A few words on understanding, choosing, and working with different kinds of wood. While this article will only just scratch the surface of such a topic like this, it is worth it for you to consider before embarking on a new project.
The species of wood that are used by woodworkers, carpenters and in general construction is but a fraction of the total number of known species.
While about 73,000 tree species exist globally, only a relatively small subset—approximately 300 to 500 species—are widely used in carpentry, construction, cabinetry, and furniture making. Even fewer species—about 100 to 150—dominate commercial woodworking markets internationally.
Breakdown by Usage:
- Furniture and Cabinetry: Roughly 50–100 primary species
(e.g., oak, walnut, maple, cherry, mahogany, teak, ash, birch, pine, and beech) - Construction and Structural Carpentry: Approximately 100–150 key species
(e.g., spruce, fir, pine, cedar, redwood, Douglas fir) - Specialty & Decorative woodworking: Around 150–250 species, including exotic and tropical hardwoods
(e.g., ebony, rosewood, padauk, bubinga, zebrawood)
Most Popular Wood Species in Carpentry & Furniture:
| Application | Common Wood Species |
|---|---|
| Fine Furniture | Walnut, Cherry, Oak, Mahogany, Maple |
| Cabinetry | Maple, Cherry, Birch, Oak, Ash, Pine |
| Structural/Framing | Spruce, Pine, Fir, Douglas Fir, Cedar |
| Flooring | Oak, Maple, Hickory, Bamboo, Walnut |
| Outdoor Furniture | Teak, Cedar, Redwood, Cypress |
| Specialty/Exotic | Ebony, Rosewood, Padauk, Bubinga, Zebrawood |
Why So Few Species Are Commonly Used
- Availability & Sustainability
Widely-used species tend to be abundant, easily renewable, sustainably managed, or farm-grown. - Durability & Stability
Preferred species offer desirable working characteristics, stability, and resistance to environmental conditions (e.g., moisture, insects). - Aesthetic Appeal
Attractive grain patterns, color, texture, and finishing qualities make specific species desirable. - Economic Factors
Cost-effectiveness, ease of transport, processing, and market acceptance greatly influence selection.
I would go out on a limb and say that within your locality, the number of woods commonly used is still smaller.
Having gotten that disclaimer out in the open let's address how to choose a wood for a project.
The main factors to consider are: Color, stability, resistance to weather bugs and rot, the grain figure, ease of finishing, ease of staining, weight, cost and practicality.
Color may not be the first item on the list but it may be and the color and visual of the grain might be the main factors when it comes to selecting a wood.
Take for instance, quarter sawn oak, while it also boasts being a more stable cut and less prone to warping offer time a big reason people select quarter sawn white oak is the flaky rays and beautiful grain pattern.
That being said its rare to find any quarter-sawn oak being used in outdoor furniture. Likely because the practicality of it doesn't make sense for most people. White oak will need more maintenance outside then its counterpart teak, and it will be much heavier than a redwood.
That is what most uses of quartersaw white oak are relegated to: indoor furniture, millwork and cabinets.
Lets take another wood that is very common in North America and examine its uses. Poplar, its most known for being so mediocre it needs to be painted. Poplar is a hardwood but when compared to woods like oak, walnut, and paduk it doesn't even reach the halfway point in hardness.
| Wood Species | Janka Hardness (lbf) |
|---|---|
| Poplar | 540 lbf (Soft) |
| Red Oak | 1290 lbf (Hard) |
| White Oak | 1360 lbf (Hard) |
Here Is A Infographic of 20 Common Woods and Their Janka Hardness Rating
Explanation:
- Poplar (540 lbf):
Considered relatively soft, easy to cut and shape. Commonly used for interior trim, painted furniture, cabinetry frames, or secondary parts of furniture. - Red Oak (1290 lbf) and White Oak (1360 lbf):
Both are hardwoods known for durability, density, and strength. Ideal for flooring, furniture, cabinetry, and structural woodworking.
This is why poplar is mostly used in painted applications, and where it won't be receiving the kind of abuse a wood floor would get.
However, I have seen polar slabs for sale and some of the grain patterns and color are much more aesthetic than the green and pale hue I see when wandering around my regular hardwood supplier's yard.
There is a reason it's painted most of the time and it's because it can range from mediocre to just downright ugly.
What about walnut? This is where I think walnut has quite a leg up on most woods.
- It's popular for it color and beautiful grain,
- It's stable and doesn't generally warp a time offer time if it is properly dried and treated
- It is relatively easy to work with, shape, and control. It doesn't have the tear-out characteristics of a doug fit or oak and has a dense, tight grain structure that lends itself well to small details;s.
Ash: I have not spent a whole lot of time working with this wood, but from my limited experience, ash is oak.
It can tear out and quite aggressive at times but you can do things to mitigate this. The grain on ash has a minimalist appeal, as it is generally very homogenous without the wild burl swirls and patterns that walnut has.
I don't have any experience using it outdoors personally, just from research.
- Ash is classified as non-durable and susceptible to fungal decay when exposed to moisture, soil contact, or standing water.
- Regular maintenance with waterproof finishes or sealants can help significantly reduce rot issues.
- Ideal use is indoors or in protected environments.
Conclusion:
👉 Ash is not ideal for prolonged outdoor use without protective measures.
Summary of Ash’s Durability
| Aspect | Durability Rating (without treatment) | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| UV Rays | ⚠️ Moderate to Poor | Use UV-blocking finishes |
| Insects | ❌ Poor | Requires chemical treatments |
| Rot & Moisture | ❌ Poor to Moderate | Protective finishes; limit exposure |
Best Practices for Using Ash Outdoors:
- Always apply a UV-protective finish.
