LUMBER MANUFACTURE

General
Lumber is one of the most widely used forms of manufactured wood product. It
has been defined as the product of the saw and planing mill not further manufactured than
by sawing, resawing and passing lengthwise through a standard planing machine, cross-
cut to length and worked.

Manufacturing Processes:
The manufacture of lumber from logs consist of four (4) basic operations (a)
headsawing, (b) resawing, (c) edging, (d) trimming and four (4) supplementary operations
(a) preservative treatment, (b) end coating, (c) piling and sorting, and (d) seasoning
(drying). In a large and more sophisticated sawmills equipped with the more modern
machineries the lumber comes out of the factory surface and shaped.

Figure 1. Simplified Production Flow Diagram

Basic Operation:
1. Headsawing - The first basic operation is log breakdown which is the conversion of the
log into planks, boards or dimensions. The primary objective is sawing logs on a
headsaw is to turn the log on the carriage in such a way as to produce the maximum
quantity of high-grade boards consistent with reasonable cost and with the
requirements of the market to be serve. This operation is usually done by any of the
three equipments: (1) circular headsaw, (2) band saw and (3) sash-gang saw. These
equipment also serve as a basis in classifying sawmills according to the headrig used
(1) band sawmill (2) circular sawmill, and (3) gang sawmill.
Headsawing consists of two methods, namely:
A. Sawing with respect to the angle of the grain
1. Plain or flat sawing - the grain angle is less than 45 with the surface of the piece.
2. Quarter sawing - the grain of the lumber sawed forms an angle from 45 to 90
with the surface of the piece.
B. Sawing with respect to the direction of the saw cut
1. Taper sawing - sawing parallel to the sides of the log.
2. Non-taper sawing - sawing at an angle to the side of the log.
The circular head saw as the name implies make use of a circular saw as
the main headrig. The circular saw was first patented by Samuel Miller in 1777.
Since then many variations, modification and improvements had been made, until
 finally it remained for Walter Taylor to construct the modern circular saw. It is easy
to imagine that the first circular saw must have had a serrated periphery which
acted as a cutting edge. Such saws are now classified as the solid-tooth type. It has
the distinct disadvantage that when a tooth is broken all the rest of the teeth have to
be grounded to the same cutting circle. A major improvement made in the
manufacture of the circular saw is the use of inserted teeth. The teeth are not
extension of the blade or shank of the saw but are accessories which are merely
inserted to the circumference blade. If any one tooth becomes broken that particular
tooth needs only to be replaced.
Very recent development in the manufacture of circular saws is the
tungsten carbide-tipped saws for cutting wood which heavy (dense) or contain
enormous amount of extraneous materials (particularly silica content).
Most if not all present day circular mills make use of the inserted-type saws.
The width of the teeth or kerf of the saw is wider than the thickness of the shank in
order to minimize friction between the block of wood and the blade. Tension is also
being applied on the mid-radial section of the circular saw so that the saw holds a
true kin during cutting. Tensioning the saw mill avoid vibrations which is due to the
following factors (1) centrifugal force, (2) resistance to cutting and (3) heating of the
saw when gumming. Depending upon the anticipated sizes of logs to be cut, the
saw diameter for log breakdown usually ranges from 48 in. to 60 in.
Types of modern circular headsaws:
a. Single -circular saw - designed to saw mill to medium sized logs. The smallest mills
use saw of 36-inch diameter and the largest mills use saws up to 6 feet in diameter.
b. Twin-circular saw - designed to cut relatively small logs and the advantage of
variable spacing between saws adapts such equipment to cant production.
c. Single circular with a top saw - designed to saw large diameter logs. One saw with a
smaller diameter rotates on top of a large diameter saw, both on the same husk or
sawframe.
d. Gang-circular saw - designed to cut small knotty logs. The log is reduced to boards
in a single pass. The saws are fixed on a single mandrel, the spacing between
saws being controlled by means of fixed collars.
After the invention of the circular saw the band saw not far fetched. In 1808,
William Knobbier obtained a patent for machinery for sawing wood which is
basically an endless serrated steel ribbon stretched around the pulleys. His idea,
however, did not go beyond the parent and model stage due to several set backs in
its developments owing largely to low quality of steel used for blades and poor
techniques in its manufacture. In addition, blades snapped too easily or jumped-off
the pulleys.
In 1833, it took a Frenchman by the name of Perin to develop Knobbier's
idea. He used spring steel for blades and further patented a simple but effective
method of rejoining fractures. Subsequent developments led to the use of spring
bearings to allow movements in the pulleys on expansion and contraction thus
preventing fracture of the blade.
Present day bandsaws are not very different from their prototypes. The
band is a continuous wide steel band with teeth on one or both edges. The blade is
mounted on two wheels which are usually situated one on top of the other. The
 lower wheel is driven by a motor and as it rotates it turns the blades. The upper
pulley can be moved upward and downward to relax or tighten the blade. The size
of a bandmill depends on the diameter of the pulleys. Their sizes ranges from 3 1/2
to 11 ft. using from 9 to 12 gage saws
The teeth of bandsaws are contrast to the type of teeth of circular headsaws
is extensions of the blade/shanks hence are not removable. The teeth may be on
one or both edges. Band saws with teeth on only one edge are single-cutting and
the cut is made with the forward movement of the log carriage. Double cutting and
the cut is made with the forward movement of the log carriage. Double cutting
bandsaws cut in either direction of the carriage.
Types of band headsaws:
a. Vertical bandsaws - consist of a continuous band of steel with teeth on one or both
edges, mounted on two wheels, one of which is above and the other below the
cutting field. Power is applied to the lower and the heavier wheel, which acts as a
flywheel, drying the saw downward through the log as it is fed on the carriage.
Some of its variations are:
i. Single vertical bands
ii. Double vertical bands - a combination of a right hand and left hand bands using a
single fieldwork and making two cuts at a time.
b. Horizontal bands - the two wheels are mounted side by side and the bands run
parallel to the mill floor.
c. Double cutting phony bands - both edges of the bands have teeth and a board is
removed with either direction of the carriage movement.
Bandsaws have narrower kerf than circular saws hence produce less
sawdust and less waste of material (sawkerf-3/32-7/32 in.). They rank high in
recovery by grades. However, labor and machine cost per unit of production is
medium to high, the machine being expensive to install and maintain. Highly
suitable for large diameter logs and best adapted in operations assured of adequate
timber supply.
In the 15th and 16th centuries another type of headsaw was patented. This
consists of several reciprocating blade saws mounted on a frame. This type of saw
is a logical development of the pit saw and has been commonly termed as the
sash-gang headsaw.
The modern sash-gang saw consists of a battery of flat steep reciprocating
saw blades mounted on a frame or sash. The blades may be evenly spaced or are
closer near the sides depending upon the desire of the sawyer. Sawing is
accomplished in one passing of the log by the up and downward stroke of the saw
blades similar to whip-sawing only this is done mechanically and with more saw
blades.
This saw is not suitable for large diameter logs. The maximum diameter of
logs to be cut depends upon the size of the frame. It ranks high in cutting accuracy
but relatively low in grades of lumber recovery since it does not permit the turning of
the log so necessary in the cutting of higher quality lumber. In most instances sash-
gang saws are used as supplementary headsaws to take care of small diameter
logs which otherwise could not be economically handled by the main headsaw. In
some cases, sash-gang saws are installed behind the main headrig or after the
 edger in which case it does not function in log breakdown but in re-sawing or cutting
large flitches of timber into thinner sizes.
Types of sash-gang headsaws
a. American sash-gang-saw - designed to saw cants, and of the oscillating type. The
sash, with its battery of saws, moves forward on the downward cutting stroke and
then backward to clear the saw on the upward stroke.
b. Scandinavian sash-gang saw - designed to saw round logs. It is of the overhand
type. The top of sash is titled forward of the bottom so that the saw hangs at an
angle. The overhand permits clearance of the saw on the upward stroke; with a
continuous feed.
2. Resawing - sawing operation designed to reduce large size dimension, timber of cants
into lumber, or to recover usable lumber from heavy slabs. When it is obvious that a
cant or timber should be cut into two pieces or into several pieces with parallel cuts, this
operation can usually be done more economically on resaw.
Types of resaws:
a. Sash-gang resaw
b. Circular-gang-resaw
c. Vertical-band resaw
d. Horizontal-band resaw
This operation may not be necessary is small sawmills. Large pieces of
lumber from the headsaws are sawn further in resaw. Resaws may also be of
similar type with the main headsaws but relatively of smaller dimensions. It may
also cut odd sizes of lumber not economically possible to cut in the edger.
3. Edging or ripping - Boards and planks from the headsaw or sometimes from resaw are
processed in the edger. Its purpose are to cut boards with parallel and square sides, to
cut the lumber to desired widths and to remove many edges and barks and other
defects to improve the quality of the lumber.
In very small sawmills the edging operation is done with the headsaw. The
boards are stacked in the carriage with the many edges out and passed through the
main saw. Because several boards are cut at a time it is difficult to remove all many
edges and defects since the operation can see only the uppermost board except when
extra care is made to arrange the planks containing defects which are similarly
positioned in the stack.
In larger sawmills ripping is done with an edger. The edger could be any of the
following types:
a. Vertical type edger - consist of two circular saws mounted horizontally with the
mandrel in vertical position at a distance ahead of the headsaw in such a manner
that the periphery of the edger-saws is two feet from the main saw. The lower saw
may be fixed while the other is movable, to adjust the desired width of lumber.
b. Single-saw-type - employs a "flatcar" to carry the board through the saw one edge at
a time. The flatcar is about 14 ft. long and 2 ft. wide inches equipped with flanged
wheels and mounted on a flat-top track. The boards are loaded on the flatcar and
pushed against the fixed saw.
 c. Multiple-saw edger - equipped with a feed table and a tail table. On the top of the
feed table is a movable straight-edge or rip fence on the same side of the fixed saw.
Larger edgers are usually equipped with powered rolls on the feed table. The rear
or tail tables are equipped with rolls.
The typical edger used in most medium and large sawmills makes use of
two or more saws. One of the saws in a two-saw edger is fixed and the other is
movable along the mandrel. In a multiple-saw edger all the saws maybe movable
or one may be fixed. In both cases the movable saws slide along two keys fixed at
opposite sides of the mandrel. A lever-arm extending to the front of the edger and
pivoting at the middle of the edger engage the opposite sides of the collar of the
movable saw. The saws are spaced at the front of the edger.
Modern edgers are equipped with shadow-lines are projected from an
overhead light on to the boards indicating the position of the saws. Spacing of the
edger-saws by hydraulic mechanism has permitted remote control by the operator
who may positioned above the machine for better supervision.
4. trimming or cross-cutting - This operation involves cutting across the grain at the ends
of the boards so that they will be square and parallel with each other. In addition, long
boards are cut into two or more pieces suitable for commercial lengths, and or to
eliminate defects and render the balance of the boards of a more valuable grade.
Types of trimmers:
a. Single (swing) cut-off saw - simplest of trimmer and is well adapted to small mills.
It consists of a swinging frame pivoted at one end and the saw at the other end. At
normal position, it rests off the flowline and trimming is done by pulling it pendulum-
like across the flow line. The pivot can be above or below the flow line.
b. "Canadian" trim saw - consist of two fixed saws on each side of the table equipped
with conveyor chains. The saws are spaced 13 feet apart along the length of the
table and the table is usually 16 ft. wide. The first saw squares up on end, or the
board is so placed as to trim a defective end.
An operator at the opposite side of the conveyor table then places the board
for accurate trim to length by the second saw being guided by markers on the table.
c. Two-or three-saw cut-off - consist of either two or three circular saws mounted on a
long mandrel, their spacing being controlled with crank or wheel to permit trimming
a variety of lengths.
d. Battery trimmer (multiple-saw trimmer) - consist of trimmers make use of several
circular saws mounted in separate mandrels spaced two feet apart except that in
cases the first two saws are spaced equal to the shortest board cut. The saws may
be either mounted in frame and pivoted at one end similar to the swing cut-off saws
and actuated by lever-action or by push bottons. The saws are placed in line
across the line of flow of materials and a selected saw can be extended to cut a
given length, the remaining saws retracted either above or below the line of flow of
the material.
SUPPLEMENTARY OPERATIONS
1. Preservative treatment - the object of all treating processes is to apply the preservative
in such a manner that the increase in service life will pay the cost of treatment and
return a profit on the money invested.
2. End coating - since wood dries faster from the end grain than from the side grain, some
kinds of wood, especially in thick sizes, may check and split at the ends during air
seasoning. For this reason it is often advisable to coat the ends with a moisture
resistant end coating when wood is being seasoned.
3. Piling and sorting -it is necessary to pile the lumber so that air circulation will go on with
no interruption thus facilitating the drying process. Air circulates through a pile of
lumber in two years: First, horizontally across the pile because of the movement of the
wind and air currents and secondly, downward the pile because of temperature
differences of the air in the piles brought about by evaporation of the moisture in the
lumber.
4. Seasoning - the drying of the wood involves two basic operations: movement of
moisture to the surface of the wood, and evaporation, from the surface. Evaporation,
which is the conversion of a liquid to a vapor, occurs on the surface of the liquid when
the fastest moving molecules of the liquid overcome the cohesive attraction of the liquid
molecules and escape into the atmosphere. The higher the temperature, the higher the
pressure of the H2O and the faster evaporation takes place.
The rate at which the piece of wood dries depends largely upon the rate of
diffusion of moisture from the interior to the exterior of the piece of wood.
MANUFACTURE OF VENEER AND PLYWOOD
General
Veneer is a thin sheet of wood of uniform thickness produced by peeling, slicing or
sawing logs, bolts, or flitches. While some veneer is used as such in the production of
wood containers such as baskets, boxes, and a few specialty products, the principal reason
for cutting logs into veneer is for the purpose of producing plywood panels.
Plywood, on the other hand, is a well-established trade term applied to composite
wood panels composed of an odd number of sheets of veneer that are bonded together
with a suitable adhesive in such a manner that the grain directions of the adjacent plies are
at right angles to one another. This method of assembling wood components is referred to
as cross-banded construction. The cross-banded construction of plywood yields several
advantages over the use of solid wood as follows:
1. Dimensional stability is improved since shrinkage and swelling in length and width are
approximately equal.
2. Strength properties are modified and redistributed in the cross-banding operation.
3. Stresses are nearly balanced; hence, there is a reduction in warping and twisting.
4. Wood characteristics (i.e., grain direction) are rearranged to maximum advantage.
5. Ease in fabricating curved and irregular surfaces not feasible with solid wood.
The simplest plywood panel is a three-ply assembly. The inner (center) layer is
designated as the core to distinguish it from the two outer sheets, the face and back plies.
In three-ply construction, the grain direction in the core is at right angle to that of the face
plies.

