Pacific yew
The wood of the Pacific Yew tree is very hard and dense with a fine texture. The wood is usually straight grained, but it can be very knotty.
Peter Mac Sween
Peter's woodworking journey began with a career in carpentry followed by a decade buying and selling veneer. His spare time is spent abusing his guitars and exploring the great outdoors.
Articles by Peter Mac Sween
Lyptus
Lyptus is a hybrid of two Eucalyptus species, grown in Brazil and distributed by the North American forest giant Weyerhaeuser.
Monkeypod
Monkeypod is a tree that has benefited from the popularity of working with live edge material. It is a beautiful wood with a golden, richly brown heart and a yellowish white sapwood that is in sharp contrast to the heart.Â
Red gum
Liquidambar styraciflua is native to North America and is also called Redgum, and to confuse things even further, it is also called Sweetgum, Sapgum and Satin Walnut.
Ginkgo
The wood is a pale yellow to a caramel colour, often with black streaks. It has a fine uniform texture making it a good prospect for carving and turning.
East Indian satinwood
Few woods can match East Indian Satinwood's striking appearance. The heartwood is a striking golden yellow with a metallic luster. Different figure types abound, and some say figured boards are more common than their plain looking counterparts.
Red pine
Red Pine is an excellent candidate for structural timbers, poles, log cabins, beams and trusses. It is also used in doors, frames, shutters and other interior trim.
Chakte Kok
Chakte Kok is a popular choice for woodworkers looking for that splash of colour. It offers a brilliant red often described as 'red as a watermelon.'
Holly
Holly is an exquisite wood for inlay and bandings. Here the bright white colour provides visual interest and contrast without overwhelming a project.
Engelmann spruce
It's easy to dismiss Engelmann Spruce as just another softwood. It's cut for studs and framing lumber, sliced for plywood, and is an excellent pulpwood for paper making. Boring perhaps, but it does excel in one specific area – as a tone wood for musical instruments.
European sycamore
European (aka English) Sycamore is tree with a historical pedigree and has long been appreciated by European woodworkers.
Paldao
Paldao first gained attention in the woodworking world as a walnut substitute.Â
Afrormosia
Renowned for its durability, Afromosia is often used as a substitute for genuine Teak. It's a beautiful wood and deserves consideration for many woodworking projects on its own merits.
Hornbeam
Hornbeam is a very dense and extremely hard wood, often referred to as an ironwood. Its fine, even texture makes it a good candidate for turning.
Catalpa
It's ring porous like ash and oak producing a bold figure on flat cut boards. It's extremely durable like cedar and cypress making it ideal for exterior projects and is also one of the most stable hardwoods.
Desert ironwood
Wood from the Desert Ironwood is usually very attractive. The heartwood can contain orange and yellow hues as well as darker reds and browns.
Australian blackwood
The heartwood is a reddish brown to a rich golden brown. Reddish streaks and bands of dark black can add to its beautiful colouration. The sapwood is straw to pale gray in colour and is sharply demarcated from the heart.
Swiss pear
Stunning, seductive and subtle: these are some of the words that have been used to describe Swiss Pear a premier European hardwood.
Kentucky coffeetree
The wood is hard, dense and ring porous, resembling ash, the oaks and especially honey locust. The grain is usually straight with a coarse texture.
Rubberwood
Chances are as a woodworker, you've never worked with Rubberwood, the wood from the Rubber tree. But I guarantee you have seen it and may even own some product made with it.
Boxwood
Given its diminutive size, objects made from European boxwood tend to be small. It is a favourite for wood-block engraving due to its ability to hold incised detail as well as its durability.
Paper birch
Paper Birch typically has a large proportion of a creamy to grayish white sapwood with a small knotty heart. The heart is a brownish red and can produce an interesting flame type colouration.
American chestnut
The wood itself is ring porous with obvious growth rings. The grain is straight but can be twisted and interlocked. The texture is coarse which makes it unappealing for turnery. It is light, durable and stable when dried.
Koa
Let’s imagine for a moment you win the lottery. Being an adventurous woodworker, you decide to travel the world to find the most beautiful and inspiring wood.
