Is Douglas Fir A Hardwood Or Softwood
This softwood lumber dries well with good dimensional stability.
Is douglas fir a hardwood or softwood. Douglas fir like all firs is a softwood softwood is actually a term that is used to classify all the conifers while hardwood is used as a classification for all angiosperm trees. You may not find this wood as readily as pinewood as it mostly comes only from the west coast or eastern asia. Oak is a hardwood and douglas fir is a softwood which means that oak is harder right. Douglas fir douglas fir wood image.
Many people are unaware that douglas fir is a softwood and will mark dent easily it also has a tendency to split and crack. 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. Straight grained and moderately heavy with limited resin this is one of the most attractive and strongest of the western softwood species. It is a very durable wood which is used extensively in industrial applications for wharves trestles and heavy construction.
Hardwood is typically more expensive than softwood. Softwood is typically less expensive compared to hardwood. It is a hard species and is suitable for use where wear is a factor. It dries evenly and stays stable during use.
The oldest trees can be more than 1 500 years old. Wikimedia commons douglas fir is another softwood that plays a vital role in making furniture and several other wooden items. Red oak wood is almost exactly twice as hard as douglas fir wood and white oak wood is even harder. Examples of softwood trees are cedar douglas fir juniper pine redwood spruce and yew.
The heartwood is light tan to medium brown changing to orange brown due to exposure to sunlight and age. Balsa is a hardwood but its wood is so soft and lightweight that it s most commonly used for making model airplanes. Douglas fir has a high bending strength shear strength and stiffness. Spruce pine fir south this species combination classed as moderately strong is cross continental in origin.
Douglas fir is a large tree reaching 85 metres on bc s coast and 42 metres in the interior. Most hardwoods have a higher density than most softwoods. Most softwoods have a lower density than most hardwoods. That reasoning doesn t apply in every instance but in this case it does.