Softwood

[BOB D.O.L.E]

Can any one give me a list of examples of softwood i cant find it anywhere on the net i am doing a project and i need to name 6 types of softwood up to now i have found pine can anyone add to my list

 

[davy_owen_88]

Pine, yew, cedar, spruce, firs, redwoods.

 

[oilman]

This must be a windup, probably is from BOB. Google gives this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Softwood, which someone seems to have read.

 

[WoodYouLike]

Pine, yew, cedar, spruce, firs, redwoods.

don't forget chestnut and hevea (rubberwood) and other tropical light coloured woods

 

[oilman]

Pine, yew, cedar, spruce, firs, redwoods.

don't forget chestnut and hevea (rubberwood) and other tropical light coloured woods

Eh? chestnut is a hardwood, as is balsa, lime and poplar.

 

[WoodYouLike]

Sorry oilman.

Double Dutch English again

Chestnut is a soft hardwood then ok?

 

[Scrit]

Pine, yew, cedar, spruce, firs, redwoods.

don't forget chestnut and hevea (rubberwood) and other tropical light coloured woods

Eh? chestnut is a hardwood, as is balsa, lime and poplar.

Errr, so is rubberwood (Hevea Brasiliensis)........

Scrit

 

[WoodYouLike]

Pine, yew, cedar, spruce, firs, redwoods.

don't forget chestnut and hevea (rubberwood) and other tropical light coloured woods

Eh? chestnut is a hardwood, as is balsa, lime and poplar.

Errr, so is rubberwood (Hevea Brasiliensis)........

Scrit

But did you know that in Europe they now also use birch and ash as 'softwood' products? (Like small furniture normally only made in pine etc)

 

[Scrit]

But did you know that in Europe they now also use birch and ash as 'softwood' products? (Like small furniture normally only made in pine etc)

sales piffle! What defines a softwood is mainly that the timber originates from a coniferous tree. If you want a better definition which looks at the structure then I'd suggest going off and reading Bruce Hoadley on the subject.......

From Encyclopedia Britannica: "Timber obtained from coniferous trees (mainly of the pine and fir families)" and "With the exception of bald cypress, tamarack, and larch, softwood trees are evergreens." How hard the timber is has no bearing on the classification.

Scrit

 

[WoodYouLike]

Like I said Scrit: double Dutch English Soft wood versus softwood

 

[wanabechippie]

[quote="Scrit"Timber obtained from coniferous trees (mainly of the pine and fir families)"[/i] and "With the exception of bald cypress, tamarack, and larch, softwood trees are evergreens." How hard the timber is has no bearing on the classification.

Scrit[/quote]

Interesting. I'd always thought it was someit to do with how 'closed' the grain was...

.... back to my corner now for tea and stickey buns ...

 

[Scrit]

Timber obtained from coniferous trees (mainly of the pine and fir families)"[/i] and "With the exception of bald cypress, tamarack, and larch, softwood trees are evergreens." How hard the timber is has no bearing on the classification.

Scrit

Interesting. I'd always thought it was someit to do with how 'closed' the grain was...

In softwoods the water-conducting cells called xylem tracheids and are tapered in shape. In hardwoods these cells are tubular-shaped and are called xylem vessels.

These are analagous to the species from which they originate, hardwood trees are angiosperms (plants that produce seeds with some sort of covering) whilst softwoods are gymnosperms with "naked" seeds that fall to the ground with no covering (conifers) or which grow seeds in cones (pines, firs and spruces).

It's been years since I even had to remember those terms. If you really want to know more go and read Bruce Hoadley's books on the subject like I had to at college....... My brain now hurts, so I'm off to lie down in a darkened room

Scrit

 

[anobium]

Cone bearing trees, ie coniferous = softwood
Trees which shed their leaves, ie deciduous = hardwood.

 

[oilman]

Er, ....except Larch

 

[Scrit]

Larch (genus: larix) are classified as a gymnosperm, which makes them a softwood......... even though they are deciduous they produce cones, so deciduposu or evergreen aren't the defining factor, method of reproduction and shape of the xylem are.

Is this the five minute Monty Python sketch, or the full half hour?

Scrit