general construction.

Seasoning:

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Rather difficult to dry, tends to be rapid with moderate surface checking and warping and a liability to case harden.

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Slow drying will overcome these tendencies.

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There is small movement in service.

Characteristics: 

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The heartwood is salmon red to orange brown, marked with dark brown and russet brown streaks.

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The wood has a golden lustre.

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The grain is commonly interlocked with a medium to coarse texture.

Working Qualities: 

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Moderately difficult to work because of its high density.

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It nails badly but has good screw holding, glues well.

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It has a moderate blunting effect on tools which must be kept sharp, and a reduced cutting angle of 20° will provide a smooth finish on the interlocked grain.

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The wood stains well but does not take a high polish.

Uses:

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Furniture, cabinet making, joinery and turnery.

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Its high shock resistance makes it ideal for tool handles and sports goods, excellent for flooring, stair treads, ship planking, gear cogs, wheel rims, looms, general building construction.

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Used for steam bent boat parts in place of oak.

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Lock gates in waters free from marine borers.

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Second growth timber has a wide sapwood of a grayish-pink colour which is sliced for decorative veneers for panelling and furniture.

Product Attributes:

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Very strong, hard and tough.

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Very good bending classification.

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Very resistant to termites.

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Veneers available.

Product Limitations:

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Nails badly.

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Does not take a high polish.

Seasoning:

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The timber dries slowly without appreciable degrade but if submitted to rapid drying conditions, there is a definite tendency for end splitting and surface checking to occur.

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It has a low shrinkage factor.

Characteristics: 

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The heart wood is yellow-brown, brown or dark red, red-brown, turning to a dark red-brown
with age.

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The wood is hard and heavy, the texture is moderately coarse but even and the grain may be straight or interlocked and is often wavy.

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Sulphur-yellow and dark coloured deposits are characteristic of the species and can be commonly seen in the vessel cavities.

Working Qualities: 

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Saws well, however with the fairly high incidence of gum, saws tend to become clogged.

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It planes well but there is a tendency for the grain to tear out in quarter-sawn material.

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A reduction in the cutting angle to 20° is beneficial.

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The wood tends to split when nailing but holds screws well and can be stained and polished reasonably well, however patches of oil that exude may affect the finish.

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The yellow deposits are soluble in water and the dye produced does stain.

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If early attention is given to any staining it can generally be removed by scrubbing with milk or lactic acid.

Uses:

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A very good heavy construction timber.

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Ideally suited for decking and outdoor furniture.

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It is also used in internal joinery and flooring, striking tool handles and carving.

Product Attributes:

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Yellow brown timber which will turn red brown with age.

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Long lengths available.

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A very strong, durable, stable timber.

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Fixed widths available.

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Veneers available.

Product Limitations:

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Does leach when in contact with water.

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Care needed when machining.

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Care needed when staining, polishing and gluing due to natural resins.

Characteristics: 

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Hard maple is strong, heavy, hard, straight grained with a fine texture.

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The colour is cream with fine red/brown bands.

Working Qualities: 

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Rather difficult to work.

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Reduction of cutting angle to 20° assists the finishing operation.

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It can be stained, polished and glued satisfactorily but is hard to nail or screw.

Uses:

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Flooring, high-class joinery, boat interiors, musical instruments and sporting goods.

Product Attributes:

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Hard strong timber.

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Pale cream with fine red / brown markings.

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Veneers available.

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Straight grained with a fine texture.

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Stains and polishes satisfactorily.   

Product Limitations:

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Can be difficult to work.

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Random widths.

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Hard to nail or screw.

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American grading rules appl

Seasoning:

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Natural tendency to dry slowly, with liability to split, check or honeycomb, and needs care in both air drying and kiln drying.

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There is medium movement in service.

Characteristics: 

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The heartwood resembles other Oaks with a biscuit to pink colour, with a reddish tinge.

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Mostly straight grained and coarse textured, with a less attractive figure than White Oak due to smaller rays.

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Southern Red Oak has a more rapid growth than Northern Oak and is harder, heavier and coarser textured.

Working Qualities: 

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Varies according to the density of the wood and growth conditions.

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There is moderate blunting effect on cutters which should be kept sharp.

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Can be stained and polished to a good finish.

Uses:

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Flooring, furniture, vehicle construction, interior joinery.  

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Plywood manufacture and sliced for veneers.  

Product Attributes:

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Veneers available.

Product Limitations:

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Not suitable for exterior work.

Characteristics: 

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American White Oak resembles European Oak, being a mixture of species. However it is more variable in colour, pale yellowish-brown to mid-brown. It varies also in quality according to the locality; thus Oak from Canada and the Northern USA is generally harder and heavier than that from the Southern States.

