Rugby School Thailand Design & Technology Senior School

3.4 Woods

syllabus

• demonstrate a working knowledge of natural timbers and understand their classification, properties and uses

• understand why timber is seasoned and how to care for timber during storage and construction

• understand steaming and bending of timbers and have knowledge of adhesives’ curing times and strengths

• demonstrate a working knowledge of the following manufactured boards: plywood, blockboard, chipboard, hardboard and MDF

• understand the advantages and disadvantages of working with manufactured boards compared with solid wood

Wood and timber can be put into three classifications:

Soft Woods

Timber from Coniferous trees

Pine, Douglas Fir, Spruce

Hard woods

Timber from Deciduous trees

Oak, Beech, Mahogany, Teak, Ash

Manufactured (man-made) boards

Boards made from wood pulp, chips or layers e.g. Chipboard, Hardboard, Blockboard, MDF, and Plywood

Woods can either be deciduous or coniferous.

Deciduous trees

have broad green leaves which are shed in the autumn (UK) in a temperate (different seasons) climate. These are known as Hardwood trees.

Hardwoods grow in warm countries such as Africa, Asia and India and can take 100 years or more to mature, although there are faster growing hardwoods.

In tropical countries (Thailand) hardwoods often do not shed their leaves as there is often no noticeable change in the seasons, like there is in the UK.

coniferous trees

have needle type leaves which stay on the tree all year round which is why they are known as Evergreens. These are Softwood trees.

They generally grow in colder countries such as Russia and Scandinavia and take around 20 years to mature.

The UK has a temperate climate which is why so many different types of tree grow there and why some lose their leaves in winter.

Deciduous conifer - Larch example

'Siberian Larch' timber is a softwood that comes from a tree native to western Russia, and that cold climate leads to a timber that is more durable than many other softwoods, with a natural resistance to decay.'

Sources and Origins

The source of natural timber, paper, card and manufactured boards is trees which grow in a variety of climates. The UK, with its temperate climate, is able to support a wide variety of different trees.

Hardwoods

Hardwoods tend to grow in warmer countries around the equator such as Africa, India and Asia.

Softwoods

Softwoods grow in countries nearer to the two poles such as Scandinavia, Russia and the Baltics.

properties - Wood structure

Woods are fibrous materials made up of plant cells and resins.

The main structure is Cellulose fibres held together with Lignin which gives wood its strength, but needs to be removed to make wood pulp for paper (Paper and Boards)

Wood is a natural material and one that can be used in its green state i.e. when it has been recently felled or cut down.

Wood is hygroscopic meaning it gives up moisture in a dry environment and takes in moisture in a wet environment.

As a result wood is always prone to be unstable as it can shrink and expand depending on the moisture conditions.

Anatomy of a tree

Trees grow from the outside inwards making a new layer each year (hence 'annual' rings). As a result the weakest wood is just inside the bark while the heartwood is the most stable and dense section of the tree.

Eventually the heartwood may begin to die and is know as deadwood.

Wood Conversion

In order to use wood we inevitably need to cut down trees! 😭

Trees are cut a few feet from the ground leaving a stump with the roots still attached in the ground as it is much too hard to dig them up.

However, some trees can re-grow from their stumps and the process of doing this on purpose is known as coppicing.

The trees then have their branches removed and these are then chipped and used to make chipboard, paper and other wood-based products.

Where the branches join the trunk, they leave a knot (a defect).

We are then left with the tree trunk ready to be converted into usable wood.

Conversion to timber

As soon as possible after felling, the tree should be converted into usable timber. This process is known as Conversion.

Natural wood is only available at the maximum width of the tree it came from!

There are two main methods of converting timber: Through and Through (Plain or Crown sawn) which produces tangential boards and Quarter Sawn which produces radial boards.

Through and through

Through and through produces mostly tangentially sawn timber and some quarter sawn stuff. (see diagram)

Tangential timber is the most economical to produce because of the relatively less repetitive production methods. It is used extensively in the building industry.

Quarter Sawn

The Quarter sawn is far more expensive.

There is also more wastage.

Because the grain is so consistent on quartersawn timber, the end product is more stable. The end grain of the wood ends up largely perpendicular to the board's.

It is however more decorative and less prone to distort.

Seasoning

Wood is full of moisture when felled and is referred to as green timber. In order to make it stable and usable, it is necessary to reduce the moisture content in a controlled way. This is known as seasoning.

Air Seasoning:

The traditional way of doing this is simply to allow air to pass around the wood in order to reduce the moisture content over time. The wood is stacked on bricks to keep the wood from wet floors and a roof is placed over so rain doesn’t reach the wood. Spacers between the planks of wood allow for circulation and the whole process requires little or no supervision.

Note, that it can take years for the wood to season properly!

Because wood is needed daily, it would be impossible to use traditional methods in industry as it would simply take too long for wood to become usable, so a kiln drying method is used.

Kiln Seasoning

In this method, wood is placed in a kiln and heated up using steam. This means that the wood does not dry out quickly, but the moisture content can be reduced in a controlled way resulting in a process that can take days or weeks rather than months and years.

A closer look at Hardwoods

Hardwoods are more expensive than softwoods for one main reason, which is the time it takes for a hardwood to reach maturity i.e. when the tree is fully grown and can provide the most quality wood.

Hardwoods typically take over 100 years to reach maturity although there are faster growing species, such as Bamboo.

* Note that bamboo is not a tree but actually classified as a grass.

Hardwood is more expensive than softwood and is used in more quality joinery jobs, expensive flooring, or outside areas which are exposed to the weather like front doors or garden furniture.

