Is Fir A Softwood Or Hardwood

Softwood hardwood table image.

Is fir a softwood or hardwood.

Softwood is typically less expensive compared to hardwood. Hardwood is typically more expensive than softwood. Douglas fir is technically not a true fir abies genus but is in its own genus. When comparing hardwoods vs softwoods it s the density of the wood that makes all the difference.

That reasoning doesn t apply in every instance but in this case it does. Most softwoods have a lower density than most hardwoods. Similarly we expect softwood to be soft and light. Examples of softwood trees are cedar douglas fir juniper pine redwood spruce and yew.

Oak is a hardwood and douglas fir is a softwood which means that oak is harder right. However due to the difference in density you may need twice the volume of softwood to compare to the same weight as hardwood. Pound for pound hardwoods and softwoods will create about the same amount of heat. Fir is divided into different groupings with the primary species in the western united states including pacific silver fir all belonging to the white fir group.

There are some hard softwoods as well as soft hardwoods. Red oak wood is almost exactly twice as hard as douglas fir wood and white oak wood is even harder. Due to its strength it is used for building and construction and is one of the finest timbers for heavy structural purposes including glulam beams and roof trusses. Douglas fir is a large tree reaching 85 metres on bc s coast and 42 metres in the interior.

Balsa is a hardwood but its wood is so soft and lightweight that it s most commonly used for making model airplanes. Hardwood vs softwood is the comparison between them and comes down to its physical structure and makeup and as being hard and durable compared to softwood it is overly simplistic to think of hardwoods and softwood is also workable. Depending on the type of your project you may need either or both of the different kinds of wood. Indo gemstone indogemstone when we think about hardwood we think of hard and dense material.

It is an incredibly valuable commercial timber widely used in construction and building purposes. Most hardwoods have a higher density than most softwoods. Many species of fir have excellent stiffness to weight ratios especially pacific silver fir which rivals other softwood species such as sitka spruce known for its. Douglas fir is moderately strong and hard for a softwood rating 4 on a scale of 1 to 4.

This wood is worth mentioning because it is very common at your local home center and it s so inexpensive you ll probably be tempted to make something with it. The tree itself grows to be very large and yields a large amount of usable lumber and veneer for plywood.