Dave's Wood Working Site

Craft Wood, project wood, plywood and veneer:

Characteristics and information about where to buy

Project of the Month

The Oak Mailbox Project
This is a great project for those that need something simple to get started with. Made from white oak this mailbox is finished with cherry stain and polyurethane.

Simple to build and looks great.

Read about how to build your own Oak Mailbox.

More Information

Hardwood

Hardwood is simply wood from a leaf bearing or deciduous tree. Although many deciduous trees are indeed harder then softwood (coniferous), the name has no bearing on the actual hardness or density of the wood.

In North America hardwoods are far more common in the eastern regions of the continent.

Some species of hardwood include:

Padauk		White Oak		Ash
Walnut		Cherry		Teak
Mahogany		Red Oak		Bolivian Rosewood
Purpleheart		Birch		Wenge
Maple Wood		Cocobolo		Aromatic Cedar Lining
	Basswood Bocote Brazilian Cherry Butternut Ebony		Canarywood Lacewood Bubinga Red Oak

Softwood
Softwoods on the other hand include species like spruce, fir, pine and cedar and are often cheaper to buy then hardwoods. This is mainly because softwood trees grow taller and straighter than hardwood trees. This yields more lumber per log. Some species of softwood include:

Clear Pine	Aromatic Cedar

Plywood & Veneer

Plywood developed in the late 1950's when manufacturers started spinning a thin veneer from logs and laminating it into sheet comprised of multiple layers of veneer. The layers are alternating in grain direction which make plywood very stable.

More information about plywood and where to buy.