As part of the Practical Woodworking course, at National 5 level you are expected to be able to give accurate information in terms of the working properties and appearance of a variety of softwoods, hardwoods and manufactured boards. the working properties and appearance are dependant on which tree the wood comes from and, in the case of manufactured board, how it's been made. Understanding the range of properties will help you select the most appropriate material for the job.

• WEIGHT/DENSITY - this can vary considerably, but generally hardwoods tend to be heavier than softwoods. Exceptions include balsa, a very lightweight hardwood and yew, a heavy softwood.

• STRENGTH - the strength of wood is determined by its density. This is the wood's ability to withstand a force without breaking or bending.

• HARDNESS - the ability of a material to resist wear, scratching and indentations.

• EASE OF WORKING - how a material behaves when worked by hand or machine tools. Hardwoods are generally more difficult to work with; however particularly knotty softwood, like pine, can cause even an experienced carpenter difficulty when working with a hard knot.

• DURABILITY AND RESISTANCE TO DECAY - this is the ability of a material to withstand wear, especially as a result of weathering. Durability should be considered if the product is liable to be used in damp situations such as a bathroom or kitchen, or if it will be used outside, The durability of a product can be improved by applying a finish to protect the wood from rot and decay. You should expect a wood that is described as being durable to last around 15 years in damp conditions. In general, hardwoods tend to be more durable and rot-resistant.

• APPEARANCE AND GRAIN STRUCTURE - softwoods tend to be mainly pale in colour and have a more open grain compared to the wide variety of colourful (light to dark) close-grained hardwoods that are commercially available.

• COST AND AVAILABILITY - due to the length of time hardwoods take to grow to full maturity (around 100 years), they are considerably more expensive to buy than softwoods. Softwoods are faster growing, taking around 30 years to reach full maturity. Manufactured board is the cheapest of them all.

Wood can be bought as either natural timber (solid wood) or manufactured board. Hardwood trees normally take around 100-150 years to grow to full maturity while the faster growing softwood trees only take around 30 years to grow to full maturity. This makes hardwood more expensive. It also looks more attractive for furniture than softwoods.

It is wrong to think that a softwood will be soft and a hardwood will be hard. In fact, Balsa wood, which is a hardwood is one of the softest woods available. Softwoods are usually lighter in weight, lighter in colour, and are more easily worked than many of the hardwoods.

The requirements for National 5 state that you should be able to name, identify, suggest the approximate cost and the possible uses of 4 softwoods, 5 hardwoods and 5 manufactured boards. You should also be able to describe the working properties of softwood/hardwood/manufactured boards in terms of their strength, durability, and ease of working/cutting/shaping. 

For more information, see the materials notes in the practical activity tab.