Wood Species Reference

A more available, more affordable alternative to genuine (Honduran) mahogany, with a similar look and easy workability.

830

Janka

Good

To work

No

Outdoor

Famous for a vivid orange-red color when freshly cut, used as a bold accent wood in furniture and turning.

1725

Janka

Good

To work

No

Outdoor

A stable, decay-resistant African hardwood used as an affordable alternative to teak for outdoor furniture and flooring.

1810

Janka

Good

To work

Yes

Outdoor

A hard, even-grained workhorse, cheap, strong, and great for things that take a beating. Moves a lot with humidity, so design accordingly.

1300

Janka

Good

To work

No

Outdoor

A historic wood, nearly wiped out by blight, today's stock is mostly reclaimed 'wormy chestnut.' Light, rot-resistant, and easy to work, with a rich coarse grain.

540

Janka

Excellent

To work

Yes

Outdoor

Interlocked grain makes it almost unsplittable, superb for steam-bending and chair seats. Once everywhere before Dutch elm disease; still a tough, handsome utility wood.

830

Janka

Good

To work

No

Outdoor

The whitest of all domestic woods, nearly ivory when properly dried. Fine and even-grained, it's the go-to for inlay, marquetry, and anything that needs to read pure white.

1020

Janka

Fair

To work

No

Outdoor

Prized quartersawn for its freckled 'lacewood' figure. Affordable and easy to work, but moves a lot, so quartersawn stock is the way to go.

770

Janka

Good

To work

No

Outdoor

A hard, fine-grained fruitwood prized by turners and carvers for its smooth texture and warm color. Small, often gnarly stock, and it moves and checks readily.

1730

Janka

Fair

To work

No

Outdoor

A swamp-grown softwood famed for rot resistance and strength, stronger than cedar, ideal for anything that gets wet. Old-growth 'pecky' cypress has a prized pocketed figure.

510

Janka

Good

To work

Yes

Outdoor

One of the lightest, softest commercial woods, used for models, prototypes, and lightweight cores rather than structural work.

90

Janka

Excellent

To work

No

Outdoor

The carver's wood, soft, fine, and nearly grainless, it cuts like butter in any direction. Too soft for furniture, but unmatched for detail carving.

410

Janka

Excellent

To work

No

Outdoor

The West Coast's answer to soft maple, often prized more for its quilted and curly figure than its modest hardness.

850

Janka

Good

To work

No

Outdoor

Softer and more pliable than white ash, with a long history in basketry and snowshoes thanks to its splittable growth rings. Lighter and easier to work than its cousin.

850

Janka

Good

To work

No

Outdoor

A joy to work and ages into a deep reddish patina. Classic American furniture wood that rewards a simple finish.

950

Janka

Excellent

To work

No

Outdoor

One of the most rot-resistant woods on earth and brutally hard, a domestic answer to tropical decking. Tough to work but lasts for decades outdoors.

1700

Janka

Fair

To work

Yes

Outdoor

America's premier furniture wood. Rich chocolate color straight off the tree, a dream to work, and stable once dry.

1010

Janka

Excellent

To work

No

Outdoor

A soft, lightweight utility hardwood historically used for boxes, crates, and artificial limbs.

420

Janka

Good

To work

No

Outdoor

An intensely saturated red hardwood used almost exclusively as a bold accent in small doses.

2900

Janka

Fair

To work

No

Outdoor

A soft maple relative famous for dramatic red mineral streaking. Cheap and soft, but the flame-red figure (when present) makes it a turner's prize.

720

Janka

Good

To work

No

Outdoor

A dense, richly figured African hardwood used for high-end furniture, tabletops, and electric guitar tops.

2410

Janka

Fair

To work

No

Outdoor

A white oak group member with a coarser texture, commonly sold interchangeably with white oak.

1360

Janka

Good

To work

Yes

Outdoor

Walnut's soft, pale cousin, buttery to carve and warmly colored. A carver's favorite, though too soft for hard-wearing surfaces.

490

Janka

Excellent

To work

No

Outdoor

A vividly multicolored exotic streaked with orange, red, and black, used as a bold statement accent wood.

2170

Janka

Fair

To work

No

Outdoor

Light, soft, and surprisingly rot-resistant, with a coarse oak-like grain. Easy to work and stable, an underrated outdoor and carving wood.

