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| Home Painting Skills and Basics Paperhanging Home Decorating Interior Decorating Wood Identification |
Lime trees and woodThe Linden is to be recommended as an ornamental tree when a mass of foliage or a deep shade is desired. The tree produces fragrant and nectar-producing flowers, the medicinal herb lime blossom.  They are very important honey plants for beekeepers, producing a very pale but richly flavoured monofloral honey. The flowers are also used for herbal tea, and this infusion is particularly popular in Europe.T. cordata is the preferred species for medical use, having a high concentration of active compounds. It is said to be  a nervine, used by herbalists in treating restlessness, hysteria, and headaches. Usually, the double-flowered lindens are used to make perfumes. The leaf buds and young leaves are also edible raw. Tilia species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species.The timber of lime trees is soft, easily worked, and has very little grain, so it is a popular wood for model building and intricate carving. Ease of working and good acoustic properties also make it popular for electric guitar bodies and wind instruments such as recorders. It is also the wood of choice for the window-blinds and shutters industries. Real wood blinds are often made from this lightweight but strong and stable wood which is well suited to natural and stained finishes. It is known in the trade as basswood, particularly in North America. This name originates from the inner fibrous bark of the tree, known as bast (Old English). A very strong fibre was obtained from this, by peeling off the bark and soaking in water for a month; after which the inner fibres can be easily separated. Bast obtained from the inside of the bark of the lime tree has been used by the Ainu people of Japan to weave their traditional clothing, the attus. In the percussion industry, basswood is sometimes used as a material for drum shells, both to enhance their sound and their aesthetics. Basswood is also frequently used as a material for electric guitar bodies. In the past, it was typically used (along with Agathis) for favoured for less-expensive models. However, due to its better resonance at mid and high frequency, and better sustain than alder, it is now more commonly in use with superstrats. It can also be used for the neck because of its excellent material integrity when bent and ability to produce consistent tone without any dead spots according to Parker Guitars. Extract from 'The International book of WOOD' curtesy Michael Beazley Publishers Limited 1979. |
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