When comparing hardwoods vs softwoods it s the density of the wood that makes all the difference.
Hardwood vs soft wood.
Softwoods produce the world s 80 of timber.
Hardwood vs softwood is the comparison between them and comes down to its physical structure and makeup and as being hard and durable compared to softwood it is overly simplistic to think of hardwoods and softwood is also workable.
Wood density lb ft 3 alder hardwood 26 42 aspen hardwood 26 balsa hardwood.
Hardwood is a kind of wood that is acquired from angiosperm plants.
However due to the difference in density you may need twice the volume of softwood to compare to the same weight as hardwood.
Softwood is a kind of wood that is attained from gymnosperm plants.
The chart below shows the density of some commonly used woods.
Overall hardwood vs softwood.
Evergreens do tend to be less dense than deciduous trees and therefore easier to cut while most hardwoods tend to be more dense and therefore sturdier.
There are some hard softwoods as well as soft hardwoods.
Softwood is mainly used for the production of timber.
Similarly we expect softwood to be soft and light.
Hardwood is used for the production of furniture wooden flooring and other wooden.
Depending on the type of your project you may need either or both of the different kinds of wood.
Pound for pound hardwoods and softwoods will create about the same amount of heat.
The denser a wood is the harder stronger and more durable it is.
Indo gemstone indogemstone when we think about hardwood we think of hard and dense material.
But as the classification of balsa wood demonstrates there is no minimum weight requirement to become a hardwood.