INDUSTRIAL TIMBER PRODUCTS

1.1 INTRODUCTION

Nowadays, solid wood of good variety is in short supply,

particularly when wide and thin pieces like door shutters
and table tops are required. Natural wood can be made
into

many

other

industrial

products

by

industrial

processes for building construction and also for making

furniture. These products are also known as composite
boards. The common industrial products of timber meant for these
purposes are the following.
1. Plywood
2. Particle board or chipboard
3. Hardboard
4. Fibreboard
5. Blockboard
6. Flushdoor shutters
There are also a large number of synthetic laminates that can be used
with wood for decorative purposes. A brief account of the above products
is given in this chapter. Boards with ornamenlal finishes on the surface
are called ornamental grade while others are called commercial grade.
Note: Construction using two or more different materials is called
composite. We thus have composite masonry where we use brick and
stone, composite beams with steel and wood. Laminates are those
materials built in layers.

1.2 VENEERS AND VENEER PLYWOOD (IS 303-1989)

Veneer plywood is commonly referred simply as plywood. For making

plywood, round logs are first cut into logs of 1.5 to 2.5 m lengths. They
are then steamed and veneers are cut from these pieces with a wide
sharp knife extending the full length of the log. These veneers are glued
together to form plywood. Generally, three or more veneers are glued
together with the grains crossing each other.
This cross graining increases the strength of plywood. There are many
types of classification of plywood. In the main classification, there are
three gradesordinary grade, exterior grade and marine grade.

Plywood of ordinary grade is ordinary plywood used for packing teachests, etc. Exterior grade plywood is made of durable wood bonded fully
with waterproof glue. Of better quality than the exterior grade is the
special mqrine grade plywood in which the core plys as well as the
exterior veneers are of good quality and close-fitting wood.
Plywood can also be given an extra face of choice veneer of teak or
rosewood either at the site of work by the craftsman or the manufacturer
so that it can match surrounding types of solid wood. Laminated plastics
are also very popular for this veneering for furniture making, Better
quality plywood is also called commercial plywood. According to CPWD
specifications plywood for general purposes are of three grades:
1. BWR (Boiling waterproof)
2. WWR (Warm waterproof)
3. CWR (Cold waterproof)
The above property depends on the type of synthetic resins used as
adhesives (See Section 26.2.1). For panel door shutters, etc. BWR grade

plywood is recommended. There are also the following rules regarding

thickness of plywood:
1. For 3 play boards (up to 5 mm thick), the combined thickness of the
face veneers should not exceed twice the thickness of the centre
ply.
2. In multiply boards, the thickness of any veneer should not be more
than thrice the thickness of any other ply.
3. The sum of the thicknesses of the wood with veneers in one
direction shall be approximately equal to the sum of the thickness
of veneers at right angles to them in any case, it should not be
greater than 1.5 times this sum except for the 3 ply given above.

The thickness of plywood boards are specified in mm. The following

thicknesses are the standard:
3 ply (4 mm)
7 ply (12 mm, 15 mm, 16 mm)
9 ply (12 mm, 15 mm, 16 mm, 19 mm)
11 ply (19 mm, 22 mm, 25 mm)

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1.2PARTICLE BOARD OR CHIPBOARD

These boards are made with particles of wood (or other materials like
rice husk or bagasse obtained from sugarcanes after crushing)
embedded in synthetic resins and subjected to heal with pressure. They
are manufactured by extrusion pressing or by pressing in parallel plates
The former process orientates the wood particles in the direction at
right angles to the plane of the board and the latter orientates the
particles parallel to the plane of the board. The particle board used for
panelling of the door shutters is usually FPTH boards (see below)
bonded with BWR (Boiling waterproof) type synthetic resin adhesive.
The shrinkage in thickness and length ol particle board should not
exceed 5 per cent. The following are the designations:
(i) Flat pressed single layer particle board
(ii) Flat pressed three layer board

FP TH

FP SL

When blockboards are made for panelling of door shutters, the

plywood should be of grade I, exterior grade bonded with BWR synthetic
resin adhesive. They are classified according to CPWD specification as the
following types:
Type 1: Decorative type (X DEC) with ornamental veneers on one or
both sides Type 2: Commercial type (X COM) with faces of
commercial timber

1.2.1

Laminboards

When the core strips consist of a core made up of large pieces of 80 mm

width, it is called blackboard or battenboards. On the other hand, if the
core consists of strips each not exceeding 7 mm in thickness, it is called
laminboards [see Fig. 16.1 (by).

