US Trees and their Useful Wood Quiz

Answer: elm

The American elm succumbed to Dutch elm disease, but the red elm is still here, hiding in the woods. Websites say it's susceptible too, but our woods are full of it and I've seen it elsewhere in the east. It's virtually unsplittable, for better or worse. It was once used for things like wagon hubs that had to be just as strong in every direction to hold the spokes.

Answer: hickory

Hickory has the combined properties of being both strong and flexible, like ash too, so it's good for tool handles that need to gently flex, rather than making your hands feel as if they hit a rock. It takes a nice pale finish, or can be stained darker if you want. It's not too durable out in the rain.

Answer: oak

The golden oak period of furniture was around the turn of the 20th Century, when everything from rolltop desks to telephones got the yellowish brown stain. Even painted, oak makes a nice basic hardwood for furniture, window frames, flooring, doors, etc.

Answer: walnut

This is an expensive hardwood to buy, but it's worth it, in my opinion. Not only is it easy to work with hand tools if you like doing that, it looks gorgeous with almost any stain, or just a clear finish. It makes heavy furniture, but can be combined with poplar, pine or something else to save both weight and cost, or added as veneer.

Answer: locust

Ironically, growing locust trees are susceptible to diseases and the trees often die before getting big, but after they're dead, the wood resists rot naturally and makes excellent fenceposts. For general use, it's very heavy and strong, usually more than necessary for everyday uses, with a yellowish color.

Answer: poplar

Poplar isn't very strong, but splits well if you're working it with hand tools, and is strong for its weight. It generally is a light color with minimal grain, but sometimes will have purple or greenish streaks near or in the heartwood. Good for making projects that you want to be lightweight and that will be painted.

Answer: pine

Pine is similar to poplar, lightweight, not too strong, but unlike poplar's few knots, pine can have so many it becomes decorative "knotty pine" that used to be all the rage for paneling. There are various kinds such as white pine and yellow pine with differing characteristics, but similar enough to be treated together. Most basic lumber, like 2x4s, is pine. If you're painting over knots, use a sealer on them first, or the sap will persistently bleed through.

Answer: sassafras

Sassafras wood is a light brown and aromatic when first sawn. It's easy to work, lightweight, durable outdoors, and is a darker substitute for old-time chestnut. The wood is sometimes hard to get, as the trees can be hollow or have diseases before reaching full size. It grows into northern Ohio and Pennsylvania, but doesn't get large enough for commercial logs till further south.

Answer: persimmon

An unusual wood, persimmon lacks ebony's blackness, but is heavy, fine grained, and hard to split. It can be used for anything where hardness and rigidity are required, like golf club heads before artificial materials superseded wood, or a mortar and pestle.

It will dull tools used to work on it, though, and is hard to split. It also needs to be dried carefully, if green, or it will crack.

Answer: curly maple

If only there were a curly maple tree you could cut down! But there's no guarantee which maple will have this fancy grain coloration. There are variations: tiger maple, fire maple, birdseye maple. If you're lucky enough to find some, have the wood quartersawn if possible, to best show off the coloring, and use it for something very special.