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Light weight wood?

7K views 40 replies 17 participants last post by  Pineknot_86 
#1 ·
What would be a light weight wood other than balsa wood for a project similar to a small end table? Similar to a Shaker table- three legs, spindle and round top. Thanks. A source would be good, too. Thanks.
 
#2 ·
pounds per cubic foot, partial listing

Code:
         Balsa    7 - 9       Bamboo   19 - 25       Basswood   20 - 37       Pine,   white   22 - 31       Poplar   22 - 31       Pine,   yellow   23 - 37       Sycamore   24 - 37       Willow   24 - 37       Spruce   25 - 44       Alder   26 - 42       Larch   31 - 35       Mahogany,   African   31 - 53       Beech   32 - 56       Elm,   English   34 - 37       Oak   37 - 56       Hickory   37 - 58       Pear   38 - 45       Maple   39 - 47       Walnut   40 - 43       Ash,   white   40 - 53       Plum   41 - 49       Apple   41 - 52       Teak,   Indian   41 - 55       Locust   42 - 44       Cherry,   European   43- 56       Pine,   pitch   52 - 53
 
#5 ·
Worth mentioning that the lighter wood is, generally, the weaker it is. For an end table, the lightest wood that personally id be comfortable using would be one of the SPF family, though honestly for a table like what youre describing id rather use a hardwood, cherry probably being my first choice. A lightweight wood will save weight, sure, but for an end table i really doubt youd save more than a pound or two going from cherry to spruce. Course, only you can decide if that pound or two is really worth it, for all i know youre packing this in a space vehicle where each pound is an extra $10,000 to launch.

As far as sources go, were all gonna be pretty useless without a location. Your best bet is always gonna be buying local
 
#6 ·
Why a lightweight wood?

The lighter the wood, the weaker, and the less mass to keep it stable.

A 3 "footed" table with a center column relies on the distance between the foot pads for stability..... however it will tend to tip on a line connecting two of the feet. I would NOT give up mass for a substitute wood that is only a few pounds lighter. You are not going to carry this on your back across the country.... I hope.


Cherry would be a great wood. Walnut as well. Oak either Red or White would be the heaviest. Pines and Spruce will work, but why put all the effort into a wood that won't stain up as well as the hardwoods....?



:vs_cool:
 
#7 ·
Should have mentioned that this will be for a "floating table" magic trick he is working on. I explained balsa wood is very fragile. We were looking at basswood or something else. We found several charts/comparisons with a Bing search. Thanks for the recommendations. Will run all this by him and see what he wants to do. BTW, I hadn't posted this and within an hour, he was asking what I heard.
 
#8 ·
If I were trying for light weight, I would start with the design. I would start thinking about all the design tricks I know that provide strength with minimal material. Use "L" shape legs, or drill or hollow them out. Thin everything that doesn't need to be thick. Consider a thin top, but use battens (thin strips on the back), or a thicker rim to provide strength and support. You might even think about making a torsion box, with thin layers on top and bottom and a simple structure between them to hold it together. Wrap it in veneer strips to give it a nice look. I wonder whether 1/8 inch plywood is too thin for the top, if properly supported?

With the right design, you may be able to achieve the light weight you desire, but be able to use stronger, better, nicer wood species, maybe a hardwood.

By the way, for beginners, "SPF" stands for "Spruce, Pine, Fir". It is the white softwood construction lumber that you find at the big hardware stores, where you don't know the exact species of wood, but you don't need to know, either.
 
#20 ·
A fairly light weight wood is Cypress and it machines easily.
Fairly attractive and readily available on southern coast area and reasonably priced. Besides, hunting for a good lumber yard with cypress would keep you out of the BORG.
 

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#30 ·
Butternut is very light, I've used a good bit for different projects. It looks very much like walnut but light in color and weight. For its weight, it is pretty strong but like walnut it can be kind of splintery. If you are looking for a light weight wood with great strength/weight ratio and is easy to work try some sassafras.
 
#32 ·
What would be a light weight wood other than balsa wood for a project similar to a small end table? Similar to a Shaker table- three legs, spindle and round top. Thanks. A source would be good, too. Thanks.

Should have mentioned that this will be for a "floating table" magic trick he is working on. I explained balsa wood is very fragile. We were looking at basswood or something else...
For that style table (and your planned purpose for it?) I would still recommend Balsa (averaging 10 lbs/ft3) as that is typically what they seem to be made of as are many "magic trick" wood items...

However, if the correct grain and example is selected from a broad/plank stack at a supplier...Northern White Pine can weight as little as 20 lbs/ft3.

Paulownia is also a very excellent replacement for Balsa in such application coming in at only 18 lbs/ft3 (and sometimes lighter) if you select the correct stock and grain pattern...In Asia, this was the wood of choice for such illusionist props made of wood.

There are others but they get heaver than Eastern White Pine...
 
#36 ·
All the discussion over it being "called" hardwood seems silly... "Hard" is a relative term anyway. Use the Janka scale or a Janka hardness chart if you need a better idea how hard a species of wood is. My wish is for a simple scale similar to the janka scale for strength with the grain and against the grain.
 
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