Manufacturing Processes:
A. Veneering - There are at present three common methods employed in the manufacture
of veneers, namely:
1. Rotary cutting (see fig. 7) - In this method of cutting, a bolt of wood of
predetermined length is held by two chucks and centered on a lathe. When in
place, the bolt is turned against a stationary knife extending across its length cutting
it tangentially with respect to its longitudinal axis. As cutting proceeds, the bolt is
literally unwound and the veneer is produced in a long, continuous ribbon of wood.
2. Slicing (see fig. 8 & 9) - This method of veneering was developed in an effort to
eliminate the wasteful practice of sawing and is employed for cutting only figured
woods for face stocks. Here in the Philippines utmost 3 to 5 plywood mill uses this
method of veneering.
Logs to be used for the production of sliced veneers are first halving lengthwise on
a circular or band saw and then cut into smaller flitches. Before the actual slicing operation
begins, the stock (flitches) are placed on a “cooking vat” for several hours to facilitate the
softening of wood components and make it more plastic. This can be done by steaming or
soaking in hot water.
After softening the flitches are mounted on a slicer which may be of two types:
horizontal slicer or European and vertical slicer or American. The basic difference lies in the
manner by which the bed plate and knife moves. In the latter the flitches is held fixed on the
bed plate which moves upward or downward and the knife carriage moves forward during
the upstroke of the flitch. In the case of the former, the bed plates together with the flitch is
held horizontally moving upward towards the knife while the knife carriage moves sidewise
making a cut on the flitch.
3. Sawing - Presently, little veneer is produced by sawing. This method is restricted to
species which are either highly refractory or unsuitable for both slicing and rotary
cuttings and that cannot be softened by steaming or boiling without impairing their
natural color.
The modern veneer saw is known as a segment saw. Using this method about half
of a flitch is reduced to sawdust.
B. Green Veneer Clipping
Ribbons of veneer coming out from the lathe are normally clipped to eliminate the
defective portions on the veneers. At this stage the veneer are still green or contain lots of
moisture inside hence, the term green veneer clipping was derived. Clippers are employed
for this operation which is activated electrically, pneumatically or hydraulically.
C. Drying
Freshly cut veneers are ordinarily very wet and in that condition are wholly unsuited
for gluing. It is necessary, therefore, that excessive moisture be removed from them as
rapidly as possible, consistent, with good drying practices.
Several methods for drying veneers are in common use. The selection of one of
them for any given plant is usually dependent upon the ultimate use of the stock, and the
facilities available to the manufacturer.
1. Air drying - done by laying up the sheets of veneers between tiers of stickers to
permit free circulation of air over their surfaces.
2. Loft drying - green veneers are hung on clips from rafters or edge-stacked in finger
racks in a well ventilated room with or without humidity control.
3. Kiln drying - this is accomplished by drying sheets of veneer inside a conventional
progressive-type of kiln wherein the temperature and relative humidity inside can be
carefully controlled depending upon the desired moisture content of the end-
product.
4. Veneer driers - a modern method of drying veneers by permitting a rapid and
uniform seasoning without greatly affecting the sheets. Two type of such
equipment, viz., conveyor driers and hot plate driers, are in common use.
D. Dry Veneer Clipping
Since drying defects are prone to occur on the veneers during the process of
seasoning, it is therefore important to eliminate those defects in order to upgrade the quality
and this can be done by clipping. Thus, as the veneer sheets come out of the drier the
defective portions are clipped automatically using mechanized and automated control
devices.
E. Preparation of the Stock (faces, cross bands and cores) for gluing
Unless veneers are dried to very low moisture content and used immediately, it is
customary to re-dry them when they are removed from storage prior to the gluing operation.
Redrying is accomplished ordinarily by means of plate driers.
 After redrying the next operation consists of trimming the veneers to dimensions
somewhat longer and wider than the finished products. Trimming operations are usually
done by means for veneer clippers.
In certain instances where the veneers are short of the desired dimension, jointing
and splicing are undertaken. The sheets of veneers which are clipped are next put through
an edge jointer to ensure perfectly tight and imperceptible joints in the finished plywood.
The jointing operation produces a square, straight edge on the veneer so that two sheets
can be taped or spliced together and provide on inconspicuous joint line.
The face veneers are then taken to the matching table. Considerable experience
and patience, as well as artistic ability and imagination, are required to produce the best
effect in matched veneers.
F. Splicing
Just after the jointing process, glue is brushed on the jointed edges in preparation
for splicing. When the matches select two pieces of veneer to be jointed, he butts them
together along their dressed edges and holds them firmly in place with gummed tape or
with a film of glue spread along the joint. This operation is known as splicing and may be
done manually but is accomplished more efficiently on specially designed machines known
as splicers
G. Spreading of glue
The next phase in plywood manufacture is the bonding together of the various
elements to form a panel. This is accomplished by spreading an adhesive on the faces of
core or cross-bands or interleaving the individual layers of wood with sheets of dry glue film
and then pressing them firmly together with or without heat as required until the glue is
cured. In small operations, liquid adhesives may be brushed on by hand, but in plants of
large capacity the operation is merely mechanical.
Adhesive suitable for the manufacture of plywood must be of such a nature that
they may be easily and uniformly spread over large surfaces and must have high bonding
capacity.
H. Panel assembly
The amount of adhesive applied varies with the type of bonding agent employed. In
spreading, the adhesive should cover the entire joint uniformly and use no more than the
required minimum of an adhesive in making joint.
The time lapse between the beginning of a spreading operation and the application
of full pressure upon the glue lines of a plywood panel or batch o panels pressed
simultaneously is known as the assembly time or period.
I. Pressing
After the veneers are spread in accordance with good shop practice, the plywood
assemblies are ready for pressing. Depending upon the type of adhesive used, pressing
may be accomplished at room temperature (cold-pressing) or at raised temperature (hot
pressing).
The press is usually hydraulically operated and the platens internally heated (as in
the case of hot-presser). A single panel, or occasionally two of them, is placed upon each
platen. As soon as the press is charged the platens are closed and full heat and pressure
are developed as rapidly as possible.
 When the press is opened the hot panels are removed, stacked, and permitted to
cool and condition for several hours before they are finished.
J. Trimming/Finishing
After the plywood panels and had been conditioned, they are trimmed according to
the desired dimension of the finished products. Trimming operation is done by means of
circular saws mounted on a table that trims the edges of the panels at 3’ x 6’ or 4’ x 8’ panel
area.
Panels with defect such as open splits, pinholes, small knots, etc. are either spread
with putty or rejected, depending upon the extent of the damage. Puttied panels are again
passed through a series of sanders prior to grading. If panels cannot be puttied anymore,
they are automatically rejected.
K. Grading and Crating
Grading of panels fall into two (2) categories; export-grade and local-grade. Local
grade panels are those that do not qualify for export-grade, or simply “export-grade rejects.”
Graded panels are then crated for storage awaiting shipment.
 THE LUMBER INDUSTRY IN THE PHILIPPINES
by: RAMON A. RAZAL

