1.1 Materials and their application

Question 1

Type of softwoods and their properties and uses

Answer 1

Larch= hard, tough, attractive grain, good resistant to moisture
Used for: garden furniture, decking, fencing

Cedar= straight grain, low density, good resistance to moisture
Used for: sheds, greenhouses

Pine= knotting, straight grain
Used for: roof beams, timber frame construction

Spruce= straight grain, resistant to splitting
Used for: indoor furniture

Question 2

Types of hardwood, their properties and uses

Answer 2

Oak= hard, tough, attractive grain, good weather resistant
Used for: furniture, flooring, interim and exterior joinery

Ash= tough, attractive, open grain pattern which makes it more flexible
Used for: ladders, sports goods and tool handles

Mahogany= rich dark red colour, can have an interlocking grain (which makes it harder to work with)
Used for: indoor furniture, cabinets

Birch= hard, straight close grain, resists warping
Used for: furniture, indoor panelling

Beech= tough, close grained, hard, doesn’t keep the taste of food
Used for: chairs, chopping boards, tools

Question 3

Types of manufactured boards, their properties and their uses

Answer 3

Plywood= thin layers of wood placed and glued at 90 degrees to each other and compress to form a board - good strength, no grain weakness
Used for: desk tops, indoor furniture, floor boards

MDF= compressed wood fibres
Used for: model making, furniture items like book cases, cabinets and desks

Chipboard= wood chips compressed with resin
Used for: kitchen worktops and units, shelving and flat pack furniture

Question 4

Types of paper and their uses

Answer 4

Bleed proof paper; spirt based marker rending
Cartridge paper; printing, sketching, painting
Tracing paper; for coping imagers when sketching
Layout paper; sketching, quick ink

Question 5

Types of boards and their uses

Answer 5

Foam board= mood board backing, presentation boards, modelling

Styrofoam= product modelling, formers for moulding and laminating