Introduction to various types of wood (part 1)

In the first part of this article we will go through natural types of wood and their features and in the second part we will review the human made types of wood that are available in the market for various applications.

There are obviously various types of wood in nature but depending on the region, climate, vegetation, soil type, economic and political conditions and more elements, each region has a limited number of wood types. There are also many criteria for the classification of natural wood, but generally, in terms of the type of tree, the wood can be divided into two general categories: wood of broad-leaf trees and coniferous tree`s wood. Of course, there are trees that do not fall into either of these two categories.

Broad-leaved trees wood

The broad-leaf trees, as their name implies, have leaves that have many shapes, textures, and patterns in terms of surface area. These types of leaves are more diverse, and as a result, they have trunks with various textures than needle-like trunks. A general rule cannot be considered, but typically, broad-leaves trees have a harder wood. These types of wood have a more complex tissue structure, and drying these types of wood requires more complex processes.

Needle Tree Leaves wood

These types of trees have a simpler wood structure. The wood of these trees is softer, but this has nothing to do with their resistance. As a result of their softness, they are highly resilient and sawed. Of course, in addition to this, the many knots of leaf needles cannot be pleasant for many people in appearance and sometimes reduce the resistance of the wood to a small extent.

Age, ductility, longevity, moisture, porosity, fiber length, knots, softness and hardness, cracks are some of the criteria used to select wood, and wood is processed accordingly.

Softwoods

The softness of a wood does not mean that it is weaker. These trees are obtained from coniferous trees such as cedar, spruce and pine. The softwoods used for construction are mostly grown in cold regions, and the color of these woods usually turns yellow or red. Because coniferous trees grow fast, the price of these types of wood is lower than hardwoods. Also, it is easy to find soft-growing woods somewhere other than farms, and this does not lead to deforestation.

Hardwoods

Many carpenters or even cabinet-makers are more interested in working with hardwoods. These types of wood provide these people very stunning colors, designs and textures. Of course, the disadvantage of hardwoods is their high price, which cannot be applied for every application.

Environmental factors affecting the formation of wood texture

There are also unforeseen events that affect the texture and structure of the tree trunk

The natural behavior of trees is to grow and rise vertically relative to the earth’s surface, but in some cases this behavior changes due to different weather conditions and natural events. For instance, wood may be damaged by strong winds and bend and continue to grow bent. This wood is called a reaction wood and consists of two special types of wood that have happened in their stem. Reactive wood is made differently in broad-leaves and needles, and has different letters: tensile wood, which occurs in broad-leaf trees due to lack of oxygen, and compression wood, which occurs in coniferous needles. The reaction is caused by an excessive amount of oxygen.

The wood in the curved trunks of the trees shows itself in such a way that the wood-forming rings are more concentrated on one side. This means that if we make a cross section of the trunk of these trees, the rings do not start from the center and are not symmetrical and focus more on the right or left. This also happens in branches branching. To eliminate this and the ability to use this wood, discarded waste is increased.

Bending of wood can be based on external factors such as strong winds, the weight of snow or even the weight of the branches of the wood itself. Internal factors are also effective in bending and reacting wood. E.g. the cell wall may have the power to direct the growth of the trunk. The tensile strength of the new cells and the side of the wood is resisted by the older cells that are in the wood core, and this can cause the trunk to bend. Australian eucalyptus trees are one of the highlights of this event. This type of stretch wood, like compression wood, is not the best choice.

Natural wood versus synthetic or human made wood products

The originality and naturalness of wood products and structures is highly valuable, but the constant support of these products does not seem to be possible for natural and political-economic reasons. Nature destroys this amount of wood demand in terms of production, and trees alone need more to survive than in the woodworking industry. It is better to have a trunk of wood under the branches of a tree than in buildings. At the same time, wood has its drawbacks, and in terms of erosion and insects, it needs care and repair

Please read the second part of this article here to find out more about synthetic and human made wood types and products.