 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
FOREST PRODUCTS DIVISION
ABOUT FOREST PRODUCTS DIVISIONVENEERPLYWOODFORESTRY AND LOGGING EQUIPMENTHARDWOOD FLOORINGABOUT HARDWOOD FLOORINGHARDWOOD SUBFLOOR SYSTEMBRAZILLIAN HARDWOOD FLOORINGUSA CANADA HARDWOOD FLOORINGAFRICAN HARDWOOD FLOORINGLOGSABOUT LOGSNORTH AMERICAN LOGSAFRICAN ROUND LOGSLUMBERABOUT LUMBERNORTH AMERICAN LUMBERAFRICAN LUMBERSAWMILLS
NEW SAWMILLSUSED SAWMILLSHEAVY EQUIPMENT AND MACHINERY
USED HEAVY EQUIPMENTSPOWER PLANTS AND GENERATORS
NEW POWER PLANTS AND GENERATORSUSED POWER PLANTS AND GENERATORSCOMMODITIES AND MINERALS
COMMODITIESSPECIFICATIONSCHEMICALS AND PLASTICS
CHEMICALSCONTRACT FORMS
LETTER OF INTENT FORM (LOI)|
|
| USA CANADA Hardwood and Softwood, oak, Ash, Maple, Hemlock, Poplar, Cottonwood, Balsam, Larch, Cedar, Pine, Spruce, Fir, Cherry |
 |
| Ash, Oak, Birch, Maple, Walnut, Cherry, Characteristics, handling, specifications, uses, hardness, Larch, Cedar, Spruce BC , Quebec, Ontario, USA species, Flat Sawn, Quarter Sawn, Rift Sawn |
| ||||||
| About North American Hardwoods: Hardwood Species Hardwoods are the botanical group of trees that have broad leaves, produce a fruit or nut, and generally go dormant in the winter. America's temperate climates produce forests with hundreds of hardwood species -- trees that share certain biological characteristics. Although oak, maple and cherry are all types of hardwood trees, they are different species. Together, all the hardwood species represent 40 percent of the trees in the United States.  RedOak  SoftMaple  HardMapleOn the other hand, softwoods, or conifers, from the Latin word meaning "cone-bearing", have needles. Widely available US softwoods include cedar, fir, hemlock, pine, redwood, spruce and cypress. In a home, the softwoods are used primarily as structural lumber such as 2x4s and 2x6s, with some limited decorative applications. Color and Grain Variations: Why doesn't what you bought look like the sample in the showroom? Unlike factory-made, artificial materials, each hardwood board has a unique life story. During the approximately 60 years it takes for a hardwood to mature, each tree develops a one-of-a-kind grain pattern and texture. Grain patterns result from the tree's growth rings--one ring for every year in the forest. Knots are character marks, telling the story of tree limbs that grew and fell to the forest floor as the tree matured. Even boards from the same hardwood tree will show significant variation in color. For instance, "younger" wood closer to the bark (sapwood) will be lighter than that which comes from the central portion. You also can see the effects of the minerals and other essential elements that the trees absorbed as they grew. No two pieces of hardwood are alike. Because of this, your particular item looks like no other in the world...including those in the showroom. However, rest assured that none of the natural markings that characterize hardwood floors, furniture, woodwork, and cabinetry affect their durability or structural integrity. How Hard are Hardwoods? The various hardwood species differ in their degrees of hardness, but most are suitably durable for use in the average home. Consult your flooring or design professional if you wonder whether the species you prefer is appropriate for the intended use. Species (Kiln-Dried) Pressure To Mar(In Pounds) Species (Kiln-Dried) Pressure To Mar(In Pounds) Hickory, Pecan Hard Maple White Oak Beech Red Oak Yellow Birch Green Ash Black Walnut Soft Maple Cherry 1,820 1,450 1,360 1,300 1,290 1,260 1,200 1,010 950 950 Hackberry Gum Elm Sycamore Alder Yellow Poplar Cottonwood Basswood Aspen 880 850 830 770 590 540 430 410 350 Yellow Poplar Arrow straight -- tallest in the hardwood family. Also called the tuliptree: planted by George Washington as gatekeeper at Mount Vernon. Grows quickly. At home with a touch of paint in mouldings and other woodwork. Source: Wood Handbook: Wood as an Engineering Material, USDA, Washington, D.C. ©2000,1996 Hardwood Manufacturers Association. www.hardwood.org Hardwood Lumber Species General Description: Red Alder: Red Alder, a relative of birch, is almost white when freshly cut but quickly changes on exposure to air, becoming light brown with a yellow or reddish tinge. Heartwood is formed only in trees of advanced age and there is no visible boundary between sap and heartwood. The wood is fairly straight-grained with a uniform texture Ash: The sapwood is light-colored to nearly white and the heartwood varies from greyish or light brown, to pale yellow streaked with brown. The wood is generally straight-grained with a coarse uniform texture. The degree and availability of light-colored sapwood, and other properties, will vary according to the growing regions. Aspen Sapwood is white, blending into the light brown heartwood. The contrast between sap and heartwood is small. The wood has a fine uniform texture and is straight-grained. Basswood: The sapwood of basswood is usually quite large and creamy white in color, merging into the heartwood which is pale to reddish brown, sometimes with darker streaks. The wood has a fine uniform texture and indistinct grain that is straight. Beech The sapwood is white with a red tinge, while the heartwood is light to dark reddish brown. The wood is generally straight-grained with a close uniform texture. Yellow Birch: Yellow birch has a white sapwood and light reddish brown heartwood. The wood is generally straight-grained with a fine uniform texture. Generally characterized by a plain and often curly or wavy pattern. Cherry: The heartwood of cherry varies from rich red to reddish brown and will darken with