The 4 Best Wood Species for DIY Woodworking

The reasons for getting into woodworking are as diverse as those who venture into the trade. Maybe you wanted to make the most out of the timber on your acreage, or perhaps you wanted to revisit the skills you learned from a grandparent when you were young. Regardless, pursuing woodworking is an enjoyable and rewarding endeavor.

Getting started can be challenging, but you don’t have to be discouraged. All you really need are the right tools and a space to work. The tools you’ll use depend on your purpose and your process. For example, turning timber into lumber will require a quality bandsaw sawmill.

Once you’ve established your work site, you need to decide what wood you’ll use for a given project. This article will provide you with an overview of some of the most popular hardwoods and softwoods, as well as why woodworkers choose them for specific purposes.

Pine

Especially in North America, Pine is very common. It’s a softwood that provides durability and can be harvested sustainably, thanks to its prevalence. Pine is a common choice for furniture, and you’ll see a lot of it on the interior of most mountain cabins.

The tone of pine can vary between yellow and white, giving you some discretion when selecting lumber for your next project. Pine is typically utilized indoors but can be treated for outdoor use. For true beginners, pine is a fantastic place to start.

Cedar

When you were a child, did a parent or grandparent ever hold out a log and invite you to smell it? That was most likely cedar wood, and although the offer may have seemed strange at the time, you may now be able to recognize cedar by its aroma.

Like pine, cedar is a softwood. The most popular variety is western red cedar. You can use a portable bandsaw mill to harvest cedar from your own property. Otherwise, it’s usually available at a reasonable price from your local home improvement store. People commonly use cedar for outdoor projects, including decks and fencing.

Mahogany

You’ve probably seen some mahogany furniture, but you may not know that mahogany is extremely popular for building musical instruments. Some of the most sought-after tones for guitars, percussion, and pianos are produced by instruments constructed from mahogany.

It’s a softer hardwood and is relatively easy to work with. It’s difficult to procure and may not even be available at your local lumberyard. But if you can get your hands on some mahogany, you’ll find it easy to work with and gorgeous as a finished product.

Walnut

Like mahogany, walnut has become a prime choice for producing musical instruments. Renowned manufacturers in North America, Japan, and other countries have brought walnut to the forefront of drum making, with results that stun both visually and sonically.

You’ll also see walnut used for gun stocks, furniture, and inlays for smaller projects. Walnut is a prime vehicle for integrating detail and achieving a more complex aesthetic. Typically, you’d be hard-pressed to find walnut anywhere but a specialty lumber yard. However, if you have acreage with walnut trees, you can use your portable sawmill bandsaw to mill beautiful, unique boards for your upcoming woodworking projects.

About Woodland Mills

“Why are these new sawmills so expensive? We can just build our own, can’t we?” Josh Malcolm didn’t know it at the time, but when he posed that question to childhood friend Neil Bramley, he was founding Woodland Mills—now the global leader in best-valued forestry equipment. Malcolm and Bramley spent their time as kids building mechanical contraptions and motorized vehicles, so it’s no surprise they both obtained mechanical engineering degrees. When Malcolm couldn’t find a durable sawmill at an attainable price point, he called Bramley, and the two got to work. Now, Woodland Mills utilizes cost-effective manufacturing and creates value through design to deliver exceptional products at reasonable costs while providing an unparalleled customer experience.

Get the best value in forestry equipment from Woodland Mills at https://woodlandmills.com/