550

Janka

Excellent

To work

Yes

Outdoor

A West Coast walnut prized for dramatic figure and color variation, often sold as premium slabs and veneer.

900

Janka

Good

To work

No

Outdoor

An extremely dense, oily rosewood prized for knife handles and turning, with a strong known allergen risk.

2960

Janka

Difficult

To work

No

Outdoor

The structural softwood, stiff, strong, and dimensionally stable. Common in framing, increasingly popular for sturdy shop furniture.

660

Janka

Good

To work

No

Outdoor

A classic instrument-grade rosewood, dense and richly colored, commonly used for guitar backs and sides.

2440

Janka

Fair

To work

No

Outdoor

Soft, cheap, and lightweight, used for crates, pallets, and utility work. Tends to be fuzzy and woolly to cut, and it moves a lot, a true secondary wood.

430

Janka

Fair

To work

No

Outdoor

A rustic construction softwood with a coarse, uneven texture, often chosen for barn timbers and reclaimed-look projects.

500

Janka

Fair

To work

No

Outdoor

The aromatic cedar of closets and chests, its scent repels moths, and it's highly rot-resistant. Hard for a softwood, knotty, and beautifully two-toned.

900

Janka

Good

To work

Yes

Outdoor

Soft, light, and cheap, the classic for rustic furniture and learning projects. Easy on tools and on the wallet.

380

Janka

Excellent

To work

No

Outdoor

A lighter, softer cousin of Sitka spruce, also valued as a tonewood for its bright, responsive sound. Pale and even, with a slightly warmer look than Sitka.

390

Janka

Good

To work

No

Outdoor

A pale, fine-grained European hardwood favored for hand tools, workbenches, and steam bending.

1450

Janka

Good

To work

No

Outdoor

The classic walnut of European furniture and gunstocks, slightly harder and lighter in color than American black walnut.

1220

Janka

Good

To work

No

Outdoor

An unusually dense, flexible softwood historically prized for longbows and now for turning and fine furniture accents.

1520

Janka

Fair

To work

Yes

Outdoor

Exceptionally hard and shock-resistant with a smooth wearing surface, historically the wood for shuttles and bobbins. Small trees mean small, pricey stock.

2150

Janka

Difficult

To work

No

Outdoor

The classic jet-black ebony used for fingerboards and fine accents; scarce, expensive, and sold in small pieces.

3080

Janka

Difficult

To work

No

Outdoor

A pale, ash-like wood that bends well and costs little. Spalts readily, which turners love. Not rot-resistant, so keep it indoors.

880

Janka

Good

To work

No

Outdoor

Dense, pale, and extremely tough. The standard for butcher blocks, workbenches, and anything that takes a beating.

1450

Janka

Fair

To work

No

Outdoor

One of the toughest, hardest domestic woods. Incredible shock resistance, the classic choice for tool handles and rustic, hard-wearing furniture.

1820

Janka

Fair

To work

No

Outdoor

Hard, strong, and warmly colored, often confused with black locust but less rot-resistant. A handsome, underused furniture wood.

1580

Janka

Fair

To work

No

Outdoor

One of the hardest, strongest domestic woods, true to its 'ironwood' nickname. Pale, dense, and tough, used where wear resistance matters most.

1860

Janka

Difficult

To work

No

Outdoor

One of the hardest decking woods available, prized for exterior durability but brutal on tools without pre-drilling.

3510

Janka

Difficult

To work

Yes

Outdoor

Sold as "African teak" for its decay resistance and similar look, at a lower price than genuine teak.

1260

Janka

Good

To work

Yes

Outdoor

A deep red Australian eucalyptus hardwood valued for flooring, decking, and turning, with occasional decorative gum veins.

1910

Janka

Fair

To work

Yes

Outdoor

A dense, reddish-brown flooring staple, popular under the trade name Brazilian cherry despite being unrelated to true cherry.

2350

Janka

Fair

To work

No

Outdoor

Hawaii's signature hardwood, prized by ukulele and guitar builders for its warm color and occasional curly figure.

1170

Janka

Good

To work

No

Outdoor

Named for the distinctive lace-like fleck pattern seen on quartersawn faces, used mainly as a decorative veneer and accent.

1600

Janka

Fair

To work

No

Outdoor

Among the hardest and densest woods in the world, naturally self-lubricating and historically used for ship propeller-shaft bearings.

