Wood Description 2

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 ect. 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.

	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. Detail Description
	Bloodwood Color: blood red to maroon with streaks of deep reddish gold. Detail Description
	Bocote Color: dark bands of reddish yellow and black. Detail Description