Wood Description 5

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.

	Ebony Color: solid black. Detail Description
	Goncalo Alves Color: light and dark brown marble figure. Detail Description
	Granadilo Color: dark chocolate brown with thin streaks of black. Detail Description
	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. Detail Description