The name balsa comes from the spanish word for raft.
Is balsa wood a hardwood or a softwood.
The trees are harvested after six to 10 years of growth.
This may come as a shock to some of you but hardwood isn t necessarily harder than softwood and vice versa.
But the difference between these two types of wood isn t in their name.
For example balsa wood which is known as one of the lightest woods in the world is actually a hardwood.
See wikipedia for more information about balsa.
The difference between hardwood and softwood.
Balsa has excellent sound heat and vibration insulating properties and is also incredibly buoyant.
This happens to be generally true but there are exceptions such as in the cases of wood from yew trees a softwood that is relatively hard and wood from balsa trees a.
The terms hardwood and softwood don t relate to the weight or density of the wood but to the tree type.
For instance yew wood is classified as a softwood but is considerably tougher than certain hardwoods.
There are many more types of hardwood trees than there are softwood.
Hardwood trees are angiosperms mostly decidous in the northern hemisphere but evergreens in the southern hemisphere while softwoods are conifers.
It is the softest commercial hardwood.
The balsa tree is deciduous and classified as an angiosperm which is the same classification as a hardwood such as an oak tree.
In fact balsa is the spanish word for raft.
Yet despite its softness balsa is technically classified as a hardwood rather than a softwood since it has broad leaves and is not a conifer.
Balsa lumber is very soft and light with a coarse open grain.
The distinction between the two woods lies within their reproduction.
Being a deciduous angiosperm balsa is classified as a hardwood despite the wood itself being very soft.
Likewise balsa wood is classified as a hardwood and yet it s one of the least dense and softest types of.
Broad leafed flowering trees are hardwoods.
The hardwood softwood terminology does make some sense.
But as the classification of balsa wood demonstrates there is no minimum weight requirement to become a hardwood.
That is hardwood isn t necessarily denser than softwood.
Although the wood of a balsa tree is soft balsa is a hardwood.