i | 2 q pes caneoiust \ | v f ( \ SS saPwo: Ms | BUTT LENT! 1 a BUTTRESS Nae PNEr creda 4 eS . owt 2 Wood g and structure3. Wood conversion or milling hhave the annual rings running at 90 degrees to the surface as on the true radial cut board. Billet sawn (Figure 3.2) ‘This is frequently done to produce more stable timber than results from the plain sawn method, ee Sareea see eee ands often passed off as quarter sawn timber whereas in fact only a few centre boards (3.6 are produced on the true quarter. The | differences in behaviour between plain sawr and quarter sawn timber are described lates under Movement and shrinkage (p. 15).TWO METHODS OF SAWING A LOG FOR SOLID TIMBER This method produces mostly This method produces mostly plainsawn lumber. quartersawn lumber.DIFFERENTIAL MOVEMENT OF WOOD Radial movementCUPPING A plainsawn board cups away from the center of the tree as it dries.Number of veneers is always odd. Grain direction of laminated veneer sheets alternates at 90°.‘aunjonnys pur pmor8 pom 7 The question of durability hardly arises in indoor domestic furniture. for all woods are sufficiently durable under controlled con ditions. Where. however. continuous moist conditions occur in the presence of free oxygen then the wood is immediately subject to decay in various forms. Beech or elm, for instance will last for centuries, either as furniture or totally immersed in water or deeply buried in the earth; but ifeitheris laid on wet soit, or only shallowly buried in the upper layers which contain free oxygen, it will speedily rot Wood for all work exposed to weathering must, therefore, be chosen carefully for natural durability and resistance 10 decay. Unlor tunately, it eannot be assumed that because 2 ‘wood is highly resinous iis therefore extremely Gurable, although it will be more durable than ‘wood with low resin content. Woods of proven Gurability include oak, chestnut, yew, teak and greenheart; while ifthe work isto be painted or otherwise protected then obviously woods of only average durability can be used. Some woods are, however, inclined to repel paint, while others will not absorb sufficient preservative except under pressure, therefore Feference should be made to the standard fextbooks on wood preservation (See Bibliography), Fire resistance of wood Although wood might appear to be one of the most inflammable of materials, some species, notably crabwood, jarrah, itoko, padouk and teak, are very resistant, and all woods of large dimension char outwardly, cutting off the supply of oxygen necessary to. support, combustion. However, builtin fixtures in exhibition-work, public buildings, etc. are sometimes required to be fireproofed, or composed of fire-retardant materials. Plywoods and chipboards in fire-retardant quality can be obtained to special order; or the completed product can be coated with special paints or clear varnishes, or treated with various, chemical preparations, the most widely used of which is ammonium phosphate. Alternatively, plywood panels or partitions can be interleaved With plasterboard or soft asbestos to give a ‘one hour’ standard resistance is. or should be, the responsibility of the bayer or his agent to specify precisely the degree of resistance requized, and the materials or treatment to be used; but the terms ‘fte proof or ‘ire-resistant’ should not be accepted without qualification, otherwise they may be liable to Serious misconstruction. Tt is usally more correct to claim that 2 combustible material suitably teatedis firesetardant’only Defects Every tree is a prey to defects from the moment i emerges as a seedling to the last stages of seasoning, and these defects can be innate (inherent vice), such as. the characteristic natural shrinkage of wood; acquired defects occasioned by seasonal checks, insect and fungal attack, ete; and artificial defects caused by “incorrect sawing and seasoning. As, however, any one defect may atise from several causes it is more convenient to classify them as natural or artificial. Natural defects Knots These are in effect the basal stumps of incipient or cast-off branches in the living tree. Where the tree itself naturally prunes its branches owing 10 lack of light caused by ‘overcrowding, or where such branches are artificially pruned in controlled forestry and cleanly sawn, then the cambium layers will heal over the wound and the knot is then live or embedded (17:1), Where, however, a mature branch is broken off, leaving a long ragged stump, then the cambium layer cannot heal the wound and the stump dies, forming a deal or loose knot, often rot affected (17:2). All knots whether five or dead affect the ‘mechanical strength of the timber, owing to the the direction of the fibres, and constitute blemishes which detract from the value. They are, therefore, graded as follows: Pin knots Smail knots ¥2 in (12.5 mm) or under, often caused by the shedding of early branches. Usually allowable in prime timber. Spike or splay knots (17:3) Knots sliced through their length during sawing, and ‘commonly known as ‘slash’ Knots. They aredifficult to plane up, especially in softwood, while large specimens are not permissible in hardwood unless allowed for in the measurement. Encased knots Dead knots which are still sound and difficult to dislodge, and often ringed with resin in softwood, Branched knots Two or three knots springing from a common centre. Knots are classified as small, medium and large, the latter usually 1% in (38 mm) in diameter and over; but gradings are not precise and vary according to the country of origin Shakes Both the medullary ray and springwood cells of ring-porous hardwoods are weaker than the remainder, and builtin tensions are created which tend to level out, citherin the growing tree under certain adverse conditions or in the felled log during seasoning Thus extensive splitting may occur in. the ‘weakest links, ie. radially along the medullary rays, and tangentially at the junction of springwood and summerwood, Various forms of shake are common, as follows: Radial shakes ‘The log splits from the pith or heart radially along the medullary rays, usually indicating that the tree has passed its prime Sawing logses can be minimized by placing the cuts either side of the shake, always provided the growth of the tree does not twist upon its axis, in which case the shakes become spiral rendering the log useless for long lengths Where only one shake is present itis known as ‘simple heart shake’, while