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The characteristic silver grain figure, due to the broad rays, is shown to advantage on quarter cut material.

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The grain is generally straight and the texture varies from coarse to medium coarse.

Working Qualities: 

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Considering its density, the timber can be worked fairly readily, taking a smooth finish.

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The timber can be glued, stained and polished and takes nails and screws well.

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In common with other species of Oak, White Oak corrodes metals, particularly iron, steel and lead.

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Blue-black discolourations from the tannic acid in the wood are liable to develop when it is in contact with iron or iron compounds under damp conditions and PVA glues.

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Use of non-ferrous metals for fastening and fittings is recommended.

Uses:

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Because of its good all-round strength and resistance to decay, White Oak is used for a wide range of constructional work, including ship and boat building.

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It is traditional for high-grade furniture, interior woodwork and flooring.

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Because of its impermeability, the timber is suitable for vats and casks for holding liquids such as wine and spirits.

Product Attributes:

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Pale cream to yellowish brown sometimes with a pink tinge.

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Distinctive grain feature.

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Takes stain and polish well.

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Grain is generally straight with a medium to coarse texture.

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Machines and turns well.

Product Limitations:

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Random widths.

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Can corrode iron, steels and lead.

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American grading rules apply.

Seasoning:

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Dries fairly rapidly with little degrade.

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But care is needed to dry out the centre of thick pieces.

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Air drying is slow, with some end and surface checking or case hardening.

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There is small movement in service.

Characteristics: 

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The heartwood is a deep purple-violet colour when freshly cut, maturing to dark brown.

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The original colour is restored when re-cut.

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Straight grained, but often irregular, wavy and sometimes interlocked, producing a pleasing striped figure on quartered surfaces.

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Texture moderate to fine.

Working Qualities: 

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It is rather difficult to work, with moderate to severe blunting effect on tools.

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It exudes gummy resin when heated by dull cutters and the material is best run slowly through machines equipped with high speed steel knives.

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The wood turns well and smoothly.

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Pre-bore for nailing, glues without difficulty and stains and wax polishes easily.

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Spirit finishes remove the purple colour.

Uses:

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Although expensive, it is used for heavy constructional work, bridge building, fresh water piling, dock work, cladding, house construction and vats.

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Excellent for flooring and very suitable for gymnasium equipment, shafts, tool handles, boat building, turnery, furniture and billiard tables.

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Also as decorative veneers for inlaying and marquetry work etc.

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Best colour from sawcut as steaming affects the soluble phonicoin content.

Product Attributes:

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Large sizes available.

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No bleeding of stain.

Seasoning:

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It is a very stable timber and seasons well with little or no degrade, but care should be taken (as with all island species) not to dry the timber too fast, when distortion and checking can occur.

Characteristics: 

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Variable, but generally a red brown to blood red colour. Sapwood is white to pale yellow.

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Grain is interlocked and sometimes wavy, with a moderately coarse and uneven texture.

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Quarter sawn material has distinct ribbon figure while the back sawn boards produce a flame-like figure.

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The timber is naturally lustrous.

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Although a handsome timber, it has neither the density nor the depth of colour of the Rosewood found in South America or India.

Working Qualities: 

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The timber is readily converted and works well with both machine and hand tools.

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It is capable of taking a very high polish.

Uses:

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Furniture, veneer, cabinet work, rifle butts, panelling, musical instruments and knife handles.

Product Attributes:

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Veneers available.

Product Limitations:

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Large variations in colour.

Seasoning:

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Requires care in kiln drying to avoid distortion and degrade.

Characteristics: 

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The wood is medium hard and medium weight.

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Planed surfaces are mildly lustrous.

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The heartwood is pinkish-red when freshly cut, darkening to a rich red-brown.

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The most striking feature is the double spiral grain which produces a very regular stripe or rose figures in quarter sawn material.

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The texture is fine and even and there is a pronounced cedar-like smell when freshly cut.

Working Qualities: 

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Saws easily and cleanly with little waste and works fairly easily with hand and machine tools although the interlocked grain may be troublesome in planning and moulding.

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To eliminate picking up quarter sawn material, the cutting angle should be reduced to 15°.

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Takes nails and screws and glues well.

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It takes a high polish.

Uses:

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Gifted with both strength and appearance, the timber has a wide range of uses.

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It is used for furniture, paneling, shop and window fittings, high class interior joinery and all general cabinet working purposes, including boat building.

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Widely used for decorative veneering, it is often sliced to show the narrow ‘pencil’ stripe which is a characteristic of the species.

