Qualities of Wood
Woodworkers must take a natural material and cut and shape it to the best effect.
To this end, the woodworker must appreciate that woodworking is an equal partnership, a coming together of tools, techniques and wood.
It's no good trying to work wood with a dull tool or to plane against the grain or to run a chisel into end grain or in any way bully the wood into shape.
The success of each and every procedure and technique hinges on the woodworker's understanding of how the inherent natural properties of the wood - its hardness, toughness, elasticity, durability and so on - can be used to best effect.
Hardness Though hardwood comes from broad- leafed, deciduous trees, and softwood from evergreens, hardwood isn't necessarily harder or more difficult to work than softwood.
When we describe a wood as being hard, we generally mean that the wood isn't easily dented or bruised on the end grain or face.
So, for example, when a table design suggests that you build the surface from a wood that is hard, it means that you need to search out a wood that will resist surface impact.
It could be hard- surfaced softwood.
Toughness A tough wood is one that is difficult to split, a wood that has a lot of bending strength in relationship to its length.
So, for example, English longbows were traditionally made from yew, golf club shafts from hickory and axe handles from ash - all tough wood types that are wonderfully resistant to crushing and splitting.
Bending Bending and toughness are in many ways similar.
But while some tough woods will happily resist a long, slow bend, they might well fail under what is termed a "shear impact.
" This being so, you must determine whether the item that you are building is going to be put under bending stress - as in a ladder - or is it going to support a heavy weight, such as a house beam.
Splitting Sometimes called cleavage, the splitting qualities of a piece of wood are of paramount importance.
You need to know when you are cutting a joint, or designing a piece that has an area of short grain, just how much strength there is between the bundles of fibers.
For example, straight- grained softwood like pine will easily split down the length of the grain, whereas a piece of maple will resist splitting.
Durability The qualities that make a wood last come under the heading of durability.
For example, elm survives under water; larch building pilings have survived for centuries; and cedar shingles seem to last forever.
It's almost as if certain wood types enjoy being repeatedly wet, dried and baked in the sun.
Some woods will last for hundreds of years underground or under water, but have a short life when exposed to wind and weather.
Resistance The total strength of a piece of wood when put under a load is termed the resistance.
To a great extent resistance brings together all the other qualities, including hardness, toughness, bending and durability.
The question you should ask yourself every time you select a piece of wood is, "is it fit for its task?" The most reliable method of choosing wood for your window frame, or roof struts, is to see what was used in the past.
To this end, the woodworker must appreciate that woodworking is an equal partnership, a coming together of tools, techniques and wood.
It's no good trying to work wood with a dull tool or to plane against the grain or to run a chisel into end grain or in any way bully the wood into shape.
The success of each and every procedure and technique hinges on the woodworker's understanding of how the inherent natural properties of the wood - its hardness, toughness, elasticity, durability and so on - can be used to best effect.
Hardness Though hardwood comes from broad- leafed, deciduous trees, and softwood from evergreens, hardwood isn't necessarily harder or more difficult to work than softwood.
When we describe a wood as being hard, we generally mean that the wood isn't easily dented or bruised on the end grain or face.
So, for example, when a table design suggests that you build the surface from a wood that is hard, it means that you need to search out a wood that will resist surface impact.
It could be hard- surfaced softwood.
Toughness A tough wood is one that is difficult to split, a wood that has a lot of bending strength in relationship to its length.
So, for example, English longbows were traditionally made from yew, golf club shafts from hickory and axe handles from ash - all tough wood types that are wonderfully resistant to crushing and splitting.
Bending Bending and toughness are in many ways similar.
But while some tough woods will happily resist a long, slow bend, they might well fail under what is termed a "shear impact.
" This being so, you must determine whether the item that you are building is going to be put under bending stress - as in a ladder - or is it going to support a heavy weight, such as a house beam.
Splitting Sometimes called cleavage, the splitting qualities of a piece of wood are of paramount importance.
You need to know when you are cutting a joint, or designing a piece that has an area of short grain, just how much strength there is between the bundles of fibers.
For example, straight- grained softwood like pine will easily split down the length of the grain, whereas a piece of maple will resist splitting.
Durability The qualities that make a wood last come under the heading of durability.
For example, elm survives under water; larch building pilings have survived for centuries; and cedar shingles seem to last forever.
It's almost as if certain wood types enjoy being repeatedly wet, dried and baked in the sun.
Some woods will last for hundreds of years underground or under water, but have a short life when exposed to wind and weather.
Resistance The total strength of a piece of wood when put under a load is termed the resistance.
To a great extent resistance brings together all the other qualities, including hardness, toughness, bending and durability.
The question you should ask yourself every time you select a piece of wood is, "is it fit for its task?" The most reliable method of choosing wood for your window frame, or roof struts, is to see what was used in the past.