two shakes in line compose a ‘double heart shake’ (17:4), and several a ‘star shake’ (17:5). Frost shakes (17:7) project inwardly from a definite frost rib on the cambium and are, as theirname implies, the result ofsevere weather Tangential shakes The soft springwood of the Jog splits away from the harder summerwood. either during seasoning or through shearing stresses in the growing tree caused by old age, excessive bending under strong winds, intense heat, etc. A frequent cause in oak is the depradations of the tortrix viridéna motb, whose caterpillars strip the young leaves in early summer, with the result that growth is checked 2B and the wood rings fail 10 cohere. Where such shakes run along part of the annual ring only, then they are knawn as ‘cup shakes’ (17:6); but where the log is completely encircled then they become ring shakes’ (17-68). Usually such shakes seriously detract from the value of the timber. English walnuts are particularly prone to cup and ring shakes, as the trees are rarely felled until they are long past maturity Cross shakes (thunder shakes) These failures are caused by compression and not by splitting for shearing, while the actual rupture is across the grain and not with itas with all other shakes. ‘The probable cause is not thunder, as the name suggests, but either felling shatter (the sudden impact as the felled log hits either hard ground ‘or another fallen log), or mechanical strain in the living tree. Chiefly confined to the softer varieties of tropical hardwoods, and appearing either as a definite fracture or an overriding of the tibres, showing only as a faint raised line across the width of the wood, which will snap like a carrot under strain. This particular type of shake often occurs with a soft condition in the hegrtwood, known as ‘brittle heart’, ‘carrot heart’, ete. and agba is particularly liable to this defect, End splitting and sun checking (see below) are usually regarded as artificial defects due fo errors, in seasoning, but a marked propensity to split and check may be inherent in some species and such defects may be part ‘natural and part artificial Pitch veins, pitch pockets, ete. Sometimes known as resin pockets, they can appear either as thin veins or shallow cavities filled with resin. ‘Usually caused by damage to the cambium layer in resinous woods, they may remain hidden and thus constitute a serious danger if the wood is used structurally Pith Necks Repeated damage to the cambium layer by small insects is often healed over with bark, and may show as small dots or patches of brown cork deeply buried in some woods, notably birch, alder and sycamore. They have no effect other than that of ansightliness. Rind galls, etc, Patches of ingrowing bark, probably caused by exterior damage to the |ood structure will distribute these stresses evenly, but if the structure is unequal or lacki in clasticity (innate defect). and if incorrect Seasoning imposes too great a strain, then various forms of distortion, splitting, ete. will occur. Weighting down during seasoning helps to reduce distortion Cupping or rounding (17:13) The plank hollows across the width, forming aroundingon the underface, often due to incorrect piling, Bowing (17:14) The plank iscurved like a bow throughout its fength. A succession of short bows is usually caused by sagging between too widely spaced stickers of by st not placed exactly over each other Springing (17:15) Sometimes known as ‘edge bend’, the wood remains flat but bends edgewise on its own plane. ‘Twisting (17:16) The plank ewists on its longitudinal axis with the result that the tong ‘edges are straight, but the diagonals are curved. Usually known as ‘in winding” Warping, casting Synonymous terms for distortion in one or more directions (sce ‘Twisting, above), End splitting (17:9) The butt end of the plank splits open, usually caused by too rapid drying, but some species will always split. Sun checking (17:10) The wood surface is covered with smal! splits along the grain caused by too rapid drying in hot sun. Not serious unless the splits penetrate deeply. Flaking The surface of the wood ifts in innumerable small flakes or layers which spring under the cutting action, preventing a smooth surface, Sometimes due to structural weakness, but can also be caused by incorrect seasoning. Diagonal grain The grain runs obliquely to the longitudinal axis, usually due to. incorrect sawing, but some timbers exhibit marked deviations in grain direction which cannot be avoided. Although the condition may make surfacing more difficult it is not important except in structural members where the impact strength loss is high, and in bending where a grain slope of tin 25 may mean a bending Strength loss of 4 per cent, anda 1 in 5 slope a loss of 45 per cent Case hardening (17-11) If the wood is kiln dried foo quickly then the surfaces dry out at a ale quicker than the rate of movement of ‘moisture by capillary attraction from the centre oof the plank, with the result that the dry outer layers are in tension, and the moist interior in compression, Cuts which close ahead of the saw are often due to case hardening, Provided the actual wood fibres are not ruptured the condition can be cured by steaming and redrying, Honeyeombing (17:12) If the kiln drying of case-hardened timber is continued to dryness then the natural shrinkage movement of the ‘moist interior as it dries will be locked in by the rigid outer skin, resulting in severe internal stresses and subsequent checking or disruption Of the wood fibres, not visible from the outside. There is no cure for the condition, which severely depreciates the value of the timber. Collapse The too supid kilt drying of green timber can result in a flattening of the wood cell, caused by vacuums created by the with- ‘drawal of water to below fibre saturation point at a rate faster than it can be replaced by either air or live steam. This condition is known as ‘collapse’ and is characterized by extensive shrinking and warping, particularly in the springwood, giving a washboard effect. It can also be caused by too slow drying at too high « temperature, or too high a humidity rate, and can sometimes be remedied by steaming and reworking in the dry kiln. DISEASES AND PESTS Wood which is deeply buried in the ground or completely submerged in water does not decay, as witness the highly prized black bog oak which ‘as been buried for centuries under layers of vet peat, and the use of timber bauiks for