Widely popular in the hardwood flooring industry, Goncalo Alves or Tigerwood is a beautiful wood well suited for many fine woodworking projects.
Know Your Woods
Know Your Woods
-
-
Sipo (aka Utile) is one those woods gathering favour among woodworkers looking for the Mahogany look without the Mahogany price.
-
There are few woods that compare to Avodire when it comes to the number of spectacular figures available to the woodworker.
-
European Beech is an excellent choice for steam bending. Its uniform texture and consistent grain allows it to be bent with minimal distortion and cracking.
-
The wood itself is straight grained, but the lumber is usually knotty, so irregular grain is often present.
-
With such a distinct figure, lacewood is used for numerous decorative and ornamental objects. It is also in demand as a veneer for interior panelling and furniture.
-
Yellow Cedar has a multitude of uses. It is a joy to work by hand or machine.
-
Bamboo is considered a renewable resource, important in this age of dwindling resources. While bamboo itself is inexpensive, most of the manufactured products can be expensive due to the amount of processing required.
-
Ambrosia Maple is not a species of maple, rather it is a term that describes a distinctive figure common to soft maples produced by a beetle and a fungus. The overall look is unique; some woodworkers will like it, others may not.
-
The primary appeal for woodworkers who like to work with the walnuts is Peruvian Walnut's consistent colour and the fact that knot free boards up to 14 inches wide are available.
-
African Walnut, similar to Black Walnut in strength and hardness, is an ideal choice for furniture, cabinetry and turned objects.
-
Iroko is a magnificent tree found growing in tropical Africa. Many woodworkers are familiar with it as a substitute for genuine Teak (Tectona grandis).
-
Tamarack may be a softwood but this tree is plenty tough.
-
Its appearance is hard to describe given that it’s unique to this species - I like to describe it as a sea of dark lined ‘sugar pops’ swimming on a lustrous undulating white background.
-
Spalted Maple is not a species of maple. Spalting is a term that refers to the process of decay performed by fungi who earn their living by breaking down and consuming dead wood - but what a process it is!
