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Wood Varieties

Get Ready To Branch Out To The Best In Locally Harvested Wood!

Types of Wood

Hardness is one of the simplest ways to distinguish the wood used for furniture. Contrary to the popular belief, hardwood is not necessarily harder and denser compared to softwood. In botanical terms, hardwood comes from flowering trees while softwood comes from conifers. Both hardwood and softwood are used for everything from structural to decorative purposes.

1. Eastern Red Cedar

Eastern Cedar, which is commonly called red cedar, eastern red cedar and also aromatic cedar, is a species of juniper which is native to eastern and southern North America. This tree has a natural habitat that stretches from southeastern Canada to the Gulf of Mexico as well as east of the Great Plains. The tree is known because it has aromatic qualities. Lumber is often used to build cabinets, chests and to line closets mainly for the aroma. Tongue & Groove (T&G) boards are also used for ceilings and walls, and Cedar fireplace mantels, ceiling beams and solid or wrapped columns provide a beautiful and stylish addition to your home. Cedar is rot-resistant and often used for patio decks.

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2. Pecan

Pecan wood has uniquely beautiful wood grains and will stand out in your home as mantals, dining and coffee tables and other furniture products. Pecan is sometimes not considered a true hardwood because of its density variations, particularly in older or near dead trees. However, this makes pecan wood great for wood working.

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3. Post Oak

Texas Post Oak grows naturally in Central Texas with most trees growing to 35-40 feet and occasionally reach a height of 60-80 feet with a trunk diameter diameters reaching 2 to 3 feet. Post Oak is a hardwood with a hardness scale equivalent to Maple, White Oak and Ash. Post Oak has a good range of tones from light to dark colors. Each board often has tones of gray, cream, brown, and contains knots in most cases. It works well for just about any interior application, including flooring, T&G siding, cabinet lumber, and bar tops. Exterior applications include fencing and posts, patio furniture (with proper finish), and barn siding.

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4. Mesquite

The Texas Mesquite tree is native to South and Central Texas and is a hardy slow growing tree that makes beautiful slabs and furniture. It is one of the hardest wood in America (2435 on the Janka Hardness Scale), twice as hard as Oak. The demand is growing for this often considered nuisance tree that farmers and ranchers are constantly battling to keep out of their fields. Mesquite lumber is one of the most dimensionally stable wood around and makes outstanding flooring that does not move with weather changes. The hardwood makes nice furniture, including table tops and benches, and makes beautiful cutting boards and charcuterie boards.

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5. Spalted Pecan

Texas Post Oak grows naturally in Central Texas with most trees growing to 35-40 feet and occasionally reach a height of 60-80 feet with a trunk diameter diameters reaching 2 to 3 feet. Post Oak is a hardwood with a hardness scale equivalent to Maple, White Oak and Ash. Post Oak has a good range of tones from light to dark colors. Each board often has tones of gray, cream, brown, and contains knots in most cases. It works well for just about any interior application, including flooring, T&G siding, cabinet lumber, and bar tops. Exterior applications include fencing and posts, patio furniture (with proper finish), and barn siding.

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Hardwood

Hardwood comes from Angiosperms such as maple, oak, and walnut. These trees lose their leaves annually (deciduous or broad-leafed trees). As they grow slowly, hardwood has denser wood fibers (fiber tracheids and libriform fibers).

An interesting fact about hardwood is that some types of hardwood can’t float in water. For example, Black ironwood is perhaps the hardest and heaviest wood that sinks in water.

Softwood

Softwood comes from gymnosperms, which are seed-bearing evergreen trees such as pine, spruce, fir, cedar, juniper, redwood, and yew. As most evergreen trees tend to be less dense than deciduous trees, it is easier to cut them down. They also grow tall and straight, making it easier to cut long straight planks of wood.

Hardwood vs Softwood: The difference

Hardwood

  • Hardwood comes from angiosperm, deciduous trees.
  • It comes with rough wood texture.
  • The presence of vessels makes it porous
  • Tracheid content is around just 5% to 10%.
  • The complex anatomical structure makes hardwood denser.
  • Not all types of hardwood are ideal for furniture making. Being expensive, they are usually used in high-end furniture manufacturing.

Softwood

  • Softwood comes from coniferous, evergreen trees.
  • It comes with fine wood texture.
  • The absence of vessels makes it non-porous.
  • Tracheid content is around 90% to 95%.
  • The relatively less complex anatomical structure makes softwood less dense.
  • Almost all types of softwood are ideal for furniture making. In fact, about 80% of all timber comes from softwood.

Janka Hardness Scale

The Janka Scale is used to determine the relative hardness of particular domestic or exotic wood Species. The Janka test measures the amount of force required to embed a 0.44” Steel ball into the wwod to half of its diameter.