Types of Trees

Types Of Trees

There are, of course, many species and varieties of trees and equally diverse properties in the timbers they produce. So I shall concentrate on varieties that are relatively easy to obtain in this country and whether suitable for carving, or not!

Softwood

Pine, Fir and Cedar are the most common soft woods available. Pine and the Fir tree family grow extensively across Northern Europe and are used mainly in construction and building. The fact that it is a fast growing, wide grained softwood makes it unsuitable for carving as it splits very easily, it cannot take fine detail even when sanded and finished, has a dull appearance. The same can be said for the cedar wood. So, to summarise, soft woods are no good for carving and we will not be using them.

So that’s it for softwoods!

Hardwood

These trees are much slower growing and therefore have a much tighter, denser grain making the wood physically much tougher. Even though this makes chiselling through these woods hard work, it is a small price to pay for the benefits in the finished piece. Once you have roughed-out the shape and the hard labour is over, extremely find details can be carved without fear of it just flaking away [as a softwood would]. When it comes to the final stages of sanding and polishing [with Danish Oil and/or beeswax] a perfect finish like glass can be achieved which reveals fully the beautiful varieties of colours hidden in the wood. So these, of course, will be the types of wood we will be looking at, and possibly using in our work. This a list based, again, on availability and suitability. Bear in mind some hardwoods are harder than others, after all Balsa is a hardwood!

Oak

Probably the first wood that would spring to mind for most people, when woodcarving is mentioned. The `Great Oak Forest’ once covered this entire country, literally. But it was cut down to build Medieval England and the galleon ships which defended it for many centuries, so very little is left today. It can mostly be seen in the cathedrals, stately homes and churches of the land. Hence we see oak as a decorative wood. Truth is, it is a moderately hard wood, with a twisty, uneven grain in places and has a slightly rough finish. However this highly defined uneven grain can produce beautiful patterns in the finished piece. Another drawback is that it has a tendency to “check” or “crack” along its medullary rays, even after seasoning. It is easily available in this country, homegrown and imported and ranges in colour from a creamy almost white domestic range to yellow/brown shades and the American red oak.

Beech

Very easy to obtain and quite easy to work, it has a straight but very uninteresting grain, apart from a darker fleck which runs throughout the wood in a random, but fairly even pattern. This occurs in other varieties of wood, but is most distinctive in beech. It can be polished to a very fine finish and varies in colour from a pale sandy yellow through to brown. It looks most impressive when used in contrast with other hardwoods, such as marquetry inlays on tables and boxes etc.

Ebony

One of the very hardest of all woods, it has an extremely fine grain, but as the wood is so dark it is hard to see. Mostly seen on piano keyboards these days, it is still available in small amounts, but is very expensive, which is good because it is suited to very small, fine carving. The colour ranges from dark brown to jet black.

Sycamore

Another indigenous species of moderately hard wood, can be difficult to work and prone to splitting. Not really recommended unless carving on a large scale, as it is available in large sizes. It has a moderately good finish and it is always white in colour.

Teak

This is very good for carving, as it is a very hard wood which is still relatively easy to work. But is most prized for its distinctively colourful grain, it has bright golden reds to deep brown shades which give it a great natural beauty. Often used for fine furniture, it polishes to a perfect finish.

Boxwood

A very hard, dense wood with a very indistinct grain. It always comes in a pale yellow colour. Although this makes it rather boring, like the beech, it can be polished to an excellent finish and makes a stark contrast when used against other darker hard woods. Mostly used in marquetry and parquetry for its stark plain colouring.

Rosewood

This is one of the most beautiful woods for finished results, but also the most difficult to work. It is extremely hard, but the grain is not straight, it weaves and twists through the wood, making it split in the most unexpected ways. So to carve it down delicately and achieve the desired result takes great patience and skill.

The finest pieces of wooden sculpture I have ever seen have been in rosewood. It has the hardness to achieve the finest of detail, whilst having a natural grain of such variety of vivid colour in its twisted grain, it is a pleasure to the eye. It is

commonly used these days in woodworking tools for its sheer durability, often you may see higher quality tools advertised boasting “genuine rosewood handles”. This is truly a wood that should only be approached by the very experienced and/or talented!

It colours from golden yellow to deep rusty brown within every ½ inch [12mm]; its finish is perfect. Still obtainable, but very expensive.

