Wood Selection: Choosing the Right Kind

Hardwood vs softwood: What is this all about and what's the difference? “Softwoods” aren’t all that soft, and “hardwoods” aren’t all that hard. The four softest woods are hardwoods, in fact, the top 10 softest woods are a dead split between hardwood and softwood. However, in general hardwoods are harder and the hardest woods are hardwoods.

Let me lay a little science on you: Softwoods are Gymnosperms, or Acrogymnospermae. In actual words this means a softwood reproduces via naked seeds: a pine cone for instance ruptures and spreads its seeds.

Hardwoods are Angiosperms: or seeds which are cased in some sort of vessel. Think of a nut or a fruit tree: the nut or fruit is always cased in something (an apple, a walnut shell, etc). Not all hardwoods have edible fruits or nuts.

Commonly you will hear people refer to hardwoods as deciduous, however Holly, Magnolia and a number of other trees are hardwood and are not deciduous.

Which one do I need? It is project dependent, but usually general home repair and carpentry use softwoods (pine and cedar) and furniture or fine woodwork require hardwoods. Why would I choose one over the other?

Usually the biggest factor is cost and availability: Softwoods are almost always cheaper and more readily available. Hardwoods are usually more durable, prettier and nicer to work with, often this isn’t necessary and the cost doesn’t make sense. Some projects need the strength or elasticity of a specific wood, and it isn't always best to go cheap

Rift sawn, quartersawn, plain sawn, live sawn, flat sawn are a handful of terms for the processes used to create lumber. Quartersawn and rift sawn are the same thing by another name and section of the board (see image) quarter sawn boards are the most dimensionally stable cuts. They often show off rays and flecking in certain species (White Oak).

Quartersawn is the most premium because it creates the most waste. Rift sawn is similar to edge cuts of a live board and can be an excellent source of straight grain lumber. Plain sawn is common with large diameter trees as boards over a certain width are unstable. Live or flat sawn are common in smaller trees or ones that will be sold as live edge