I. CONDITIONS
The Philippine wood industry is basically a logging industry. This is so because log
production and exportation is a more profitable operation, requiring much less capital
outlays than wood processing, as in lumber production. In terms of export revenues,
the lumber industry comprises only an insignificant portion of the wood industries.
Notwithstanding the Philippines still ranks as one of the leading lumber producing
countries of the world.
II. PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS
A. Manufacturing Problems and Solutions
One requisite for a good market is quality. Lumber products should be of
good average widths and lengths, and should be edged and trimmed carefully to
produce the best possible appearance. They should meet standard thickness and
must be free from defects. Product quality is dependent on the level of technology
employed in its manufacture, the availability of technologically-skilled men, with
working knowledge of the properties of wood, the use of statistical quality control
procedures, and the availability of high quality logs for conversion into lumber.
Chipped grain, raised grain, machine burn and stain are some
manufacturing defects which can either be controlled or prevented. The acquisition
of new machines and the employment of highly skilled men are some measures
which can be taken to minimize manufacturing defects. Sawing methods and
techniques call for improvement to produce better quality lumber. An upgraded
technology will result in higher efficiency necessary to increase production, improve
and/or maintain quality, reduce wastage, and minimize production costs. Improved
quality can be obtained by improving the machines or acquiring new ones, although
the increase in cost of imported spare parts posses some problems. Through tax
incentives, the government may be able to alleviate this problem.
Most defects in lumber are attributed to the quality of logs processed into
lumber. A problem in the procurement of quality logs for lumber is that most of the
high grade logs are exported, a few are absorbed by local veneer and plywood
plants, leaving the defect logs to the sawmills. Lumber of inferior quality are thus
produced.
The supply of logs is another problem in production. Stability of production
volumes is ties up to stability of supply of raw materials and other inputs. However,
timber concessionaires are hesitant to sell logs to local processors because these
transactions are subject to 7% sales tax while the logs exported are not. Timber
concessionaires would rather export their logs than sell them to local processors.
Stability of log supply is also being affected by the proliferation of
uneconomic-sized plants and loading outports. This was a result of a Bureau of
Forestry directive in the early 1960's requiring forest licenses with a concession of
more than 50,000 hectares to established a wood processing plant, while these with
10,000 hectares has to put up a sawmill. The increased rate of timber depletion
likewise, caused a decrease in log supply. It is therefore not surprising to hear
 reports that some producers were importing logs from Indonesia just to meet their
raw material requirement.
Government actions are necessary to solve these problems. First, it ought
to remove the 7% sales tax imposed on local log sales. Second, the Bureau of
Forestry (now Bureau of Forest Development) policy requiring a processing mill for
every concession must be scrapped. With this the volume allocated for local
processing by small concessionaires will be channeled to the nearest existing
plants in order to insure the fuller utilization of their production facilities and the
improved viability of their operations. And third, land-use policies should be wisely-
formulated to avoid unstable land classification, insecurity of tenure which results in
the indiscriminate cutting of timber for export.
B. Marketing Problems
Unlike other products, the bulk of lumber produced in the country is sold
mainly in the domestic market. About 88% of the total lumber production has been
consumed locally, where at times, the price of lumber is below coast of production.
Undoubtedly, foreign exchange is needed to sustain economic growth.
Lumber is a dollar-earning product and may therefore be exported. Unfortunately,
the market for lumber is not stable at present. Our market share for lumber in
Japan, U.S. and Australia is decreasing. The lumber export business is highly
competitive, and considering the capacity under-utilization of our sawmills, our
share in traditional markets decreased while that of Malaysia and other countries
increased. This points out the need for aggressiveness in our marketing policies
stabilization of supply, and the exportation of good quality lumber.
Our lumber exports are susceptible to market fluctuation. We have
neglected market development and diversification of processed wood products.
Thus, any economic instability in our principal market would always bear a strong
impact on our export products, like lumber. We have to look for new markets, and at
the same time improve our products so they can compete with those from our more
progressive competitors, and come up with the rigid quality control procedures
imposed on our products, especially by the European buyers.
The government has been acting favorably on this matter because it has,
through the Ministry of Trade organized trade missions to the Middle East, Europe
and People's Republic of China to locate new market outlets.
High freight cost is both a production and marketing problem. In production,
procurement of log has been difficult. Moving logs from Northern Mindanao to
Davao would be more expensive than to move logs from the Philippines to Japan.
In marketing, freight charges multiplies with transshipment of cargo from outports to
an international port before final shipment to world market.
The wood industry is almost totally dependent on foreign bottoms to ship its
export products, and this is a competitive disadvantage in international world
markets. Only 5% of total sailings from Philippine exports is constituted by
Philippine bottoms. If foreign vessels do not feel like going to the port, we lose the
chance to obtain foreign earnings from our products.
The government may act on this problem by providing more bottoms
designed for shipping wood products to both local control shipping points and to
overseas markets. This would reduce the cost of freight which will, in the long run,
 improve the competitive position of wood exports, thereby increasing their export
volume and value.
The private sector, on the other hand, is not idle on the matter of solving the
freight problem. They have consolidated their cargoes in fewer loading ports, thus
reducing the number of ports to which the vessels would call. Others have acquired
their own vessels. We can also single out the accomplishment of PICOP which has
put up its port area complex complete with warehouses and other facilities.
III. Demand for and Supply of Lumber in the Philippines
Boonchote Krittanon (1974) investigated the factors affecting quantity
demanded or supplied of lumber, and studied how the quantity demanded (or supplied)
of lumber over a period of years depend upon these factors.
The following conclusions were drawn as a result of his study. First, that
demand for lumber trends to be “inelastic”. This means that as lumber price increases,
the change in demand for lumber will be less than proportionate. This also means that a
rise in price will increase the firm’s total. Revenue. However, if higher prices persist
substitution will be encouraged.
Krittanon explained the inelastic behavior of the demand schedule by citing that
it is the construction industry which uses the most part of the lumber consumed in the
Philippines. Lumber costs constitute but a minor portion of total expenditures for
construction.
The major factors which affect the quality demanded for lumber are a) the price
lumber, b) value of total construction, c) price of steel, and, d) price of cement. While
the price of lumber affects quantity demanded, its effect is negligible. This is so
because lumber is a perishable product and little would it follow the increase in price
decrease in price pattern of commodities. While it was reported that the increase in
consumption of lumber in 1971 was due to the increase in the price of cement,
Krittanon discovered that lumber instead play a complementary role, rather than a
competitive one in the demand for cement.
With respect to steel, Krittanon observed that it plays a competitive role in the
demand for lumber. Thus, as price of steel increases, the lumber consumption tends to
go up.
A second conclusion that can be drawn from that can be drawn from his study is
that the supply of lumber tend to be “elastic”. This means that as the price of lumber
increase, the increase in the supply of lumber is greater than proportionate. We
therefore find more lumber produced and offered in the market if the price of lumber
increases. The factors affecting quantity of lumber supplied include the price of lumber,
capacity of sawmills, time trend, log production, total credits granted by commercial
banks, price of logs and log exports. An increase in the first five factors will result to an
increase in quantity supplied, while the reverse holds for the remaining factors.
IV. Prospects of the Lumber Industry
The three requisites for product development are 1) stable supply of logs; 2)
improvement of infrastructure; and 3) the development of product market. These factors
are now being dealt with favorably, both by the private and government sector. One
such government action is the log ban policy.
Krittanon was optimistic about the effect of this policy, which was supposed to
be fully implemented in 1976, on the supply of lumber. He believes the ban would
stabilize the price of logs, and will therefore have a favorable effect on lumber
production.
The rationalization of the wood industry, which, among others, called for the
phasing out of uneconomic sized wood mills or those with a rated daily capacity of less
than 10,000 board feet was envisioned to solve the capacity under-utilization of major
wood processors. This rationalization plan would likewise partially solve the
unemployment problem, as it would have generated approximately 95,000 new jobs.
With the economic recovery in the major markets, and the expansion of
construction projects an increase in trading in future contracts are expected. A housing
construction boom has been sweeping the united State due to lower interest rates on
mortgages, and this increase in demand would cause the price of lumber and plywood
to hit high levels. With this, the value of our lumber exports must have increased.
New markets are being developed. While initial orders may be low, fit is
expected that they increase gradually, provided that we maintain the high quality of our
product. An improvement in the price of lumber alone can spell the recovery of several
companies which have been incurring losses as a result of the log ban.
By this time, lumber, which is the most important form in which wood is utilized,
may no longer be an insignificant portion of the wood industry. It has even played a
more important role for two reasons: the dollar it earns and its utilization as a raw
material for developing other industries
 PULP AND PAPER

