Wood is a natural material often used in building and making things. It can be made into furniture, boats, and buildings. There are so many types of wood; each type has different qualities that depend on how and where trees grow.
Because of how they grow, some types of wood are more expensive than others. Cork, bamboo, mahogany, mesquite, rosewood, and ebony are some types of wood. We can list some of the 100,000 species by putting them into two main groups: hardwoods and softwoods. Or as follows;
Now that we have a general idea of how different types of wood are grouped, let’s look at some of the most well-known types:
Oak, especially Red Oak, is the most common type of wood used for floors in the US. It grows well in the United States. This means that oak is a cheap hardwood. It is one of the strongest and most complex types of wood you can buy. Its strength makes it a good material for building structures, and builders like to use it. This wood is of high quality, doesn’t get wet, and has a unique look that gives a house character.
Walnut wood is a complex, strong wood used to make furniture and other things. Native Americans made tools and other essential things out of walnut for their way of life. Their lasting works of art showed how beautiful their land was. From walnut, they made clubs, spears, and other weapons. Walnut is one of the most practical types of wood because it can be used for many different things.
On the Shore scale, which is used to measure how hard wood is, walnut has a rating of 9. Because of this, it is more complicated than hickory and oak. It is also more substantial than other types of wood like ash, mahogany, oak, and teak.
Walnut is also hard to break apart and doesn’t catch fire easily. It’s perfect for making furniture because it’s strong and won’t hurt. Also, because walnut wood is so durable, it is excellent for making cabinets and other household items. It holds up well over time and doesn’t show signs of wear and tear.
Native Americans used walnut to build things like handles for tools, containers, musical instruments, and hunting bows. They also used it to make war clubs, shields, and baskets. They used it to make art, like sculptures and tribal tattoos on their bodies.
They also made spears, throwing axes, javelins, quivers, arrowheads, knives, and scrapers out of it. Some of these things have been lost over time. Still, archaeologists who study the history of the first peoples of North America have recently found them again.
Pine is a typical kind of wood that is used to make furniture, torches, and fireplaces. Pinewood is also used in construction projects because it is an excellent building material. Pinewood is beautiful and robust, which is why many people love their pinewood homes.
Pine wood comes from pine trees and can be recognised by its pale yellow colour and thin, gracefully curved fibres. A pine tree’s bark is also green and has tiny leaf-like structures. The wood is naturally resistant to water damage; however, heat can easily damage it. Therefore, burning pine on fire makes the wood more durable while limiting excessive heat. The most common type of pine used to build things is white pine. But there are also a lot of black pines, and they are different in their own ways.
Pine wood is different from other types of wood because of its colour. It’s easy to tell because it has broad, thin leaves that are blue-green. Pine trees also have leaves with different shapes. Each leaf has a sharp point at the end, but the base is comprehensive and flexible. Each branch also has a flower bud at the end that has yellow seeds inside. The seeds are dispersed by the wind when the bud dies off at the end of the branchlet.
The word “ash” is used to describe the wood of many different kinds of trees. Most of the time, it means wood from an ash tree. Ash trees have hard, strong wood that can last hundreds of years. Also, it is often used to make furniture and musical instruments. In this way, ash is a significant symbol because it is strong and can be used in many ways.
How ash looks and feels depends on what kind of ash it is. White ash, for example, is a complex, strong wood that doesn’t rot and can last hundreds of years. Even though black ash is a hardwood, it is much softer and easier to work with.
Both kinds of ash wood are complicated and thick, but black ash is much denser than white ash because it has much more carbon. Also, black ash has a higher tensile strength than white ash and is much less likely to break. Because of this, it is often used as a hardwood for floors and other uses outside.
Many tree species, like cedar, Douglas fir, ginkgo, holly oak, and pine, look like ash trees. All of these look like the classic image of an evergreen tree with branches that spread out and cone-shaped seed pods on the ends of the branches. Most of the time, these trees grow in temperate areas with enough humidity and rain every year to keep their leaves healthy and let them change into new growth patterns.
Merbau wood comes from India. It is a type of teak. Merbau wood is a unique light brown colour and has a smooth, oily feel like rosewood. Merbau is an essential part of Indian culture and literature because it is used to build temples and furniture. In fact, it is called the “gift of God” because of this. Merbau is one of the most expensive types of wood in the world because it lasts so long and is so strong.
Merbau is known for being very strong and resistant to heat and moisture. This is why it is a good wood for making boats, furniture, and cabinets. Merbau has a rigid, rugged, waxy surface and a very dense grain.
The grain pattern is complex and can be very smooth or very rough. Merbau is also powerful and can stand up to chemicals, UV rays, oil, water, heat, and radiation from the sun. In addition, it has no natural enemies, making it almost impossible for insects or fungi to hurt it.
Merbau is also called Indian meranti or burl mahogany. Merbau means “to carve” in the Malayalam language, where the name comes from. In Malayalam writing, Merbau is called the “gift of God.” Meranti means “fruit” in the Tupi language.
