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.
Know Your Woods
Know Your Woods
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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.
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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.
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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.
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The wood displays an astonishing variety of figures with many unique and distinct colour variations.
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Mention the words Claro Walnut to woodworkers and images of large live edge table tops with Claros’ distinctive appearance come to mind.
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Makore has a fine texture and the grain is usually very straight. It is a naturally lustrous wood which helps exaggerate the various figure types.
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While impressive in size, Obeche has a featureless and muted appearance with little of the ‘eye candy’ figuring that attracts woodworkers. Overall, its colour is a creamy white to a straw yellow.
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Rosewoods are the preeminent and valued group of woods available to woodworkers and craftspeople.
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English yew (aka European yew) is a good example of a tree perfectly suited for one purpose: for making longbows.
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There is no shortage of beautiful woods available to the craftsmen, but, there is one species which has a flare for the dramatic and that species is Ziricote.
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Bocote, like its close relative Ziricote, is a very beautiful wood with a unique appearance. The heartwood is an attractive yellowish-brown overlain with distinctive black lines giving the wood an active and striking figure.
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Sassafras is an exceptional tree, producing oils that give it a distinct spicy aroma that permeates all parts of the tree.
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Confusion can reign when discussing Meranti (also called Lauan, Philippine mahogany and balau) and all of the products made from this important group.
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Even if you don’t want to make a pipe, Briar burls are affordable and offer the woodworker an introduction to working with burls.