Ash

A much underrated wood I think. Used mainly in cabinet making for fine furniture, it has virtually all the qualities of oak. In density and workability, it has a similar grain and strength, but does not come in the variety of colours, as does oak. It is much paler, ranging from white to a pale yellow only. Once stained and varnished I would defy all but the most experienced in woodwork to tell the difference between ash and oak!

Fruit Woods (Apple, Lime, Cherry, Plum)

As these trees do not grow to great heights [even at a great age] they have a wide trunk section, which allows good sized blocks to be cut containing a wide variety of patterns in the grain. They are also quite soft and easy to carve, making these qualities of fruitwoods very appealing to sculptors. Lime is sometimes known as “sculptors’ wood” for its ease of carving, but the drawback of that is it does not take fine details very well and tends to feather and break. Very good for large pieces, it is pale yellow in colour with a faint, fairly even grain, polishes to a moderate finish.

Cherry is much harder than lime and comes in a wide variety of rich colours, this makes the finished result look much better as it can be polished to a finer finish and has lots of natural pattern in the colourful grain. Plum is also fairly easy to work, it is pinkish in colour with a distinctive grain.

Iroko

From East and West Africa this is an extremely strong tropical hardwood. It has an interlocked grain producing a ribbon appearance which can go for metres without a fault. It’s colour ranges from golden yellow to deep red and brown, which, running through its woven grain, gives Iroko a unique beauty. This makes it ideal for superior carpentry, particularly outside furniture as its incredible strength plus the fact its sap contains a natural insecticide and fungus repellent, makes it just about the most durable wood around. However, it is quite tough to carve and it’s unusual grain is prone to split drastically all at once. But for those willing to persevere with this difficult timber it can polish to a perfect finish and has one of the most beautifully coloured patterns of any wood I’ve seen, ranging from buttery yellow to dark brown.

Mahogany

From Africa, Cuba and Honduras, this is another tropical hardwood with an interlocked grain, Mahogany is a wood most associated with high quality cabinet making and furniture as well as decorative carving. It comes in a wide variety of colours, though the most common now is African which is light brown to deep red. Its tight even grain makes it perfect for detailed work and has just the right balance of hardness and workability for you to achieve the most detailed shapes and features. Although expensive to buy, much now is re-claimed as it was used extensively to make workbench tops in factories and engineering works so large pieces of high quality mahogany can be obtained this way. In my opinion this is the finest wood there is for carving, when weighing up the pros and cons of each kind of wood, mahogany wins all the time. Its grain is hard and even, which makes it very predictable, when you strike it with your chisel you know what result you are going to get. So as long as you take your time and follow the grain it holds no surprises and will give the result you desire. The reward for your patient effort comes when the sanding and polishing is done, when the woven grain is revealed, the perfect surface shimmers between golden yellow and deep red with an almost iridescent quality. So even though lime is generally considered as the best carving timber, I disagree! It may be much softer and easier to work, the finished result can never be the same level of detail and sheen [not to mention colour] that mahogany has.

Balsa

The softest of all hardwoods, its porous structure makes it very light and extremely easy to carve. You need no more than a craft knife and a firm grip to carve Balsa and it is used mostly in model aircraft for its lightness and relative strength. The drawback of this ease of use is that it has zero durability, it can be distorted with just the pressure of your finger – not good if you want something permanent.

Ironwood

Often known by its Latin name “Lignum Vitæ” this is simply the hardest wood in the world. Whereas other tropical hardwoods have a natural resistance to insects and rot, ironwood is totally impervious. No insect can eat into it and no mould or fungus can attack it. It is the only wood in the world that sinks in water. Sharpened pegs of it were used to nail together oak galleons, as they do not corrode in seawater unlike any metal nail. So, you can imagine, this is not an easy material to carve, it’s more a case of `wearing it away’ as opposed to `chipping it away’. For very small, very intricate pieces it is perfect, but takes a unique approach in how it is handled. It was used for many years to make “Crown green” bowling balls [my granddad had a set], but sadly, no longer. Lignum Vitæ is now extinct. It grew only in South American forests and took many hundreds of years to grow to maturity. Its unique qualities were its downfall, so prized was this timber it was logged into extinction. The curators at Kew Gardens have searched the world for someone who may have kept a seedpod, but so far nothing has been found.

TYPES OF TREES

05.08.08

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