Definition of Terms
|
| Weight:
|
the number given to a wood is the average weight per cubic foot. The larger the
number the denser and harder the wood is. The denser the wood, the more brittle
it becomes, making it harder to bend and carve. Advantages to hard woods are
that finer detail can be achieved and the wood can be polished to an ultra
smooth finish. Balsa has a weight of 8, Oak is about 45 and Ebony weights in at
80.
|
| Figure:
|
the term is often confused with grain. By definition, the figure of a wood
refers to the pattern caused by color differences in the wood. The figure is
also the pattern created by different types of grain.
|
| Grain:
|
is the direction in which the fibers of the wood are running. Types of grain
are: straight, wavy, irregular, spiral, curly, interlocking and birds-eye. The
fibers of interlocking grain have a weaved structure, thus making the wood
strong and less apt to split and suitable for bending. Irregular grain is
caused by an interruption in the growth of the tree by branches or crotches.
For ship building irregular grain is used for natural curved members such as
knees.
|
| Texture:
|
a woods' texture is directly related to the suitability for carving and the
fineness of detail which can be achieved. Texture ranges from coarse to medium
to fine and to ultra fine. In ship building, coarse and medium textured woods
are suitable for heavy timbering such as hull framing and deck beams. Fine
textured wood is used for planking, moldings, rails etc. Fine and ultra fine
texture is for carving small fittings and delicate parts. Texture is also
uniform or uneven. An uneven textured wood has different size cell cavities
giving the wood hard and soft spots. When machining or carving a piece and it
suddenly breaks, it is because you hit a large cell cavity or a soft spot.
Uniform texture is like cutting a soft plastic-like material.
|
| African Blackwood
|
| Color: | black with a marble like figure of dark purple and charcoal gray.
|
 | Afromosia
|
| Color: | an even medium brown color with a tint of yellow.
|
| Alaskan Cedar / Yellow Cedar
|
| Weight:
| 31
|
| Grain:
|
is always straight.
|
| Figure:
|
is an even sulfur color with no distinctive pattern.
|
| Texture:
|
fine and uniform.
|
| Properties:
|
for a soft wood, Yellow Cedar is quite heavy with a density about the same as
Cherry. A very stable wood and it holds it shape with no shrinkage. This wood
is exceptionally easy to work, turns well on a lathe, finishes smooth and
carves well. Easy to glue. A durable wood resistant to decay.
|
| Use:
|
masting and spars, deck and hull planking, hull timbering and carvings. A good
wood where a hand cutting joinery is used.
|
 | Alder
|
| Weight:
| 35
|
| Grain:
| straight.
|
| Figure:
|
the wood ranges from a light cream to a pale reddish brown with no outstanding
figure.
|
| Texture:
|
is smooth and fine.
|
| Properties:
|
Alder is a flexible wood and easy to bend. It is stable and will hold its
shape. A very good wood for carving and machining. It leaves a clean sharp edge
and finishes to a smooth surface. It is an all around easy working wood.
|
| Use:
|
a prime use is for bent structural members and hull planking. Alder would make
a nice deck. Well suited for framing and timbering. Nice for turning masts and
spars. Suitable for quarter scale and larger carvings.
|
 | Apple
|
| Weight:
| 48
|
| Grain:
|
prone to small knots, causing an irregular grain of bends, twists and swirls.
Apple is also found with a straight grain when clear of knots.
|
| Figure:
|
heartwood is a red brown with swirls and veins of dark maroon, blue gray,
yellows or red gold. Sapwood is a narrow band of creamy yellow with a tint of
pink.
|
| Texture:
| is fine and uniform.
|
| Properties:
|
excellent for carving, milling and turning. The wood will hold a clean sharp
edge and finishes to a smooth polished surface. Apple is strong and flexible
suitable for bending.
|
| Use:
|
One of the top choices among model builders because of this woods versatility,
working properties and wide range of color and figures. Apple is suitable for
natural curved timbers. The wood can be used for all aspects of model work,
from fine fittings to delicate turned items and carvings to hull timbering. The
cream color of the sapwood makes nice planking.
