3 ms·

Not true. I used to work at a lumber company. If you're in North America, you can usually buy some kind of hardwood. For utility lumber, they probably can't tel

Not true. I used to work at a lumber company. If you're in North America, you can usually buy some kind of hardwood. For utility lumber, they probably can't tell you what kind of hardwood it is, but it will be hardwood.

zokier 5y ago
> If you're in North America, you can usually buy some kind of hardwood That's the thing, I'm not in NA, so pretty much any hardwoods available here are "exotic" imports.
markdown 5y ago
How could they not tell what type of hardwood it is? In my (tropical) country, different timber looks very different, and anyone working in hardware or construction should be able to tell on sight what type of tree a plant came from.
- tupshin 5y ago
  https://woodidentification.net/about/ https://woodidentification.net/about/ "Identifying wood is not easy for a number of reasons. First, there are hundreds of different species of trees in North America. Second, the wood of many species looks very similar, if not identical."
- gotorazor 5y ago
  It depends on the purpose and grade of the lumber. I have worked an "exotic" lumber dealer that can definitely offer different species and grades of wood from all over the world -- including CITES (endangered species list) lumber with the proper certificates. But their customers are typically woodworkers that want a specific species for a specific look. So it's usually cabinet and furniture makers etc. I have also worked at a "discount" industrial lumber distributer. They are selling wood to be made into pallets or used at a construction site for bracing. In those cases, the hardwood species are a lot less important. The customer just needs something much stronger than the standard SPF. It's a fascinating industry. I learned a lot working that job -- even tho I was just implement their ERP systems.
rootusrootus 5y ago
I am guessing any unidentified utility hardwood is likely to be poplar. Next guess would be red oak, though in my experience that is usually identified and it costs a bit more. And it comes in less utility sizes than poplar.
- gotorazor 5y ago
  It's really a mix. Usually they get mixed in as "utility" hardwood because those pieces don't make appearance grade. I have seen cords of walnut and cherry mixed in a bundle of utility hardwood before. They just didn't look good for making a cabinetry set or a end-table.

zokier 5y ago

> If you're in North America, you can usually buy some kind of hardwood That's the thing, I'm not in NA, so pretty much any hardwoods available here are "exotic" imports.

markdown 5y ago

How could they not tell what type of hardwood it is? In my (tropical) country, different timber looks very different, and anyone working in hardware or construction should be able to tell on sight what type of tree a plant came from.

tupshin 5y ago
https://woodidentification.net/about/ https://woodidentification.net/about/ "Identifying wood is not easy for a number of reasons. First, there are hundreds of different species of trees in North America. Second, the wood of many species looks very similar, if not identical."
gotorazor 5y ago
It depends on the purpose and grade of the lumber. I have worked an "exotic" lumber dealer that can definitely offer different species and grades of wood from all over the world -- including CITES (endangered species list) lumber with the proper certificates. But their customers are typically woodworkers that want a specific species for a specific look. So it's usually cabinet and furniture makers etc. I have also worked at a "discount" industrial lumber distributer. They are selling wood to be made into pallets or used at a construction site for bracing. In those cases, the hardwood species are a lot less important. The customer just needs something much stronger than the standard SPF. It's a fascinating industry. I learned a lot working that job -- even tho I was just implement their ERP systems.

rootusrootus 5y ago

I am guessing any unidentified utility hardwood is likely to be poplar. Next guess would be red oak, though in my experience that is usually identified and it costs a bit more. And it comes in less utility sizes than poplar.

gotorazor 5y ago
It's really a mix. Usually they get mixed in as "utility" hardwood because those pieces don't make appearance grade. I have seen cords of walnut and cherry mixed in a bundle of utility hardwood before. They just didn't look good for making a cabinetry set or a end-table.