The Wood
All the wood I use has been cut down from my local area for reasons other than wood turning. Be it dead wood removal, storm damage, to increase fruit production, to remove crowded or rubbing limbs.
Bark – Trunk is smooth and grey but appears mostly green with algae
Leaves – Pointed oval with veins protruding at the edges
Wood – Hardwood. Generally straight grained with broad rays, and fine, even texture. Pale cream to pinkish brown heartwood that darkens to a pale reddish brown.
Bark – Dull grey-brown with long sinuous ridges
Leaves – Needles are short, stiff and dull green
Wood – Softwood. Usually straight grained. White sapwood. Warm brown heartwood with clear distinction between the darker and denser latewood and earlywood regions.
Bark – Reddish and flaking
Leaves – Dark green, flattened needles
Wood – Softwood. Typically straight grained, sometimes curly and irregular, with an even, medium texture. Narrow, whitish sapwood, and orange brown, red brown, or purplish brown heartwood that ages to a golden brown with exposure.
Bark – Smooth and dark with prominent orange flecks
Leaves – Dark green and leathery
Wood – Hardwood. Fine grained and of a red colour
Bark – Starts smooth and grey but soon cracks and becomes flaking and rough
Leaves – Large dark green with 5 pointed lobes
Wood – Hardwood. Usually straight grained but may be wavy; fine textured, with a silky luster. Creamy-white sapwood and heartwood.
Bark – Grey and finely cracked and ridged
Leaves – Very short-stalked, deeply lobed with two small backward-pointing lobes at the base
Wood – Hardwood. Straight grained with a medium-coarse to coarse texture. Light tannish heartwood with narrow, nearly white sapwood
Bark – Smooth and grey becoming split by long ridges and fissures
Leaves – Feather like with 3-7 pairs of leaflets up to 10cm long
Wood – Hardwood. Primarily creamy white in color, can range to a beige color in black ash varieties. Clear white to pale yellow sapwood, light to medium brown heartwood. Straight grain with wide spacing and brown streaks
Yew
Beech
Ash
Oak
Cherry
Sycamore
Cedar
Spalted Wood
Spalted wood will have all the same characteristics as its 'normal' species. . Spalting is a naturally occurring process in trees that have died or are starting to die. Spalting is a change in the texture, strength and colour of wood caused by fungus growing within the dead wood.
Hazel
Bark – starts a light grey-brown, larger ‘trunks’ tend to have smooth grey-brown bark
Leaves – rounded leaves with double-serrate margins
Wood – smooth, reddish-brown wood is highly prized for its durability and elasticity
Hawthorn
Bark – Brown-grey, knotted and fissured
Leaves – Around 6cm in length, and comprised of toothed lobes
Wood – Hardwood. Pale pinkish colour, very dense and finely grained.
