softwoods
Sugar Pine
Sugar Pine is the largest of all pine species, . Is significant lighter when compared to Southern Yellow Pine, excellent dimensional stability, and is frequently used in the production of patterns/templates and other applications in which stability is important. For products requiring large, clear pieces or high dimensional stability, sugar pine's soft, even-grained, satin-textured wood is unsurpassed in quality and value.
Other Common Names: Pinus Lambertina
Sourcing Region: Mountainous regions of Pacific coast of the United States
Color, Pattern, Texture: Sugar Pine has a light brown color, sometimes with a slightly reddish hue. Its surfaces sometimes show small brown streaks from conspicuous resin canals present in the tree. Its grain is straight with an even, medium to coarse texture
Common Uses and Applications: Crates, boxes, interior millwork, construction lumber, and musical instruments
Working Properties: Sugar pine is easy to work with both, by hand and machine tools; it glues and finished well. For this, we offer a wide selection of Amana tools to help you work with softwoods such as Sugar Pine.
Ponderosa Pine
Ponderosa Pine is one of the most widely distributed pines in western North America. It is a major source of timber, and also important as wildlife habitat, for recreational use, for esthetic values, and its range goes from Canada into Mexico.
Other Common Names: Pinus Ponderosa, Western Yellow Pine
Sourcing Region: Western North America
Color, Pattern, Texture: Ponderosa Pine has a reddish brown and sapwood is yellowish white; with a texture of straight grained with medium texture
Common Uses and Applications: Veneer, plywood, sheathing, subflooring, interior trim, cabinetry, construction lumber, and others
Working Properties: Ponderosa pine tends to be very easy to work with, works well with both hand and machine tools; glues and finishes well
Douglas Fir
Douglas-Fir is one of the world’s most important and valuable timber trees. Douglas-Fir has been a major component of the forest of Western North America and in the last 100 years it has been introduced to regions of the temperate forest zone.
Other Common Names: Pseudotsuga Menziessi, Red-Fir, Oregon Pine, Douglas Spruce, Pino Oregon
Sourcing Region: Western North America
Color, Pattern, Texture: The color of Douglas-Fir can vary in color based upon age and location of the tree. Most often it is found in a light brown color with a hint of red and yellow, with darker growth rings. Its grain is generally straight or slightly wavy; has a medium to coarse texture, with a moderate natural luster
Common Uses and Applications: Veneer, plywood, and structural/construction lumber
Working Properties: Douglas-Fir most often works well with machines, however it does may cause some moderate blunting effect on cutters. This softwood does accept stains, glues, and finishes well
Hem Fir
Fir is divided into different groupings, with the primary species in the western United States. For example, Hem-Fir, including Noble Fir, all belonging to the White-Fir group; and many species of Fir have excellent stiffness-to-weight ratios.
Other Common Names: Abies Procera
Sourcing Region: Pacific Northwest region of the United States
Color, Pattern, Texture: Hem Fir is usually white to reddish brown, with pale sapwood that isn’t clearly distinguished from heartwood. Its grain is straight, with a uniform to medium-coarse texture
Common Uses and Applications: Construction lumber, paper (pulpwood), plywood, and other utility wood purposes
Working Properties: Generally easy to work with, both by hand and machine tools. Sometime some drying defect may be present or may occur while drying the wood; it glues, stains, and finishes well
Western Red Cedar
Western Red Cedar is a commercially important lumber, which is used in a different number of applications ranging from rough-sawn lumber for use in home construction to clear quartersawn material for classical guitar soundboards.
Other Common Names: Western Redcedar, Thuja Plicate
Sourcing Region: Pacific Northwest United States / Canada
Color, Pattern, Texture: Western Red Cedar tend to come in a reddish to pinkish brown, often with random streaks and bands of darker red/brown areas; sometime a narrow sapwood is pale yellowish white, and isn’t always sharply demarcated from Western Red Cedar. In addition, it has a straight grain and medium to coarse texture
Common Uses and Applications: Shingles, exterior siding and lumber, boatbuilding, boxes, crates, and musical instruments
Working Properties: Easy to work with both hand or machine tools, though it dents and scratches very easily due to its softness, and it can sand unevenly due to the difference in density between the earlywood and latewood zones. Glues and finishes well; iron-based fasteners can stain and discolor the wood, especially in the presence of moisture
Redwood
Redwood is capable of reaching heights of nearly 400 feet, making it one of the world’s tallest tree species. It grows in a very limited area on the Pacific Coast of Northwestern United States, where heavy rainfall, cool, and damp air create a unique environment for these trees. Redwood lumber is very soft and lightweight, with a decent strength-to-weight ratio. It is also exceptionally stable, with very little shrinkage or seasonal movement.
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Other Common Names: Sequoia, Coast Redwood, California Redwood, Vavona, Sequoia Sempervirens
Sourcing Region: Coastal Northwestern United States (From Southwestern Oregon to central California)
Color, Pattern, Texture: Redwood has a color that can range from light pinkish brown to a deep reddish brown. Sapwood is a pale white/yellow, some curly figures or Redwood burl are occasionally seen
Common Uses and Applications: Veneer, construction lumber, beams, posts, decking, exterior furniture, trim, and others
Working Properties: Generally easy to work with hand tools or machinery, but planer tearout can occur on figured pieces with curly, wavy, or irregular grain; it glues and finishes well
Spruce-Pine Fir
Spruce-Pine is one of the least common species of pine that can be found in southeastern United States, and is usually only found in scattered groups or as isolated trees within a mixed forest.
Other Common Names: Pinus Glabra
Sourcing Region: Southeastern United States (Coastal plain)
Color, Pattern, Texture: Spruce-Pine Fir come in a reddish brown, sapwood is yellowish white; it has a straight grained with a fine to medium texture
Common Uses and Applications: Often used for heavy construction, such as: bridges, means, poles, railroad ties, plywood, wood pulp, or veneers
Working Properties: It has an overall fair workability, as it works fairly well with most tools; though the resin can gum up to tools and clog sandpaper, and it glues and finishes well