Softwood Contents Characteristics Known softwood trees and uses Applications See also References Navigation menu"A basic guide to softwoods and hardwoods""REVISION CARDS - SOFTWOODS""Things we make from softwood trees""British Softwoods:Properties and Uses"Forest Products Annual Market Review 2007-2008e4390795-7
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Softwood is wood from gymnosperm trees such as conifers. The term is opposed to hardwood, which is the wood from angiosperm trees.
Contents
1 Characteristics
2 Known softwood trees and uses
3 Applications
4 See also
5 References
Characteristics
Softwood is wood from gymnosperm trees such as pines and spruces. Softwoods are not necessarily softer than hardwoods.[1] In both groups there is an enormous variation in actual wood hardness, the range of density in hardwoods completely including that of softwoods. Some hardwoods (e.g. balsa) are softer than most softwoods, while the hardest hardwoods are much harder than any softwood. The woods of longleaf pine, Douglas fir, and yew are much harder in the mechanical sense than several hardwoods.
Softwoods are generally most used by the construction industry and are also used to produce paper pulp, and card products.[2]
Certain species of softwood are more resistant to insect attack from woodworm, as certain insects prefer damp hardwood.
Softwood reproduces using cones and occasionally nuts.
Known softwood trees and uses
Douglas fir - joinery, doors and heavy construction
Eastern white pine - furniture
European spruce - used throughout construction, panelling and cladding
Larch - used for cladding and boats
Lodgepole pine - roofing, flooring and in making chipboard and particle board,[3]
Parana pine - stair treads and joinery
Scots pine - construction industry, mostly for interior work
Sitka spruce - [4]
Southern yellow pine - joinery, flooring and decking
Western hemlock - doors, joinery and furniture
Western red cedar (or red cedar) - furniture, decking, cladding, and roof shingles
Yew - interior and exterior furniture e.g. chairs, gate posts and wood turning
Applications
Softwood is the source of about 80% of the world's production of timber,[5] with traditional centres of production being the Baltic region (including Scandinavia and Russia), North America and China. Softwood is typically used in construction as structural carcassing timber, as well as finishing timber.
See also
- List of woods
- United States – Canada softwood lumber dispute
- Hardwood
- Janka hardness test
- Brinell scale
References
^ Buckley, Michael (2005). "A basic guide to softwoods and hardwoods" (PDF). worldhardwoods.com. Retrieved 1 October 2017..mw-parser-output cite.citationfont-style:inherit.mw-parser-output .citation qquotes:"""""""'""'".mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registrationcolor:#555.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration spanborder-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output code.cs1-codecolor:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-errordisplay:none;font-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-errorfont-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-maintdisplay:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-formatfont-size:95%.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-leftpadding-left:0.2em.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-rightpadding-right:0.2em
^ Ryan, V. (2012). "REVISION CARDS - SOFTWOODS". technologystudent.com. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
^ "Things we make from softwood trees". forestry.gov.uk. 11 July 2017. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
^ Harding, T. (1988). "British Softwoods:Properties and Uses" (PDF). forestry.gov.uk. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
^ United Nations Forest Products Annual Market Review 2007-2008, p. 46, at Google Books
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