Balsa wood has it's place in model building but it is not all that useful in period model ships. It is very soft, whitish in color, porous and just a very fragile wood. It also does not hold nails very well. While it is easy to work it does not really lend itself well to model ships. If used at all you should probably only use it for fill-in pieces at the bow and stern and only then when other more suitable material isn't at hand.

Basswood is an excellent all-around wood, readily available in hobby shops. White and very fine-grained. Easy to work with and bends freely, but too soft to turn.

Oak is a hard, light to medium gray-brown, tough, short fibred wood with a distinctive grain structure. Like mahogany, because of it's coarse grain structure is it not all that suitable for model building. Most modelers avoid its use.

Obechi is a tough, but soft yellowish open-grained wood. It is extremely easy to work and holds nails well when compared to Balsa. It is also a more preferable wood in all respects when compared to Balsa by most modelers. It is ideal for the keelson and the in-fill pieces of fully planked hulls and is commonly used as base planking on double planked hulls because it is tough and does not splinter easily.

Pear is one of the ideal woods to work with in model ship building and is used for virtually everything on the ship from visible frames, to planking, deck strakes, deck furniture and fittings. It is excellent to carve as it hardly splinters at all. It is a medium hard, light to medium brown in color with short fibers and a plain grain pattern.

Pine is medium hard, whitish to yellowish in color, long-fibered, tough with a plain grain pattern. It is suitable for masts, yards and planking.

Sitka-spruce is a soft wood with an extremely fine and straight grained pattern. Suitable for masts and yards. For optimal visual effects when using sitka-spruce for deck planking it should be quarter sawn.