There are many reasons to preserve the tropical forests and one of them is so that we can have the beautiful and exotic timbers they contain for the special jobs for which they are appropriate

A case in point is the use of ebony for musical instrument making. In some cases there is nothing else as good. Pernambuko for violin bows for instance, and on a more mundane level, teak is the only wood that will really stand the use as laid decking for yachts. The repeated wetting and harsh drying in the sun will cause checking (little splits in the surface of the timber) in almost any other timber.

As woodworkers we must think carefully about our use of materials and not waste timber. However the most beautiful timbers of the world are a delight. The only consideration must be , can we do justice to the material, and is the use of it justified in the project in view?

The material

Although we purchase timber in different forms , initially all wood comes as logs. Different species of tree have different size and shaped trunks, some are small and round and some tropical species are huge and have buttressed trunks.

There are , therefore, many factors to be taken into account when deciding on the method of conversion of any particular tree, from the shape and size of the log to the size and quality of the finished work. We come to expect the material to be delivered to our door basically in rectangular form.

It is often necessary to take the species used for a project into account on more than aesthetic grounds. One cannot expect to get huge long planks from a species of tree which only grows to a moderate size. While most timbers are large enough for normal domestic projects, there are other factors to be taken into account. Things like durability, stability, ease of working, suitability for nail or screw holding, ease of gluing, and decorative appearance.

All timber is divided into two rather false categories. Hardwoods and softwoods. The distinction between these two does not depend to any significant extent on their properties. Hardwoods come from broad leafed trees and softwoods come from needle bearing trees. Thus balsa is a hard wood and yew is a soft wood. There are few generalisations one can make about the properties of different woods and each must be assessed on its own. The only generalisation I make is that I avoid mixing temperate and tropical hardwoods in the same job. This is simply an aesthetic judgment, but it usually prevents tasteless clashes of grain and colour.

There are only a few commercial timbers in the world in the sense of being able to reliably depend on a consistent supply of a particular wood. I shall, therefore, list a few of the world’s most important commercial timbers and describe some of their main uses and their chief drawbacks.