The name balsa comes from the spanish word for raft.
Is balsa wood a hardwood or a softwood.
Classifying wood as either a hardwood or softwood comes down to its physical structure and makeup and so it is overly simple to think of hardwoods as being hard and durable compared to soft and workable softwoods.
Balsa wood is very soft and light and is commonly used in model aeroplane building but it is not technically classified as a softwood.
But as the classification of balsa wood demonstrates there is no minimum weight requirement to become a hardwood.
Although the wood of a balsa tree is soft balsa is a hardwood.
The balsa tree is deciduous and classified as an angiosperm which is the same classification as a hardwood such as an oak tree.
Balsa lumber is very soft and light with a coarse open grain.
Yet despite its softness balsa is technically classified as a hardwood rather than a softwood since it has broad leaves and is not a conifer.
The hardwood softwood terminology does make some sense.
See wikipedia for more information about balsa.
The distinction between the two woods lies within their reproduction.
Balsa has excellent sound heat and vibration insulating properties and is also incredibly buoyant.
It is the softest commercial hardwood.
There are many more types of hardwood trees than there are softwood.
But the difference between these two types of wood isn t in their name.
For example balsa wood which is known as one of the lightest woods in the world is actually a hardwood.
Broad leafed flowering trees are hardwoods.
The trees are harvested after six to 10 years of growth.
For instance yew wood is classified as a softwood but is considerably tougher than certain hardwoods.
This happens to be generally true but there are exceptions such as in the cases of wood from yew trees a softwood that is relatively hard and wood from balsa trees a.
Hardwood trees are angiosperms mostly decidous in the northern hemisphere but evergreens in the southern hemisphere while softwoods are conifers.
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.
This may come as a shock to some of you but hardwood isn t necessarily harder than softwood and vice versa.
In fact balsa is the spanish word for raft.
That is hardwood isn t necessarily denser than softwood.
Being a deciduous angiosperm balsa is classified as a hardwood despite the wood itself being very soft.