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It is also used for rotary cut plywood.

Product Attributes:

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A pinkish red to dark rich red brown timber.

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Stains readily and takes an excellent polish.

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Veneers available.

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It is fairly close textured with interlocked grain.

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Machines well with care.

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Quarter sawn timber produces a regular striped effect.

Seasoning:

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Dries slowly but well.

Characteristics: 

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The heartwood is dark golden-yellow darkening with exposure to brown or dark brown.

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No clear distinction between heartwood sapwood.

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Sometimes figured with dark markings.

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Can have a greenish tinge when freshly cut.

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The timber is dull with an oily feel and has a unique scent when freshly cut.

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The grain varies from straight to wavy depending on origin.

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The best teak comes from Burma being generally straight grained and uniformly golden.

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The texture is coarse and uneven.

Working Qualities: 

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Although working qualities can be variable, the timber generally works with moderate ease.

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It can have a dulling effect on cutters but the timber is capable of a good finish.

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It turns well and can be glued, stained and polished.

Uses:

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Boatbuilding, joinery, furniture and decking.

Product Attributes:

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Very handsome timber.

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Very durable and strong.

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Very stable.

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Veneers available in crown and quarter cut.

Product Limitations:

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Very expensive, especially in long lengths.

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Sustainability questionable.

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Restricted availability

Seasoning:

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Seasons well with little degrade providing stacks are closely spaced.

Characteristics: 

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Cream grey heartwood, with a fine even texture.

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Freshly sawn boards have a leathery odour and the timber is greasy to the touch.

Working Qualities: 

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The timber planes and machines well and is easy to cut across the grain.

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A good finish can be obtained and it has good bending qualities.

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Holds nails well without pre-drilling.

Uses:

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Decks, rails, cross-arms, bridge and wharf decking, boat-building.

Product Attributes:

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A strong durable timber.

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Machines well with some care.

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Fixed widths available.

Product Limitations:

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Very little character.

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No veneer available.

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Narrow widths only.

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Leaching can occur.

Seasoning:

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Dries very slowly.

Characteristics: 

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Heartwood – dull reddish brown with darker markings due to resin.

Working Qualities: 

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Though the wood has a high density, it is easy to work with hand and machine tools; however, high gum exudation clogs saw teeth and cutters. Once kiln dried, gum exudates are not a serious problem in machining; glues and polishes well.

Uses:

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Remarkably well suited for use as transmission poles, flagpoles, and posts. Its good strength and durability qualify the timber for railway ties, shoring, bridge timbers, and mine timbers. In building construction it is used for foundations, sills, joists, framing, roofing, siding, and veranda posts. It is also used for vat staves, shingles, and paling. The high resin content of the wood makes it an excellent flooring material in chemical factories, mills, and warehouses.

Product Attributes:

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Uniform chocolate-brown / black.

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Machines well.

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Veneers available.

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Strong grain figure.

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Flat sawn.

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Good staining and polishing qualities.

Product Limitations:

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Quality of timber poor.

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Seldom over 3.0m.

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No fixed widths.

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American grading rules apply.

Seasoning:

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Dries slowly with a tendency to surface check.

Characteristics: 

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The heartwood is dark brown with fine, close blackish veining giving the wood a handsome appearance.

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A very heavy hardwood, it is straight grained with a coarse texture.

Working Qualities: 

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The timber is moderately hard, tough and strong, however it is easily worked.

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It finishes well and takes an excellent polish.

Uses:

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Fine furniture, flooring and interior decoration.

Product Attributes:

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A distinctive unique grain.

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Straight grained with coarse texture.

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Easily worked.

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Takes stains and polishes very well.

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Dark brown with beige and black flecks.

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Very heavy, hard timber.

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Veneers available.

Product Limitations:

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Random widths.

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Variable in supply.

Seasoning:

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Dries slowly with a tendency to surface check.

Characteristics: 

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The heartwood is golden brown, with narrow-veining or streaks of dark brown to almost black, giving a zebra stripe appearance.

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It is fairly hard with good toughness and impact properties.

Working Qualities: 

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Easily worked although interlocked grain can cause some planning problems.

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Glues, sands, stains and polishes well.

Uses:

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Cabinet-making, boat building and interior decoration.

Product Attributes:

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Distinctive unique grain.      

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Easily worked with care.

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Takes stains and polishes well.

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Golden, yellow-brown with narrow streaks of dark black / brown.

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Veneers available.

Product Limitations:

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Interlocked grain can cause problems.

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Variable in supply.

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Very opened grained.  

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Needs clear filling.

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No fixed widths.