Crafting with Hardwood Blanks
Benefits of Using Hardwood
Hardwood is the material of choice and is used by both beginners and experts to craft beautiful pieces. Here’s why hardwood is such a popular choice:
- Versatile Material: Hardwood is suitable for many different wood craft projects.
- Attractive Finish: Strong grain patterns combined with the ability to create an attractive finish through polishing and treatments such as varnish and stain, make hardwoods an aesthetically appealing choice.
- Strength and Durability: Hardwood is known for being strong and highly durable, making it ideal for most wood craft projects.
Choosing the Right Hardwood
Once you’ve decided that hardwood is the best material for your wood craft project, it’s essential to consider the specific type of hardwood you should use. Hardwoods are known for their exceptional durability, but there is much more to think about when selecting the right one for your wood craft. Here are some of the questions to ask yourself to ensure you pick the perfect wood:
- What are you planning to create?
- Will you be creating intricate designs that require highly workable wood?
- What type of finish do you hope to achieve?
- Are you looking for a strong grain pattern?
Tips for Working with Hardwood
Understanding how to work with hardwood will help to make your wood crafting experience much more pleasant, and help you achieve far better results from each project. Here are some tips to help you when working with hardwood:
- Use Sharp Tools: Due to the strength of hardwood, it’s essential to use sharp tools when working the wood. This enables you to achieve cleaner cuts, avoid damage while you work, and prevent accidental burning of the wood.
- Be Patient: Working with hardwood requires patience. Be prepared to work the wood multiple times to get the perfect cut.
- Allow Time for Acclimatisation: This needs to be factored into your project timescale. Without time to acclimatise, the wood may split and buckle when working it.
Creating Unique Projects
Hardwood is ideally suited to a wide range of unique wood craft projects, including:
- Pens: A wooden pen is an excellent woodturning project for beginners and enables you to create some truly unique designs.
- Candle holders: Candle holders are a perfect woodturning project, and ideal even for beginners.
- Decorative items: Hardwood can be used to craft a wide range of ornaments and other decorative items, and is an ideal way to express your creativity.
Finishing Touches for Hardwood Items
Thanks to its versatility, hardwood can be finished in many ways.
- Sanding: To enjoy the wood’s natural beauty, simply sand it down to create a smooth finish.
- Oiling: Oil is a popular way to finish hardwood items and enhances the character of the wood with its unique grain patterns.
- Varnish or stain Varnishing or staining the wood enhances the finish while also protecting the wood.
Exploring Different Hard Wood Types
There is a huge choice of hardwoods available, and at Exotic Hardwoods UK, we are proud to offer a vast selection for all your wood craft needs. From African Blackwood to Zebrano each wood has unique characteristics and qualities to consider before you select it.
Hardwoods, such as Oak and American Maple, offer exceptional strength. However, it’s also worth exploring exotic hardwoods, such as Ebony and Bubinga, renowned for their strength and beautiful, deep colours.











