The very first thing that we should concern ourselves with in the process of instrument construction is the selection and identification of differnt types of woods.  There are many differnt ways to identify woods by using differnt charecteristics such as; color, pattern, smell, stiffness, overall densitiy, tap tone, figure, pores, texture, and luster.  Now we must also remeber that not everyone will call the same exact tree by the same name.  There are plenty of common names people will use, this only adds confusion when trying to discribe it to other people.  To take care of this problem all living things have been broken down into a seven part scientific name.  Mainly we are only concerned about the last two parts which are the Genus and Species.  Scientist have taken and placed these living things into these more exact names but they didnt use english, german or even french they used latin which is concidered to be a dead languge.  It is concidered to be dead because no one speaks it as there offical language, therefor it will not change with the world around it, it will remain the same. 

            Trees and other living things of similar nature can have the same name all the way up to the genus.  If in fact two trees are differnt the species will always be differnt.  For example all Maples will have the same genus of ACER.  The species will be differnt though.  Ok lets put a common name into a scientific name.  Lets try a "Sugar Maple".  We already know that maple is Acer, so we need to find a latin word which decribes the species. SACCHARUM is the latin word for "Sweet/Sugar".  So when we put it together keeping in mind the order in which all names under the system are put together we come up with Acer saccharum.

            There are many differnt types of trees.  There are about 10,000 differnt types around the world with roughly 500 of them being soft wood.  Out of these differnt species only a small percentage of them are actually used in construction of any sort.  There are many differnt factors that will determine which trees can yeild a wood of building quility.  Some trees plainly do not reach a size that would allow enough material to be usefull.  Some trees don't grow straigh enough.  Yet others are rarer and the supply is smaller and wouldn't allow a profit margin.  These are just a few of the factors that come into play.

            Now what makes a good wood for the job?  Well first you have to look at the application you are using it for in our case we are selecting it for instrument construction.  To make a good selection you must look at the composition of the woods cell structure, and even its growth rate.  Most cells in a tree are what we would call longitudinal cells.  This means that they grow along the length of the tree rather than the width.  The other type of cell that is found in a tree is a radial cell, these cells grow with the width of the tree ,or with the radius.  Now it is important to know that only a certain percentage of a tree is still growning we call these parts meristematic tissues.  Meristematic tissues simply means the growth tissues, tissues that are growing.

            What are the proporties that we look for when selecting wood for each individaul part of the instrument.  Well naturally tree that grow slower have more cellural strengeth because the cells are closer together.  For example we would never use a wood such as pine for a neck, because it is a soft wood and would not support the stress that the strings would place on it cause it to crack or bow.  A harder wood such as Mohagany would be a better choice because of its strength ,or density.  Now the body might be made of less densce matarial because the stress placed on it will not be as great.

            Not only the type of wood plays an important roll in this selection process but quilty and cut also factor in greatly.  There are two differnt classifications for the way would is cut.  You have a slab cut.  When wood is cut in this manner you will see ovals or semi round lines running up and down the face.  The other cut is a radial cut ,or quartersawn wood.  You can tell this type of board because it seems to have straight and even lines running down the face and end of the board.  Although they may not entirely straight they will be close.  I also mentioned quilty of the wood.  There are a few differnt warps or defects that would rule out any piece of would from being the best.  First if the board can be cupped.  This is when the board is curved along face.  The curve runs along the width from edge to edge.  Next you might encounter a bow in the board.  This occours when the board curves from end to end along the face.  You might find that a board has a twist in it that is when the face rolls from one direction to the other along the length of the board.  A crook is when a board curve along the edge rather than the face of the board.  A radial or quartersawn piece of wood will be the least likely to deform, this is why this cut is a better choice for instrument construction.