A. Kinds of Paper
1. bond and writing papers
2. printing papers
Types of printing paper
a. book paper - grade of paper used for printing books, magazines, pamphlets,
folders and brochures
b. newsprint paper - grade of paper used for newspaper
c. bristol - group of papers or paperboards, 0.006 inch thick or thicker; includes
index bristol, mill bristol, wedding bristol, bogus bristol and folder stock
d. ledger paper - used as filler leaves for ledger books
e. lithographic paper
3. wrapping and bag papers
4. paper towel and toilet tissues
5. paperboards
Types of specialty paperboards
a. binder board - used for binding
b. electrical pressboard - used for electrical insulation
c. imitation pressboard - used for notebook covers
B. Raw materials for pulp and paper manufacture in the Philippines
1. Wood
a. softwood - Benguet pine
b. hardwoods - gubas, kaatoan bangkal, Moluccan sau, etc.
2. Agricultural wastes - sugar cane bagasse, rice straw, banana stalks, tobacco stalks
and midribs
3. Other sources:
a. grasses - bamboo, cogon
b. kapok seed hairs
c. paper mulberry, ramie and salago bast fibers
d. abaca and maguey leaf fibers
e. recycled pulp from used papers
C. Steps in the manufacture of Pulp and Paper
1. Raw materials preparation - this includes the following operations:
a. pulpwood harvesting and transportation
b. bucking - logs are cut to correct sizes
c. debarking
 Methods of bark removal
i) manual debarking
ii) hydraulic debarking
iii) chemical debarking
iv) use of debarking drums
v) use of long log system cambium debarkers
Reasons for debarking
i) bark has only a very small amount of fibers
ii) bark gives a dirty pulp
iii) bark tends to consume more chemicals
d. chipping - the logs are reduced to smaller pieces to ensure penetration of
chemicals as well as to obtain more rapid, complete and uniform saturation of
the wood, by cooking liquor. Chipping is generally done on wood to be pulped
by chemical or semi-chemical processes.
e. screening - oversized chips are separated from the accepted chips for
rechipping fines or undersized chips are used as boiler fuel.
f. storage - chips are segregated according to species, color and other properties
to permit variation of the products of the pulp mill.
2. Pulping
Pulping is a dilute suspension of separated fibers in water.
Classification of Pulping Processes:
a. Groundwood or Mechanical Pulping - a high yield process, (88 to 98%) , purely
mechanical or physical methods are used, where the fibers are torn apart by
force to break the lignin which serves as the bonding material. Weak pulp is
produced, consisting of short fibers with ruptured walls resulting from the harsh
grinding process. Pulp is formed into grades of paper not requiring permanence
such as newsprint, wall paper, tissue paper, etc.
b. Chemical pulping - a low yield process (30-58%); wood in the form of chips is
treated with chemicals under high temperature and pressure, the primary
objective of which is to dissolve the lignin by a chemical reaction to permit the
separation of the cellulose fibers with minimal degradation of their structure.
Some important chemical pulping processes
i) acid sulfite process - pulping agents are the sulfites and bisulfites of
calcium, magnesium, sodium and ammonium with the addition of sulfurous
acid. Unbleached sulfite pulp can be used for newsprint. Bleached sulfite
pulp is a source of writing and printing papers.
ii) Alkaline process
ii-1 Soda process - wood chips are treated with a dilute solution of caustic
soda (NaOH) at high temperature and pressure. Pulp produced is
weak, soft and dark in color but can be readily bleached for use in the
manufacture of book and magazine stock as well as writing and
absorbent papers.
ii-2 Sulfate or kraft process - cooking liquor contains sodium sulfide and
caustic soda. Kraft pulp is stronger, brownish in color and when
 bleached can be used in the manufacture of envelopes, writing printing
and onion skin papers. Some standard terms used in sulfate pulping:
White liquor - sulfate pulping liquor containing sodium hydroxide and
sodium sulfite as its main constituents, with sodium carbonate, sodium
thiosulfide, etc. as minor constituents.
Total alkali - designates the sum of sodium hydroxide, sodium sulfide,
sodium sulfite expressed as grams Na2O per liter.
Active alkali - gives the sum of sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide
concentrations calculated as grams Na2O per liter.
Effective alkali - designates sulfide concentrations calculated as grams
Na2O peer liter.
Sulfidity - is defined as 100 times the ration of sodium sulfide over the
sum of sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide concentrations,
expressed in equivalents of sodium oxide.
Pulping variables involved in kraft cooking:
1. type of wood used
2. condition of the wood
3. cooking liquor
4. cooking time
5. method of heating
NOTE: The economic significance of the kraft process arises from the
ability of kraft pulp mills to recover the chemicals from the spent liquor,
thus minimizing not only the cost of chemicals but also pollution.
c. Semichemical and chemimechanical pulping - these are two stage processes
involving a mild chemical treatment to remove partially degrade or affect the
fiber bond, followed by a mechanical treatment called defibering of fiberizing in
attrition mills to cause separation of the fibers into pulp. The difference between
semichemical and chemimechanical pulping is that in the latter, no major
change in the lignin of the fiber bond occurs.
Types of semichemical and chemimechanical pulping processes:
Types Treating chemicals
Semichemical processes (pulp yield of 65 to 85%)
Neutral sulfite Na2S, Na2CO3
Soda NaOH
Kraft NaOH with or without Na2S
Chemimechanical process (pulp yield of 85-95%)
Cold soda NaOH
Bisulfite Na2SO3
Bisulfite MgSO3
Uses of semichemical and chemimechanical pulps
i) unbleached - corrugating and linerboards, newsprint, wrapping paper
ii) bleached - book, magazine, tissue, toweling
3. Pulp Treatment or Stock Preparation
This involves the following operations
a. Screening - this involves the removal of dirt, foreign materials and uncooked
pulp from the stock, by passing the pulp through fine wire mesh
b. Bleaching - the following effects on the pulp can be accomplished by bleaching:
i) change in color or hue
ii) increase brightness or reflectance
iii) reduce color reversion
iv) enhance the papermaking properties
v) increase the purity of the cellulose
Two principal ways of pulp bleaching
i) alteration of the color-producing (Chromorphic) groups in situ by oxidation or
reduction
ii) removal of the color-producing material and non-cellulosic components by
chemical modification and solution
Main states of Standard Bleaching
i) Acidic chlorination - degrades most of residual lignin in pulp into a soluble
form
ii) Alkali extraction - removes alkali-soluble lignin products from the pulp
iii) Hypochlorite bleaching - completes delignification by destroying the residual
chromorphic groups
c. Beating - the walls of the cellulose fibers are made fuzzy by mechanical action
in Hollander heaters so that the fibers would felt together more firmly on the
paper machine.
d. Loading and Sizing - certain additives are incorporated into the pulp to provide
certain qualities.
Fillers - mineral substances such as china clay, talc, calcium sulfate, zinc sulfide
added to give smooth and opaque surface, increased brightness and printability
as well as body to the paper
Sizes - substances such as rosin and wax added to make the paper less
absorbent to moisture.
e. Refining - involves the actions of fibrillation hydration and brushing of the stock
to obtain paper with high tear and burst value as a result of the increased
bonding area between individual fibers.
f. Lapping - involves the extraction of water from pulp to transform the pulp into
sheets ready for storage or transport.
g. Coloring- involves the addition of pigments or dyes to the bleached pulp to bring
out any desired color in the paper.
Pigments - water insoluble coloring materials which are only deposited on the
surface of the fibers and do no penetrate the cell wall.
Dyes - these are more permanent than the pigments because they can
penetrate the cell wall of the fibers.
4. Paper Manufacture
Paper - it is the name given to all kinds of matter or felted sheets of fibers formed on
a wire screen from a water suspension.
Types of paper machine:
a. Cylinder machine
b. Fourdrinier machine
Sections of a Fourdrinier paper machine
i) wet-end - stock with 0.5% consistency is delivered from the head box onto a
moving, endless, bronze-wire screen. The water passes through the fine
mesh of wire leaving a mat of randomly distributed fibers. The moisture
content of the mat as it leaves the wet end section is about 80%
ii) Press - the mat is pressed between rolls which squeeze out more of the mat
moisture. The paper leaves the dryer section at a moisture content of 60 to
70%.
iii) Drier - the sheet is pressed against a series of steam-heated drying
cylinders to evaporate the reamining moisture. The sheet passes out of the
drier section at a moisture content of about 7 to 10%.
iv) Calendar - the sheet passes through a set of very smooth and heavy rolls to
impart a smooth finish to the paper.
5. Paper Reeling - the paper is wound on reels and may be cut to specified lengths as
it is being wound.
VENEER AND PLYWOOD

Problems in the Industry

Although the industry registered a remarkable growth from the early 1950’s up to
the early 1970’s, due to the great demand in the US market, it has always been saddled
with many problems which contributed to the near catastrophic downfall during the 1973
energy crisis. In a critical analysis of the industry, Mr. Benjamin Sanvictories, Vice President
for Plywood and Veneer of the Philippine Lumber and Plywood Manufactures Association,
Inc. (PILPA) 1975, listed the following problems:
1. High cost of production
In the Philippine, except for labor and wood raw material, all factors involved in
the production of veneer, plywood and other wood-based panels, (machinery,
adhesive, fuel, etc.) have to be imported. Furthermore, most mills are located in remote
areas, as they have to generate their electric powers because none is available. All
these contribute to high cost of production.
Comparative studies on the cost of plywood production in 1973 and 1974
revealed that by mid 1974, the cost of labor rose by about 35%; prices of glue and
wheat flour extended increased by 125%; general overhead by 58%; and fuel, oil prices
spiraled to about 5 times the figures before the energy crisis of 1973. Consequently, the
cost of production in mid-174 was estimated to be about 775, higher than in 1973.
2. Low Percentage recovery of raw materials
Because of the lucrative log export business, many mills which are completely
dependent on their logging operations are forced to process only the lower quality logs
which are unexportable. As a consequence, the average recovery from logs to finished
plywood is very low less than 50%. On the other hand, Japan and South Korea have a
higher recovery of more than 60%, because they process only higher quality logs which
they import from the Philippines and Indonesia.
Another important factor which contributes to our low percentage of recovery is
the lower standard of skilled labor and technology
3. High Freight Rates
It has been considered that the biggest problem in the marketing veneer and
plywood, both locally and internationally is the high cost of freight. This is believed to be
the main reason why the Philippines has steadily lost the share in the U.S. veneer and
plywood markets.
In its eagerness to promote the processing of wood products in the country and
at same time reduce the exportation of high quality logs, the adopted a policy which
cause the establishment of small scale veneer and plywood mills in remote timber
concession areas throughout the archipelago (see Map). This forced large bottoms to
lead insufficient volumes of products in numerous small outports with inadequate
facilities, causing delays in shipment and raising costs of freights. From 1973 to 1974
alone, the freight rates from the Philippines to the mainland USA went up by about
44%.
4. Over-dependence on the US Market
As mentioned earlier, the US has always been, and still is, the principal market
for Philippine veneer and plywood, absorbing more than 85% and 75% of the total
 annual exports of these two products, respectively. Any slump in the US market, such
as in 1960, 1975 and 1974, would be felt more severely in the Philippines than in any
other exporting countries that are not dependent on it.
The slowing down of the US construction industry during the business recession
of 1974 and 1975 resulted in large inventories of veneer and plywood in the country.
Many plants cut off their production to only ¼ of their rated capacities, while others are
forced to close their factories.
5. Local government taxes on imports
Export taxes impose by the government on wood product is one of the factors
that have raised the cost of shipping veneer and plywood to the world market. A
premium tax was also levied on the wood export industry when the market was good,
but these have remained even during the slump in the world market.
6. Tariff barriers
Many developed countries have set up tariff barriers on imports of processed
wood originating from such developing countries as the Philippines, to protest their own
wood industries.
Although many European countries have reduced their tariffs on important
plywood by applying the generalized scheme of preferences towards developing
countries, the US still imposes much higher tariff rates on Philippine wood products
compared with that imposed on similar products from other developing countries which
are our main competitors in the US market.
These discriminatory tariffs, compounded with high production costs, high
export taxes and prohibitive freight rates, served to undermine the competitiveness of
Philippine wood products in the US market against similar products from other
developing countries to which the US granted lower tariff rates than those imposed on
Philippine wood products under the so-called ‘referential tariff treatment’.
PARTICLEBOARD MANUFACTURE

