LUMBER

WOOD
• Wood is that fibrous substance which composes the trunk
and branches of a tree that lies between the pitch and the
bark.
• Wood is defines as the lignified water conducting,
strengthening and storage tissues of branches, stem and roots
of trees.
• Wood is known as Xylem.
 Properties of Wood as Building
Material
• 1. String material
• 2. Durable
• 3. Light in weight
• 4. Ease of working and fastening
• 5. With artistic and natural beauty
 Advantages of Wood as Building
Material
1. In proportion to weight, wood is stronger than other
materials.
2. Wood is easily worked out with tools and fabricated into
many shapes, sizes and design.
3. Wood is excellent non-conductor of heat. It is warm in
winter and cool in summer.
 Advantages of Wood as Building
Material
4. With artistic grains and appearance conductive to
architectural designs, adding beauty and attraction to
furniture and interior finishes.
5. It is abundant in many shapes, color, sizes, and as renewable
resources.
6. The use of timber connectors in wide trusses and spans
generally permit the use of small wood members.
 Physical Properties of Wood
a. Strength e. Hardness
b. Moisture f. Cleavability
c. Knots and other defects g. Flexibility and Toughness
in wood h. Durability
d. Weight
 STRENGTH
Strength is the general term used with respect to the ability of
wood in resisting stress and strain
1. Wood is resistant to compression along the fibers.
2. Stiffness or the ability to resist bending stress.
3. Strength in tension or the ability to resist lengthwise stresses.
4. Shear strength or the ability of the fiber to resist rupture along or
across the grain.
 MOISTURE
It is an important factor affecting the strength of wood. To a
certain extent, strength increases with the degree of wood
seasoning.
KNOTS AND OTHER DEFECTS
IN WOOD
It materially affect the strength more particularly the size,
character and location of the knots and defects. For instance,
in cross bending strength, knots on the upper portion of the
beam do not detract from the strength as when they are
located on the lower portion of the beam.
 WEIGHT
Weight of the wood is another important consideration
because heavy woods are generally stronger than lighter wood.
 HARDNESS
It is expressed as resistance to indentation or to the saw or axe
across the grain. Hardness is generally dependent on the
weight of wood, structural elements and degree of seasoning.
These features are important in several methods of utilization
such as flooring, furniture, cross ties, handles and many small
wood items.
 CLEAVABILITY
It is the resistance of wood to split along the grains. Wood
splits much more easily when wet because moisturesoftens the
fibers and reduces adhesion across the grain.
 FLEXIBILITY AND
TOUGHNESS
The moisture content of wood influences flexibility to a
considerable degree. Toughness refers to the combined strength,
shock resistance and pliability or flexibility of wood.
 DURABILITY
Durability as applied to wood means the ability to resist decay
or simply the length of its life under a given condition. It also
includes the resistance of the wood to the influence of
mechanical wear.
CLASSIFICATION
OF WOOD
 MODE OF GROWTH
1. Exogenous are those outward growing trees most
preferred for lumbering
2. Indigenous are those inside growing trees. This kind of
tree is less preferred fro lumbering because the center core
of the log is soft and brittle.
 DENSITY
Refers to the quality of the mass and volume of the wood
classified as:
1. Softwood known as conifers or ever green.
2. Hardwood is generally deciduous with broad leaves
 LEAVES
The characteristics of trees with respect to the form of leaves
are either:

1. Needle Shape
2. Broad Shape
SHADES OR COLOR OF WOOD
1. White
2. Red
3. Yellow
4. Brown
5. Orange
6. Black, etc.
 GRAIN
1. Straight Grain
2. Cross Grain
3. Fine Grain
4. Coarse Grain
 NATURE OF THE SURFACE
1. Plain
2. Grained
3. Figured or marked
PREPARATION
OF WOOD
 LOGGING
Logging is defined as the harvesting of the tree consisting of a
sequence of operations such as:
1. Cutting of the tree.
2. Skidding
3. Bucking
 SKIDDED
It is the term used when the log is dragged and carried to an
assembly area.
 YARDED
When the log are delivered through the cable or a helium filled
balloon.
 LUMBERING
It is the term applied to the operation performed in preparing
wood for commercial purposes. It involves logging which is
the process of felling trees, hauling and delivery to the sawmill.
 SAWING
Band Saw was in demand from the smallest to largest
sawmills being the thinnest blade and fastest saw.
 2 Methods of Log Sawing
1. The Plain or Bastard Sawing is by cutting the loags
entirely through the diameter with a parallel chord
tangential to the annual rings
2. The Quarter or Rift Sawing is categorized into 4
methods of sawing
 4 Methods of Sawing
1. Radial Method
2. Tangential Method
3. Quarter Tangential
4. Combined Radial and Tangential
COMMENTS:
1. Quarter Sawed Lumber is less
affected by moisture changes, less
warping and shows special grain
effects.
2. Has better abrasion and wear
resistance
3. Finishes are more uniform.
COMMENTS:
4. Quarter sawing is more expensive
than the plain sawing because the
logs are turned frequently while
being cut.
5. Rotating the log on the carriage in
order to obtain cuts of the highest
quality is most commonly practiced
in the sawing of Hardwood lumber.
COMMENTS:
6. After the log is cut, the slab and
board fall on a conveyed to an edger
and end trimmer where the sides and
ends of the board are squared. The
board is then graded, sorted and
finally stacked for drying or
shipment.
 DEFINITION OF TERMS
1. Surfaced or Dressed Lumber – is a planed lumber having
at least one smooth side.
2. S2s / S4s – are planed or dressed lumber of which the
number connotes the smooth sides.
3. Slab – is a kind of rough lumber cut tangent to the annual
rings of wood running the full length of the log and
containing at least one flat surface
 DEFINITION OF TERMS
4. Timber - is a piece of lumber 5 inches or larger in its
smallest dimension
5. Plank – is a wide piece of lumber from 2 – 5 in.
6. Board – is a piece of lumber less than 1 ½ “ thick and at
least 4 in wide.
7. Flitch – is a thick piece of lumber.
 DEFINITION OF TERMS
8. Fine Grain – When the annual rings are small, the grain
marking which separates the adjacent rings is said to be
fine grain. When large, it is called Coarse – grained
9. Straight – grained – When the directions of the wood
fibers are nearly parallel with the sides and edges of the
board, it is said to be straight grained. When the lumber is
taken from a crooked tree, it is classified as crooked or
Cross-grained
 DEFINITION OF TERMS
10. Lumber – is the term applied to wood after it was sawed or
sliced into boards, planks, sticks, etc. for commercial
purposes.
11. Rough Lumber – is the term applied to newly sawed
lumber.
12. Silviculture – is the process of growing timber crops of a
better and more valuable species as rapidly as possible
through scientific forestry.
 DEFECTS IN WOOD
A. Abnormal Growth
1. Heart Shakes
2. Wind Shakes or Cup Shakes
3. Star Shakes
4. Knots
 DEFECTS IN WOOD
A. Due to Deterioration
1. Dry-Rot is the presence of moisture in seasoned wood
caused by fungi.
2. Wet Rot usually takes place sometime in the growth of
trees caused by water saturation.