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1.WoodBotany

Name OsageOrange
Location NorthAmerica
Texture/Grain Fine/Open
SpecificGravity 0.77
Hardness VeryHard
Strength Strong
T/RStability N/A

henselectingawoodspeciesforaproject,ithelpstoknowsome
ofthebotanicaltraitsthatsethardwoodsandsoftwoodsapart
Woodworking
fromeachother.Itscommonlybelievedthathardwoodscome
KnowHow
fromdeciduoustreesandsoftwoodscomefromconifers.Basically,thisis
Wood& true,buttheresmoretoitthanthat.

Guide

Woodworking
Materials

Angiosperms

Hardwoodscomefromangiosperms,whichmeanstheplantseedsare
encasedinaseedvessellikeafruitoranut.Therearetwotypesof
Hardwoods
angiosperms:monocots(suchaspalmandbamboo)anddicots(suchas
&Softwoods
oakandrosewood).Almostallhardwoodscomefromdicots.Mostdicots
1.WOODBOTANY intemperateclimatesaredeciduous,meaningtheylosetheirleaves
(YOUAREHERE.)
duringwinterdormacy.Dicotsinwarmerpartsoftheworlddontlosetheir
2.Mechanical leavesatleast,notallatonce.So,contrarytothestandarddefinition,
Properties notallhardwoodscomefromdeciduoustrees.
Up

3.Physical
Properties

Gymnosperms

Softwoodscomefromgymnosperms,plantswithnakedseeds.Asthe
seedsdeveloponthecones,theyarenotencasedinanytissue.Within
5.Comparing& thisbotanicalgroup,thereisasubdivisionofconifers,whichare
ChoosingWoods
characterizedbyneedleandscalelikefoliage.Allsoftwoodscomefrom
6.Hardwoods& coniferousgymnosperms.

4.HealthHazards

SoftwoodsResources

Thedistinguishingfactorbetweenhardwoodsand
softwoodsishowthetreesreproduce.Hardwoods
growfromencasedseeds(oak,top),softwoods
fromseedsarrangedoncones(pine,bottom).

MICROSCOPICATTRIBUTES
Botanicalcategories,whileinteresting,makelittledifferencetomost
Lookingfor craftsmen.Tofindthetraitsthataffectyourwoodworking,youmustlook
something? closer.

Trythesenavigationaids:

HardwoodCellStructure

Studyapieceofhardwoodunderamicroscopeandyoullfindfivemajor
typesofcells.Fourofthesearelongitudinalcells,runningparalleltothe
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lengthofthetrunkorlimb.
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Mosthardwoodtissueiscomposedoffibers100timeslongerthan
theyarewide.Thesehavethickcellwalls,sometimesappearing
almostsolid.
Interspersedamongthefibersarevesselelements.Theseappear
muchlargerindiameterandshorterthanfibers,andtheyare
alwaysalignedtoformlong,longitudinalpipelines.Whensliced
open,theyappearasporesinthewoodsurface.
Thecellsthatmakeuphardwood.*
Youmayalsofindasmallnumberoftracheidsandparenchyma
cellswithmuchthinnercellwallsthanfibers.Thesearefewandfar
betweenandarecompletelymissinginsomehardwoodspecies.
Thefifthcelltyperunsperpendiculartotheothers:
Raycellsformradialpipelinesrunningoutfromthecenterofthe
tree.

HardwoodGrain
Theappearanceofahardwoodsgraindependsonthesize,shape,and
numberofeachcelltype.Andbecausetherearesomanypossible
combinations,hardwoodgrainisenormouslyvaried.Forexample,the
rayscangrowquitelarge,producingapronouncedrayfleckinsome
species.Inquartersawnoak,forexample,theraysarethefirstthingyou
see.Inotherwoods,theyarebarelynoticeable.
Graindifferswiththedistributionofcellsinthegrowthrings.Whenthe
cellsinthesummerwoodareroughlythesamesizeanddensityasthe
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1.WoodBotany

springwood,thewoodhasanevengraintexture.Whenthe
summerwoodcellsarenoticeablysmalleranddenserthanthoseinthe
springwood,thetextureisuneven.
Vesselelementsandtheporestheycreatealsohaveaconspicuous
effect.Hardwoodswithlargeporesaresaidtohaveanopengrain.
Thosewithextremelysmallpores(toosmalltobeseenwiththenaked
eye)haveaclosedgrain.

