Softwood

Question 1

What are softwoods ?

Answer 1

• Coniferous
• Grow mainly in cooler climates such as Canada
• evergreen meaning they don’t loose needles in winter
• grow quite quickly and so are cheaper
• usually softer and easier to work with as they have a looser grain structure than hardwoods

Question 2

What are softwoods often used for ?

Answer 2

Building materials

Question 3

What are the properties and uses of pine ?

Answer 3

White/ pale yellow foo, lightweight, inexpensive. Knotty

Used cheap furniture, window frames, fences and construction

Question 4

What are the properties and uses of spruce ?

Answer 4

Yellow brown color, good strength or weight ratio also knotty but harder than pine

Musical instruments

Question 5

What are the properties and uses of larch ?

Answer 5

Reddish brown color, hard and resistant to rot

Fences, gates garden furniture, cladding and decking

Question 6

What are the properties and uses of cedar ?

Answer 6

Decay and insect resistant. Not very strong

Decking, cladding, guitars and canoes

Question 7

What are the properties of Yew ?

Answer 7

Reddish brown colour, it’s extremely hard, durable and easy to work ( it’s the outlier of softwoods)

Good quality furniture and cabinetry

Question 8

What is the mnemonic for soft woods ?

Answer 8

PSLC

Pine, spruce, larch and cedar