What is "white wood?"

[Matthew Hinton]

Hello,

So far, I've built a few projects with this wood.  Namely, two toolboxes and two different shelves.  It's the cheapest at the big-box store near me.   What kind of wood is it? 

TIA !   

[James P. Cottingham]

Whitewood can be any number of light colored species: basswood, spruce, tulipwood (polar), fir, etc. I like working with it. You might want to ask if someone at the box store knows what the current shipment is.

Some companies define whitewood as any wood that hasn't been subjected to chemical treatment (e.g., arsenic) so slow down decay or rot. You will sometimes see whitewood recommended for raised garden beds for that reason. There is not hard definition of that, though so buyer beware.

[Ken Darga]

I've heard tell,

if it's not DARK wood, it's "WHITE" wood.

Some pines are called 'YELLOW" pine, and if its not yellow, some call it WHITE.

[ArellanoWoodworking]

Tia,

all depends where you live. Box stores will carry pine, poplar, fir. If you build a project using white wood, make sure you seal the knots if you plan on painting it. 

Cheers!

Jesus

[Matthew Hinton]

The reason I'd asked was to try and get an idea of how much weight it could support. For example, when making stand alone shelves.  I'm in Southeastern U.S. (Alabama) here.  Around here, Southern Yellow Pine is clearly marked as such.  I've found tables online that show how much the board would sag IF a certain weight was exceeded.  "Whitewood" wasn't listed.

If I'm building something that has to take any kind of load, I'll stick to a known wood. 

Thanks for the responses.

[James P. Cottingham]

I like that definition. :-)

Ken Darga said:

I've heard tell,

if it's not DARK wood, it's "WHITE" wood.

Some pines are called 'YELLOW" pine, and if its not yellow, some call it WHITE.

[james wilhelm]

HI here in PA.  , yellow pine is darker and heavier  and white pine in light in color and lighter , JIM !! 

[Ken Darga]

Matt,

If you have access to the internet, you can find several explanations of "white wood".

Do a search on "google" and enter, "what is white wood".