CEDAR, WESTERN RED
(S) Botanical Name: Thuja plicata A grand-sized tree, western red cedar can grow to more than 150 feet in height. It is one of the lightest and most durable softwoods, …
CEDAR, AROMATIC
(S) Botanical Name: Juniperus virginiana Like most other trees known as “cedar,” aromatic cedar is not botanically a “cedar” at all. In fact, the tree from which this softwood comes …
BUTTERNUT
(H) Botanical Name: Jugians c'merea A member of the walnut family, butternut has assumed a place of honor as the wood often chosen for church altars. This tree is treasured …
BUBINGA
(H) Botanical name: Guibourtia spp. A rosewood substitute, bubinga’s logs often weigh more than 10 tons; they can be cut into extremely wide planks. Kevazingo, a veneer peeled from irregularly …
BOCOTE
(H) Botanical Name: Cordia spp. A beautiful substitute for rosewood, bocote is one of the many types of cordia—a group of hardwoods found throughout the West Indies, tropical America, Africa …
BEECH, AMERICAN
(H) Botanical Name: Fagus qranMoWa Heavy, hard and strong, American beech is used for everything from flooring to woodenware. Although considered less attractive than European beech, American beech has prominent …
BASSWOOD
(H) Botanical Name: Tilia americana Lightweight and easy to work, basswood has been considered one of the world’s foremost carving woods for centuries. It can be shaped to remarkably fine …
BALSA
(H) Botanical Name: Ochroma pyram і dale Balsa has the lightest weight of any commercially used hardwood. This property has made it a key ingredient of life rafts and a …
AVODIRE
(H) Botanical Name: Turreanthus africanue Considered to be one of the world's best quality blond woods, avodlre rarely is available in large quantities, it normally comes to North America as …
ASH, BLACK
(H) Botanical Name: Fraxinus nigra Often known as swamp or water ash, black ash grows mainly in the wetlands of eastern North America. As the softest American ash, it is …
AMBURANA
(H) Botanical Name: Amburana cearensis Relatively strong for its weight, amburana is a good choice for joinery. Its irregular oranqe rays produce attractive veneers. Found mainly in the tropical, dry …
ALDER, RED
(H) Botanical Name: Alnus rubra Red alder is easy to cut and it takes finishes very well, especially if a wash coat of thinned shellac is applied before staining. This …
AGBA
(H) Botanical Name: GoeeweWerodendron baeamiferum One of Africa’s largest trees, often growing to heights of 120 feet, agba is undoubtedly one of its most useful. Attractive, durable and lightweight, it …
AFRORMOSIA
(H) Botanical Name: Pericopsie elata A dense, durable wood, afrormosia resembles teak in color and texture; like teak, it is also an endangered species. First marketed in the years following …
WOOD DIRECTORY
T rees have formed a part of the Earth’s landscape for more than 300 million years— since before dinosaurs first roamed the planet. In that time they have developed a …
STORING WOOD
Whether you wish to store lumber, manufactured boards, dowels or “shorts”—all those odd-sized pieces you cannot afford to toss out— you should find a storage option to suit your needs …
AIR-DRYING WOOD
The illustrations on page 88 show two simple ways to stack green lumber to ensure proper drying. As shown in the chart below, drying times vary for different woods. To …
WATER AND WOOD
As the moisture content of a plain-sawn plank of 2-by-10 softwood lumber drops below the fiber saturation point (FSP), the wood shrinks across the grain. At 17 percent, the board …
DRYING AND. STORING WOOD
Wood is by nature a hygroscopic material: It absorbs and releases moisture depending on the humidity of the air around it. As wood soaks up moisture, it swells; when it …
FIBERBOARD
Fiberboard, or hardboard, is pressed into mats much like particleboard, but because the wood particles are reduced to individual fibers, the result is a thin, hard and dense sheet with …
PARTICLEBOARD
Wood composites such as particleboard and fiberboard are a popular choice for carcase backs, drawer bottoms and concealed panels. Made from blends of wood particles and synthetic adhesive bonded together …
. CONCEALING PLYWOOD EDGES
SELF-ADHESIVE BANDING Applying self-adhesive edge banding Set a household iron on High (without steam) and allow it to heat up. Meanwhile, secure the panel on edge in a vise or …
PLYWOOD GRADING
T he wide array of plywood types available makes choosing the appropriate one for a project more involved than simply selecting a particular thickness. Both hardwood and softwood plywood panels …
PLYWOOD
A lthough it may not be as glamorous or as steeped in woodworking tradition as solid lumber, plywood offers several advantages to the cabinetmaker. First, it comes in a wide …
DECORATIVE MATCHING
Since certain types of veneer, like some burls and exotic species, are available only in small sizes, producing a sheet of veneer sufficiently large for your project will often involve …
. . SHOP TIP
Cutting edge banding To cut several strips of veneer edge banding in one operation, stack them one atop the other, edges aligned, between two pieces of Winch plywood. Tack the …
VENEERING
A pplying veneer is like woodworking in reverse. Instead of starting with a board, then cutting and sanding it down to its finished dimensions, veneered pieces are built up a …
FROM LOG TO VENEER
Once its bark is stripped away, a log can be cut into veneer in one of three ways: saw cutting, rotary cutting or flat slicing. Saw cutting, which goes back …
VENEERS AND. MANUFACTURED BOARDS
The time-honored technique of veneering can transform a simple cabinet door into a flamboyant burst of color and grain, an unassuming piece of furniture into a seamless work of art. …
PREPARING LUMBER
The first job in a cabinetmaking project involves preparing your stock. If you own a jointer, a planer and a table saw, you can do the work yourself. Whether to …
SHOP TIP
Checking lumber for twist Warped boards can sometimes be tough to recognize, but you can spot twisted stock quickly with the aid of shop-made winding sticks. Cut two narrow boards …
LUMBER DEFECTS
Appears as a discoloration of the surface on otherwise normal-looking wood. Results from molds that flourish when lumber is dried or stored in warm, moist or poorly ventilated conditions. Species …
SOFTWOOD GRADES
A lthough cabinetmakers generally prefer hardwoods, many fine pieces of furniture have been built with softwood. There are good reasons for using hardwood’s less expensive cousin: Softwood is generally more …
Reading the chart
This chart, created by the National Hardwood Lumber Association (NHLA), records the minimum requirements a board must meet to merit a particular grade. Generally, a higher-grade board is longer, wider …
HARDWOOD GRADES
A hundred years ago, hardwood grading varied from mill to mill, but with the formation of the National Hardwood Lumber Association (NHLA) in 1898, grading became standardized. At first, the …
