WOOD
Learning Objectives:
•Oldest material used
•Found in a wide range of products
•Found in its natural form, and in a
manufactured form.
•Most used material
•Most challenging to work with.
•Live material.
•Aged texture
Twig
Parts of a tree
Twig
Parts of a tree
Parts of a tree
Natural
Timber
Natural Timber
Natural Timber
Natural Timber
Scots Pine
Parana Pine
Spruce
Yellow Cedar
Redwood
Ash
Beech
Elm
Mahogany
Oak
Hard VS Soft Wood
Hard VS Soft Wood
Hard VS Soft Wood
Hard VS Soft Wood
What are manufactured boards?
Manufactured Boards
• To offer a range of wood products which have different characteristics (properties) than
natural timber, processed boards such as plywood is manufactured.
Manufactured Boards
• There are a number of limitations with natural timber, one of which is the width it is
available in - the limiting factor here being the thickness of the tree trunk it is cut from
in the first place.
• Most softwoods come from fast growing trees with a comparatively small diameter
trunk. What happens if something larger is required, but the cost of using an expensive
hardwood is not an option?
• You could join a number of sections together yourself, or you could buy something that
has already undergone this process commercially. The term for this is manufactured
boards. Larger sized manufactured boards tend to be available as a maximum size of
2440 mm x 1220 mm (in imperial measurements, that is 8 ft x 4 ft).
• There are a number of different types of manufactured board available, each with
different properties. The six most common manufactuted boards are shown in the
following table.
Manufactured Boards
Manufactured Boards
Manufactured Boards
Starter task
There are many advantages to working with manufactured boards as
opposed to natural timber:
Advantages of working with
manufactured boards
• they are available in large sizes as well as
standard sizes and thicknesses
• boards are designed for specific purposes, so
have specific properties (for example, marine
plywood is glued together using waterproof
adhesive so it can be used in damp and wet
environments)
• they often use elements of waste from
processing timber, so are environmentally
sympathetic (although the adhesive and resin
sometimes used is less so)
• manufactured boards are uniform with few
imperfections, so when you work with them
you are assured that they are not likely to fail
due to unseen imperfections
• they do not split like natural timbers do
• they are available in ready finished formats
(with veneers or plastic
Steam bending & Laminating
Steam bending & Laminating
Environmental Consideration & Impact
•Trees are a natural resource. They remove harmful gases from the atmosphere,
notably carbon dioxide, replacing it with—oxygen.
•As we harvest trees it is essential that we replant them so that the ecological
impact is minimized and the cycle can continue for years to come.
•Some tropical hardwoods; for example, teak and mahogany take many hundreds
of years to grow, so it is essential that we continue to plant new trees in order to
take their place.
•The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is a global organization set up to certify that
timber sourced from their members is done so with these basic principals in mind.
Timber from an accredited FSC supplier displays their logo, so look out for it when
you are buying timber.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS
•Think about a piece of flat-packed furniture, sketch the item you have
thought of and identify where you could use hardwood, softwood and
manufactured boards in its construction.
•Suggest two different types of timber or manufactured board for each
of the components you have identified.
Skills Activity
The End
Let’s Recap
Wood 101