General
Particle boards are different from the conventional fibre-boards in that they are
composed of distinct particles of wood or other ligno-cellusic fibres substances
agglomerated by sue of an organic binders together with one of the following agents: heat,
pressure, moisture, catalyst, etc. It has truly been said that it is the advent of modern
synthetic resin glues that has made the particle board industry possible.
A wide variety of raw materials and particles of varying sizes and shapes may be
used in the manufacture of such board. The particles may be fine slivers-like components
approaching fibres and fibre bundles, slivers produced by hammer-milling wood, planer
shavings, or engineered particles such as flakes.
The technique of actual manufacture has become increasingly complex and calls
for a great deal of specialized knowledge-scientific, technological and economic.
Manufacturing Processes
1. Particle Preparation - The preparation of the particles themselves is one of the most
important factors in particle board manufacture since the properties of the final product
are primarily dependent on the type of the particle used. All the manufacturing steps are
closely related to the type of particle employed. The problems attached to the
preparation of the raw material will naturally depend on the type of material to be used
and where round timber is concerned debarking of the wood is frequently the first step
undertaken.
The aim of the manufacturer is to produce small particles related as closely as
possible to a specified size and geometry within certain limits. To this end, chipping
machines of various types have been developed over the years to produce, or to
reduce, particles by a cutting action of by impact. The common types of particles used
may be divided two (2) main groups: hammer-mill type and cutter-type particles or
“engineered particles.” Cutter type particles are descriptively referred to as flakes or
shreds, and usually their size is quite different from that of particles produced in the
hammer-mill kind of machine. Whereas the thickness of hammer-mill type of particles
range from 0.1 mm - 3.0 mm, the cutter-type particles are usually thinner and the
thickness varies from 0.2-0.4 mm.
The cutter-type particles are produced in specially designed machines. There
are, however, two main basic types: The cylinder type and the rotating disc type. In the
former the knives are mounted either on the exterior of a cylinder, similar to a planer, or
on the interior of a hollow cylinder. In the rotating disc type the knives mounted on a
disc, at varying angles, which influence the nature or the particle obtained.
The development of machines for preparing particles has been slow. There is a
particular need for high capacity machines of the cutter-type capable of handling small
pieces of wood, since the size of the particles has a profound influence upon the
properties of the board.
2. Classification or Screening - Subsequent to preparation, it is desirable to classify the
particles in order to remove fines and particles of undesired shape which, if allowed to
remain, would increase resin requirements since they have larger surface area, present
segregation problems during manufacture, materially reduce the strength of the board,
or produce other defects in the products. The fines, if allowed to settle on one surface of
 the board the dimensional stability of the board will be impaired. Removal of these
undesired particles is achieved by sieving, a common method being to pass the mass
of dried particles at a uniform rate over a vibrating screen with a mesh or slotted holes
of appropriate size. The sole aim where wood is the raw material is removal of particles
outside the preferred limit and although mainly concerned with undersized fragments,
oversize ones are likewise rejected.
There are two main methods for the classification of particles: screen
classification and air classification. In the case of the former, the screens are equipped
with plates having either drilled holes, or slots, or screen cloth which may be slotted.
The latter method, on the other hand, is not extensively used since it involves greater
difficulties in operation and control.
3. Conveying - Conveying the particles is carried out by two basic methods: mechanical
and air-conveying. The selection of one of these two methods for a given operation is
dependent on the size of the particles.
4. Drying - Whether the source is roundwood or industrial residue the moisture content of
the particles will be high. The desired moisture content of the finished board will be
around 8 to 105 and consequently some drying of the particles will be necessary. The
drying process is one of the more important operations in a particle board plant and
thus a change of less than one per cent in the moisture content of the particles may
have a noticeable influence on the quality and thickness variations within a board.
It can also be said that the drying process is, as yet, one of the weakest links in
particle board production and consequently there are often conflicting ideas as to what
kind of drying processes should be used. Thus, great care should therefore be exerted
in the selection of driers and control equipment.
For drying the particles five main methods are in used: (a) rotary drying, (b) belt
drying, © disc drying (turbo-driers), (d) paddle-trough dryings, and (e) suspension
drying and high flash point drying.
Whatever the method used the main aim is to dry particles of varying sizes to a
uniform moisture content quickly and economically.
5. Glue Coatings of Particles or Resin Blending - The dried and screened particles are
now ready to be mized with the resin binder but after screening they are often fed into a
storage bunker or silo. This maintains a buffer stock and obviates a stoppage of the
whole plant in the event of a break-down or hold up in the early stages of processing.
The mixing or blending of the resin with the particles is aimed at applying a thin
film of resin, though not necessarily a complete coating, to each and every particle so
that in the eventual close binding of the mass each unit is effectively spot welded to its
neighbor.
Preparation of the adhesive is carried out immediately, prior to application to the
particles and then ingredients, the resin syrup, hardener, filler and H2O together with an
additive such as paraffin wax emulsion are carefully mixed in he correct proportions.
For blending the dried particles with a binder there are two methods employed:
the discontinuous and the continuous methods. In the case of discontinuous or batch
process, a given quantity of resin is applied to a determined quantity of particles. A
common method is to feed the batch of particles into a revolving drum and spray the
necessary quantity of resin into it. Another method of blending is the continuous
process in which the particles are moved mechanically through a container in a
 continuous stream, resin being introduced as a fine spray by means of compressed air
spray nozzles. Accurate proportions of the components are more easily ensured by the
discontinuous method but it is generally somewhat slower than a continuous process.
6. Board Formation - After the particles are coated with the adhesive a buffer stock is
usually held in a bunker or silo. This provides for possible delays in the gluing process
and equally for any hold up in subsequent operations.
The resin coated particles are now ready for the final process before actual
consolidation in board form and the point at which the pattern of particle arrangement
decides the type of board produced.
Modern mechanical methods of mattress formation have been developed with the
aim of spreading a given quantity of particles in a uniform density over the required area.
Formation of the board may be divided into three (3) basic divisions: batch formation,
continuous formation and extrusion method. Many processes employ batch formation in
which a procession of flat caul plates passing beneath the forming station have their dur
quantity of particles spread individually, and these mattresses are subsequently pressed
into individual boards either one at a time, or almost invariably in a batch of from 4-24.
In continuous formation the particles re distributed in one or several layers on cauls
which travel, or on a moving belt. In this type of formation the thickness of the mat is
controlled volumetrically.
The extrusion method of production is also one which caters for an unlimited board
length but production is entirely different from those previously described. The extrusion
method accomplishes the necessary particle arrangement and board pressing in one
operation.
In this case the process have fixed openings which is equal to the thickness of the
board. The press is upright and the wood-resin mixture is metered into the press and is
forced between the heated platens by a reciprocating ram. The compressed particles are
glued together as the adhesive is polymerized. Then additional wood-glue mix is introduced
into the open end of the press and forced down by the ram. This produces a continuous
board.
A saw at the other end cuts the boards to proper lengths as they are extruded. In
the extruded board the particles are oriented in such a manner that their longitudinal axis is
approximately perpendicular to the surface of the board.
7. Board Pressing - With the exception of the extruded type, all boards are flat pressed
and pressing is carried out in what is essentially a conventional heated platen press
similar in application to those used for veneering or plywood manufacture.
According to the process, or the size of the plant, the press may have a single
daylight (opening) or any number of daylights up to twenty-four, the commonest size being
between eight and twelve. The individual mattresses after being formed are generally
stored in a loading device until, on the opening of the press and the withdrawal of the press
load of finished boards at the opposite end of the press, each mattress is inserted into the
appropriate press openings. The press then closes and under heat and pressure the
mattress is formed into a board. The time as pressing is dependent upon the thickness of
the boards being pressed and also the time taken for the necessary heat to penetrate
through the board. Press temperatures are usually in the range of 100-140oC (212-285oF)
and the pressure is generally between 150-400 psi.
 Pressure is exerted from the bottom upward, the bottom daylight being the first to
close and the first to reach maximum pressure the others following in series. Conversely,
on pressure release, the top daylight is the first to open and the bottom one the last.
The actual consolidation of the mattress into a board completes the cycle of actual
manufacture but before the board is fit for use it is necessary for it to be conditioned.
8. Board Conditioning - When it is withdrawn from the press the board is still very hot,
since as far as is known no present day processes include press cooling in the cycle.
Conditioning is of importance in equalizing the moisture content throughout the board
and thus reducing warpage that might otherwise occur. This conditioning of seven to
ten days duration is as essential as any of the earlier precautions taken during actual
manufacture.
9. Board Trimming - Platen pressed boards emerge from the press roughly 2 inches
longer and 2 inches wider than their final size. This surplus may be trimmed off either
immediately after pressing of after the conditioning period according to the particular
