Wood

v50.12 · v0.47.05 This article is about the current version of DF. Note that some content may still need to be updated. More Info · V

xTATTEREDx  · +FINE+  · *SUPERIOR*  · ≡EXCEPTIONAL≡  · ☼MASTERWORK☼

"Timber" redirects here. For the month, see Calendar.

Wood is produced by designating trees to be chopped down. Any dwarf with the wood cutting labor enabled and access to a battle axe or training axe will cut down the trees, which will turn one tree into variable amount of logs, the raw form of wood. Bigger trees yield more logs than smaller ones.

For the most part different kinds of wood are identical except for minor differences in weight or color. Only nether-cap wood is magma-safe, thanks to its fixed temperature.

"Timber" is the name of the ninth month of the dwarven calendar, covering late Autumn.

Growing

Trees start their lives as saplings. Saplings cannot be cut down until they mature into full-grown trees, which can take several years. Frequent unit movement over a square with a sapling will likely kill the sapling, leaving you with a dead sapling occupying the square for a time.

Saplings will randomly appear in above-ground soil, only if the tiles underneath it are unmined AND it has at least another z-level of open space above it. If there is soil, but it doesn't have an immediate support for the roots, no saplings will appear. If there is no open space above, the saplings won't grow. Saplings will begin to appear in below-ground soil and muddy underground rock only once you have hit the caverns. Unlike their sunny counterparts, they don't require the below level to be unmined. However, they also require open space on the levels directly above them, otherwise the saplings will never grow.

Full grown trees will impede units' movement and can block the path of wagons, making your trade depot inaccessible. Be sure to clear trees out of active corridors.

Sources

Besides cutting down trees, wood (and some wooden goods, such as barrels) is often available from the elven, dwarven and human caravans. Wood can also be purchased before embarking. Wood is quite inexpensive, costing only 3☼ per log, and you may wish to bring a large number of logs when embarking in order to jump-start your wood industry. The wagon you start the game with can also be dismantled for three logs.

Considerations

Reasons you need wood

• To build beds. Without beds your dwarves will get unhappy thoughts from sleeping on the ground.
• To build water wheels, windmills, and axles--without wood, you cannot generate or transfer power.
• To build siege engines and ballista bolts. These can be very effective defenses when traps fail.
• To build practical cages in most cases as wooden cages are much lighter than metal or glass. They would be the only cages you can mass produce if you have no access to sand.
• To be burnt for ash, which is used in glass making, soap making, glazing, and for fertilizing crops.
• If you want obsidian short swords, they require one log of wood in production, presumably for the handle. Note that these are primarily a novelty; all metal weapons are superior.
• Wooden training weapons can be used for military training started shortly after embark should you feel the need. They are also useful for live training and danger rooms.

Reasons you want wood

• It only takes one log to produce a bin, cage, wheelbarrow or minecart; but if you forge them instead then they'll take two or three metal bars. Wooden tools are also much lighter than the metal alternatives (apart from adamantine), which is a large benefit when the items are moved by hand.
• All metalworks (smelters, forges), glassworks, and ceramic kilns need either magma or fuel. Magma is inaccessible to most early forts. "Fuel" means either coke or charcoal. Coke is produced from bituminous coal or lignite, neither of which is guaranteed to be present on your map. Thus charcoal is the only reliable option for an early fort, and it's made by a wood burner from wood.
• Production of steel, the best mundane metal for armor and cutting or piercing weapons, requires coke or charcoal as a carbon source, even if you have access to magma.
• Crossbows can be made from wood (or bone) and may be preferred if you have a skilled bowyer but not a skilled weaponsmith. They will suffer reduced damage if used to bash enemies in melee combat. However, since even metal crossbows are spectacularly bad melee weapons, this is a fairly unimportant consideration.
• A stack of 25 Crossbow bolts can be made from a single log. Wooden ammunition is sufficient for training and use by hunters, though significantly less effective against armored opponents.
• Shields can be made from wood, and currently material does not affect a shield's ability to block, so shields can be made without consuming precious fuel and metal. The low weight can improve the movement speed of soldiers, but the occasional shield bashes in combat will also be weaker than those delivered by metal shields.
• Wooden floors can be useful to reduce falling damage, the lighter the better.
• A handful of building destroyers prioritize destroying wooden doors and floor hatches, so they can be used as bait in areas with a lot of cage traps.

Reasons you don't need much wood

• While beds, axles, windmills, water wheels, siege engine parts, and ballista bolts absolutely require wood, and soap, clear and crystal glass and fertiliser are based on wood ash, almost every other wood product has non-wood alternatives.
  • In particular, barrels can be replaced by stone pots without having to use either fuel or magma. Stone pots can also be traded to the elves, should you wish to export liquids or barrelled foods.
• Once you have magma then you don't need wood for fuel. If you have coal, you can get by with much lower wood usage until the deposits run out. If you have both, you shouldn't need wood to produce metal or steel products.

