Material properties

• Pine


  Knotty, Northern Europe, Russia
• Pine


  • Quite Strong, Easy to work with, Cost effective, Readily available, Can shrink, Prone to twisting
• Ash


  Cream, pale brown, Europe
• Ash


  • Strong, Durable, Flexible, Open Grained, Easy to work with, Well finished
• Beech


  Pale cream colour and light brown, Europe
• Beech


  • Close Grained, Hard, Tough
• Oak


  Light brown, Europe
• Oak


  • Strong, Easy to work with, Finishes well but can warp, Hard, Tough, Very Strong, Durable, Easy to finish, Open grained, Expensive
• Mahogany


  Pink reddish brown, Central-South America, West Indies, West Africa
• Mahogany


  • Fairly strong, Quite hard, Durable, Easy to work with, Medium weight, Available in long, wide boards, Prone to warping, Not easy to finish
• Plywood


  Built up of odd numbers of thin layers (veneers) of hardwood or softwood called laminates, with each one running at 90 degrees to each other, glued together by an adhesive and pressure applied
• Plywood


  • Strong because all of the layers of veneers are at right angles to each other, Resistant to warping and cracking, Cost effective when compared to solid timber
• Blockboard


  Built up with numerous strips of softwood sandwiched between two sheets of hardwood on the top and bottom and glued together under high pressure
• Blockboard


  • Fairly strong all over sheet, Cheap, Resistant to splitting, Lighter in weight than MDF and Plywood, Stability is generally good, Does not shrink
• Chipboard


  Made up of wood particles including chips, shavings and sawdust from all different types of commercial timber glued together under heat and pressure
• Chipboard


  • Easy to use, Relatively cheap, Depending on use it is a strong material which will withstand pressure, Can be aesthetically presented with a variety of wood-like features
• Hardboard


  Made from wood fibres obtained from chips and pulped wood waste, The pulp is put under pressure until the fibres bond to produce a tough board that is smooth on one side and rough on the other
• Hardboard


  • Cheap, Smooth surface that can be covered easily with paint, Oil tempered hardboard is resistant to being dented and scratched, Adaptable and can be processed in such a way that it is textured, embossed, veneered or backed with plastic
• Thermoplastics


  Can be reheated and reshaped
• Thermosetting plastics


  Once 'set' these plastics cannot be reheated to soften, shape and mould, The molecules of these plastics are cross linked in three dimensions and this is why they cannot be reshaped or recycled, The bond between the molecules is very strong, Can withstand heat much better than Thermoplastics without losing their rigidity and they are good insulators
• Melamine formaldehyde


  Thermosetting plastic
• Epoxy resin


  Thermosetting plastic
• Thermoplastics


  • Polyethylene - HDPE, LDPE, Nylon, PVC, Polystyrene, ABS, Acrylic, PET,
• Thermosetting plastics


  • Melamine formaldehyde, Epoxy resin
• Plasticity refers to the ability of an object to undergo permanent deformation without breaking.