4390

Janka

Difficult

To work

Yes

Outdoor

One of the hardest and heaviest North American oaks, historically prized for shipbuilding.

2680

Janka

Fair

To work

Yes

Outdoor

One of the primary Southern yellow pine species, the backbone of construction lumber in the American South.

690

Janka

Good

To work

No

Outdoor

The legendary furniture wood, stable, easy to work, and beautiful. Increasingly costly and subject to sourcing/sustainability concerns.

800

Janka

Excellent

To work

No

Outdoor

A decay-resistant Southeast Asian hardwood used widely for decking, with natural tannins that bleed on first exposure to rain.

1925

Janka

Fair

To work

Yes

Outdoor

A very stable, decay-resistant Southwestern hardwood, popular for rustic furniture, flooring, and smoking wood.

2340

Janka

Fair

To work

Yes

Outdoor

A rich brown tropical hardwood popular for large single-slab tables and bowls thanks to its wide trunk diameter.

1780

Janka

Good

To work

No

Outdoor

The classic European tonewood spruce, used for guitar and piano soundboards for its stiffness-to-weight ratio.

380

Janka

Good

To work

No

Outdoor

Brilliant golden-yellow, extremely hard, and famously rot-resistant, the traditional bow wood. Vivid but demanding, and it darkens to amber over time.

2040

Janka

Difficult

To work

Yes

Outdoor

A hard, fine-grained West Coast wood with a warm reddish tone, prized for turning and burl. Beautiful but notoriously unstable, it warps dramatically as it dries.

1460

Janka

Fair

To work

No

Outdoor

A pale, straight-grained birch best known for its papery white bark, commonly used for plywood and turning.

910

Janka

Good

To work

No

Outdoor

An extremely lightweight, fast-growing hardwood used for surfboards, guitar bodies, and lightweight boxes despite low hardness.

245

Janka

Excellent

To work

No

Outdoor

A fine, even fruitwood with a soft rosy hue, beloved for carving, turning, and fine detail. Often steamed to a pink-blush tone. Stable for a fruitwood.

1660

Janka

Good

To work

No

Outdoor

A member of the hickory family with the same toughness but often a warmer, more reddish tone. Hard-wearing and handsome.

1820

Janka

Fair

To work

No

Outdoor

America's only native ebony relative, extremely hard, dense, and smooth-wearing. The traditional golf club head wood, now prized for tool parts and turning.

2300

Janka

Difficult

To work

No

Outdoor

A red oak group member, often sold mixed with red oak at the lumberyard with essentially identical working properties.

1210

Janka

Good

To work

No

Outdoor

Soft, even, and easy to work, the classic knotty pine for paneling, shelving, and casework. Stable and inexpensive, the all-purpose Western pine.

460

Janka

Excellent

To work

No

Outdoor

A fragrant, fine-grained, decay-resistant cedar with exceptional stiffness, prized for arrow shafts, boatbuilding, and fine joinery. One of the best-working conifers.

720

Janka

Excellent

To work

Yes

Outdoor

Vivid purple, extremely hard and dense. A showpiece accent wood, striking, but tough on tools and on your patience.

2520

Janka

Fair

To work

No

Outdoor

Very soft, pale, and odorless, the classic sauna and matchstick wood. Cheap and light, it stays cool to the touch and resists splintering, but dents easily.

350

Janka

Good

To work

No

Outdoor

A fast-growing plantation pine widely used for furniture-grade finger-jointed panels and budget furniture.

710

Janka

Good

To work

No

Outdoor

The Pacific Northwest's go-to affordable hardwood, soft, even, and easy to work. Takes stain well and often mimics cherry. A great beginner wood.

590

Janka

Excellent

To work

No

Outdoor

Interlocked grain makes elm nearly impossible to split, wonderful for steam-bending and seats. Warm reddish tone and a handsome, coarse grain.

860

Janka

Good

To work

No

Outdoor

A durable, golden-yellow hardwood related to Osage orange, valued for boat building and outdoor furniture.

1680

Janka

Good

To work

Yes

Outdoor

The workhorse American hardwood, strong, affordable, everywhere. Coarse open grain takes stain readily but reads busy.

