· SOFTWOOD grows fast ( large growth rings ) adding to its general lack of hardness.
· SOFTWOOD has more sap, and pith ( weak/soft spots ) that even remains after drying as defects.
· SOFTWOOD is mainly used for structural components such as dimensional lumber ( 2×4, 2×6 )for construction, typically low cost ( except the last 2 years)
· SOFTWOOD is typically straight grain and pale in colour, with not much variation. Knots are typically round and symmetrical.
· HARDWOOD grows slower, tighter growth rings and greater general hardness and strength.
· HARDWOOD ( excluding maple, birch and cherry ) do not contain sap, or as much sap as softwoods.
· HARDWOOD typically have less sap and pith after drying, due to a number of factors.
· HARDWOOD generally, hardwoods have a wider range of tones and colour, as well as figure and visually attractive grain which can swirl. Knots are typically formed in interested, odd shapes
So why is this so important. To be honest, it is one of the most important choices to be made. It is the deference between your table showing wear in months vs years. The price difference of an extra $50-$100 in materials, But, will stay beautiful much longer. Now…. Some times people want a piece that will show wear naturally, and destress over time. This is very common in traditional style Farmhouse furniture, or destressed/vintage ” recreations ” and in this case, softwood is better suited.
Common use for soft woods is structural not visual. You walk into Home Depot and you see lift upon lift of lumber, stacked up and and ready to be loaded onto a cart and transported to a construction site. Years ago, people online decided to take this inexpensive lumber, throw together poorly built tables using incorrect techniques, and call it ” farmhouse “. It was at this moment the custom furniture market would be saturated with at home builders, and DIYers with no construction or wood working experience building custom furniture for sale.
Though they mean well, most just didn’t know! They see tables on pintrest or google, or even buy plans off the internet but sadly some were just in it for the money trying to make a quick buck. Turning $100 in lumber into a table they could pump out in 5 hours and sell it for $1500 and we justify the price by calling it ” custom furniture “. SPF ( spruce, pine fir ) also called construction or dimensional, as it is milled to specific sizes required by building codes and construction needs. It just so happens a 2×8 ( which measures 7.25″ x 1.5″ ) happens to make make a 36.25” table. very convenient, simply screw ( bad idea ) or glue the boards together and bam! a table top for $50 or less.
Here is the issue ( that most didn’t know ) these plans sold online were never intended to become instructions for commercial products, they were meant to be fast and easy, so a person could build there own cheap, custom table. The average life span of one of these tables is only a few years, if no issues happened. But, $100 in lumber, and a $20 can of stain is actually cheaper than buying a table.
· Moisture content: For furniture, wood is dried in an oven called a kiln. Without getting too technical, the moisture inside the tree, which is required for the tree to survive must be removed for usable lumber. Construction lumber is dried to around 16% moisture, said to be relative humidity ( which will fluctuate based on weather) where as, a fresh cut or ‘green’ tree is around 30-40%. Quality lumber for wood working is dried as low as you can possibly get it sometimes taking a week or more longer in the kiln. I have bought wood as low as 3%. The lower the moisture content the more stable the wood is ( less warps/twists) – splits, crack, which can happen if the moisture is removed too fast. Construction lumber drying is less important as often times it is stored outside, or even rained on. when you build a house and it is sealed into a wall it will dry internally… it doesn’t matter ( as long as its not water logged and saturated )
· Strength: lumber is graded, based on grain, defects, the amount of soft fibers in the wood. Construction lumber is graded for strength in vertical applications, that is its strongest use. Quality Lumber is graded for face quality and appearance for example, rustic grade/Common #2 white oak will have imperfections, knots and even cracks. High grade ( A grade white oak ) also known as flat sawn, quarter sawn, or rift sawn ( depending how the log is milled ) will have less knots, and defects also known as “clear or clean sawn”
For more on this, visit our Youtube channel! There will be a video which should be up shortly. We will show visual differences, and examples as well you can leave questions and we will do Our best to respond to them all!