|
 | Avodire
|
| Weight:
| 20
|
| Grain:
| interlocked, straight to slightly wavy.
|
| Figure:
|
looks like a yellow colored Mahogany. The range of color is from pale lemon
yellow to a golden yellow.
|
| Texture:
|
is uniform and on the soft side. A bit coarse for fine texture.
|
| Properties:
|
a nice wood to work with, easy to cut with any hand or power tool. Strong for
its weight, a stable wood not prone to warpage. Takes a kind of satin finished
surface.
|
| Use:
|
deck or hull planking, hull timbering and framing. Works well for making masts
and spars.
|
 | Basswood
|
| Weight: | 26
|
| Grain: | straight.
|
| Figure:
|
the wood is a cream color with very little to no pattern from grain.
|
| Texture:
|
a soft wood with a very smooth even texture.
|
| Properties:
|
a top quality wood for carving with a knife. Machining qualities are poor, the
wood tends to rip or crush under the pressure of a cutting tool. Basswood is
weak and tends to break when cut into small parts. Sawing produces a woolly
surface, sands easily. Finishing usually requires a sealer.
|
| Use:
|
the principle use of the wood is cutting lifts for solid hull construction or
blocks for carving hulls. The easiness of carving makes Basswood suitable for
the joinery work in deck framing. Usable as deck planking and the first layer
of planking in plank-on-bulkhead hulls or planked hulls that are going to be
painted or glassed over for R.C. models.
|
 | Beech
|
| Weight:
| 43
|
| Grain:
|
straight except when knots occur, then the grain will bend and wave before
straightening out again.
|
| Figure:
|
the sapwood is a cream white color, the heartwood is a light reddish brown.
Pith rays appear on the wood as tiny markings giving Beech the appearance of
scale Oak. Quarter-sawn Beech has a delicate, flaky appearance.
|
| Texture:
|
fine and silky with a close and even texture.
|
| Properties:
|
the wood can take extreme bending and will hold its shape. Beech has a very
smooth and hard surface making it suitable for polished finishes. Cuts, sands
and machines well. One of the best woods in its ability to hold screws and
nails. A strong, hard and dense wood, turns well on a lathe. Workable with hand
tools and cuts clean with a knife blade or cutting burs.
|
| Use:
|
a very good wood for planking and bent hull timbers such as wales and deck
clamps. Makes an attractive wood for framing and hull timbering, also used for
treenails.
|
 | Birch
|
| Weight: | 47
|
| Grain:
|
generally straight but sometimes found as wavy or curly grain.
|
| Figure:
|
the sapwood is a cream colored tan. The heartwood is a light brown. Slight
streaks of a darker color show from grain pattern.
|
| Texture:
|
medium and uniform, slightly on the brittle side
|
| Properties:
|
an easy wood to work, with hand and power tools. Cuts clean and finishes to a
smooth surface. The wood is very tough and flexible, once bent it will hold its
shape
|
| Use:
|
prime use is for framing, hull timbering and bent hull members such as deck
clamps. Suitable for planking. The fine carvings on the ships in the Richard
Young collection at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum are carved in Birch
|
| Black Cherry
|
| Color: | a dark cherry red color
|
| Bloodwood
|
| Color: | blood red to maroon with streaks of deep reddish gold
|
 | Bocote
|
| Color: | dark bands of reddish yellow and black
|
 | Boxelder
|
| Weight: | 28
|
| Grain: | straight to slightly wavy. Prone to be a knotty wood.
|
| Figure:
|
there is no figure from a grain pattern. The color is an off white sometimes
with a streak of coral pink.
|
| Texture: | about equal to soft Maple, but finer in grain
|
| Properties:
|
elastic and bendable. Works easy with hand and power tools. Finishes to a satin
surface
|
| Use:
| for deck and bulkward planking.
|
 | Boxwood
|
| Weight: | 70
|
| Grain: | straight.
|
| Figure:
| an even straw yellow color.
|
| Texture: | ultra fine and uniform.
|
| Properties:
|
dense and hard. Finishes to a polished surface. Excellent machining properties.
