Steel VS Wood: Custom Material Comparison

At first thought, you really couldn’t pick any more different material when doing a material comparison between steel VS wood but due to the unique way CNCROi.com approaches custom production, we can technically do make similar projects using either material.

I’m using “steel” to represent general metal in this blog post on purpose of many of our customers interchange metal for steel and vice versa.

Steel VS Wood: Custom Material Comparison for Farming Signage

One application where quite often CNCROi.com’s customers have to pick between steel vs wood is actually vineyard or general farming signage, each really has a lot going for it, steel is incredibly durable, whether it’s 316 stainless steel or anodized aluminium, it’s pretty much a “get it made and forget it” material.

The one huge disadvantage of using “actual steel” such as stainless steel is cost, it isn’t cheap to cut or etch into and it does weight a lot for shipping compared to aluminium which is cheaper all around but the main reason why generally our customers go with aluminium over wood is durability.

Although wood is an incredibly durable material AND incredibly cost effective, the one draw back is that outside in the elements, especially for applications where it doesn’t have much heft is that it will warp and crack through the seasons and degrade.

Another reason most of our customers go with anodized aluminium for farming signage applications is the color, sure wood can be painted and stainless steel (though it will come off over time) but nothing beats the light weight, durability and color availability of aluminium.

Steel VS Wood: Custom Material Comparison for Business Signage

At the other end of the spectrum when it comes to household or business signage in the steel vs wood debate with customers is the esthetics and feel.

To be honest, wood just has a warmth and happy feeling to it that metal just doesn’t, regardless of how much paint or design is applied to steel, it’s just a distant material while wood demands to be touched and smelled.

I see this first hand when I attend trade shows for CNCROi.com, I’ll have metal and wood signage, rarely does anybody touch the metal one but the wood fills-up with oohs and aahs like a moth to a flame.

Although technically I could make a cigar ash tray out of stainless steel or anodized aluminium, people want that made out of wood, it’s very cost effective, gives a wonderful smell and is incredibly easy on machinery compared to metal of any type.

When you visit a house, would you want the welcome sign made out of steel or wood? I’d bet 9 times out of 10, wood will win.

This preference does change though, if CNCROi.com is making a custom sign for a welding, automotive or general industrial shop, the esthetic flips right over to metal of any type, as long as it isn’t wood.

Steel VS Wood: Custom Material Comparison for Business Cards

CNCROi.com has made lots of custom business cards, some people LOVE stainless steel ones, others wooden ones (pick your species) and yet others tell us it must be out of anodized aluminium.

At the end of the day, it’s a personal choice as to which material best suits you but like the business and home signage, wood tends to win out when it comes to making a card that’s welcoming and “warm”, you feel the grain of the wood, smell of the wood and the variation between cards is wonderful, each is very much unique.

When it comes to steel though, it has a distant feel, people are always surprised by the weight (depending on the thickess) and for stainless steel specifically, your color options are anything as long as it’s black etching or annealing.

Like stainless steel, each anodized aluminium card is the same, there is only a slight variation in color due to the anodizing process but unlike steel, they are incredibly light weight but I’d argue just as durable for networking use.

It’s interesting that just like the signage, it’s very much a personal choice as to what CNCROi.com uses to make a design as, just like signage, the same resolution image can be etched or engraved into the substance of choice.

Steel VS Wood: Custom Material Comparison for Gifts

Due to CNCROi.com’s custom capabilities across material preferences, we end-up making lots of unique and one-of-a-kind gifts.

One common gift is boxes, though the years, CNCROi.com has only dabbled into a few metal or steel boxes but all the rest have been completely wood related and most of those, painted to have a unique personal message or branding.

I believe this is due to the fact that steel or metal actually feels cold with very little sentiment attached to it compared to a material that once lived like wood.

Even when I’ve had to mix and match materials such as wood and mild steel, it’s the wood that gains the attraction with the metal just ending-up being there to provide contrast.

Especially stainless steel can look amazing and people love the esthetic of it when it comes to gift giving but it’s rare that CNCROi.com will be asked to make something using this material for gift giving… more often than not, it’s mixed with wood or completely wood based.

At least we offer you the flexibility to go with the material you prefer to use for your gift giving.

Steel VS Wood: Custom Material Comparison. Which is Best?

It’s very much a personal decision as to the material CNCROi.com employs to make your project a reality, for some projects there really is only one material that will work such as custom Delrin seals or generally, using rubber for self-inking stamps but otherwise, our customers have to carefully choose which best fits their message, budget and what fits best with their design.

For instance, we could have made the above stamp using Maple or any other wood species but the durability and most importantly, the absolute repeatability just isn’t there.

We can make custom stencils out of wood, plastic or metal but it’s generally a toss-up between metal or a polycarbonate where wood is a distant third choice.

Regardless of what you want, contact us and let us help you make something unique and functional that best suits your application and personal preferences.