1220

Janka

Good

To work

No

Outdoor

Lightweight, stable, and famously rot-resistant, with a rich red color, the classic premium decking and outdoor wood. Soft and easy to work, but splinters and dents.

420

Janka

Excellent

To work

Yes

Outdoor

A softer, less common birch with attractive curly figure sometimes found in flooded bottomland trees.

780

Janka

Good

To work

No

Outdoor

A widely available mahogany substitute with a reddish-brown color and, on quartersawn stock, a striking ribbon figure.

1410

Janka

Good

To work

No

Outdoor

Light, soft, and aromatic, resembling a lightweight ash or chestnut, with good decay resistance. The spicy root-beer scent is unmistakable. An underused outdoor wood.

630

Janka

Good

To work

Yes

Outdoor

Europe's most widely used construction and furniture pine, similar in character to Eastern white pine.

680

Janka

Good

To work

No

Outdoor

The premier strength-to-weight wood, light, stiff, and strong. The traditional choice for aircraft, ladders, and especially acoustic guitar and piano soundboards.

510

Janka

Good

To work

No

Outdoor

One of the most expensive and hardest woods sold, prized for its snakeskin-like grain pattern in small turned and carved pieces.

3800

Janka

Difficult

To work

No

Outdoor

Hard maple's more affordable, easier-working relative. Still plenty strong for most furniture, at a friendlier price.

950

Janka

Good

To work

No

Outdoor

A mild, even-grained wood similar to poplar, often with greenish-streaked heartwood. Easy to work and affordable, good for painted work and secondary parts.

1020

Janka

Excellent

To work

No

Outdoor

The strongest common construction softwood, dense, resinous, and stiff. Great structural strength for the price, though the hard latewood bands can fight your tools.

690

Janka

Good

To work

No

Outdoor

A lightweight, aromatic, decay-resistant hardwood long used for cigar boxes, humidors, and closet linings.

600

Janka

Good

To work

Yes

Outdoor

The premier pattern and carving pine, soft, fine, exceptionally stable, and uniform in all directions. The wood of choice for foundry patterns and detailed work.

380

Janka

Excellent

To work

No

Outdoor

Affordable and fine-textured, with attractive figured heartwood ('redgum'). Prone to warping, so dry stock and stable construction matter.

850

Janka

Good

To work

No

Outdoor

The gold standard for outdoor and marine furniture. Natural oils shrug off water and rot without any finish at all.

1000

Janka

Good

To work

Yes

Outdoor

Nearly black, dense, and dramatic. A premium accent and contrast wood, gorgeous, but splintery and demanding to finish.

1930

Janka

Fair

To work

No

Outdoor

A pale, even-grained construction softwood, often sold as 'hem-fir.' Decent strength for the weight and price, but it decays readily, keep it dry and indoors.

540

Janka

Good

To work

No

Outdoor

An unusually hard, strong softwood with decent decay resistance, a deciduous conifer. Tough and stiff like Douglas fir, good for flooring and exterior work.

830

Janka

Fair

To work

Yes

Outdoor

Lightweight, aromatic, and naturally rot-resistant, the go-to for outdoor projects that won't see hard wear.

350

Janka

Good

To work

Yes

Outdoor

Strong, shock-resistant, and springy, the baseball-bat wood. Looks like oak but lighter in tone. Threatened by the emerald ash borer.

1320

Janka

Good

To work

No

Outdoor

A pale, odorless, lightweight construction softwood, often bundled as 'white woods' or 'SPF.' Inexpensive and easy to handle, but weak and decay-prone, strictly indoor utility.

480

Janka

Good

To work

No

Outdoor

Red oak's tougher, water-resistant cousin. Closed cellular structure makes it the classic choice for anything that gets wet.

1350

Janka

Good

To work

Yes

Outdoor

Hard, pale, and fine-grained, the wood behind most birch plywood. Strong and affordable, though it can blotch when stained.

1260

Janka

Good

To work

No

Outdoor

The budget hardwood of choice for paint-grade work. Soft, cheap, easy, just don't expect to show off the grain.

540

Janka

Excellent

To work

No

Outdoor

One of the few naturally bright yellow hardwoods, used as an accent alongside darker exotics for contrast.

1780

Janka

Good

To work

No

Outdoor

Bold dark-on-light striping makes this one of the most recognizable exotic woods, used mostly as an accent.

1575

Janka

Fair

To work

No

Outdoor