[Woodcarver] Softwood or Hardwood

[Classic Carving Patterns]

Barney,

I think you are referring to hollies, rhododendrons, and some viburnums
which fall under in both the board leaf category and evergreen category.
Holly is a horrendously hard wood! We had our largest American Holly
lose a branch when the top of a sixty foot tall Popular came down on the
poor tree.  Mike decided to save what he could of the holly branch,
which was about four inches thick  ... Very old, and very impressive
specimen of the Holly family.  Anyway he used the band saw to slice ten
inch pieces from the branch ... Talk about listening to a machine grind,
moan, and complain over the task.

Susan 

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-----Original Message-----
From: woodcarver-bounces at six.pairlist.net
[mailto:woodcarver-bounces at six.pairlist.net] On Behalf Of Barney Elking
Sent: Monday, October 04, 2004 9:19 AM
To: [Woodcarver]
Subject: Re: [Woodcarver] Softwood or Hardwood


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Just to confuse the issue, there are needled trees that are deciduous -
Larch comes to mind.  We have a broad leaf category that comes into the
discussion but I can't remember exactly how.  Been a long time since I
fed
my family from the wood business.

Barney
Fortuna, CA

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Victor Hamburger" <VHamburg at bellatlantic.net>
To: "[Woodcarver]" <woodcarver at six.pairlist.net>
Sent: Monday, October 04, 2004 5:31 AM
Subject: Re: [Woodcarver] Softwood or Hardwood


> To make a DONATION to the Mailing List using PayPal OR regular mail,
click
this link: http://wwwoodcarver.com/WWWList/WWWList.html
>
> Bob Campanaro wrote:
>
> > I've heard two different versions of the softwood vs hardwood
> > controversy. One says that all deciduous trees are "hardwood" and
all
> > needle bearing trees are "softwood".
> >
> > The other says that if you can leave a fingernail imprint in the
wood
> > then its "softwood", which would be a more traditional description
of
> > 'soft vs hard'.
> >
> > So what do you think?  Basswood is a deciduous tree yet you can
leave a
> > fingernail imprint in it.  Is it a "softwood" or a "hardwood"?
>
> Bob,
>
> Technically speaking,  all decideous trees drop their leaves in the
fall
and are
> hardwoods, regardless of how easily you can imprint your fingernail in
the
wood.
>   Trees with needles, that do not drop their leaves, are softwoods.
>
> As far as woods that are soft or hard, each type of tree has both soft
and
hard
> varieties within the group.  Bass is a soft wood that you can dent
easily,
as
> are most pines.  But within the pine family, there is Southern Yellow
Pine
that
> you can barely drive a steel nail into due to its hardness!
>
> So, bass is correctly categorized as a hardwood specie, but has a low
density
> and therefore is easily bruised by a fingernail. (EG, a "soft" wood)
>
> Dr Bruce Hoadley's book, "Understanding wood" from Taunton Press is an
excellent
> read but a bit pricey at $40.  Try to locate it in your local library
or
see if
> they can borrow a copy from another library in your area.  Dr. Hoadley
goes into
> a good more detail than you and I will ever need to know about wood!
>
> Best,  Vic H
>
> Speaking of hardwoods, you must be close to peak color about now in
Stowe,
VT.
> Fall is definately here!
>
>
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