- Use wood preservatives or insect-resistant treatments.
- Elevate or isolate wood from moisture and soil.
- Regular maintenance and refinishing are essential.
If outdoor durability is crucial, wood species like White Oak, Teak, Cedar, Ipe, or Black Locust would be far better natural alternatives.
We can't talk about choosing wood and skip over Douglas Fir! Why you ask?
Its probably the wood most of us have seen the most of because it is everywhere. Douglas fir is used to build your house and it's then put in your house as a Christmas tree. It is cheap, plentiful and easily obtainable.
That being said the primary use for Douglas Fir (of the HD Lowes variety) is for rough structures, framing, supports, joists. It has an excellent strength-to-weight ratio. While in my opinion it lacks in the aesthetic department, but depending on the style you are going for it could work just fine.
Straigh Grain Doug Fir
If you are doing all your wood sourcing at the big box stores than you will likely not run into straight grain doug fir laying around on the lumber rack or if you do it will be one amongst hundred of other pieces.
Straight grain douglas fir is can also be called old growth, essentially the growth rings on a tree become tighter and more closely spaced the older a tree becomes and for this reason it is rare to see in the lumber section. The douglas fir that shows up at your big box stores is grown more like a crop. It is rotated through and cut down when it is still relatively young. Thats why you generally see lots of knots, sap wood and everything is very green (or wet) and will tend to warp quite a bit.
For this reason, straight-grain douglas fir is typically only purchased at hardwood suppliers. The price on straight-grain douglas fir is more than some hardwoods, (it was 8.50 bd/ft) the last time I bought it. While still being classified as a soft wood and being comparably soft when compared to oak and walnut, straight-grain douglas fir has some very apparent benefits when compared to its younger sibling, the regular or young doug fir. For one it is much more stable, that is due to the way that the wood fibers are arranged. It is easier to work and is not as prone to tear out. Most of the tear out on wood happens where the grain direction swirls, changes or wraps around a knot. Since straight-grain douglas fir is virtually void of any knots, the issue of tearout is not. asprevalent.
Straight-grain douglas fir takes stain better and finishes much nicer than the standard douglas fir. One of the chief complaints of people using lumber grade douglas fir is that it does not take stain very evenly and doesn't finish as nicely as other hardwoods.
Hickory
Hickory wood is not that popular and I'm not sure exactly the reason why, there may be perfectly valid reasons for this or it may just be part of the larger trend that makes certain woods popular for a time. It is an extremely hard wood, harder than oak, walnut and maple and for this reason is makes it a less easily workable wood.
Hickory is among the hardest and toughest domestic hardwood species in North America.
Hickory Janka Hardness:
- 1820 lbf (Pounds-force)
Comparison to other common woods:
| Wood Species | Janka Hardness (lbf) | Relative Hardness |
|---|---|---|
| Poplar | 540 | Soft |
| Cherry | 950 | Medium |
| Walnut | 1010 | Medium-Hard |
| Red Oak | 1290 | Hard |
| White Oak | 1360 | Hard |
| Hickory | 1820 | Very Hard |
| Hard Maple | 1450 | Very Hard |
Applications of Hickory:
- Flooring
- Tool handles
- Furniture (heavy-duty)
- Cabinetry
- Sports equipment (baseball bats, drumsticks)
Why use Hickory?
- Extremely durable
- High shock resistance
- Excellent strength and density
- Attractive grain patterns
Hickory tends to have a more erratic grain pattern than that of oak walnut and maple, combined with its extreme hardness makes for lots of internal stress in the wood. Internal stress in the wood creates instability . This isn't to say that you can't use Hickory for fine furniture but one should be aware of the woods nature and proclivity for seasonal expansion and contraction and overall stability.
Characteristics of Sapele
Sapele is known as the faux mahagony. it has that distinctive redish brown coloring and is an attractive wood. It has gained popularity in the last years. It has excellent hardness, it is resistant to bugs and decay for outdoor applications, it is relatively inexpensive when compared to woods like Teak. Sapele is widely used in cabinetry, doors, outdoor furniture and millwork.
Aside from the characteristics of sapele, the aesthetics of this wood also dictate where and how it is used. The natural redish color can be tinted with a tinted finish such as Rbio Monocoat for a desired color.
- Durability: Good durability against rot and insects, often suitable for exterior applications with proper finish.
- Stability: Sapele has good dimensional stability, less prone to warping than some woods of comparable hardness.
- Workability: Generally easy to work with, sands well, takes finishes beautifully.
- Appearance: Attractive reddish-brown color with distinctive ribbon-like grain.
Joinery and working with different woods
When picking the joinery you will be using for a project, it is always good to consider the medium, the wood you will be using. The mortise and tenon joint you might cut for an outdoor application might be a totally different joint than the one you cut from a hard piece of walnut, the softness of the wood such as pine may allow you a certain degree or error or hastyness that would very well not work in a joint cut from walnut.
It is always good to become accustomed to the nature of the wood you are working with, some of that knowledge can be described and written about but it will never replace the knowledge you get from feeling, touching and cutting the wood. I noticed that over the years, I can tell when something will crack if I try to force to, or conversel,y if it will go with a little bit of extra persuasion. This type of proprioceptive knowledge is something every person has to gather for themselves and can never be just taught or learned as a theory.