The wood will hold a clean sharp edge. Working with hand or carving tools is
slow going due to the hardness of the wood.
|
| Use:
|
for all aspects of model work from fine tuned pieces to timbering. A little
stiff, but with some care, the wood makes nice looking planking.
|
| Brazilian Rosewood
|
| Color: | dark red, violet and black streaks.
|
| Brazilian Satinwood
|
| Weight: | 56
|
| Grain: | straight to slightly wavy.
|
| Figure:
|
is an even lemon yellow color when freshly cut then darkens to a golden yellow.
If the wood is left in the sunlight it will turn to a dark ivory color.
|
| Texture:
|
similar to hard Maple. Heavy, dense and uniform but with a slight coarseness.
|
| Properties:
|
cuts and machines nicely, sands easily and finishes to a smooth satiny surface.
The wood is too coarse and hard for carving, it is better suited for power
tools rather than hand tools.
|
| Use:
|
decking or decorative planking, cap rails and moldings. Well suited for hull
timbering and framing.
|
 | Bubinga
|
| Color: | salmon pink with streaks of brown.
|
| Canarywood
|
| Color: | yellow to light orange
|
| Pencil Cedar
|
| Weight: | 34
|
| Figure: | is a cream color or very light yellow
|
| Texture: | is fine and uniform.
|
| Properties:
|
soft and easy to cut and/or machine. Uniform grain in all directions, making it
suitable for carving. Takes a very smooth surface from machining. A good wood
for gluing.
|
| Use:
|
a good wood for masting, deck and hull planking and also hull timbering. A good
wood for solid hulls. Pencil Cedar is in a rapid decline and supply due to the
over-lumbering of the tree.
|
 | Chakte Kok
|
| Color: | dark brown with streaks of black.
|
 | Chechin
|
| Color: | marble like figure of shades of reds and maroons.
|
 | Cherry
|
| Weight: | 35
|
| Grain: | straight, also found as curly.
|
| Figure: | color is a light red to pink which darkens with age.
|
| Texture: | is close, firm and uniform.
|
| Properties:
|
the wood is very stable in use with little to no warpage or movement. Capable
of a smooth surface. Works easily with hand and power tools, carves nicely with
a clean sharp edge.
|
| Use:
|
a good wood for hull framing and timbering. Suitable for small fittings and
hull planking.
|
 | Cocobolo
|
| Color: | streaks of dark maroon, black, purple and red brown.
|
 | Cypress
|
| Weight: | 28
|
| Grain: | straight.
|
| Figure:
|
for the most part the color is a yellow with reddish tint sometimes found with
streaks of darker color.
|
| Texture: | is close and even.
|
| Properties:
|
for a softwood this wood has excellent durability and strength. Finishes smooth
with a waxy looking surface. It is a stable wood and it will not warp or move.
Glues well and takes a good painted finish. Cypress is an easy wood to work
with hand and power tools.
|
| Use:
|
for all aspects of model work, especially where a lot of hand cutting of
joinery is done. Masting and spars, planking and timbering. It is strong and
light weight making it suitable for RC models.
|
 | Dogwood
|
| Weight: | 53
|
| Grain: | mostly straight.
|
| Figure:
|
A heavy and dense wood, also known as American Boxwood.
A light cream color with a slight pink tint. Takes a super smooth finish.
A top notch wood for machining and carving.
|
| Texture: | The interlocking grain is very fine and compact.
The grain is so uniform that Dogwood is also known as False Boxwood.
|
| Properties:
|
While being a hardwood it can be sawed, turned and planed easily.
A tough strong wood that can be finished to a glossy smoothness.
The tight interlocking grain allows the wood to be bent.
|
| Use:
|
Commercially, Dogwood is used for golf club heads, tool handles and pulleys.
