Picea spp. of the family Pinaceae, the pine family
Woods commonly called spruce are from the genus Picea which consists of over 50 species that grow mostly in North America, Europe, and Asia and share about 150 common names amoung themselves. There are several well known varieties (a few of which are represented below) with dozens of common names.
I used to comment here that spruce was famous for being the wood Howard Hughes used to build the "Spruce Goose" of aviation fame (or infamy, depending on how you look at it) but alert reader Gabriel Sroka pointed out to me that the name was just an alliterative and derisive one used to mock Hughes and the plane. The plane was actually built from Baltic birch.
Although generally very bland in appearance, its natural resonance qualities make spruce an ideal choice for musical instrument soundboards. Sitka and Engelmann spruce in particular seem to be favored for that purpose. Both of those varieties have their own page on this site.
my samples: NOTE: these pics were all taken in very bright incandescent lighting ("soft white" at 2700K) colors will vary under other lighting conditions
both sides of a sample plank sold to me as spruce / Picea spp. (note: the plank is spliced, thus the odd pattern on the end grain and the line about 1/3rd of the way down the face)
end grain and end grain closeup of the sample plank directly above
both sides of a sample plank of blue spruce / Picea pungens --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.
end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above
both sides of a sample plank of blue spruce / Picea pungens --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.
end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above
both sides of a sample plank of blue spruce / Picea pungens --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.
end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above
both sides of a sample plank of blue spruce / Picea pungens --- HUGE enlargements are present.
face grain and end grain of a piece of flat cut blue spruce / Picea spp. contributed to the site by Mark Peet whom I thank for this and other contributions.
end grain closeup and END GRAIN UPDATE of the piece directly above
face grain and end grain of a piece of flat cut blue spruce / Picea spp. contributed to the site by Mark Peet whom I thank for this and other contributions.
end grain closeup and END GRAIN UPDATE of the piece directly above
face grain and end grain of a piece of quartersawn blue spruce / Picea spp. contributed to the site by Mark Peet whom I thank for this and other contributions. On the face near the left end there is a streak caused by an adventitious bud.
end grain closeup and END GRAIN UPDATE of the piece directly above
both sides of a sample plank of red spruce / Picea rubens
end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above
both sides of a sample plank of red spruce / Picea rubens --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.
end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above
both sides of a sample plank of red spruce / Picea rubens --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.
end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above
first face and the end grain of a sample of red spruce / Picea rubens This part of a collection which is discussed here: COLLECTION A
the second face, before and after sanding, showing how the patina from aging is only surface deep.
first face and the end grain of a sample of spruce / Picea spp. --- This part of a collection which is discussed here: COLLECTION G
the second face, before and after sanding it down a bit, showing how the patina from aging is only surface deep.
end grain closeup and END GRAIN UPDATE of the piece directly above
both sides of a sample plank of white spruce / Picea glauca --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.
end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above
both sides of a sample plank of spruce, Alberta / Picea glauca var conica --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.
end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above
both sides of a sample plank of Serbian spruce / Picea omorika --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.
end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above
both sides of a sample plank of Serbian spruce / Picea omorika --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.
end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above
both sides of a sample plank of black spruce / Picea mariana --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.
end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above
both sides of a sample plank of Brewer's spruce / Picea breweriana --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.
end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above
both sides of a sample plank of Brewer's spruce / Picea breweriana --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.
end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above
both sides of a sample plank of Oriental spruce / Picea orientalis --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.
end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above
both sides of a sample plank of grafted Oriental spruce grafted / Picea orientalis --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site. The darker area is the scion (the part that was grafted on) and the lighter part is the root. I don't know which one is Picea orientalis, but I assume it's the scion.
end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above
both sides of a sample plank of koyama spruce / Picea koyamae --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by Mark Peet whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site. Vendor misspelled the specific epithet as "koymai".
end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above
two views of the same piece of spruce, contributed to the site by Mark Peet whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site. Mark gave me this piece specifically because it shows very clearly an example of a piece that has a high ring count near the pith and a lower ring count further out. This is backwards from what one normally experiences with wood. In addition to being able to see this clearly in the end grain, the two views show both sides as well and you can see the effects of the ring count difference on rift cut surfaces.
The REASON for this seeming anomaly is that this was cut from a tree that had been in a growth area that was given a "relief cut" which is when some of the trees from an area are cut down so that the rest can grow better. When the tree that this piece came from was a young tree, it was hemmed in by others just like it, all fighting for their share of the sunlight and soil nutrients. Once the relief cut was made, the tree was able to grow more quickly, resulting in what you see here.
both sides of a quartersawn sample plank of spruce / Picea spp. --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was contributed to the site by Mark Peet whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site. This piece came from the same larger slab as the piece directly above.
end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above (although from the other end of the piece)
flat cut, quartersawn, end grain
red spruce (Picea rubens, also listed as double spruce) from The Wood Book --- both levels of enlargement are present for all 3 views
flat cut, quartersawn, end grain
white spruce (Picea alba) from The Wood Book --- both levels of enlargement are present for all 3 views
flat cut, quartersawn, end grain
blue spruce (Picea parryana, also listed as silver spruce) from The Wood Book --- both levels of enlargement are present for all 3 views
web pics:
log end grain specified only as spruce
log end of white spruce / Picea lauca
plank with wet and dry sections
planks
plank with a color that is just silly
plank listed as Canadian spruce / Picea glauca
red spruce planks
plank listed as red spruce / Adirondack spruce / Picea rubens
white spruce plank
European spruce plank
blue spruce plank
veneer just listed as spruce
Adirondack spruce veneer
yellow spruce veneer
German spruce veneer
wormy spruce planks --- whoa !!! Those were some active worms !
knotty spruce veneer
red spruce guitar sets
guitar sets listed as red spruce / Adirondack spruce
spruce guitar fronts --- Although very bland in appearance, its natural resonance qualities make spruce an ideal choice for musical instrument soundboards.
Alpine spruce guitar
red spruce guitar
bearclaw spruce guitar tops shot at various craft fairs or woodworking shows. I ASSUME that these are all sitka spruce since that is, as far as I'm aware, the only spruce that exhibits bear claw figure, but since it was not specifically identified as sitka, I've left it here on the misc page. HUGE enlargments are present and the bearclaw shows up better in them.
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