factory preference. Trimming in most plants is entirely automatic and a common set up
has two saws set parallel to each other a board-width apart, trimming to width being
accomplished by moving the board forward against the saws. Simultaneously, a further
pair of saws move across the board and trim it to length.
10. Board Thicknessing - Boards intended for furniture manufacturers, for facing with wood
veneers or other material undoubtedly do need to be to close common thickness. To
achieve this, drum sanding machines have been developed which are capable of
thicknessing boards to extremely fine limits. Most of the machines used for thicknessing
particle boards have three drums, the first drum covered with a coarse abrasive paper,
the second with an intermediate grade and the third with a fine grade. This effectively
produces a perfectly flat surface on one side. Alternatively machines which will sand
both sides at one pass are available and are capable of equally good performance.
11. Additional Manufacturing Operations - This may include overlaying the surfaces of the
board with veneers to provide a better surface appearance and to increase the strength
oft he entire finished material.
FIBREBOARD (HARDBOARD) MANUFACTURE

General
Fiberboard is a broad, generic term encompassing sheet of materials of widely
varying densities manufactured from refined or partially refined wood fibres or other ligno-
cellulosic materials with the primary bond deriving from the arrangement of the fibres and
their inherent adhesive properties. Bonding agents and other materials may be
incorporated during manufacture to increase strength, resistance to moisture, or to improve
some other property.
Fiberboards, as their name implies, are manufactured from components of fibre
dimensions. This is one of the basic differences between them and a particle board. Unlike
the latter, the primary bond is derived from the fibres themselves and not from a separate
constituent, hence possess a characteristically natural bond. A further difference is the “wet
process” involve in contrast to the “dry” particles associated with particle board
manufacture.
This type of composition board is manufactured primarily for use as panels,
insulation and cover materials in buildings and other construction purposes where flat
sheets of moderate strength are required. To a considerable extent, they are also used as
components in doors, cabinets and furniture.
Manufacturing Processes
1. Raw Material Preparation - The raw material used is almost exclusively wood. Other
ligno-cellulosic materials, such as bagasse, flax shives, cotton stalks, straw, are
theoretically possible lbut as far as is known practical difficulties preclude their use.
Whether the raw material is wood or for that matter any other agricultural product,
some important operational steps are necessary before the raw material may be processed
into pulp for the manufacture of fibreboard, and these include debarking andd chipping. The
raw material must be presented in a form which ensures the economic production of a fibre
mass reasonably free from undesirable elements. In the case of wood this will entail
debarking, carried out in purpose built machines which remove the bark by abrasion or by
means of knives. Barks, in general, are excluded since it will spoil the surface appearance
and if of high tannin content, darken the color of the board. Again where solid wood,
whether roundwood or residue, is involved it may be reduced or converted directly to a pulp
or an intermediate stage is introduced in which wood is broken up into chips with the said of
disc chippers.
Other raw materials such as additives, may be added to the mass of wood fibre
before formation of the board in order to give the final product increased strength and to
give fungal or insect protection.
2. Defibreing of Raw Materials - Consist of defibrating the wood to form a pulp or
agglomeration of wet-fibres from either by mechanical means or by a explosion
process. Considering the economics and surface quality of finish two factors will directly
affect these criteria: (a) freeness of the pulp or the case with which a pulp mass may be
derived with H2O and (b) fibre length.
To obtain good quality pulp, an intermediary stage is introduced to convert or
reduce round wood into chips and then finally reduce the chips into pulp. This is
accomplished by mechanical action in attrition mills or by an explosion process. In either
case certain pre-treatment is necessary prior to the actual refining operation. This pre-
treatment will consist of soaking in water and/or steaming the chips or subjecting them to a
mild chemical cooking. Chips are subjected to steaming or cooking in a digester and a
pressure of up to approximately 300#/in2 is introduced.
The softened chips are now in a suitable state for reduction to fibres in an attrition
mill or refiner. These refiners incorporate a single rotating disc and a corresponding
stationary disc: the wood chips are rolled between them resulting in the production of a high
proportion of optimum size fibres. This process is otherwise known as the Asplund process.
In some plants an alternative operation is employued, and this is generally known
as the Masonite or explosion process. The basic process consists of breaking the raw
materials into approximately ¾ in. squares and loading an appropriate quality into a
pressure vessel. After steaming for a short period, pressure is increased and after a few
seconds sthe chips are ejected from the container through a valve (opening) and explode
into a fibrousmess.
3. Screening - After defibreing, the fibrous mess are screened to ensure that the individual
fibres are within the optimum range and to remove undesirable residues. Screening is
done by passing the fibres through a fine mesh screen wire.
4. Formation
(a) Wet Felting - this is the most widely used procedure for forming the sheet or mat for
hardboard and means essentially that the boards are formed and pressed with the fibre
mass in the form of a pulp.
A number of factors are involved in producing a board material from a pulp and this
include the water content of the pulp, the resultant board thickness, texture and physical
properties. Several methods of achieving these aims economically have been evolved. The
earliest production processes utilized the deckle-box method. However this method is used
to a limited extent since it is somewhat slow. The continuous-forming techniques are
generally preferred, such as the Fourdrinier method and various types of cylindrical
machine because of its general favorable performance.
(b) Air Felting - Of relatively recent introduction, this method of production rely on air
suspension of a mass of comparatively dry fibres rather than a water suspension as in
the case of wet felting. This process is further broken down into “semi-dry” and “dry”
methods in which the basic difference is the moisture content at the time of felting. The
exact moisture content of the fibres at the board forming stage can vary according to
the process used, from about 8% upward. Depending upon the desired moisture
content for the particular process further drying may take place. Additives can be readily
introduced prior to drying and an organic binder may used, i.e., phenolic resin 5%, to
give adequate strength to dry fibres.
The air felting unit consists of a watering unit which feeds the prepared fibre blend
to the felting unit at a desired rate. Fibres are then deposited on to a moving belt or screen
by air flow and mechanical means in the required quality according to the desired thickness
of the board. Random orientation in the plane of the board ensures adequate strength.
Usually the dry mat is consolidated by passing it through rollers prior to the actual pressing
operation.
5. Pressing - The pressing technique to be employed will be dependent upon the state of
the fibre at this stage. Two methods for hot pressing hardboard are employed, namely:
wet pressing and dry pressing.
 In either case a multi-platen press is employed usually with 20-25 openings, the
size of the platens naturally determining the ultimate board size. The platens are heated by
hot H2O or by steam to a normal working temperature of about 200oC (390oF) with a
pressure of between 500 psi and 700 psi. The press, opened and closed hydraulically,
controls the output of the plant and loading and unloading devices are incorporated to
facilitate a rapid change over of the press load.
a. Wet Pressing - Pressing is carried out if the fibre mat is formed when the fibres contain
a very high moisture content up to approximately 75%. Removal of these excess
moisture from the mat during the pressing operation must be provided using this
technique. This is achieved by the provision of a wire mesh which allows both free H2O
and steam a ready outlet and it is this mesh which gives the characteristics “screen
back” surface a reverse side of the board. Hence the product described as “screen
board.” The upper surface of the board is formed by surface plates and these plates
have a polished and smooth finish on the face of the board
Maximum pressure is applied on the wet mat for a certain period until the moisture
content of the mat is reduced to around 8%. The application of pressure will finally
plasticize and consolidate the wood fibres and reduce the moisture content of the board to
an extremely low figure.
b. Dry pressing - When the moisture content of the board is low enough, i.e., 3-5%, so that
no wire mesh to permit drainage of H2O is necessary, dry pressing is considered to be
carried out, and the product obtained is S-2-S since the surfaces of the caul plates are
both smoothen. This can be applied to mats which have been either wet-felted or air-
felted, the basic consideration being the low moisture content of the fibres on
presentation to the press.
6. Heat Treatment - This is a method coming into wide use and is designed to improve the
mechanical characteristics of the board and its resistance to moisture. This treatment is
carried out outside the hot press by exposing the board in a chamber with a
temperature of around 160oC (320oF) for four or five hours. Air is kept circulating in the
drying chamber to avoid spontaneous combustion.
7. Oil Tempering - This is an alternative to heat treatment which, aside from the added
stability and water resistance, makes the board more resistant to weathering and
abrasion.
The operation is carried out by immersing the board in a bath of warm oil (linseed or
tung oil) and then subjected to a temperature of up to 170oC (340oF) for some hours until
the oil is more or less baked into the board. The usual normal uptake ranges from 5-6%
8. Conditioning - After the board has been hot-pressed heat or oil-tempered, the moisture
content is considerably below the EMC encountered in normal used and if subjected to
normal atmospheric conditions without prior conditioning or humidification would warp
and buckle to a considerable degree. Thus to avoid the occurrence of this phenomenon
it is, therefore, desirable to humidify dry boards before packaging to a moisture content
it will assume while in service (EMC).
9. Trimming - This is normally carried out after conditioning but prior to oil tempering.
Boards which has been pressed over-size are trimmed to the correct dimensions
(specifications) using saws normally equipped with tungsten carbide tips.
10. Additional manufacturing operation - Depending upon the manufacturer’s preference
this may include: (a) paint finishes, (b) paper-overlays and © preservative treatments.
MANUFACTURE OF PAPER FROM PULP

