The Specialness of Birch Wood

The birch tree belongs to the Betulaceae family. It is a thin-leaved tree that has between thirty and sixty different species. It is harvested in most of the Northern Hemisphere. And even though it is a relative to the oak, the lumber is much harder than oak.

A history of usages

The Birch tree has many useful properties and all parts of the tree were effectively used by humans throughout history. The Indians used it for making canoes, food bowels and darts, as well as to build a teepee tents from its light and flexible bark.

Nowadays Birch tree is used for a variety of purposes such as the production of lubricants, cosmetics, medicines, soaps, shampoos, toothpicks, and even creating artificial sweeteners, beer and beverages

Characteristics

The Birch wood is silky textured characterized by light and dark stripes, and comes in bright colors of red and white-yellowish brown

Hardwood

On a hardness scale, birch lumber ranks at the top with hard-rock maple, and in fact is often mistaken for maple. Birch is reserved for butcher blocks, some tool handles and specialty furniture. It takes carbide-tipped saws to effectively cut birch hardwood, and the process often produces smoke and fine sawdust that hangs in the air. Birch hardwood is often used for braces or structural members when absolute strength is required, such as in hydraulic presses or other applications that require rock-solid strength.

Resonance

Musicians and electronics manufacturers seek out birch because of an inherent resonant quality it imparts to speakers and musical instruments. When built into a drum shell, for example, birch produces a sound that has tone and depth that other drum shells cannot rival. When birch plywood is made into a speaker cabinet, it does the same thing: It provides the speaker with rich, deep bass that resonates. On guitar bodies, birch provides a sustain that can't be matched by other guitar body materials such as ash, alder or mahogany.