Weight

The 'unit' of raw wood, the log, has a "material size" of 50 litres, the weight can be derived by dividing the density of the material by 20. An oak log will thus weigh 35Γ, a featherwood one 5Γ and a bloodthorn log 62.5Γ. the densities for each individual type of wood is listed under the appropriate tree. Wood has a default [SOLID_DENSITY] of 500, making it about five times lighter than most stone and fifteen times lighter than iron. Feather tree wood is the lightest, with a density of 100, and blood thorn wood is the heaviest, with a density of 1250. Candlenut (140), and glumprong (1200) are also notable. However, since average wood is relatively light to begin with, with the possible exception of wood hauling, this makes (almost?) no practical difference in the daily routine of a fortress or your dwarves.

Wood Type	Density	Color	Climate	Biome	Water	Evil	Savagery
Acacia	600	Peach	tropical		dry
Alder	410	Tan	temperate		dry
Ash	600	Pale Brown	temperate		dry
Birch	650	Burnt Umber	temperate		dry
Black-cap	650	Black		caverns 2-3
Blood thorn	1250	Crimson		cavern 3
Cacao	430	Chocolate	tropical		dry
Candlenut	140	Ochre	tropical		dry
Cedar	570	Olive			dry
Chestnut	430	Dark Chestnut	temperate		dry
Feather tree	100	Cream			dry	good
Fungiwood	600	Lemon		caverns 1-2
Glumprong	1200	Purple			dry	evil
Goblin-cap	600	Red		caverns 2-3
Highwood	500	Brown			dry		savage
Kapok	260	Tan	tropical		dry
Larch	590	Light Brown	non-tropical		dry
Mahogany	600	Mahogany	tropical		dry
Mango	520	Burnt Sienna	tropical		dry
Mangrove	830	Dark Taupe		mangrove swamp	wet
Maple	540	Rust	temperate		dry
Nether-cap	550	Dark Indigo		cavern 3
Oak	700	Auburn	temperate		dry
Palm	680	Dark Taupe	tropical		dry
Pine	510	Beige			dry
Rubber	490	Flax	tropical		dry
Saguaro	430	Ecru		desert	dry
Spore	600	Teal		caverns 2-3
Tower-cap	600	White		caverns 1-2
Tunnel tube	500	Violet		caverns 2-3
Willow	390	Tan			wet
Carambola	600*	Burnt Sienna*	tropical		dry
Cashew	600*	Burnt Sienna*	tropical		dry
Coffee	600*	Burnt Sienna*	tropical		dry
Durian	600*	Burnt Sienna*	tropical		dry
Guava	600*	Burnt Sienna*	tropical		dry
Papaya	600*	Burnt Sienna*	tropical		dry
Paradise nut	600*	Burnt Sienna*	tropical		dry
Rambutan	600*	Burnt Sienna*	tropical		dry
Tea	600*	Burnt Sienna*	tropical		dry
Avocado	600*	Burnt Sienna*	tropical		dry
Lime	600*	Burnt Sienna*	tropical		dry
Pomelo	600*	Burnt Sienna*	tropical		dry
Citron	600*	Burnt Sienna*	tropical		dry
Orange	600*	Burnt Sienna*	tropical		dry
Bitter orange	600*	Burnt Sienna*	tropical		dry
Finger lime	600*	Burnt Sienna*	tropical		dry
Round lime	600*	Burnt Sienna*	tropical		dry
Desert lime	600*	Burnt Sienna*	tropical	grassland, savanna & shrubland	dry
Kumquat	600*	Burnt Sienna*	tropical		dry
Custard-apple	600*	Burnt Sienna*	tropical		dry
Date palm	600*	Burnt Sienna*	tropical
Lychee	600*	Burnt Sienna*	tropical		dry
Macadamia	600*	Burnt Sienna*	tropical		dry
Olive	600*	Burnt Sienna*	tropical		dry
Pomegranate	600*	Burnt Sienna*	tropical		dry
Almond	600*	Burnt Sienna*	temperate		dry
Apple	600*	Burnt Sienna*	temperate		dry
Apricot	600*	Burnt Sienna*	temperate		dry
Bayberry	600*	Burnt Sienna*	temperate		dry
Cherry	600*	Burnt Sienna*	temperate		dry
Ginkgo	600*	Burnt Sienna*	temperate		dry
Hazel	600*	Burnt Sienna*	temperate		dry
Peach	600*	Burnt Sienna*	temperate		dry
Pear	600*	Burnt Sienna*	temperate		dry
Pecan	600*	Burnt Sienna*	temperate		dry
Persimmon	600*	Burnt Sienna*	temperate		dry
Plum	600*	Burnt Sienna*	temperate		dry
Sand pear	600*	Burnt Sienna*	temperate		dry
Walnut	600*	Burnt Sienna*	temperate		dry

(*) Densities and Colour are marked in the raws as not researched yet in v40.02, due to change in future versions.

Biomes

• Temperate forest
• Tropical forest
• Taiga
• Flatland
• Swamp
• Desert

See also

• Wood industry.

"Wood" in other Languages Dwarven: lolum Elvish: ave Goblin: dôr Human: pado

Wood FAQ
Do I really need wood?
Where can I get wood?
Where can I get even more wood?
Is it possible to grow trees underground?
How long do tower-caps take to grow?
Do dead trees spawn new trees?
How much protection does wood armor provide?
Add a question to this FAQ
Back to the Main FAQ