Wood Types
There are many different types of wood you can use in projects from Domestic Woods to Exotic. My personal favorites are Padauk, Purpleheart, and Walnut. Each species has different properties that change how you work with them. Woods that tend to have more figure are often harder to work with as the hand planes blades can catch and tear out the wood instead of thinly slicing off material. For reference I have included a chart with some wood properties.
Wood| Wood Species | Weight | Hardness | Density | General Workability | Wood Texture | Ease of Finishing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Purple Heart | 5.02 lbs/Bd. Ft. | 2390 Janka Rating | 0.79 Specific Gravity | Average 6/10 | Fine 3/10 | Good 4/10 |
| Padauk | 3.75 lbs/Bd. Ft. | 1970 Janka Rating | 0.61 Specific Gravity | Good 4/10 | Fine 4/10 | Easy 2/10 |
| Walnut | 3.33 lbs/Bd. Ft. | 1010 Janka Rating | 0.59 Specific Gravity | Good 4/10 | Fine 3/10 | Good 4/10 |
| Hard Maple | 3.67 lbs/Bd. Ft. | 1450 Janka Rating | 0.68 Specific Gravity | Average 5/10 | V.Fine 2/10 | Average 6/10 |
| Wenge | 4.75 lbs/Bd. Ft. | 1630 Janka Rating | 0.91 Specific Gravity | Average 6/10 | Coarse 8/10 | Average 5/10 |
| White Oak | 3.92 lbs/Bd. Ft. | 1360 Janka Rating | 0.68 Specific Gravity | Average 5/10 | Coarse 7/10 | Good 4/10 |
| Red Oak | 3.58 lbs/Bd. Ft. | 1290 Janka Rating | 0.64 Specific Gravity | Average 5/10 | Coarse 7/10 | Average 5/10 |
| Cherry | 3 lbs/Bd. Ft. | 660 Janka Rating | 0.54 Specific Gravity | Good 3/10 | V.Fine 2/10 | Average 6/10 |