Today, there is a wide variety of wood for woodworking and joinery. In this post we have selected some of the best based on their benefits, applications and price. Each one has its own characteristics, so the final choice will depend on the wood project you are working on.
Wood for woodworking and joinery:
Maple
White wood, with fine and compact structure, but little resistance to outdoor. It is a very hard wood and does not crack. Even so, it is attacked by the worm.
It is used mainly in joinery: carving, turning, handles, tools and curved furniture. Besides being suitable for coverings: doors, parquet, friezes, mouldings…
Boxwood
Yellow wood, a very hard and compact, and at the same time very heavy, with barely visible rings. In addition, it has a fine and solid fiber, and it is polished very well. However, it is altered by heating. It is used mainly in joinery for delicate carving, turning work and small household utensils. Thanks to its fine and solid fiber, it is used to make spoons, shovels, culinary forks and chess pieces, among others. If you like handmade, this is one of the best woods.
Chestnut
Strong and elastic wood, with full development at 80 or 100 years. It is ochre reddish colour and it has a thick structure and fibres, which allows it to cleave well. It is well preserved in water, but becomes brittle in the air. However, it is attacked by the worm.
It is used for structural and covering applications, interior and exterior: beams, doors, windows, platforms, friezes, mouldings, plates.
Cherry tree
Pretty hard wood with a straight and uniform grain, easy to polish. It has a light brown colour and admits dyes well. It is used for solid furniture and high quality joinery, as well as luxurious interior coverings.
Holm oak
Hard wood, heavy and with few nerves. It has a dark yellowish colour, with silvery fiber. However, it is difficult to polish, but weather resistant. It is used for structural carpentry, such as posts and fences. Also for roads, veneers, floors, shipbuilding.
Ash tree
Wood of pale yellow colour, with a lot of streaks. It is one of the most flexible woods, but at the same time dense, hard and tenacious. It is difficult to work and only withstand dry environments. In addition,.It is used for rifle butts, rackets, turnery, cone shafts, …
Beech
The beech wood is of great consumption. It grows straight and has a structure with few knots and many spinal meshes. It is yellowish when it is young, and light red when it grows old. In addition, it is heavy and elastic, and is well conserved in water and resists the air in dry environment. Even so, it is attacked by the worm. It is used for carriage, bodywork, turnery and also for curved furniture.
Walnut
Walnut wood is one of the most noble and appreciated. It has a compact structure, dense and fine, and is exposed to intense contraction. It has a yellow colour when it is young and dark brown when it grows old. It is a wood that works well and is usually varnished, but has a tendency to moth. It is used to make veneers, furniture, and cabinetmaking.
Olive
Hard wood with compact structure, good for turning and polishing. It is yellowish with dark veins. The olive wood dries slowly and has a certain tendency to crack. It is used for artistic works, installations, cutting boards and luxury objects. Its price is usually quite high and it is difficult to find large pieces as it is a tree that takes more than 100 years to reach maturity.
Oak
It is one of the European woods of better quality, although with a slow growth. It is remarkable for its hardness and for their water resistance. There are two classes: white and red. White is the most appreciated, for being thinner and not so porous. Their applications are the jointery, artistic carpentry, furniture, doors, floors…
What do you think? What is your favourite? 😉
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