age and on exposure to light. In contrast, the sapwood is creamy white. The wood has a fine uniform, straight grain, satiny, smooth texture, and may naturally contain brown pith flecks and small gum pockets. Cottonwood: The sapwood is white and may contain brown streaks while the heartwood may be pale to light brown. It is a diffuse porous wood with a coarse texture. The wood is generally straight-grained and contains relatively few defects. Cottonwood is a true poplar, and therefore has similar characteristics and properties to aspen. Red Elm Red elm has a greyish white to light brown narrow sapwood, with heartwood that is reddish brown to dark brown in color. The grain can be straight, but is often interlocked. The wood has a coarse texture. Gum: The sapwood tends to be wide and is white to light pink, while the heartwood is reddish brown, often with darker streaks. The wood has irregular grain, usually interlocked, which produces an attractive figure. It has a fine uniform texture. Hackberry: Hackberry is closely related to sugarberry (Celtis laevigata) and is a member of the elm family. There is little difference between sapwood and heartwood, which is yellowish grey to light brown with yellow streaks. The wood is very susceptible to blue staining before and after kiln drying and has irregular grain, occasionally straight and sometimes interlocked, with a fine uniform texture. Hickory & Pecan: The hickories are an important group within the Eastern hardwood forests. Botanically they are split into two groups; the true hickories, and the pecan hickories (fruit bearing). The wood is virtually the same for both and is usually sold together. Hickory is the hardest, heaviest and strongest American wood in the common use. The sapwood of hickory is white, tinged with inconspicuous fine brown lines while the heartwood is pale to reddish brown. Both are coarse-textured and the grain is fine, usually straight but can be wavy or irregular. Hard Maple: The sapwood is creamy white with a slight reddish brown tinge and the heartwood varies from light to dark reddish brown. The amount of darker brown heartwood can vary significantly according to growing region. Both sapwood and heartwood can contain pith fleck. The wood has a close fine, uniform texture and is generally straight-grained, but it can also occur as "curly," "fiddleback," and "birds-eye" figure. Soft Maple: In most respects soft maple is very similar to hard maple. Generally the sapwood is greyish white, sometimes with darker colored pith flecks. The heartwood varies from light to dark reddish brown. The wood is usually straight-grained. The lumber is generally sold unselected for color. Red Oak: The sapwood of red oak is white to light brown and the heartwood is a pinkish reddish brown. The wood is similar in general appearance to white oak, but with a slightly less pronounced figure due to the smaller rays. The wood is mostly straight-grained, with a coarse texture. White Oak: The sapwood is light-colored and the heartwood is light to dark brown. White oak is mostly straight-grained with a medium to coarse texture, with longer rays than red oak. White oak therefore has more figure. Poplar: The sapwood is creamy white and may be streaked, with the heartwood varying from pale yellowish brown to olive green. The green color in the heartwood will tend to darken on exposure to light and turn brown. The wood has a medium to fine texture and is straight-grained. Has a comparatively uniform texture. Sassafras: Sassafras heartwood is pale brown to orange brown, resembling ash or chestnut. The narrow sapwood is yellowish white. The wood has a coarse texture and is generally straight- grained. Well-known as an aromatic species. Sycamore: The sapwood of sycamore is white to light yellow, while the heartwood is light to dark brown. The wood has a fine close texture with interlocked grain. Contrasts well with other species. Black Walnut: The sapwood of walnut is creamy white, while the heartwood is light brown to dark chocolate brown, occasionally with a purplish cast and darker streaks. The wood develops a rich patina that grows more lustrous with age. Walnut is usually supplied steamed, to darken sapwood. The wood is generally straight-grained, but sometimes with wavy or curly grain that produces an attractive and decorative figure. This species produces a greater variety of figure types than any other. Willow: The sapwood of willow varies in width according to growing conditions and is light creamy brown in color. In contrast, the heartwood is pale reddish brown to greyish brown. The wood has a fine even texture and although generally straight-grained it can sometimes be interlocked, or display figure. ©2000,1996 Hardwood Manufacturers Association. www.hardwood.org Sawing Methods: Hardwood logs become lumber by one of several sawing methods. Each gives hardwood boards a distinct grain pattern, along with performance characteristics that must be considered when specifying. Sawing methods are plain sawing, quarter sawing and rift sawing. There is a noticeable difference in grain patterns among plain, quartered and rift-sawn lumber. Plain-Sawn Lumber: Plain-sawn hardwood boards are produced by cutting tangentially to a tree's growth rings, creating the familiar "flame-shaped" or "cathedral" grain found in most hardwood flooring and millwork. This method also produces the most lumber from each log, making plain-sawn lumber a cost-effective design choice. Quarter-Sawn Lumber: Quarter sawing means cutting a log radially (90-degree angle) to the growth rings to produce "vertical" graining. This method yields fewer and narrower boards per