It is often used on expensive window frames (in the UK especially) as it looks great and lasts for years.
It is used for floors as it is very hard wearing and the grain looks aesthetically beautiful.
Being 'harder' it is much harder to work with, but you can get a great finish.
It does not split as easily as Pine (Softwood).

Examples of Hardwoods are:

Beech

Modern and sleek

(European)

Mahogany

Rich and classic

Africa / Asia

Oak

Traditional and cosy

(European / Asia)

Walnut

Exquisite and striking

(Amercian / Asia)

Teak

Outdoor furniture

(Thailand / Vietnam)

Ash

Modern, sleek picture frames and sports equipment / goods

(Europe, Asia, N America)

Cherry

Expensive floorboards

(Turkey, China, Europe, N America)

Zebrano

Decorative

(Africa)

Applications for hardwoods

A closer look at Softwoods

Softwood is the cheapest of the two varieties of timber due to the fact that trees reach maturity in 25 years or less.

Compare this to hardwoods which can take 4-5 times longer to grow and you can see why there is an increase in prices.

The UK is geographically nearer to softwood producing countries so shipping costs would be less. The UK produces a reasonable amount of softwood for its own use. All of these factors mean that softwoods are more readily available and therefore cost less in the UK. IKEA uses lots of softwoods (as well as chipboard and MDF) and they have lots of these trees across Scandinavia.

*** Softwoods are not as cheap in Thailand as they need to be imported, but remember that you are sitting an exam from a UK exam board so the above is relevant!

Softwood is used in a big range of general constructional jobs.

In the UK it is usually Pine or Spruce but other types include Douglas Fir and Western Red Cedar. It is cheap and very easy to work with, although some care is required to avoid it splitting when nailing, screwing into, sawing or drilling. It comes in several 'stock' forms:

rough sawn

Rough Sawn - quite roughly presented. Often used where you won't see it, like stud walls (dividing walls in homes) which are covered with plasterboard.

rough sawn treated

Rough Sawn treated - quite roughly presented - this is used for outdoor use and is pressure treated with preservative to help prevent rotting (Tanalising).

Used in outdoor fencing. You can usually tell it is treated by it's slightly odd colour, usually a brown or green tinge to it depending on the colour of preservative.

Planed

Planed - nice, smooth surface used for precision joinery or where you see the surface of the wood e.g. door frames, skirting boards - house interiors. Referred to as PSE (Planed Square Edge).

Common softwoods include

parana pine

scots (yellow) pine

cedar

spruce

douglas fir

manufactured boards

1. Chipboard

2. Conti Board

3. Plywood

4. MDF

5. Blockboard (not pictured)

6. Hardboard (not pictured)

The term ‘man-made board’ is sometimes used to describe manufactured boards such as MDF, Plywood, Blockboard, Hardboard and Chipboard, where wood has been combined with resin to form a ‘new’ material. These type of boards have increased stability and resistance to warping etc. and have equal strength in all directions unlike natural timber. They are manufactured in flat sheets which make them very useful.

Various types of manufactured board are available in thicknesses' of 4 mm, 6mm, 9mm, 12 mm, 15 mm, 18 mm, 24 mm.

Builders merchants and DIY (Megahome, ThaiWatsadu etc.) stores will usually supply a range of standard sheet sizes of different manufactured boards.

MDF (Medium Density Fibreboard)

MDF laminated with veneer to make an expensive look.

It is made from powdered wood which is bonded with glue and compressed to form the sheets.

It is used widely for interior projects especially cupboards and shelving.
It's quite soft and very easy to work with.
It cuts and sands very easily and you can get a good paint finish on it.
It is not particularly strong when cut in thin strips for shelving so will need support if you want long lengths.
It gets very dusty when sanding it so you'll need to wear a dust mask.
It absorbs moisture and will swell up if it gets wet. Avoid using outside or in areas likely to get damp.
You can cover MDF with a wood veneer like cherry, oak, etc. These are quite expensive but do make the MDF more attractive.

chipboard

Chipboard is similar to MDF but made from actual wood chips and is used widely by kitchen manufacturers who cover it with a laminate (a hard wearing plastic layer).

It is also used widely for low cost flooring. You can buy flooring packs in different sizes which come tongue and grooved and allows each section to slot together with the next before screwing or nailing down. I previously used it in the 'loft' of my house - an area to store.

It doesn't paint very well and the edges are quite rough. It is very cheap.

conti board

Conti Board is chipboard laminated with melamine formaldahyde. It is commonly available in white but other colours and finishes are available. Used widely in kitchen carcasses (cupboard sides and back) with a nicer laminate used for the front facing door. You can usually buy it in standard lengths of various widths. Can be use for shelving but will need plenty of support. It is generally inexpensive.

PLywood

Plywood is made from thin laminates of wood glued together with each layer at a right angle to the grain of the other.

It is very strong but also quite flexible, especially if you get thinner sheets.

It's used widely in the building industry as it's so strong. Examples include things like sub floors, partitions and general construction.
It's tougher to work with and the edges tend to splinter when sawn.
It doesn't paint very well due to the wood texture.
It's quite expensive, especially if you buy the most expensive, marine ply, which is very good quality and relatively water-proof.

Case study for further reading - Charles and Ray Eames steam bent plywood chair.

Plywood

Veneers

Veneers are thin slices of natural wood but are often put on manufactured boards to make them look more expensive.

They are ‘peeled’ off the trunk of a tree much like you peel toilet paper off a roll! They use a very sharp blade and rotate the timber to cut very thin layers.

They are also used to make laminated plywood for products like skateboards. This is known as constructional veneer.