Trees not only provide us with oxygen, tasty fruits and an escape from the baking sun in the hot season, but also an excellent building material. Every person should protect and preserve the living nature (sometimes even from himself) and rationally use wood material. In order to make a quality wooden product, it is necessary to know the properties of the material used in order to use it correctly and rationally.
Types of trees:
Trees are coniferous and deciduous. Among coniferous trees, pine and spruce are used at home, and among deciduous trees – oak, beech, hornbeam, birch, Karelian birch, ash, maple, alder, linden, aspen, poplar, chestnut, pear, walnut, cherry, white acacia.
A description of the basic properties of wood species:
The pine wood is golden-white in color with distinct annual rings, light, easy to work, quite strong, well resistant to rotting. The knots are oval-shaped and stand out from the background due to their darker color.
Pine is used for carpentry and building products, which are finished with veneer or painted with oil, enamel or nitro paints.
Spruce wood is lighter in color than pine, may have a light pink tint, is soft, unstable, and rots easily. Spruce is poorly processed and finished, so it is used for simple joinery. Musical instruments made of spruce are characterized by good sound.
Oak wood is light brownish-gray, sometimes brownish-yellow, heavy, hard, durable, well worked, flexible. Due to its well-defined texture (fiber pattern), it has high decorative qualities, is easy to finish, is painted in a range of colors from gray to black. It resists rotting well. Oak wood that has been in water for 50-100 years acquires a black color and resembles chain black or ironwood. Such wood has a silky, slightly shiny surface and is easily polished. Oak is used for furniture, parquet, barrels, parts of some machines, souvenirs, etc. The oak wood is used in the production of furniture, parquet, barrels, parts of some machines, souvenirs, etc.
Beech wood has a light pink, sometimes reddish tint, the texture is weakly expressed. It is homogeneous, hard, strong, easy to split, does not crack much when drying, but warps strongly, and rots easily. It is easy to work, well varnished and polished. Beech wood is used for making furniture, parquet, rulers, angles and others. Steamed wood bends easily. Thanks to this quality, beech wood is used to make bent furniture.
Hornbeam wood is light gray, sometimes white in color, the texture is poorly expressed, which reduces the decorative qualities of products. Hornbeam wood is characterized by great hardness, strength and resistance to friction, cleanly processed, well painted and polished, but easily rots. It cracks and warps during drying. Hornbeam is used for carpentry tools, turned products and in construction.
Birch wood is white, homogeneous, with a weakly expressed fine beautiful texture, which stands out when the product is covered with a colorless varnish. The most beautiful is the wood above the root part of the trunk, the so-called wavy birch, which has a moiré pattern with a satin sheen. Birch wood is of medium hardness and strength, processed and finished well. Its significant disadvantage is easy rotting. Birch is used for furniture, turned products, handles for carpentry tools and skis.
Karelian birch wood is reddish-yellow in color, strong, poorly splintered, and hard to work. The wavy-knotty clear texture of Karelian birch is very beautiful, which makes it highly valued. Karelian birch is used to make plywood for furniture, turned parts and souvenirs.
Ash wood is white with a pinkish or brownish tinge and a well-defined beautiful texture, hard, durable, well processed and finished. It does not crack when drying. It does not prick well, bends easily when steamed, but resists friction very little, and rots quickly. Used for making valuable furniture, parquet, handles for chisels, chisels, hammers, etc.
Maple wood is light, yellowish in color, strong, little warped, almost does not crack, well processed and finished, has a fine beautiful texture, which is well revealed when finished with colorless varnishes. The disadvantage of maple wood is easy rotting. Maple wood is used for furniture, parquet, carpentry tools, turned products (plates, vessels, etc.).
Alder wood is homogeneous, white; in the air it acquires a light brown color with a pink tinge. The texture is barely noticeable. Alder wood is light, soft. It is used for making carpentry and lathe products, plywood, containers, foundry molds. It resists rot well, which is why it is used for underwater structures.
Lime wood is light-colored, sometimes slightly golden or pink, soft, easy to split and work, does not warp and hardly cracks when drying. It is used for artistic carvings. It is odorless, so it is used for making food containers and beehives, as well as for making models in foundries, pencils, drawing boards, toys, lathes, etc. It is also used in the manufacture of beehives and food containers.
Aspen wood is white with a greenish tinge, homogeneous, soft, light. It is easy to rot. It is used to make simple furniture, lathe products, joinery boards, which are then veneered with valuable woods.
White (silver) poplar wood is soft and light, has a clear brown color, and is easy to work. It is used for low-value products. Black poplar (sedge) wood is the best material for making beehives.
Chestnut wood is brownish-brown, resilient and very strong; it does not splinter well. It does not crack or warp when drying. It is easy to work, well polished. It is used for furniture making, construction and cooperage.
Pear wood is clear brown, hard, strong, firm and of uniform density. It cuts well in all directions. It does not crack or warp when drying. It is characterized by high decorative qualities. It is used for making furniture, artistic products, including turned ones.
Walnut wood is strong, well processed and finished, and is characterized by high decorative qualities. Walnut wood is used mainly for the production of decorative facing plywood. It is also used to make souvenirs and decorative items such as boxes, vases, plates, etc.
The wood of the cherry tree has a pink coloring. It is strong, but tiny. It is easy to work and finish. It can be used to make veneer for furniture, caskets, etc.
White acacia wood is reddish-yellow, stronger than oak, does not rot, has little warping and cracking during drying. It is used for mosaics and inlays, parquet, lathe and carved products.
