While many people prefer to use the hardest type of wood they can find for any project ranging from furniture making to flooring and others, lighter woods also have their distinct uses. Today, we will talk about the lightest woods in the world, along with the best possible uses of a lightweight wood.
Why do People Prefer to Use Heavy Woods?
For projects ranging from furniture making to flooring and exterior applications, heavier woods are useful over lighter woods. This is because it is a general belief that heavier woods are also stronger and harder than lighter woods. This is, however, not always the case. Many lightweight woods are equally strong or sometimes stronger than many heavier woods.
Lightweight woods are extensively used in a variety of applications and are preferred over heavy woods because they can be easily moved around. Some of the lightweight wood applications include wooden shelves, picture frames, planter boxes, and some outdoor furniture.
If you are looking to purchase a lightweight wood for your project or are looking for the lightest wood that is also strong, today, we talk about some of the lightest woods in the world.
The weight or mass of wood is generally determined by the following formula:
Weight = Density x Volume
Explore 8 Lightest Wood in The World
Balsa wood is the lightest commercial wood in the world. It is also very soft and therefore not suitable for many heavy applications. However, balsa is widely used for making lightweight wood items, especially products that need to float on water, such as surfboards, rafts and boats. Balsa is not durable and is prone to insect attacks. It cannot take moisture.
The wood is, however, quite easy to work with, which is why it is exclusively preferred for lighter wood projects. Also, Balsa provides good insulation against sound and heat. Compared to many other lightweight woods, Balsa is stronger and was once used to make airplanes.
Besides Balsa timber , redwood, cedar, douglas fir, ash, cypress, black walnut, corkwood, hard maple, etc. are some other lightweight woods widely used for commercial purposes. Pine is also a lightweight wood but it is heavier than the ones mentioned above.
Paulownia is another lightweight wood that is sometimes referred to as the lightest wood in the world. It has a very low density and excellent buoyancy and is mainly used for building rafts and boats.
What are your options when looking to buy lightweight wood?
Some of the most popular lightweight wood options include –
Redwood
Redwood – Redwood is a lightweight wood that is also very durable. It is mainly used in construction and as a building material.
Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) is an awesome evergreen animal varieties, with mature trees generally arriving at 300 feet high and 12 feet in breadth. (Goliath sequoia is significantly bigger and is an alternate animal types.) In North America, redwood fills principally in California.
Balsa Wood
Balsa – Balsa is the lightest wood you can find and use in commercial applications. It is not durable at all.
The key to balsa wood’s daintiness is under the magnifying instrument.
The cells are huge and exceptionally dainty walled, with the goal that the proportion of strong make a difference to open space is low. Most woods have masses of weighty, plastic-like concrete, called lignin, holding the phones together. In balsa, lignin is at least and around 40% of the volume of a piece of new balsa is strong substance.
To give a transcending balsa tree the strength it needs to stand upstanding in the wilderness, nature siphons every cell brimming with water until they become unbending or bloated.
Cedar
Cedar – Cedar is a softwood that is very light and used as a building material. It is somewhat resistant to bugs. Cedar trees are found worldwide and have densities that reach from 19.7 to 23 pounds for each square foot when dry.
Softwoods are generally utilized in applications where protection from decay, as in outside development. At first, the regular oils in the wood oppose both decay and bugs, however the oils vanish over the long haul and the normal opposition decreases.
Douglas Fir
Douglas Fir – As the most well-known wood utilized for underlying timber, as when outlining a house with studs, Douglas fir, actually a softwood, is light, straight and solid. You can tear two-by-fours in half the long way to construct the system for a box, or whatever else. Douglas fir fabricates lightweight bed outlines, swaggers for racking or whatever requires a sound primary structure.This softwood is light but also durable and has average density.
Ash
Ash – Despite being very lightweight, ash has good hardness and strength. Debris is a light hued, smooth-grained hardwood that develops all through the east coast and portions of Canada.
With its commonplace straight grain and beige-to-light-earthy colored tint, debris wood is an exceptionally appealing choice for fine furnishings. It’s quite possibly the most sturdy assortment and has a broad history in American furniture making. It is strong, lightweight, stylishly satisfying, and retains wood finishes well.
Hard Maple
Hard Maple – Hard maple is harder than ash and is also very light. Maple wood is extraordinarily solid, looks extraordinary, and finishes pleasantly. Carpenters and furniture devotees float towards maple for its light, rich tone, smooth grain design, and noteworthy sturdiness.
Despite the fact that there are many types of maple trees all over the planet, the species generally normal among American carpenters is Hard Maple (also known as Sugar Maple or Rock Maple).
Black Walnut
Black Walnut – One of the most beautiful woods, black walnut is super light. Despite being a hardwood, black walnut is not very hard. How might you Identify Walnut wood?
A large portion of individuals know about Walnut wood due to its dim shading design that can resemble espresso or profound chocolate tone. Be that as it may, the thing is the dim wood is local to North America. Not at all like maple, oak or cherry, Walnut wood gets eases up over the long haul.
Corkwood – Corkwood is only about 12 pounds per cubic foot, which makes it one of the lightest woods available in the market.
How To Buy The Light Weight Wood At Affordable Price
Lightweight, low-thickness woods have utilizes that reach from carpentry to plane structure. Some are just great for lighting fires or making paper. Every species has properties that make it valuable in some structure. Wood thickness as weight per a given volume and relies significantly upon how much dampness the wood contains. Wood thickness tables give different dampness levels and fluctuating loads for a given volume.
Lightweight woods are suitable for a range of projects, such as building shelves, outdoor furniture, picture frames, rafts, boats, musical instruments, and fancy items. Make sure to choose the right lightweight wood for your project, as different woods have different properties. For example, for outdoor furniture, Cypress is a good lightweight wood as it is resistant to insects, hard and easy to move around.
How To Buy The Light Weight Wood At Affordable Price
All of the above-mentioned lightweight woods you can buy from CameroonTimberExportSarl. We are a bestselling exporter and supplier of commercial timber and wood logs and ship to all major locations, countries and cities around the world. Whether you are looking to buy the lightest wood in the world or need help selecting the right timber for your project, contact CameroonTimberExportSarl today.