THE BEST WOODS FOR THE BEGINNER
In this place consideration will be given to some of the features
relating to the materials to be employed, particularly with reference to
the manner in which they can be worked to the best advantage, rather
than to their uses.
THE BEST WOODS.--The prime wood, and the one with which most boys are
familiar, is white pine. It has an even texture throughout, is generally
straight grained, and is soft and easily worked. White pine is a wood
requiring a very sharp tool. It is, therefore, the best material for the
beginner, as it will at the outset teach him the important lesson of
keeping the tools in a good, sharp condition.
SOFT WOODS.--It is also well for the novice to do his initial work with
a soft wood, because in joining the parts together inaccuracies may be
easily corrected. If, for instance, in mortising and tenoning, the edge
of the mortised member is not true, or, rather, is not "square," the
shoulder of the tenon on one side will abut before the other side does,
and thus leave a crack, if the wood is hard. If the wood is soft there
is always enough yield to enable the workman to spring it together.
Therefore, until you have learned how to make a true joint, use soft
wood.
Poplar is another good wood for the beginner, as well as redwood, a
western product.
HARD WOODS.--Of the hard woods, cherry is the most desirable for the
carpenter's tool. For working purposes it has all the advantages of a
soft wood, and none of its disadvantages. It is not apt to warp, like
poplar or birch, and its shrinking unit is less than that of any other
wood, excepting redwood. There is practically no shrinkage in redwood.
THE MOST DIFFICULT WOODS.--Ash is by far the most difficult wood to
work. While not as hard as oak, it has the disadvantage that the entire
board is seamed with growth ribs which are extremely hard, while the
intervening layers between these ribs are soft, and have open pores, so
that, for instance, in making a mortise, the chisel is liable to follow
the hard ribs, if the grain runs at an angle to the course of the
mortise.
THE HARD-RIBBED GRAIN IN WOOD.--This peculiarity of the grain in ash
makes it a beautiful wood when finished. Of the light-colored woods, oak
only excels it, because in this latter wood each year's growth shows a
wider band, and the interstices between the ribs have stronger
contrasting colors than ash; so that in filling the surface, before
finishing it, the grain of the wood is brought out with most effective
clearness and with a beautifully blended contrast.
THE EASIEST WORKING WOODS.--The same thing may be said, relatively,
concerning cherry and walnut. While cherry has a beautiful finishing
surface, the blending contrasts of colors are not so effective as in
walnut.
Oregon pine is extremely hard to work, owing to the same difficulties
experienced in handling ash; but the finished Oregon pine surface makes
it a most desirable material for certain articles of furniture.
Do not attempt to employ this nor ash until you have mastered the trade.
Confine yourself to pine, poplar, cherry and walnut. These woods are all
easily obtainable everywhere, and from them you can make a most
creditable variety of useful articles.
Sugar and maple are two hard woods which may be added to the list.
Sugar, particularly, is a good-working wood, but maple is more
difficult. Spruce, on the other hand, is the strongest and toughest
wood, considering its weight, which is but a little more than that of
pine.
DIFFERENCES IN THE WORKING OF WOODS.--Different woods are not worked
with equal facility by all the tools. Oak is an easy wood to handle
with a saw, but is, probably, aside from ash, the most difficult wood
known to plane.
Ash is hard for the saw or the plane. On the other hand, there is no
wood so easy to manipulate with the saw or plane as cherry. Pine is
easily worked with a plane, but difficult to saw; not on account of
hardness, but because it is so soft that the saw is liable to tear it.
FORCING SAWS IN WOOD.--One of the reasons why the forcing of saws is
such a bad practice will be observed in cutting white or yellow pine.
For cross-cutting, the saw should have fine teeth, not heavily set, and
evenly filed. To do a good job of cross-cutting, the saw must be held at
a greater angle, or should lay down flatter than in ripping, as by so
doing the lower side of the board will not break away as much as if the
saw should be held more nearly vertical.
These general observations are made in the hope that they will serve as
a guide to enable you to select your lumber with some degree of
intelligence before you commence work.