MFPA | Important Commercial Species in Massachusetts

Important Commercial Species in Massachusetts

Massachusetts Forest Products Association

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Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus)
The heartwood of eastern white pine is cream colored, often with a reddish tinge. It turns darker on exposure to air. The wood has comparatively uniform texture and is straight grained. It is easily kiln dried, has low shrinkage, and ranks high in stability. It is also easy to work, can be readily glued, and takes paint and stain well. Eastern white pine is lightweight, moderately soft, moderately low in strength, low in shock resistance, and low in stiffness.
High-grade lumber is used for sashes, doors, furniture, interior woodwork, paneling, caskets, shade and map rollers, and toys.

Northern Red Oak (Quercus rubra)
The sapwood of northern red oak is nearly white and roughly 1 to 2 inches (2 to 5 cm) wide. The heartwood is brown with a tinge of red. Wood of the northern red oak is heavy and has fairly high shrinkage in drying.
Northern red oak lumber is strong and machines well. Quartersawn lumber has an attractive "open" grain. Northern red oak lumber is used for furniture, flooring, cabinets, millwork, and woodenware.

Red Maple (Acer rubrum)
The heartwood and sapwood of red maple is usually light reddish brown. The wood of red maple has a fine, uniform texture and is of medium density. The wood resembles that of sugar maple, but it is not as heavy and hard.
Red maple is used for flooring, furniture, veneer, woodenware, and novelties.

Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis)
The lumber of eastern hemlock is pale brown with a reddish hue. The wood is coarse and uneven in texture.
Eastern hemlock is used principally for lumber and pulpwood. The lumber is used in building construction (framing, sheathing, subflooring, and roof boards) and in the manufacture of boxes, pallets, and crates. Eastern hemlock is also used in the production of paper.

Other species harvested in smaller quantities from the forests of Massachusetts include sugar maple, white ash, American beech, yellow birch, and black cherry.

Some technical information taken from Wood Handbook, Forest Products Laboratory, 1999.

Table 1. Strength properties of some commercially important woods in the United States (metric)

Table 2. Strength properties of some commercially important woods in the United States (inch-pound)

Table 3. Wood volume conversions (solid wood)

Table 4. Standard lumber lengths (U.S.) conversions

Table 5. Lumber size conversions

Table 6. Basic Metric Sizes for Sawn Softwoods

Table 7. Board Feet Expressed as Decimals of Cubic Meter

Figure 1. Volume and Measurement Formulas