For model work it amkes a beautiful upper hull planking, excellent for small
carvings, fittings and any delicate work. Also suitable for turned objects and
railings. Supply of clear wood and its specialty uses have to some extent kept
Dogwood from the commercial lumber market, making it a very scarce and
valuable wood.
|
 | Ebony
|
| Color: | solid black.
|
| Goncalo Alves
|
| Color: | light and dark brown marble figure.
|
 | Granadilo
|
| Color: | dark chocolate brown with thin streaks of black.
|
 | Holly
|
| Weight: | 47
|
| Grain: | straight.
|
| Figure:
|
almost no figure from grain pattern or color. Holly is a chalky white to a
light shade of gray.
|
| Texture: | very fine and uniform.
|
| Properties:
|
an easy wood to work with. Cuts clean and smooth with hand or power tools.
Capable of a very smooth and hard surface. Flexible and strong, bends nicely.
|
| Use:
|
principle use is for deck planking or bulkward planking. The fine texture makes
the wood suitable for delicate fittings and carvings.
|
 | Hornbeam
|
| Weight: | 51
|
| Grain: | straight and interlocked.
|
| Figure:
|
no visible figure from a grain pattern. Color is silver white to a slight cream
white.
|
| Texture: | very fine and uniform.
|
| Properties:
|
hard, tough and strong, elastic and bendable. Works well with power tools but
is a little difficult with hand tools. Takes a fine smooth finish. .
|
| Use:
|
for deck planking in place of Holly, delicate turned items, fittings, blocks
and trim work.
|
| Indonesian Rosewood
|
| Color: | deep colors of browns and reds.
|
 | Jatoba
|
| Color: | (Brazilian Cherry) reddish brown.
|
 | Kingwood
|
| Color: | purple with streaks of light and dark violet.
|
 | Koa
|
| Color: | medium brown wood which looks like Teak.
|
| Macassar Ebony
|
| Color: | bands of dark brown and black.
|
 | Madrone
|
| Weight: | 50
|
| Grain:
|
Madrone is known for its burls and rarely found as lumber. The grain in lumber
is straight to slightly wavy.
|
| Figure:
|
is an even light pink to a reddish brown. Sapwood is a cream color with pink
tint. Madrone resembles a dusty rose colored Swiss Pear wood.
|
| Texture: | is fine, uniform and dense.
|
| Properties:
|
the wood is strong and somewhat brittle. It works well with hand and power
tools. It finishes to a very fine smooth and polished surface.
|
| Use:
|
for small fittings, rails, trim work and delicate turned items. The wood makes
nice framing and hull timbering. Suitable for carvings.
|
 | Mansonia
|
| Weight: | 38
|
| Grain: | straight to interlocking.
|
| Figure:
|
a light brown with a slight yellowish tint. Sometimes found as a darker
chocolate brown. The color is even with no distinguishing patterns.
|
| Texture: | is medium.
|
| Properties:
|
this is an excellent wood for bending and it holds its shape. It is an easy
wood to work with both hand and power tools, also has good gluing and finishing
properties. The surface takes on a silky appearance when finished.
|
| Use: | is for framing and heavy timbering, suitable for hull planking.
|
 | Maple
|
| Weight: | 39
|
| Grain:
|
Maple has a wide variety of grain from straight to the exotic like Tiger Maple,
birds-eye, fiddleback and a range of twisted and curly.
|
| Figure:
|
all kind of wild patterns can be found from the grain. Straight grained Maple
has very little figure. The color of the heartwood is a cream to a light
reddish brown. The sapwood is mostly white with a tint of pink.
|
| Texture: | very uniform and moderately fine.
|
| Properties:
|
a tough strong wood. Cuts nice and clean, with excellent machining qualities.
