How to Identify Hardwood Lumber
Lumber can be broadly classified into hardwood and softwood. A common misconception is that all hardwoods are dark in color, and all softwoods are light in color, but this isn’t true in every instance. The true definition of hardwood is that a deciduous tree produces it while conifers or evergreen trees produce softwoods. You can identify hardwood lumber by knowing which tree produced the wood or by performing a couple tests.
Things You’ll Need:
- Tree guide
- Magnifying glass
- Look up the tree in your tree guide to determine whether the tree that produced the lumber is a deciduous tree or a coniferous tree. This only works if the lumber bears a label indicating which type of tree produced the wood.
- Press your fingernail into the lumber to see how the piece responds. If your fingernail leaves a mark or indent, the wood is softwood, but if there’s no mark, then you are looking at hardwood lumber. This test works because you are examining wood that has already been cut, but has not yet been finished.
- Hold your magnifying glass up to the lumber and look for small pores. If the wood in question is hardwood, you should see a number of small pores, while if the wood is softwood, you won’t see any pores. The magnifying glass is important, because small pores are often invisible to the naked eye.
- Ask an expert if you are unsure whether the wood you are purchasing is a hard or soft wood. This is especially important if you need a certain type of wood for a specific home improvement or woodworking project.
Tip: Although a dark shade is commonly cited as a way of identifying hardwood it can be misleading because in certain cases softwoods are dark and hardwoods are light.