SoftwoodCellStructure
Softwoodshaveamuchsimplerstructure.Between90and95percentof
thewoodiscomposedoftracheids,whiletherestareraycells.There
mayalsobeasmallnumberofparenchymacells.Therearenofibersor
vesselelements,althoughsomesoftwoodshaveresincanalslinedwith
epithelialcells.

SoftwoodGrain
Becausetherearenofibersinsoftwoods,theytendnottobeasdenseor
ashardasmosthardwoods.Andbecausetherearefewertypesofcells,
Thequartergrainsurfacesoflumberwherethe
thereislessvarietyinthegrainandappearance.Forexample,the
woodspecieshaslargeraycellsshows
absenceofvesselelementseliminatestheporesonsoftwoods.The
grainisneitheropennorclosedthesetermsdontapplytosoftwoods. pronouncedrayfleck.*

CHEMICALATTRIBUTES
Althoughmostwoodtissueiscomposedofstrandsofcellulosefibers
stucktogetherwithlignin,therearemanyotherchemicalsandminerals
embeddedinthismatrix.

WoodExtractives
Extractives,astheembeddedsubstancesareknown,differfrom
speciestospecies.Aparticularmixiswhatgiveswooditscharacteristic
color.Butcolorisjustoneoftheeffectsofextractives.
Extractivescaneffectthedensityandstrengthofthewoodspecies.
ThelonggrainsurfacesofRedOakdisplayan
Themoreextractivesthatareembeddedinthefibers,thedenser
unevengrainpattern,whilethoseofHonduran
andstrongerthewood.
Manyextractivesareminerals.Theseactasfineabrasives,dulling Mahoganyaremuchmoreeven.*
yourcuttingtoolsasyouwork.
Someareresinousandwaxysubstances.Thesebuildupaspitch
onthecuttingsurfacesofpowertoolsandinterferewiththecutting
action.Theycanalsomakeawooddifficulttoglueorfinish.
Manyareantibiotics,killingmoldsandbacteriathatwouldcause
diseaseandrot.Woodshighinthesechemicalsareresistantto
decay.
Afewoftheseantibioticchemicalsaretoxictohumansaswellas
microbesandhavebeenknowntocauseoraggravateallergic
reactions,respiratoryailments,andotherhealthproblems.
Thesebotanical,microscopic,andchemicalattributesallcombineina
woodspeciestogiveitdistinctcharacteristicsorproperties.Thesecan
bedividedintotwogeneralcategories,mechanicalpropertiesand
physicalproperties.

Thecellsthatmakeupsoftwood.*

TastesliketheinsideofanoldbarrelFinewine,particularlyred
wine,isoftenagedinoakbarrelstoenhanceitstasteandaroma.Many
oftheextractivesinoakaresolubleinalcohol.Thesedissolveintothe
wineasitages,modifyingitsflavorandsmell.Thechemicalvanillin,for
example,givesthewineavanillataste.Eugenoltasteslikeclovespice
guaiacolhasasmokyaromaandtherearedozensmore.Asavvy
coopercanworkwithavintnertocreateauniquetastesimplybyhow
theymakeandpreparethebarrels.Greenoak,forexample,hasamuch
higherconcentrationofeugenolthanseasonedwood.Toastingor
charringtheinsideofabarrelincreasesvanillinandguaiacol.
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1.WoodBotany

"Toasing"awinebarrel.

Backtothetop
*Indicatesthatyoucanenlargeaphotobyclickingonit.Torevealtheinformationina"Superphoto,"firstenlargeitandthenmovethecursoroverit.

"Abundanttoalltheneedsofman,howpoortheworldwouldbewithoutwood."
EricSloaneinReverenceforWood

WoodandWoodworkingMaterials/HardwoodsandSoftwoods/WoodBotany
partoftheWorkshopCompanion,
essentialinformationaboutwood,woodwork,andwoodworking
necessarytowoodworkersandpractitionersofthewoodarts
tobecomecompetentcraftsmen.
ByNickEngler.

Copyright2009Bookworks,Inc.

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