When most of us think of wood in uses other a braai fire so called “South African Pine” springs to mind. Pine is a common, inexpensive softwood used most often in pallets, crates and budget furniture. But what if you want a hardwood, something more durable and interesting? What wood do you use for floors or chairs or bird feeders. Don’t worry, we’ve got a couple of resources to help you decide which wood you should use for your next woodworking project.
Local Information, World Wide Woods
Rare Woods SA offer a wonderful database of local and international hardwoods of every colour and grain. Each entry has description of colour, grain, workability and application. The database offers filters for these criteria as well. So you can easily find just the right wood for your project and know in advance what kind of tools you’ll need.
A Wood Library
Woodworkers Resource is based in Arizona but its wood database and searchable library is comprehensive. It include woods from all over the world, softwoods and hardwoods alike including nearly a hundred entries for pine. (Including pinus radiata, the pine most often known as South African Pine) Each entry has a huge amount of information from heartwood and sapwood colouring, grain and texture to durability, strength and workability.
Which Wood Is For You?
With the summer holidays coming up, now is a good time to think about your home woodworking projects. Hopefully these resources will help pick beautiful and interesting woods that make your projects into unique and beautiful heirlooms. Stop in at for your all your wood fasteners, finishers and adhesives. If you’re looking for DIY projects that are not so wood intensive have a look here. If you would like some more information about various fasteners and which ones to use, try this.