If too heavy of a cut is taken on a thickness sander the wood will burn. Maple
will take a smooth polished surface. Carves sharp and clean with a knife but a
little hard to work with using hand tools.
|
| Use: | for hull timbering and planking also suitable for small fittings.
|
 | Mopane
|
| Color: | deep chocolate brown to almost black.
|
|
| Osage Orange
|
| Weight: | 56
|
| Grain: | Straight to slightly wavy.
|
| Figure:
|
is a bright yellow when freshly cut, changing to a golden tan or russet brown
in time, with pale darker streaks.
|
| Texture: | is fine and uniform.
|
| Properties:
|
very heavy, hard, tough and resilient. The wood is quite pliable and elastic.It
was used by the Indians as bows. Osage is somewhat difficult to work, but it
produces a lustrous surface. A very stable wood with high strength
characteristics. You would not want to pound nails into this wood, but it holds
screws well and glues wells. Oil based finishes will accelerate the color
change. The wood is available in small quantities due to the difficulty of
logging it. The tree is armed with lots of nasty thorns from the trunk to the
tips of the branches.
|
| Use:
|
a fine accent wood for railings, cap rails and general decorative work. It can
be used for timbering and planking.
|
 | Padauk
|
| Color: | bright orange red.
|
 | Pau Marfin
|
| Weight: | 55
|
| Grain: | straight.
|
| Figure:
|
very little to no pattern from grain. Color range is from a light lemon yellow
to a sulfur yellow.
|
| Texture: | is medium and uniform.
|
| Properties:
|
are hard, heavy and dense. The wood cuts and machines well. Finishes to a
smooth lustrous surface. A little difficult to carve with a knife.
|
| Use:
|
main use is for hull framing and timbering. Also used for trim, moldings and
fittings. Suitable for masts and spars.
|
| Pernambuco
|
| Color: | burnt orange color.
|
| Peroba (Pau Rosa)
|
| Weight: | 48
|
| Grain: | straight to irregular.
|
| Figure:
|
Peroba takes in a large group of timbers which range in color from a light
creamy yellow to vibrant pink. Peroba Rosa has a marble appearance of yellows,
pinks and streaks of light purple.
|
| Texture:
|
slightly on the brittle side, it has a very hard, firm closed-grained texture.
|
| Properties:
|
A very strong wood, a bit difficult to work with using hand tools, but easy to
cut and machine. Takes on a marble like polish, glues easily.
|
| Use:
|
main use is for framing and timbering, small fittings and turned items. Nice
for trim work or accent planking.
|
 | Poplar
|
| Weight: | 30
|
| Grain: | straight, sometimes with a slight wave.
|
| Figure:
|
heartwood has a greenish tint, sapwood is an even light yellow with an
occasional streak of darker color.
|
| Texture: | moderately fine and uniform with a close tough texture.
|
| Properties:
|
easy to work and suitable for carving. Capable of a smooth surface but a
non-lustrous finish. Stable and fairly strong.
|
| Use: | hull timbering and framing, deck beams and deck framing.
|
 | Purpleheart
|
| Color: | an even royal purple. In time, turns to a darker purplish brown.
|
 | Red Gum
|
| Weight: | 34
|
| Grain: | straight
|
| Figure:
|
the wood varies from an even reddish brown to variegated streaks of charcoal
gray and dark brown. When cut into small timbering the figure is lost.
|
| Texture: | uniform and moderately fine, similar to soft Maple.
|
| Properties:
|
an all around excellent working wood. It takes a smooth lustrous surface.
Machines and carves with good results. The wood is strong and can be cut down
into delicate parts.
|
| Use:
|
a good wood for hull timbering, deck beams and framing. The wood makes nice
decorative planking.
|
| Sitka Spruce
|
| Weight: | 32
|
| Grain: | straight.
|
| Figure:
| is a creamy white with a pink tint. The grain pattern appears as narrow lines.
|
| Texture:
| the wood is soft with a moderately fine to medium texture.
|
| Properties:
|
a tough strong wood, stable in use. When cut, the surface tends to be a bit
fuzzy, but careful sanding will bring the surface to a smooth finish. The wood
works well with both hand and power tools, sands easily.
|
| Use:
|
use for masting and spars. The wood can also be used for heavy timbering,
bulkheads, structural members and framing.
|
| Snakewood
|
| Color: | shades of maroons and browns.
|
 | Swiss Pear
|
| Weight: | 46
|
| Grain: | straight to sometimes wavy and/or irregular.
|
| Figure:
|
The wood has been steamed to produce an even pink color with little to no
distinguishable figure however the wood will vary from board to board, from a
very pale pink to a deep dusty rose.
