Wood exists on earth from day one and we have seperated it into 3 types , into 3 basic columns , in order to act with it and create woodworking projects , according ot the properties the wood has .
We know more than 70.000 different kinds of wood and , we use around 400 of these kinds , to make our woodcrafts .
See a post of mine , for all the basic types of wood you’ll need for carpentry , HERE .
The 3rd type of wood isn’t natural and as old as the first 2 ones , but it’s very useful too .
These 3 types of wood are :
1)The “Soft” type of wood .
2) The “Hard” type of wood .
3) The Industrial – Engineered , type of wood .
Let’s see more closely these 3 types and why we seperate the wood , into these ones .
1) The ” Soft” type of wood .
We people commonly refere and it is the wood by the Coniferous trees . The trees with their leaves look like needles and they also produce cones .
We call those trees with another name too , we call them ” softwoods ” or gymnosperms , using their botanic names . The “Soft wood ” pieces have medium to low density , at around < 0.55 – 0.60 g/cm3 , exept some special pine kinds ( yellow pine ) .
The coniferous trees have uniformity in their cell structure , a point that is diffrent to the “hard” wood type of trees/wood .
In general the “soft” wood trees/wood have lower density than the “hard” types of wood , but this isn’t an unbreakalbe “law” .
We use the coniferous wood ( spruce , fir , pine , cedar , redwood cypress ) , mostly in the construction field .
2) The “hard” type of wood .
The trees which they produce the “hard wood ” , have wide – broad leaves , have no needles and they are the ones which produce seeds .
We call these trees also , widetrees or broadleaves trees and their botanic name is angiosperms .
The “hardwood” pieces have bigger desnity , bigger than 0.55 – 0.60 g/cm3 , except some special kinds ( willow tree , some balsa trees , poplar tree , okoume . )
The rythm of development during time , is different between the “soft” wood and the “hard” wood and the factors for this , are many . Climate , the forest’s place , moisture , sun , forestry actions , lubrication , are some of them .
These trees produce , wood with supreme beautiness “waters” .
The bamboo , even if it isn’t a tree , we have it this type of wood . It’s a monocotyledonous and it belongs in the grass family of the flower plants .
3) The Industrial – Engineered type of wood .
The industrial wood isn’t a physical – natural wood , coming from the nature’s trees , but it is created by us , the humans . We use chemical – heat and pressure procedures , to create engineered wood , to have the properties and behavior , we want .
It’s cheaper than the physical wood pieces and we can give to it , the exact properties we like , for the carpentry plan , we want to make .
We all have heard the names MDF ( medium density fibreboard) , the HDF ( high density fibreboard ) , the OSB ( oriented strand board ) , the plywood , the chipboards , which all are used from millions across the world .
ATTENTION : you should not confuse the engineered wood , with the cement + wood fibers mixed wood , you can find in the markets . It is another totally material .
Sometimes , it’s very difficult to identify the industrial wood form the real one , especially when the industrial is smoothened and painted very well .
Of course if you see an transverse cut of the wood piece , or its finish , you’ll see the pressured fibers of it .
I’ve written an article for the correct wood identification and quality’s check , read it here .
Plywood belongs ot the “family” of the MDF , HDF , OSB and Chipboards engineered wood .
It has many benefits with the biggest one , being the dimensional stabilty( small expansion and shrinks ) it has . You can nail it to its edges with no problem , because it reduces the tendency of wood , while you “push it” , in its edges .
I’ve written a post of how can you nail a pin to a wood’s edge , without torn it and you can read it , HERE .
It has two sides , the one is smoother than the other one .
What are the 3 types of plywood ?
Plywood has 3 types .
a) The 3-ply ( 2-3mm) .
b) The 5-ply ( 4mm) .
c) Multi-ply ( 7+ layers , very strong ) .
I’ve written an article – guide with all the known wood types existed in the planet , with many extra informations , about their properties and general behavior . You can read it , HERE .
Keep woodworking and gain happiness , from it .