General
In a world which is becoming increasingly concerned with the depletion of its
resources, the pulp and paper industry stands with the agricultural industries as a prime
example of man’s utilization of nature in a manner which does not reduce the total
resources of material available for future generations. The pulp and paper industry is based
on renewable resources.
The pulp and paper industry is often referred to as the cellulose industry, since
cellulose fibers from growing plants (usually trees) are the basic material from which pulp,
paper and paperboard are manufactured. Cellulose comprises approximately 40 to 50% of
the dry weight of wood as well as of non-woody plants. The individual cellulose fibers are
bonded together by lignin, which represents 20 to 30% of the weight of wood depending on
the species.
Paper and paperboard are evaluated in terms of many measures relating to their
performance in the end-use for which they are intended, and strength is among the most
important. A number of measures are used in evaluating the strength of papers, i.e., tear,
burst, tensile and fold. These strength characteristics of paper are reflected in varying
degrees from the cellulose fibre length contained in the pulp used in their manufacture.
Fibre length is an important characteristic in imparting strength to paper. Pulp from
softwoods (gymnosperms) accounts 85 to 95% of the world pulp production and only 10 to
155% from hardwood (angiosperms). Such predominance arises in part from their longer
fibre length, necessary for a higher tearing resistance and folding endurance. The chief
disadvantage when 100 percent short fibres are used is the weaker wet sheet and the low
paper strength.
The chemical composition of the different wood species also affects their suitability,
and experience leads to a few generalization. Thus species with low lignin content seem
favorable than those with high lignin content. Cellulose content, a most important
consideration in determining the amount of wood required peer ton on products, is
somewhat higher for hardwoods than for softwoods. Therefore, better yields are expected
on those species with unusually above average cellulose content.
Species also containing appreciable amount of resins and tannins are not suited
particularly for sulfite pulps. Others with high extractive content, high density, and dark
colors are also undesirable particularly for groundwood pulp.
For these reasons, species most suitable are light colored and of low or medium
density.
Manufacturing Processes
A. Wood Handling and Preparation
Supplies of wood to the pulp mill are of two major alternatives: roundwood (logs)
and chips, and a minor one, sawdust or other waste.
Bank usually amounts to 8 to 25 percent of the volume or rough wood, and it is
removed by either mechanical or hydraulic action. After debarking, the bark is normally
pressed to remove water and burned in auxiliary boilers for its fuel value. After bark
removal, the logs are then ready for chipping and storage. Logs are usually chipped before
pulping in order to obtain rapid uniform pulping. These chips are screened to remove
undersize “fines” which merely consume chemical especially in chemical pulping operation
and usually give low pulp yield. Oversized chips, which would not pulp properly, are also
separated and passed through a rechipper.
Accepted chips are segregated according to species: hardwoods from softwoods. This
permits varying pulp products according to the mills’ production programme.
B. Paper Pulp Manufacture
The first step in the manufacture of paper is the preparation of a dilute suspension
in water of separated fibres: pulp. The challenge to the pulp maker is to separate the
individual fibres of wood bonded together so that the paper or paperboard maker in his turn
can reconstitute the separated fibres into sheet form: paper.
In selected the pulping process to be used in this separation, three basic
alternatives are available: mechanical pulping, chemical pulping or a combination of both
(semi-chemical pulping).
Mechanical Pulping. As the term indicates, purely mechanical or physical methods
are used, the fibres are being torn apart by force to break the lignin which serves as the
bonding material. This process continues to be quite destructive to the cellulose fibres.
Deterioration in fibre quality results from both shortening of the fibres and a rupturing of
their walls in the very harsh grinding process. Mechanical pulps, therefore are less strong
than those produced by chemical processes.
The defibration is accomplished by pressing or forcing billets (blocks) of wood, in
the presence of water, against a rotating grindstone (from which the alternate definition,
groundwood pulp, is derived). The water softens the wood as it has some plasticizing effect
on lignin and minimizes friction in the grinder.
Pulp may be also prepared from chips by use of disc mills or a defibrator in which
the defibration is assisted by steaming or cooking the chips. Commonly employed is the
Asplund defibration. This is based upon the fact that lignin which constitutes the greater
part of the middle lamella and is the bonding material between the fibers of wood is
thermoplastic. Consequently, the separation of fibers can be carried out with lower energy
consumption and less damage to fibers at temperatures above the softening point of lignin.
Generally, this temperature is higher for softwoods than for hardwoods, basically due to
their lignin content difference.
Because of their lower strength, mechanical pulps are used only in paper grades
where strength is as not a critical specification, or where the strength deficiency can be
remedied to some extent by the addition of a proportion of chemical pulp. The mechanical
process, while producing pulp of lower strength, has the advantage of providing a high
recovery yield of about 90 to 95 percent.
Mechanical Pulping Process
The process begins with the delivery to the mill of the peeled and cleaned pulpwood
logs. The wood volume is measured and then the individual logs are put into the grinder
pocker or magazine. The block of wood is held against the abrasive surface of the revolving
stone by such force that the wood is reduced to a fibrous condition. Water is applied to the
stone to maintain its temperature, clean and lubricate its surface, and carry away the pulp.
The mixture of pulp and water collects in the pit beneath the stone and flows over the dam
of the pit into the stock channels or pipes beneath the grinders. After leaving the grinders,
the stock flows to a knotter or ball screen. Its purpose is to separate good fiber from the
coarse slivers and shims at unground wood. The material rejected by the ball screen is
processed through various types of refiners to reduce the coarse material to smaller-sized
particles that can be used as pulp. This refined pulp is then united with the pulp coming
from the grinders and again put through the ball screen. From the ball screen, the pulp is
pumped to the fine screens with perforated plates whose hole size varies depending on the
quality of paper to be made from the pulp. After screening, the excess water used in
screening is removed from the accepted pulp by filtering through a thickener or decker. The
pulp at about 4 to 5% consistency then dropsto a storage chest and the white water1 goes
to a separate tank. The white water is saved by passing the same water back to the grinder
showers and to the various dilution points in the system.
1
White water is water returned to the grinder from the thickeners after most of the
fibers have been strained out. The name comes from its color which is due to the particles
of fibers, resins and oil that it contains. The amount of solids in he white water is from 0.04
to 0.12% by weight.
Chemical or Semi-chemical Pulping. This method of pulping is becoming increasingly
important as a means of obtaining more fibre from the available wood supply, and
especially for hardwood species. Defibration is achieved by subjecting the wood chips to a
chemical pretreatment before grinding, which saves power and confers extra strength to
the grinding, which saves power and confers extra strength to the pulp. Mechanical
fiberization is done in attrition mills.
Depending upon the chemical agents being used there are three methods of semi-
chemical pulping:
i. Cold Caustic Soda Process - This method consists of soaking the chips in a solution of
sodium hydroxide at normal room temperature and atmospheric pressure for about 1 to
2 hours and diberizing the treated chips in a disk mill.
The yield of pulp ranges from 85 to 92 percent of the original wood. This pulp is
suitable as a filler in printing papers and qualifies for use in corrugated board.
ii. Neutral Sulfite Semi-Chemical Process (NSSC) - The chips are partially digested with a
neutral sulfite liquor under pressure and high temperature before fiberization.
The resulting pulps are characterized by low wet, and rather high dry, strength.
Yield ranges from 70 to 85 percent pulp and preferably used as corrugating medium, liner
boards, insulating boards, and roofing belts.
iii. Chemi-groundwood Process - In this process blocks of wood are treated with a neutral
sodium sulfite solution but the time, temperature and amount of chemical are less than
the conventional chemical digestions. After the pulps have been treated they are
ground on any conventional type of grinder.
A yield of pulp ranging from 50 to 87 percent can be obtained by this method. The
resulting product is considerable stronger than the conventionally groundwood pulp. Power
consumption in in this process of fiberization is much more lower as compared with
conventional grinding and other semi-chemical medium, newsprint, and insulating boards.
Chemical Pulping - The primary objective is to dissolve the bonding lignin by a chemical
reaction to permit the separation of the cellulose fibres with minimal degradation of the8ir
structure. Because of this gentler method of separation, the fibres retain most of their
intrinsic strength characteristics.
 There are a number of chemical pulping processes which are differentiated by the
type of chemicals and processed employed. Most important among these are the acid
sulfite process and the alkaline process.
i. Acid sulfite Process - The pulping agents are the sulfites and bisulfites of calcium,
magnesium, sodium and ammonium with addition of sulfurous acide.
The resulting pulp is white enough to be used in newsprint and other printing papers
without bleaching,, and is historically the main source of pulp for white papers. The yield of
pulp depends on the species of wood used and on the severity of treatment. the average
yield ranges from 50 to 60 percent of the dry weight of wood. Unbleached sulfite pulp can
be used for many grades of paper, i.e., newsprint. The bleached, sulfite pulp is used in the
higher grade of writing and printing paper. When further purified with an alkali, the pulp can
be employed in the manufacture of rayon and other chemically derived cellulose products.
ii. Alkaline Process - Pulp is made by treating the wood chips with a dilute solution of
caustic soda (NaOH) at high temperature and pressure. If this is the active pulping
agent the resulting pulp is known as soda pulp. However, if caustic soda is mixed with
sodium sulfide (Na2S) the pulp is termed as “kraft” pulp.
In the former, wood chips are delignified by cooking with a solution of sodium
hydroxide (in a process called soda process) which produced a weak, soft pulp, hence it is
commonly employed for pulping plant materials such as straw, abaca for bamboo. The
yield of soda pulp is about 45 percent or less of the dry-weight of wood. The resulting pulp
is dark in color but can be readily bleached. Soda pulp is used largely in the manufacture of
book and magazine stock and in writing and absorbent papers.
The “kraft” pulp is brownish in color, but it can be bleached to the same prightness
as sulfite pulp for production of high-grade paper. Bleached sulfate pulp is stronger than
bleached sulfite pulp. Some of the uses of bleached sulfate are in the manufacture of
envelopes; writing, printing and onion-skin papers.
The average yield ranges from 45 to 55 percent of the dry weight of wood.
C. Pulp Treatment or Stock Preparation
1. Screening and Thickening - The primary objective of screening is to remove dirt, foreign
material, uncooked pulp and separate fibers into grades based upon their sizes. This
involves two (2) stages: coarse and fine screening. The pulp are passed through fine
wire mesh to remove impurities and rust of the water. Pulp before processing must be
purified to have a high quality paper products. These pulp impurities may come from
the raw materials, accumulation during processing due to dirty machineries, water or
bad handling. These impurities may be removed by chemical methods, i.e., chemical
digestion and bleaching or physical methods, either by sorting and dusting, settling,
filtration or washing in rotary vacuum filters.
Thickening or slushing the stock to about 3 to 6% is accomplished by means of a
decker.
2. Bleaching - Pulp after screening is usually off color, hence it is usually bleached in order
to purify or whiten the colorless non-cellulosic impurities. Color, however, may exist due
to some impurities, i.e., tannins, resins, etc. This process involves the application of
chemicals to the stock. Such chemicals utilized are chlorinating and oxidizing agents,
principally chlorine, sodium hypochlorite, sodium chlorate, and hydrogen peroxide.
3. Beating - The objective of beating is to impart required strength characteristics to the
fibres, so that they bond together more effectively when processed through the paper
machine. The walls of the cellulose fibers are fibrillated or made fuzzy, so that they felt
together more firmly on the paper machine. Beating is carried out under carefully
controlled conditions.
4. Loading and Sizing - In the process, various products are added in the stock
preparation stage to provide the qualities of smoothness, opacity, colour or body to the
finished sheet. These additives are called fillers and sizers.
Fillers are mineral substances, i.e., China clay, talc, calcium sulfate, sinc sulfide
added to give smooth and opaque surface as well as body to the paper. Sizers are
substances such as rosin and wax added to make the paper less absorbent to moisture.
5. Refining - This involves the actions of fibrillation, hydration and brushing of the stock to
obtain paper with high tear and burst value.
6. Lapping - Involves the extraction of water from pulp and make the pulp into sheets for
storage or transport.
7. Coloring - Involves the addition of pigments or dyes to the bleached pulp to have the
paper in any desired color. These pigments are coloring materials which are insoluble
in water. They are deposited only on the surface of the fibers and do not penetrate the
cell wall. They are held in the paper with the aid of the sizer. Dyes on the other hand
penetrate into the cell wall of the fiber hence they are more permanent in nature.
D. Paper Manufacture
After its preparation, the p7ulp is fed to the paper machine as a very dilute
suspension, in which about 1 part of pulp is carried by 200 parts of water. This suspension
is fed into the paper machine-forming wire, under carefully controlled conditions, to ensure
even distribution of the fibre and a paper sheet of uniform thickness.
The pulp is usually processed in a Fourdrinier, Paper, Machine which is subdivided
into four sections - the wet end, the press, the drier and the calender end. In this machine
the removal of water is effected by three basic consecutive operations:
i. By Drainage. The furnish is passed through the slice to a rapidly moving belt of wire,
the speed of which is geared to the other elements of the machine. A large part of the
conveying water passes through the fine mesh of the wire, leaving a mat or felt of
randomly distributed and interlocked fibers called web. After the paper sheet is formed it
leaves the wire section of the machine with a moisture of as much as 80%. Note
therefore that the Fourdrinier end is, in concept, only a sieve or a screen with a very fine
mesh.
ii. By Pressing. The fragile sheet is passed from the wire section to a prress section where
it is pressed between rolls and felts, which squeeze out more of the sheet moisture. At
this stage of the process the moisture content of the sheet is reduced to between 35
and 45 percent depending on the type of product and machine.
iii. By Evaporation. In the final stage of paper manufacture, the semi-dry sheet passes
from the press section to the drier section, where it is pressed against a series of
steam-heated drying cylinders. As the sheet passes through the dry end of the
machine, each dryer evaporates some moisture, and by the time it passes out of the
dryer section the moisture content has been reduced to between 7 to 10 percent - a
level of moisture specified by users.
 Finally the paper coming out from the drier is passed through a set of very smooth
and heavy rolls (calender section). The weight of the rolls and through friction imparts a
smooth finish which varies according to the pressure exerted. The paper, as it leaves the
calender end is wound on a reel. When one reel is full, the sheet is broken and led to a
second empty reel.
Other methods of sheet forming and drying are under development or in the
process of application.
PREPARED BY:
PETE V. SIBAL
Department of Wood Science & Technology
College of Forestry, UPLB

