Tips for Working with Hardwood

Anyone who works with wood, knows that hardwood can be very expensive, but did you know that just because a wood is considered hardwood, does not mean that it is actually hardwood? Woods such as balsa is very light and fluffy, such are many other types of woods that are considered hardwood. The term hardwood has less to do with the hardness of the wood, but deals more with the type of tree that it comes from.

Here are a few things to consider when working with hardwood:

If you are preparing for a project: ask yourself if you are going to stain or paint the wood. If you are planning on painting the wood, don't waste your money on wood that is known for their color and beauty. (Oak, maple, walnut, mahogany)

Since walnut is harder than most wood, it is one of the easiest to carve, especially if you will be carving it by hand.

If your project will be stained or finished, then you will be better of using Walnut, mahogany, oak, or Maple.

If you are looking at building a boat, Mahogany and Teak, will work the best since they are water resistant. If you have a project in mind that may get wet after you are done, then you may want to consider using one of these woods, besides being water resistant, they are also tough.

Cherry and Mahogany are one of the best woods to finish and looks great anywhere in the house.

Since Cherry is a moderately hardwood, it makes better furniture and many woodworkers love using it just for this purpose.

If you are going to buy Mahogany please make sure it come from a farm, Mahogany is becoming extinct in the wild.

White and Red oak are one of the hardest woods around and works great in almost all projects. They also look great stained or finished.

Maple is the hardest of all woods, and will accept any type of finish.

No matter what the project is that you have in mind, there is a wood just for the project.

Since most of your local suppliers will only carry a couple spices of wood, you will be better off looking for the perfect type of wood at a fine wood supplier place. They will also be able to give you a better idea of what the project will look like when finished.

Location is the key: What you are going to do with the project after you are finished with it will be the determining factor on the type of wood you should use.

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