The European Beech has a fine and short grain, making it easy to work, soak, dye (except its heartwood), varnish, and glue. It is used in the manufacture of numerous objects and implements. It has an excellent finish and is resistant to compression and splitting. Milling is sometimes difficult due to cracking and it is stiff when flexed.
It is particularly well suited for minor carpentry, particularly furniture. From chairs to parquetry (flooring) and staircases. Its hardness renders it ideal for making wooden mallets and workbench tops. However, the European Beech is not sufficiently strong to provide heavy structural support, and it should not be left outdoors. The wood of the European Beech rots easily if it is not protected by a tar based on a distillate of its own bark (as used in railway sleepers).
Box (Buxus sempervirens; southern England only)
Owing to its fine grain it is a good wood for fine wood carving, although this is limited by the small sizes available.
. Bark . Charcoal . Coppice . Dye . Fine-grain . Firewood . Flavoring . Fodder . Fruit . Hardwood . Hedgerows . Indoor use only . Marshy or moist soil . Medicinal . Moisture resistance . Paper . Piles . Seeds and Nuts . Softwood . Special Uses . Superstition .
. Alders . Alder buckthorn . Ash . Beech . Birches . Box . Cherries, Plums, Blackthorn . Dogwood . Elder . Elms . Hazels . Hollies . Hornbeams . Junipers . Limes . Maples . Oaks . Pines . Poplars . Purging buckthorn . Rowans and Whitebeams . Service tree . Native shrubs . Willows . Yews .
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