Frame Materials:
Woods

Softwoods 

Today, normally most of the softwood comes from the evergreens such as spruce, fir and pine from scandinavia. A large amount of spruce came from Russia, it was pretty good and often clear, but unfortunately the forests over have been destroyed partly.

The timber itself is called 'deal' in the trade and this always makes it sound more expensive to me. Also, and I don't know why, the description 'joinery-quality Douglas fir' does have a certain ring to it, although to be fair it is the better of softwoods and can be almost 'clear', that is, without knots. Softwood as we know is much cheaper than hardwoods and so for economy it is used extensively for parts that are not seen or stained and mocked up to look like hardwood, as in many of the mass-produced window frames of today and other uses in new houses.

Piranha pine is good softwood, clear and with distinctive orangey streaks, and quite often used for open stairs. There is also the very popular current 'knotty pine' furniture - which looks nice but is actually just ordinary softwood. The cheapest of the softwoods is spruce, and this is typically what you will get if you go into a timber merchant and buy a plank of (knotty and often split) softwood.

Common faults in wood are: splits running along the grain, warping, twisting (wind) and 'thunder shakes' across the grain. As far as I remember from what I learnt about woods, grains and joints some 40 years ago, these 'shakes' are actually caused when the tree is felled.

Personal note:
As a 'trainee wood machinist' in my teens, I did it as a subject at college one day a week for two years, and I actually came first in practical in my second year, although I reckon I've forgotten more than I remember. These days I look at some grains and cannot even place the type of wood at times!

More specific information about: 
Hardwoods
Wooden Windows
Go to Woods main page