log than plain sawing, boosting their cost significantly. Quarter-sawn boards are popular for decorative applications such as cabinet faces or wainscoting. Rift-Sawn Lumber: Rift sawing at a 30-degree or greater angle to the growth rings produces narrow boards with accentuated vertical or "straight" grain patterns. Rift-sawn boards are often favored for fine furniture and other applications where matching grain is important. This type of lumber is available in limited quantities and species. Moisture Content: A product of nature, hardwoods respond to changes in relative humidity by exchanging moisture with their environment. Plain-, quarter-, and rift-sawn boards react differently to these changes. Because hardwoods are more dimensionally stable across the grain, plain-sawn lumber expands and contracts more than quarter-sawn hardwood boards, which have a more vertical grain pattern. Likewise, quarter-sawn lumber, with its emphasized vertical grain, shrinks and swells less than rift-sawn hardwood boards. Advantages of Solid Hardwood: Solid hardwoods, as building and furnishing materials, go against the grain of a mass-produced, throw-away age. Although every hardwood board will predictably share the characteristics of its species such as - oak, ash, alder, maple, cherry, hickory and poplar- each board displays a face which is uniquely its own, having been formed over the long lifetime of the individual tree from which it came. Solid hardwood furniture, flooring, cabinetry and woodwork offer the potential for many generations of hard use. Their beauty is not skin-deep. They can live with nicks and scratches, are easily repaired and refinished, and their value is lasting. WHAD - Worm holes a defect North American Softwoods SPF This species combination, classed as moderately strong, is cross continental in origin. Because of similar design values, the combination includes Engelmann and Sitka spruces, and Lodge Pole Pine from the West, along with Balsam Fir, Jack Pine, Red Pine and several eastern spruces from the U.S. Northeast. SPF-S grade marked products may originate from either region and be graded either by or according to grading rules published by WWPA, the West Coast Lumber Inspection Bureau (WCLIB), or the Northeastern Lumber Manufacturers' Association (NELMA). SPF-S design values make it appropriate for general framing applications. In the higher, structural light framing grades, dimension products are appropriate for light trusses and other engineered applications. The alternate (Western only) species combination of Engelmann Spruce and Lodgepole Pine (ES-LP) is well suited for truss design and other engineered applications. Additional information on ES-LP for truss design is detailed in WWPA's Tech Note No. 3 available from the Association's Technical Services Dept. Engelmann and Sitka spruces are nearly white in color with a distinctive, slightly pinkish-grey tone. Relatively small, uniformly distributed knots add to the appeal of the medium to fine texture and straight grain. Lodge Pole Pine has relatively straight grain, white to yellow sapwood with light, reddish-brown heartwood. Knots do not bleed through paint. It is used for interior paneling, joinery, structural timber and poles. When creating interiors or rustic designs with Western pines, remember that while Lodgepole resembles other Western pines in appearance, it is the strongest of the Western pines. This makes LP additionally useful for selected structural elements when a "pine aesthetic" is desirable. While these species are not the strongest among Western species, they can carry heavy loads when large members are used. Their real appeal and strengths are in the appearance grades: COMMONS, ALTERNATE BOARDS, SELECTS and FINISH, and in the Factory and Shop Ponderosa Pine Is perhaps the most beloved of the Western pines. Its soft texture and light color distinguish it from the Southern pines; its wood is among the most beautiful of all pines. Sapwood is nearly white to pale yellow; heartwood is light to reddish brown. Clear finishes with UV blockers can help retain its freshly milled color. It has a pleasant pine odor and is slightly resinous. Moderately strong, straight grained, and dimensionally stable, it is favored for all kinds of joinery including window frames, doors and architraves, and is used for shelving, paneling, trim, and furniture. It is the species of choice for premium-grade wood windows. Sugar Pine Is the tallest of the Western pines, bearing enormous cones that can be well over a foot long. It is moderately strong with a fairly uniform texture. Sapwood is creamy white, heartwood darkens to a light brown and is occasionally red tinged. It has a faint odor, good dimensional stability, and is used for general joinery, foundry patterns, boxes and crates, paneling and shelving. Idaho White Pine Varies from nearly white to pale reddish brown and darkens with exposure. It is famous for its workability across or with the grain and is valued for joinery, foundry patterns, paneling, interior trim, furniture, boxes and siding. It is the preferred species for stage flooring in theaters. Availability is limited. Mountain Hemlock (Alpine Fir) Are distinguished from Western Hemlock and the other true firs by having lower assigned design values, which is relevant only in structural applications. If aesthetics are the primary consideration, refer to the description under Hem-Fir. These species are light colored, moderately strong, fine grained and ideally suited to interior paneling, shelving, crafts and DIY projects, trim and facia boards |
 Sign Guestbook |
 View Guestbook |
|
. |
| Visitors: 10568 |