• Source: Softwood

Softwood is wood from gymnosperm trees such as conifers. The term is opposed to hardwood, which is the wood from angiosperm trees. The main differences between hardwoods and softwoods is that the softwoods completely lack vessels (pores). The main softwood species (pines, spruces, larches, false tsugas) also have resin canals (or ducts) in their structure.




Characteristics



Softwood is wood from gymnosperm trees such as pines and spruces. Softwoods are not necessarily softer than hardwoods. The hardest hardwoods are much harder than any softwood, but in both groups there is enormous variation with the range of wood hardness of the two groups overlapping. For example, balsa wood, which is a hardwood, is softer than most softwoods, whereas the longleaf pine, Douglas fir, and yew softwoods are much harder than several hardwoods.
Softwoods are generally most used by the construction industry and are also used to produce paper pulp, and card products. In many of these applications, there is a constant need for density and thickness monitoring and gamma-ray sensors have shown good performance in this case.
Certain species of softwood are more resistant to insect attack from woodworm, as certain insects prefer damp hardwood.




Examples of softwood trees and uses


Douglas fir - joinery, doors and heavy construction
Eastern white pine - furniture
European spruce - used throughout construction, panelling and cladding
Larch - cladding and boats
Lodgepole pine - roofing, flooring and in making chipboard and particle board
Monterey pine
Parana pine - stair treads and joinery (critically endangered)
Scots pine - construction industry, mostly for interior work
Sitka spruce
Southern yellow pine - joinery, flooring and decking
Western hemlock - doors, joinery and furniture
Western red cedar (or red cedar) - furniture, decking, cladding, and roof shingles
Yew - interior and exterior furniture (e.g., chairs, gate posts and wood turning)




Applications


Softwood is the source of about 80% of the world's production of timber, with traditional centres of production being the Baltic region (including Scandinavia and Russia), North America and China. Softwood is typically used in construction as structural carcassing timber, as well as finishing timber.




See also


List of woods
United States – Canada softwood lumber dispute
Hardwood
Janka hardness test
Brinell scale




References






External links


Media related to Softwood at Wikimedia Commons

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