How to choose wood at your DIY store

Choose the right wood at your DIY store by deciding which kind of grain you are looking for, and if you need a hard or a soft wood. It is important to get the right combination of hard or soft wood, and open or closed grain wood.
If you are building a butcher block you would want to use a hardwood, and a closed grain so that liquids and juices do not become trapped in the wood. That is why maple is such a common butchers block wood, because it is both hard and has a closed grain.