|
| Texture:
|
the wood is remarkable for its extraordinary smoothness and evenness of
texture.
|
| Properties:
|
excellent for carving, turning or milling. It can be cut with a sharp edge in
any direction. Finishes to a polished surface. Pearwood can be stained black to
resemble Ebony. Flexible and suited to bending.
|
| Use:
|
this is the classic wood of ship modeling and it is used for everything from
the finest carvings and fittings to hull timbering.
|
 | Sycamore
|
| Weight: | 38
|
| Grain: | normally straight and interlocked.
|
| Figure:
|
the wood has a wide range of figure, from an unusual flaky or lace pattern on
quarter sawn wood to fine lines on flat sawn wood. Color is a pale whitish
yellow to a light honey color. Heartwood has a slight brown to pink tint.
|
| Properties:
|
the wood will take extreme bending and retains its bent shape. Moderately hard,
stiff and strong, will resist splitting. A stable wood in use. Machines to a
highly lustrous surface.
|
| Use:
|
main use for this wood is hull framing, timbering, planking and bent members
such as deck clamps and main wales. It also can used for trim work and deck
furniture.
|
 | Tambouti
|
| Color: | chocolate brown to a dark golden brown with deep brown streaks.
|
 | Tulipwood
|
| Color:
|
very light cream color with bright thin streaks of pink or sometimes with a few
colored streaks.
|
 | Walnut
|
| Weight: | 45
|
| Grain:
|
varies from straight to all kind of wild figures. For model building straight
is selected.
|
| Figure:
|
when freshly cut, the wood is purplish-brown turning to a chocolate brown with
simple figuring of darker brown streaks. Sapwood is a light tan.
|
| Texture: | is uniform and moderately coarse.
|
| Properties:
|
a very nice working wood with power tools right down to a carving knife. Very
stable and it will not shrink or expand once in use. For its weight, Walnut is
exceptionally strong.
|
| Use:
|
decorative planking, carvings and moldings. Well suited for hull timbering and
framing. American Black Walnut is in such high demand on the world lumber
markets, and the timber has been so freely exploited, that supply is rapidly
diminishing year by year.
|
 | Willow
|
| Weight: | 28
|
| Grain: | straight.
|
| Figure:
| heartwood is a light reddish brown, sapwood is a light creamy pink color.
|
| Texture: | uniform and moderately fine.
|
| Properties:
|
light in weight but strong and shock resistant. Stable in use, resists
splitting. The wood takes a smooth finish. An easy wood to work with using hand
or power tools. Cricket bats and artificial limbs are made from this wood.
|
| Use:
|
solid hulls, masting, deck and hull planking. Suitable for timbering where a
lot of hand cutting of joinery work is used.
|
| | YEW
|
| Weight: | 45
|
| Grain: | straight to slightly wavy. It is common for Yew to have very small knots.
|
| Figure:
| When freshly cut, the wood is bright orange byt, whe exposed to air and sun the
wood turns to a warm amber color. There are fine brown streaks from the grain pattern.
|
| Texture: | The close grain gives the wood a very fine and even texture.
|
| Properties:
|
For an Evergreen tree, Yew is quite heavy, dense and hard. Yew works very well
with hand and power tools. The wood can be worked to a highly polished surface.
Yews' claim to fame is its strength and elasticity, being used as long bows in
England and manufactured as Archery bows in the U.S.
The durability of the wood is very high and resistant to insect and fungal attacks.
There are chairs made of Yew in the Hornby castle dating back to 1550. The Yew
tree is small, reaching a height of 20 feetn with a short trunk of 8 to 12 inch
diameter. This makes the lumber rare and available in only short pieces.
Applying an oil finish reacts with the wood turning it to an amber color.
|
| Use:
|
Because the wood is so flexible and takes extreme bending, it makes a perfect
hull planking, the thick timbers of the wales and bent frame construction.
Grain and texture are so fine the wood can be carved or turned into the most
delicate fittings.
|
 | Zircote
|
| Color: | deep brown with streaks and variegations of black.
|
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