126 ENGINEERING ON THE FARM 



texture. Poplar warps badly. It is often stained to imitate 

 more costly woods, and is used for table tops and pumps. 



Sycamore. Sycamore is yellowish in color, heavy, hard, 

 strong, of coarse texture, cross-grained, hard to work, and 

 it shrinks, warps, and checks badly. It is used for meat 

 blocks in butcher shops. 



Walnut. Walnut is very dark brown in color, heavy, 

 hard, of coarse texture, shrinks moderately, and takes a 

 beautiful polish. It is used for interior finish and furni- 

 ture. Butternut, a species of walnut, is light brown in 

 color, light, soft, and weak. 



Suitability. The purposes for which various woods are 



suitable are as follows: 



Heavy framing: Washington or Douglas fir, yellow pine, swamp oak 



Light framing: Fir, white pine, hemlock, tamarack, spruce 



Sheeting: White pine, tamarack, hemlock, spruce, fir 



Exterior finish: White pine, redwood, cypress, poplar 



Interior finish: Fir, yellow pine, all hard woods 



Flooring: Quarter-sawed oak, birch, yellow pine, maple, fir 



Doors and sash: White pine, yellow pine, cypress, redwood 



Doors (veneered): White pine, redwood 



Linen closets: Western white cedar, southern red cedar 



Posts: White cedar, redwood, cypress, locust 



Weight. The weight of lumber varies greatly according 

 to the quantity of moisture contained. Thoroughly cured 

 lumber is much lighter than wet or green lumber. The 

 following table gives the approximate weight per cubic foot 

 of fairly dry lumber: 



Pounds per Pounds per 



Cubic Foot Cubic Foot 



Ash 4° Hickory 48 



Birch 40 Maple 43 



Cedar 25 Oak 48 



Chestnut 30 pine » Norway 34 



Cypress 28 Pine, white 27 



Elm 44 Pine, yellow 42 



Fir 30 Spruce 28 



Gum 37 Tamarack 39 



Hemlock 28 Walnut 37 



