Wood Properties - Properties of Wood Material

Wood is one of the most useful and important raw materials, used to craft over hundred of products. In fact we can say that several types of wood are the precious gift of nature for human beings. From homemaking to furniture making and even used as fuel, it is like a boon to humanity. Handicrafts made of wood material have also been very much popular in India since times.

Different types of hardwood and softwood are used to craft various wood items. Some of commonly used woods are maple wood, rosewood, pine wood, mahogany wood and teak wood etc. Let's have a look on the properties of these woods:

Properties of Wood:

Maple Wood Properties: Botanical name of maple wood is Acer Saccharum. Below find the properties of maple wood:
Color: Cream, light reddish brown.
Features: Maple is a hard, heavy, tough and strong wood with uniform texture. The pattern of this wood is straight grained on which bird's eye or burl grain figures are also found. It is resistant to shock, indentation and abrasion.
Uses: In crafting decorative woodwork, furniture, cabinets, utensils, bowling pins, balls, musical instruments and flooring.

Rosewood Properties: Botanical name of rosewood is Dalbergia Latfilia. Below find the properties of rosewood:
Color: Red and purplish brown.
Features: Rosewood is hard, heavy and dense wood, which is also known as East Indian Rosewood, Bombay Rosewood, Shisham, Malabar and Ervadi. It has a uniform and moderately coarse texture with high steam bending and crushing strengths. Rosewood is medium shock resistant and very durable heartwood.
Uses: In crafting decorative and ornamental woodwork, furniture, cabinets, brush backs, boat construction, musical instruments and flooring.

Pine Wood Properties: Botanical name of pine wood is Pinus strobus. Below find the properties of pine wood:
Color: White and pale yellow.
Features: Pine is a soft wood, whose two types are found – White Pine and Yellow Pine. The pattern, color of this wood is highly diverse and its texture is straight grained.
Uses: In crafting provincial furniture.

Mahogany Wood: Botanical name of mahogany wood is Swientenia Macrophylla. Below find the properties of mahogany wood:
Color: Creamy white, reddish brown and purplish brown.
Features: Mahogany is moderately hard and heavy wood with low stiffness. It posses medium crushing and bending strength and its texture is moderately coarse, on which often ribbon figures are found. This wood is medium resistant to shock and decay.
Uses: In crafting furniture, plywood, boat construction, cabinetry, vehicle bodies and decorative veneers.
Teak Wood: Botanical name of teak wood is Techtona Grandis. Below find the properties of teak wood:
Color: Creamy or grayish white, yellow brown and dark golden brown.
Features: Teak wood is also known by many local names like Burma teak, Rangoon teak, jati sak, gia thi, rosawa and moulmein teak. This wood is moderately hard and heavy with low stiffness. It posses moderate bending strength and is good resistant to decay. It has straight grained and uneven coarse texture.
Uses: In crafting indoor and outdoor furniture, plywood, ship (decks) building, paneling, decorative veneers, vats, chemical tanks and high class joinery.