Know Your Woods : A Complete Guide to Trees, Woods, and Veneers

Describes international forestation programs and the uses, characteristics, and processing of various woods in addition to providing a detailed guide to tree identification

Know Your Woods traces different varieties of lumber from the forest to the sawmill to the craftsman's workshop. Every person interested in the broad subject of woods-their identification, characteristics, and uses-will find this book a revelation. The information is presented in clear, nontechnical style. It describes over three hundred principal woods; indicates the common and scientific names of each; shows how to recognize a tree by its leaf, bark, or berry; and features over one hundred fifty illustrations on how to identify a type of wood by grain, color, and texture.
The author spent more than forty years in the trade before writing this book, which reflects his thorough and unparalleled expertise in the field. It contains much information that appears nowhere else, including commentary on worldwide forestation programs, logging and sawmill operations, lumber and veneer manufacturing methods, and other related subjects. Know Your Woods is a unique reference guide that neither the craftsman nor the tree lover should be without.
Albert J. Constantine Jr.'s great-grandfather, a cabinetmaker, founded the family's wood business in 1812, which remains a thriving operation in the Bronx, New York, and has expanded to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. The author, who passed away many years ago, was known for having devoted a lifetime to the study of woods.

Chapters include:
A Tree Lives
Identification of Woods
How a Tree is Named
Knowing Trees by Name
Out of the Forest into Logs and Lumber
From Logs to Veneers
The Physical Appearance of Wood
Woods of the Bible
Planting Trees around the World
State Trees
Drugs from Trees
Collecting Woods of the World as a Hobby
And more