Materials

• Hardwoods are from deciduous trees and include beech, ash, mahogany and oak.
• Softwoods are from coniferous trees (evergreens) such as pine, spruce and fir.
• Plywood is made from thin sheets of wood glued together with the grain at right angles to create strength.
• Beechwood is hard, strong, tough and bends well
• Ashwood is flexible, tough and bends well
• Mahogany wood is medium-weight, quite strong, durable and easy to work with
• Mahogany wood warps easily
• Teak wood is light, strong, waterproof and resists rot
• Oak is tough, heavy and durable. It also hardens with age.
• Red pine is straight grained but knotty
• Red pine is easy to work with and quite strong
• Softwoods are more sustainable than hardwoods
• Spruce wood is straight grained and contains few knots
• Spruce wood is easy to work with and quite strong
• Spruce wood is not every durable, and will scratch and wear.
• Wood can be treated by painting or staining it
• Flexi-ply is the same as plywood but is more flexible
• Veneered boards have the same properties as their core material
• Block boards are used for worktops and fire doors. They are made from wood blocks and glue.
• MDF (medium density fibreboard) is made from sawdust and resin. It has good strength and durability, and is often painted or veneered. It is not waterproof but is easily machined.
• Chipboard is made of wood chips and glue, it is cheap and easy to work with. Its strength is dependant on the density of the wood chips and is heavy.
• Hardboard is similar to cardboard but harder. It is weak and brittle.
• Two examples of composites are glass-reinforced plastic and carbon -fibre plastics.
• Carbon fibre plastics are very strong and stiff. They are lightweight and corrosion free. They are expensive and difficult to recycle.
• Glass reinforced plastic (GRP) is strong and durable. It can be moulded into any shape and is lightweight. It is expensive and difficult to recycle.
• Metals are ductile and malleable. They conduct heat and electricity well. They are recyclable and long lasting. They are also expensive and heavy.
• Non-ferrous metals are metals that do not contain iron.
• Ferrous metals are magnetic and are made of iron.
• Alloys are metals that have been mixed with other elements to combine their properties.
• Copper is used in electrical wiring due to its good conduction of electricity.
• Zinc is used to galvanise other metals to weatherproof them
• Zinc is soft, ductile and malleable. It also has a high resistance to corrosion.
• Tin is soft, ductile and heavy. It also resists corrosion.
• Aluminium is strong and lightweight, so it is used in aircraft and cars.
• Copper is tough, ductile and malleable, but expensive.
• Brass is a copper and zinc alloy that is used for musical instruments and decorative objects.
• Brass polishes and casts well, is hard, easily joined and corrosion resistant.
• Iron or cast iron is prone to rust.
• Cast iron is a brittle but strong material that is used for engines and vices.
• Mild steel is malleable and ductile, and so is used for screws and bolts, and car bodies.