Is Balsa Wood A Hardwood

Density 160 120 220 kgm3 commercially preferred density range 120 160kgm3.

Is balsa wood a hardwood.

Balsa wood is the lightest and softest commercial hardwood timber. Over 90 of commercial balsa wood is exported from ecuador. The green balsa wood is the one that contains five times more water by weight than the actual wood substance. Hardwood is a tightly grained timber such as eucalyptus or balsa wood.

High quality balsa that is balsa with a very low density can be rather expensive when purchased at hobby stores or other specialty outlets. Larger boards and lumber sold through typical hardwood dealers is hard to find but generally has a better cost per board foot than other sources. Strength and stiffness approximately 50 that of baltic pine pinus sylvestris. Hardwood is a tightly grained timber such as eucalyptus or balsa wood.

The term hardwood has nothing to do with the hardness of the timber it relates to the closeness of the grain. The balsa tree ochroma pyramidale is a fast growing hardwood tree which grows extremely well in the in sub tropical rain forests of ecuador. The name balsa comes from the spanish word for raft. White to oatmeal in colour with high silky lustre.

The terms hardwood and softwood don t relate to the weight or density of the wood but to the tree type. Balsa is classified as a hardwood and is actually the softest commercial hardwood available. The term hardwood has nothing to do with the hardness of the timber it relates to the closeness of the grain. This wood is far from the other hardwood that you can see in the market since it has more water in it.

There are many more types of hardwood trees than there are softwood. Balsa lumber is very soft and light with a coarse open grain. Being a deciduous angiosperm balsa is classified as a hardwood despite the wood itself being very soft. It is the softest commercial hardwood.