Wood Description 3

Definition of Terms:
Weight: the number given to a wood is the average weight per cubic foot. The larger the number the denser and harder the wood is. The denser the wood the more brittle it becomes, making it harder to bend and carve. Advantages to hard woods are that finer detail can be achieved and the wood can be polished to an ultra smooth finish. Balsa has a weight of 8, Oak is about 45 and Ebony weights in at 80.
Figure: the term is often confused with grain. By definition, the figure of a wood refers to the pattern caused by color differences in the wood. The figure is also the pattern created by different types of grain.
Grain: is the direction in which the fibers of the wood are running. Types of grain are: straight, wavy, irregular, spiral, curly, interlocking and birds-eye. The fibers of interlocking grain have a weaved structure, thus making the wood strong and less apt to split and suitable for bending. Irregular grain is caused by an interruption in the growth of the tree by branches or crotches. For ship building irregular grain is used for natural curved members such as knees.
Texture: a woods' texture is directly related to the suitability for carving and the fineness of detail which can be achieved. Texture ranges from coarse to medium to fine and to ultra fine. In ship building, coarse and medium textured woods are suitable for heavy timbering such as hull framing and deck beams. Fine textured wood is used for planking, moldings, rails ect. Fine and ultra fine texture is for carving small fittings and delicate parts. Texture is also uniform or uneven. An uneven textured wood has different size cell cavities giving the wood hard and soft spots. When machining or carving a piece and it suddenly breaks, it is because you hit a large cell cavity or a soft spot. Uniform texture is like cutting a soft plastic like material.

	Boxelder Weight: 28 Grain: straight to slightly wavy. Prone to be a knotty wood. Figure: there is no figure from a grain pattern. The color is an off white sometimes with a streak of coral pink. Texture: about equal to soft Maple, but finer in grain. Properties: elastic and bendable. Works easy with hand and power tools. Finishes to a satin surface. Use: for deck and bulkward planking.
	Boxwood Weight: 70 Grain: straight Figure: an even straw yellow color. Texture: ultra fine and uniform. Properties: dense and hard. Finishes to a polished surface. Excellent machining properties. The wood will hold a clean sharp edge. Working with hand or carving tools is slow going due to the hardness of the wood. Use: for all aspects of model work from fine tuned pieces to timbering. A little stiff, but with some care, the wood makes nice looking planking.
	Brazilian Rosewood Color: dark red, violet and black streaks. Detail Description
	Brazilian Satinwood Weight: 56 Grain: straight to slightly wavy Figure: is an even lemon yellow color when freshly cut then darkens to a golden yellow. If the wood is left in the sunlight it will turn to a dark ivory color. Texture: similar to hard Maple. Heavy, dense and uniform but with a slight coarseness. Properties: cuts and machines nicely, sands easily and finishes to a smooth satiny surface. The wood is too coarse and hard for carving, it is better suited for power tools rather than hand tools. Use: decking or decorative planking, cap rails and moldings. Well suited for hull timbering and framing.
	Bubinga Color: salmon pink with streaks of brown. Detail Description
	Canarywood Color: yellow to light orange. Detail Description