TIMBER USE GUIDE

The following icons provide a guide to the infinite variety of uses for timber. These icons are used in the wood species section to assist in choosing an appropriate timber for a particular use.

Although a specific species may have the desired aesthetics, small dimension and perishable species have a limited range of uses.

The quality of timber depends on the individual tree, the standard of saw milling, drying and storage.

Trees naturally contain colour variation, knots, splits, fungal activity, growth defects and other damage. Correct grading and careful component selection are therefore important, including the allocation of quarter sawn timber, where stability in use is critical.

Long, wide and uniform timber is increasingly scarce, due to world consumption. Demand for clear grade timber to meet aesthetic preferences is wasteful and costly. 

Please click on the links below to see wood species for each use:

Agricultural implements

Beams, framing and roofing

Bearings, bushings, cogs and pulleys

Boat and ship construction, decking, framing, keels, masts, planking, spars and stems

Boxes and crates

Carpentry, joinery (exterior)

Carpentry, joinery (interior)

Construction, industrial, engineering

Decking, cladding and panelling

Decorative and inlay

DIY and improvement

Doors, stairs and windows

Education, schools and colleges

Fencing

Flooring

Furniture, cabinet making, bars and worktops

Gun stocks and pattern making

Historic and listed buildings

Marine piling, bridges and construction

Military

Mouldings and profiles

Musical instruments

Sculpture, carving, model making and toys

Shopfitting

Sports goods

Stair treads, window boards

Tool components

Turnery and wood ware

Vehicle components

Watermills and windmills