2.1 WOODEN FLUSHDOOR SHUTTERS

With the development of plywood and blockboard industry, factory-made

flush doors have become very popular for interior door work. These doors
are available in thickness of 25 mm, 30 mm or 35 mm. They are available
in the types as shown in Fig. 16.2:

1. Cellular core type

2. Hollow core type
3. Solid core type (made of blockboard or particle board)

CPWD specification 77 gives the following three tests to test

the quality of flush floors:

1.End immersion test.

In this test, the end of door shulter is immersed in water at
roomtemperature (272C) for a height of 30 cm for 24 hours and
then allowed to dry for 24 hours.This is repeated 8 times. There should
be no delamination at the end of the test.

2.Knife test.
In this test, a thin knife is inserted below the outer veneer
and raised
upwards. A good specimen should give considerable resistance for
insertion and raising of theveneer,

3.Glue adhesion test.

For this test, a 150 mm x 150 mm piece is cut and immersed
in boiling water for 4 hours and cooled for 24 hours. At the end of the
test, there should be no major delamination.
2.2

GLULAM

Glued and laminated wood is called "Glulam" (GLU-LAM). It is not made of

veneers but with solid wood. Solid wood is glued to large sections.
Components made from this process are especially suitable for support of
long span roofs for sports stadiums, indoor swimming pools, sheds for
chemical factories, etc., where other materials like steel cannot last long.
They can be used as beams of many shapes including curved members.
The timber sections are first dried in a kiln. They are then machined to
form interlocking V cuts across the width and the end sections of each
piece. Suitable glues are then applied and the pieces are forced together
under longitudinal pressure while the glue cures. However, for their
fabrication, good shop facilities for woodworking and glueing are
necessary and hence, they are not very popular in India.

2.3 LAMINATES
Laminates are the products made by bonding together of two or more
layers of materials. Products such as plywood, glass laminates,
composite glass laminates all come under this class. Special laminates
from plastics are also available in the market. These can be glued to
wood lo make the surface aesthetic as well as heat-resistant. As these
laminates come in large width, furniture like large table tops can be
made of joined wood pieces and covered with these laminates to give an
appearance of a one-piece furniture.

2.40

Decorative Laminates (IS 2046-1995)

High pressure decorative laminate (HPL) on plywood sheets are used for
surfacing of large areas like that for tables, cabinets, etc. They are
available in thicknesses of 0.8 mm, 1.0 mm and 1.5 mm, their backside
being suitable for adhesive bonding to surfaces made of less broader
planks. Standard size of a HPL sheet is 1.22 m x 2.44 m.

These

decorative

laminates

are

manufactured

by

assembly

of

impregnated papers. Kraft paper impregnated with Phenol Formaldehyde

(PF), forms the core of the laminate. Below the kraft paper we have a
barrier paper, and also a base or design paper. An overlay of tissue paper
impregnated with Melamine Formaldehyde (MF) resin is provided over the
kraft paper. The a metamine layer is given as a protection and also to
enhance abrasion resistance. They are pressed in a hot press between
stainless steel plates to ensure good finish. These sheets can be bonded
to wood with suitable glue and the whole area of the sheet is kept under a
pressure (by pressing it down with weight) so that the two areas come
entirely in contact with each other.
3.10 MERITS OF PROCESSED TIMBER
The following are the merits of processed timber:

1. Use of unusable wood.

The raw materials used for processed timber are those parts of a tree
(like branches) of good wood and also the fast growing trees both of
which cannot otherwise be used in construction.

2. Lowering of cost.

By converting expensive wood into thin veneers, large surface area of

these can be covered with reduced cost.

3. Dimensional stability.
Processed timber is dimensionally stable. Plywood and blockwood do
not absorb moisture from air in wet weather. However, particle board
tends to absorb moisture.

4. Durability.
Depending on the gluing materials, plywood and blockboard are very
durable in wet locations. The durability depends on the grade of
adhesive used.

5. Workability.
These materials are workable like wood.

6. Holding power of fasteners.

Plywood and blockboards can be fastened like other wood. However,
particle boards and MDF (medium density fibreboards) usually require
special fasteners:
The main disadvantage of these commercial products is that unless
they are made of reliable materials (like good water-resistant glue, etc.)
and made by reliable manufacturer, they tend to become unusable on
getting wet or with time. Their use in situations like door shutters for
bathroom doors and external doors is usually restricted or if used in
these places, it should be carried out with great care.

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Storing of timber products

CONCLUSION
Industrial timber products are used extensively in building construction
and for furniture manufacturing. We must be able to distinguish between
the various products and then choose the most suitable material for our
use.