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Softwood is wood from gymnosperm trees such as conifers. The term is opposed to hardwood , which is the wood from angiosperm trees. The main differences between hardwoods and softwoods is that the softwoods completely lack vessels (pores). [ 1 ]
The wood from conifers (e.g. pine) is called softwood, and the wood from dicotyledons (usually broad-leaved trees, e.g. oak) is called hardwood. These names are a bit misleading, as hardwoods are not necessarily hard, and softwoods are not necessarily soft. The well-known balsa (a hardwood) is actually softer than any commercial softwood.
Global Wood Density Database; National Hardwood and Lumber Association; American Hardwood Information Center; American Hardwood Export Council; Australian National Association of Forest Industries
Softwood from North American conifers has a variety of commercial uses. The sturdier timber is milled for plywood, wood veneer and construction framing, including structural support beams and studs. Logs can be fashioned into posts, poles and railroad ties.
In North America, virgin (non-recycled) wood fibre is primarily extracted from hardwood (deciduous) trees and softwood (coniferous) trees. The wood fibre can be extracted as a primary product, or collected during the milling of lumber. [1] Wood fibres can also be recycled from used paper materials. [2]
Duties on lumber from Canada had already risen to 14.4% this summer after the expiration of a U.S.-Canada agreement on softwood lumber. And a review of anti-dumping could further double the duties ...
Softwood plywood is usually made either of cedar, Douglas fir or spruce, pine, and fir (collectively known as spruce-pine-fir or SPF) or redwood and is typically used for construction and industrial purposes. [12] The most common dimension is 1.2 by 2.4 metres (3 ft 11 in × 7 ft 10 in) or the slightly larger imperial dimension of 4 feet × 8 feet.
Cheaper "hardwood" doors, for instance, now consist of a thin veneer bonded to a core of softwood, plywood or medium-density fibreboard (MDF). Hardwoods may be used in a variety of objects, but are most frequently seen in furniture or musical instruments because of their density which adds to durability, appearance, and performance.