This refers to the fact that “dried fruit” is what the Tupi word “marai” means. Meranti is made in the Amazon, carved out of Merbau wood. The wood’s colour ranges from light brown to black, with more delicate lines. It feels rough and pebbly and has a strong smell like rosewood oil.
The way Merbau grows is exciting. Trees don’t grow in groups; they grow all over India in the eastern Himalayan region. At first, bark covers tree trunks and keeps them safe while they develop. After a few years, these trees put down roots and grow into big plants.
After a tree has grown for a few years, the stem breaks off from the sources. This is when the wood can be used. This unique wood crackles with life when it dries in the sun, which is how it got the name “Chim Chim silicon valley.”
Merbau is great for making furniture, especially tables, cabinets, and chairs, because of the way its grain looks. It is also often used in temples, offices, and hotels to make walls. Merbau is also used to make pretty things like jewellery boxes, sculptures, and carvings because it looks so lovely.
Merbau is hard to find and expensive, so it is only used for high-quality items. Artisans must work hard to make something look good when using Merbau wood.
Mahogany is a type of wood used for years to make furniture, cabinets, and carvings. Mahogany is a tropical hardwood that grows in a lot of places. It is smooth, solid, long-lasting, and has a rusty brown colour. It also reacts badly to heat and becomes unstable when it’s hot. Mahogany can be used for a lot more than just making furniture, including bowls, boxes, kettles, utensils, and other household items.
Since cheaper types of wood like birch, oak, and maple came along, mahogany is used less than it used to. Though mahogany is still used in building projects, it can be bought at wholesale prices.
Mahogany is easy to work with because of the way its grain is made. It’s easy to sand and finish without leaving any dust behind. Also, working with mahogany doesn’t have any significant rules or restrictions. There are no limits on the tools you can use or the places where you can work. Petrified wood is much harder to work with than mahogany, which is stable and easy to shape.
Mahogany has beautiful colours that come from the wood itself. These colours include light yellow, pale pink, dark brown, red, and gold. Mahogany grows in a straight line, which makes it easy to cut and shape with blades and knives without having to twist or force the wood. You can also cut and work with as much mahogany as you want.
Mesquite trees are known for having solid branches and dark bark. It’s called the Mexican grasshopper tree because its sap tastes like fruit. In Central and South America, the bitter fluid has been used for teeth for hundreds of years. Mescal is an alcoholic drink made from the sap of the mescal tree. The maple tree, which makes the sweet liquid maple syrup, has another name.
Mahogany got its name from the New Latin word “maguam,” which means “testicles.” Mahogany wood is a bright red colour that can change depending on where the tree grows. Mahogany has been used for hundreds of years to make furniture, cabinets, and musical instruments because it is strong, beautiful, and cheap.
Redwood is the name for any of the more than 200 species of Sequoia. Only in North America can you find these trees, which are an endangered species there. In the middle of the 19th century, almost 60% of the old-growth forests in northern California were made up of redwood forests.
But people have cut down a lot of redwood trees through things like logging. Some places have a forest made up of redwood trees that grow together. Without redwoods, animals and other plants that live in a natural environment would not be able to survive.
Redwoods are tall trees that live forever and can grow to be more than 36 metres tall. Their trunks are smooth and round at the bottom and can be up to 9 metres wide and 24 metres tall. The Crag Lake Woods in Oregon are home to the world’s oldest redwood, at 379 years old.
Researchers say that this tree could live for another 5,600 years. Redwoods are very strong and can survive harsh conditions like floods and droughts. Also, because they are hardy, diseases and insects can’t hurt them.
Most people have heard of the enormous redwood trees in Northern California. Sequoia sempervirens in Sequoia National Park’s Landslide Grove, the General Sherman tree in Humboldt Bay, and Muir Woods are the most famous.
These are some of the last natural stands of giant sequoias in the Sierra Nevada area of California. Between 1800 and 1900, only 20% of these forests were still there, but thanks to people’s efforts, that number has gone up. There are about 310,000 redwood trees left in the world today, most of which are in northern California.
Rosewood trees are found in India and Sri Lanka. They have a beautiful colour called “pink ivory-white” from their wood. Rosewood is used in many kinds of art because it is gorgeous and different from other types of wood. Artists prefer rosewood because of its smoothness and beautiful grain patterns.
This natural material is sent from India to China, then to different places worldwide. India is one of the most prominent places that grow rosewood trees. Only Sri Lanka produces more. China is another country that grows a lot of rosewood trees and sells them for less than India.
Based on how and where they grow, the various types of wood have different qualities. You can use these qualities differently, like in making art or building other things out of wood. Wood is not dangerous or toxic, and it is easy to replace when needed with digital files. So, thanks to advanced technologies and creativity, people will continue to use wood in different ways.
Leave a Reply