A couple questions for the noob

[hiswillus]

Does anybody know of a good resource for learning well the different types of common woods by eye. Always loved wood but never took the time to learn them. Always just enjoyed the piece I was holding and it's beauty without caring what the name of it was.

Second question that seems to be to simple to talk about or I'm just not able to find is what is up with plywood in fine wood working. Why would anybody want to use it constructing a fine piece of furniture. I mean I know that it makes the piece more affordable, but there must be other benefits to it or people wouldn't use it so much. I mean they would just do less projects and spend more money on the solid wood.

Thanks,

Jeff

[Beechwood Chip]

Hardwood expands and contracts with humidity, but plywood doesn't. So, we use plywood in designs where we can't allow for wood movement.

Here's a good site that shows different types of wood.

[justsomeguy]

I don't have any magic solution to learning to identify wood. It mostly comes down to experience. A little reading and some time in a lumber supplier will help. Look for easy to identify characteristics - color, open pored vs. closed pored, etc.

In addition to what BC said, we use plywood in places where solid wood isn't necessary, is too expensive or is too difficult. Much the same reasons that furniture makers a few hundred years ago used secondary woods for drawer sides and backs. If only drawer front NEEDS to be cherry, why not make the rest out of poplar? The back of a bookshelf may need to be cherry, but isn't it much easier to use cherry plywood that to mill all that cherry and make it into a panel?

[hiswillus]

Thanks guys!

[duckkisser]

http://www.wood-database.com/ here is another good one

if you are more of a hands on leaner you can get domestic and exotic veneer packs then you can take those out for referencing. they usually show the different types of cuts like riff, and flat sawn wood. and often they come with different figures of the different types of woods. buddy of mine cut them to a size and then he will put them in a binder that way he can just pull out the binder and flip though to see the different woods in a clear sheet holder.

http://www.woodcraft...ck-50piece.aspx

http://www.highlandw...ack-20sqft.aspx

http://www.constanti.../50samples.aspx this is the cheapest but they're out of stock

lastly check out ebay you can find mixed wood for 8-15 bucks they are often smaller but depending on what you going to do with them could be perfect i use them for marquetry and making small rings so far so i don't need large sheets of it. if you going to buy for identification then you can buy 3-5 auctions of 50 sheets for the cost of one identification box then you just have to figure out what they are on your own.

[rodger.]

I am pretty good at ID-ing the varying species I work with in "plank" form. Ask me when the lumber is in tree/log form and I am lost. I bought a book on Ontario trees, and have ID'd about 60% of the trees on my property by leaf, bark, etc. So I am getting better, but still have a long way to go!

[duckkisser]

I am pretty good at ID-ing the varying species I work with in "plank" form. Ask me when the lumber is in tree/log form and I am lost. I bought a book on Ontario trees, and have ID'd about 60% of the trees on my property by leaf, bark, etc. So I am getting better, but still have a long way to go!

that not that impresive franklin because you only have one 1 tree on your property so you have identified 60 percent of one tree