FINISHING OPERATIONS FOR PLYWOOD

Reconditioning
1. During the gluing operation a considerable quantity of moisture may be added to the
veneers.
It is estimated that in the manufacture of Okoume 7-ply with normal case in mixture
approximately 20% of water is added to the original dry weight.
In the hot press about ½ of this water will be expelled, leaving the balance to the
extracted in the redrier.
When the cold press is used, however, only a small quantity of moist glue is forced
out through the edges, therefore practically the whole of the added water must be
eliminated by re-drying.
2. When using liquid urea resins and other synthetic resins the moisture content of the
plywood on removal from the press will approximate the desired condition and by
stacking the hot boards they will adjust themselves to atmospheric conditions as they
cool.
3. Resin films under certain conditions may produce over-dry plywood, more especially in
the thinner gauges, in which event moisture must be reintroduced; the panels or each
alternate one may be sprayed with or plunged into, water and afterwards all stacked in
a tight pile.
This enables the surface moisture and such moisture as may be locked up in the
area of the innermost glue lines to re-diffuse, and relieve the strains set up during pressing.
After a few hours the boards may be re-stacked in the usual way with distance
pieces or subjected to reconditioning process in a drying kiln.
Removal of Tapes
1. In some plants the sander or scraper is used for this work, but these machines can only
turn out a satisfactory job if the panels to be worked are perfectly dry; should tapes be
moist the sticky glue will quickly clog up the sander or scraper, resulting in frequent
stoppages and faulty work.,
2. Tapes are most easily removed immediately the boards are discharged from the press.
Sometimes moisture is required to soften the glue.
3. A hand scraper is frequently used to hasten the removal of damped tape.
4. A combination tool is frequently used which directs a jet of steam on to the tape ahead
of the scraper blade.
5. Once tapes have been removed the panels must be thoroughly dried before sanding or
scraping.
Dimensioning or Trimming
1. Any sawing on plywood is partly crosscuttting and partly ripping, due to the alternating
grain directions.
This required a combination circular saw blade, with groupings of fine teeth for the
cuts across the grain, alternating with larger teeth for that part of the cut that is with the
grain.
2. Trimmers are often equipped with the 2 parallel short-direction saws at right angles to
the 2 parallel saws used on the long dimension, as an economy in handling, as well as
in factory space. They are provided with automatic or chain feed.
3. Several thickness of thin panels, up to an aggregate of 1” may be sawed at one
doperation, but must be held flat.
Final Processing - From the sizing saws the plywood sheets are passed to the sanders or
scrapers on which any surface imperfections are removed and a smooth even finish
given to the boards.
A. Drum sanders
1. They may consist of 2, 3 or more drums of the roll-feed or endless hed-feed types.
2. Sander must be fitted with an efficient dust extractor serving all drums, otherwise the
machine will rapidly clog with a rapid fall-off in the quality of the finished job.
3. Each roller is covered with felt which acts as a cushion between roller and abrasive
paper, the latter is spirally wound over the periphery of the roller.
4. The first roll carries the roughest paper, the second a finer one and the last a finishing
grade.
5. Only one side is sanded at a time. The back side should be sanded first.
By doing so a level surface is obtained which ensures accurate and good surfacing
of the face veneer; the risk of sanding off corners on the face side is thereby greatly
reduced.
6. It should always be borned in mind that a better surface will be obtained by making 2
light cuts than one heavy one.
7. Rate of feed - about 35 ft./min.
B. Belt Sanders
1. These are machines on which to finish fine veneer work or curved surfaces; they are
also used to remove scratches or odd pieces of tape remaining after drum sanding. The
use of the tapeless splicer greatly reduces the amount of sanding as the tapes removed
is eliminated.
2. One or 2 abrasive belts run over 2 or move pulleys, one of which is power driven - the
belts are generally from 6”-8” wide and operate at from 2,500-5,000 or more surface
ft./min.
3. Only one belt is worked at a time; if a machine is equipped with 2 belts the second
should be of finer grit than the first to give the finishing touch to the panel.
4. When only one belt is worked the practice is to use one grit size lower than the finest on
the drum sander.
5. Abrasive used:
a. Garnet abrasives - used at speeds up to 5,000 s.f.p.m.
b. Aluminum oxide belts - used at higher speeds
c. Belts, paper or cloth backed with 4/0 (150), 5/0 (180) OR 6/0 (220) grit - with these
hardwood plywood can be finished ready for polishing, cellulosing 9or enamelling.
d. 2/0 (100) aluminum oxide - for removing tapes
C. Wide Belt Sanders
1. Plywood may be fed into these machines automatically at the rate of 35-120 ft./min.; it
is the handling of the finished panels that presents difficulty which generally restricts the
speed to 75 fpm or less.
2. Up to 0.030” is removed from each face.
3. Some types are equipped with single belts in which event 2 machines are positioned in
tandem; other have double belts which finish face and back of the sheet at one pass.
4. The abrasive belts, 50” or 60” wide according to the sizes of plywood, and up to 144”
long, is driven by a roll coupled to a motor - the belt runs triangular fashion over an idler
roll and a contact roll which retains it against the panel to be sanded.
5. The contact rolls have serrated and grooved rubber covering.
6. Spring-covered pinch rolls, also rubber covered, retain the rigidity of the board as they
are fed through the machine - at the same time the belt can follow any surface contours
and so finish slightly warped boards without cutting through the face veneer.
7. Some manufacturers have combined in the one machine both drum-and belt-sanding
principles - the former gives the preliminary cut, the latter the fine smooth finish.
8. Super Satin Surface Process - a refinement which is patented in U.S. and in other parts
of the world.
This process incorporates a wide belt with a non-abrasive cork coating
approximately 50” wide by about 90” in circumference.
The belt does not remove any wood from the plywood surface but generates
momentary surface heat while exerting pressure. This combination of the and pressure
effects a sealing action.
D. Scraper
1. The plywood is carried by a series of feed rollers against a fixed knife.
2. The knife stock or carrier is built in 2 sections, as illustrated in the figure below, and the
shavings pass from the machine through the opening at A.
3. A continuous shaving is removed from the surface of the plywood as it passes through
the scraper, the thickness is uniform and may be adjusted to meet requirements.
4. Boards which have been well scraped are generally preferred for veneering upon and
for high class enamel work as the pores of the wood are clear of sander-dust and
surfaces are entirely free from rippling effect; there are also no rounded-off or cut-away
edges.
5. The scraper must not be used if panels have been “plugged” or “patched.”
References:
1. Perry, T.D. 1948. Modern Plywood. Pitman Publishing Corporation. New York.
2. Wood, A.D. 1963. Plywoods of the World. W. and A.K. Johnston and G.W. Bacon
Limited. Edinburgh and London.
MINOR FOREST PRODUCTS
Tree Exudates
Tree exudate includes resins, gums, latex, tannin and sap. Resins are exudates
that usually solidify upon exposure to atmosphere and insoluble in water but can be
dissolved by organic solvent. It exudes through resin duets opened by injuries with insects
or typhoons. There are three types of resins based on solid content and essential oil
mixture. These are hard resins, oleo-resins and elemi.
Hard resins are hard solids with poor electric conductivity and gives off smokey
flame when burned. The chief source of local hard resin is almaciga. Resin from almaciga
is commercially known as Manila copal regardless whether or not Philippines is the origin.
The main uses of almaciga resin are manufacture of high grade varnish, material for paper
sizing and substitute for other resin type uses. It can be gathered by tapping. Tapping is
done by making slanting incision of about ¾ the thickness of the bark on one side of the
tree trunk. The cut or incision is intended to severe part of the living bark but not deep
enough to injure the cambium. A new cut is done to make fresh wound to the bark when
exudation at the former cut ceases.
Hard resins from Dipterocarpus species are called Damar, although resin of apitong
is also called balao. Resins from Dipterocarps are used in the manufacture of varnish and
as caulking materials in planking of boats. The varnish produced is less curable than
varnish from Manila copal but it has better adhesive properties. Unlike almaciga resin,
damar can not be obtained through tapping at the phloem. Instead, a box-like hole to about
one-fifth the diameter of the trunk is made. Dipterocarp resin exudes through resin ducts of
the xylem. The process is called boxing. Boxing based on forestry regulations can be done
only to trees that are marked for felling. It has the disadvantage of weakening the tree trunk
against the wind and of exposing the wood to decay fungi.
Oleo-resins are more or less liquid in nature, some are honey-like in consistency.
Their main sources are Benguet Pine and Mindoro Pine through tapping. The Pigment
Resins Inc. (PIGRES) is using these type of resin for the manufacture of varnish.
Manila elemi can be tapped from Pili trees. It is used in the manufacture of ink,
adhesives, docu-cement, varnish and as additives in the production of perfume, plasters
and ointments.
Exudates also occur as gums. Gums dissolves in water or absorb a great amount of
water and become glutinous in consistency. An example is those taken from chico which is
called Chicle and used in the manufacture of chewing gum. Chicle is gathered through
gumnosis. It can be extracted from any part of the tree like leaves, branches, roots or the
trunk. The material is chopped into small pieces, pounded and washed with water. The
gum goes with the water.
Latex is another exudate which is exemplified by rubber. Its main purposes are
Havea braziliensis or Para rubber. Rubber of poorer quality can be taken from wild rubber
or Ficus elastica. Rubber can be also obtained from all parts of the plant but commercial
method is through tapping. Rubber is used in the manufacture of tires, rubber boots, rubber
tubes, electrical insulation, toys telephone parts and radios. It is also used in the
manufacture of some textile products.
Gutta-percha is a latex from family Sapotaceae such as Balackium ahenianum. It is
used for the manufacture of submarine electrical cables or insulation of underground
electric cable, for golf balls, in surgical instruments, speaking tubes, telephone receivers
and in water-proofing. The method used by ethnic tribe in Mindanao in gathering
quttapercha is by feeling the tree, girdle the bark at two feet interval along the length of the
trunk and allow the latex to drip down the receptacle at the point of girdles.
Tannins are organic compound with astringent taste. The protein in animal hide
reacts with tanning in the production of leather. Tannin is also used as coloring materials
and as base of commercial ink. It contains phenols and used in the preservation of fishing
nets; used in drilling of wells to reduce viscosity of the mud; prevents occurrence of rust
and used in boilers to reduce formation of rust; since it is toxic, it is used for insecticides; as
a dye, it adheres permanently and does not fade. Kamachile bark is reported to have 30%
tannin content. The bark is chopped and soaked in water. Tannin is soluble to water. It can
be found in wood, brak or leaves. Commercial sources of tannin are red lauan, bagtikan
and tanguile. In the Visayas, tannin for coloring coconut sap wine (tuba) is taken from bark
of mangrove species.
Dyes for coloring and ink manufacture can also be extracted form plants. The chief
sources of indigo are: 1) Indigofere tinctoria and 2) Indigofera suffracticora. Leaves are
broken and soaked in water for 12 hours.
 AGENCIES OF WOOD DETERIORATION

Wood as a material is subject to damage and decay. Large amount of timber is

rendered not fit to the purpose it is supposed to serve because of damages caused by
different elements of deterioration. And this cost money not only in terms of material
destroyed needing replacement but also pertinent costs associated to the act of
replacement i.e. cost of transport of material to the replacement site, labor cost, supervision
cost and opportunity cost of foregone profit while the structure is under repair.
Deterioration in many uses of wood can be unavoidable but a great percentage can
be prevented or at least reduced by intelligent selection, preparation and modes of use. On
this regard, an understanding of the requirements for the inception and development, and
the characteristics of the different destroying agencies is essential for their control.

THE WOOD INHABITING FUNGI

Fungus is a low form of plant, which is saprophytic or parasitic in nature depending
on the medium in which it develops. It is not able to synthesize its own food and relies on
existing organic material for its nourishment. Fungi are distinguished depending on the type
of deterioration they are able to effect on wood. They are 1) wood-destroying fungi, 2)
wood-staining fungi and, 3) the molds. Wood-destroying fungi is the most important group
for it embraces all fungi that are capable in disintegrating the cell wall and thereby changing
the physical and chemical properties of wood, the result of which is called ‘ decay.’ The
staining fungi and molds usually feed on the naturally existing easily digestible organic
materials stored in wood, and frequently have small or no appreciable effect on its
properties aside from some discolorations.
Nature of Decay
Decay of wood is the result of the activities of wood-destroying fungi. Upon
infection, fungus forms microscopic threadlike structures which are known as hyphae or
mycelium. The mycelium constitutes the absorbing system of the fungus, analogous to the
root system of plants. At incipient stage of attack hyphae spread in all directions through
wood, usually passing through bore holes which they form on cell walls at point of contact,
rather than seeking out the natural openings afforded by pits. As decay progresses the
appearance of wood is perceptibly altered. The cell walls are definitely disintegrated and
there is marked change in texture, color and strength. At advanced stage, wood may
become punky, soft and spongy, or crumbly depending on the nature of attacking fungus.
Decay Requirements
Conditions for the development of decay-producing fungi are fourfold:
a. a supply of suitable food,
b. a sufficient degree of moisture,
c. at least a small amount of air, and
d. a favorable temperature
The food is supplied chiefly by the actual wood substance although the starches,
sugars and other materials may also be drawn up. At natural state, the highly complex
combination of cellulose and lignin in wood makes it not suitable for use of fungi. But by
secretion of enzymes, the ‘hyphae rot’ which remove both lignin and cellulose from wood
and have a bleaching effect on wood leaving whitish color. The other group is ‘brown rot’
which generally concentrates attack more on cellulose and leave a brownish residue.
It is recognized that moisture considerably above fiber saturation point is required
for the optimum development of most fungi. At 25-30% MC. growth is greatly retarded and
below 20%, growth is completely inhibited or the development is arrested. They may
however stay dormant and then resume development when wood absorbs moisture that
they require. An exception to this minimum is the so called ‘dry rot’ fungi which are
popularly believed to need little or no moisture for their development. Actually, dry rot fungi
are incapable of growing in dry wood but they have the ability to transport moisture to the
point of attack from a source of supply. The conduction of water from damp basements is
carried on by rootlike strands of mycelium, sometimes and inch or more in diameter which
also frequently span brick walls to reach sound timber. The most serious fungi of this type
is the so called ‘building poria’, Poria incrassata. The other species, Merulius lacrymans
does extensive damage in Europe and some losses in United States and Canada. The
development of fungus is also inhibited by an excess of moisture, although the resultant
deficiency in air supply is probably the more significant factor.
The supply of air is necessary for the growth of fungus but under ordinary
conditions, air in intercellular spaces of wood in service is ample. It has been indicated that
air equivalent to more than 20% of the volume of wood must be available before decay can
take place. Wood saturated with water and living timber active in sap conduction is devoid
of sufficient air for fungus growth. Such is the case with waterlogged pieces and those
deeply buried in the ground. It is primarily because of the deficiency of air in the wood that
submerged piling, supporting the masonry foundations of bridges or large buildings, is not
subjected to fungus attack and lasts hundreds of years in service.
The optimum temperature for the development of fungus varies with individual
species but in most cases appears between 75-90oF. In a study of 64 species, the growth
of all, but one species, was topped at 115oF. None of the wood destroyers were able to
survive commercial kiln-drying or steaming treatments.
Spread of Decay
The propagation of wood-destroying fungi is through microscopic spores, which is
comparable in function to the seeds of higher plants. They are borne in vast numbers in or
on fruiting bodies (sporophores) seen on the surface of infected wood. The spores are
minute and extremely light and are readily blown about over large areas by wind, or
distributed by insects, birds or other carriers. Coming into contact with susceptible timber,
they are able to germinate and start a new infection. Decay may also spread by the direct
growth of mycelium to sound timber by contact.

Durability of Wood against Decay

Durability, or the natural resistance of wood that it offers to decay, is a variable
property. The factors responsible for the difference in durability are numerous and diverse,
some having to do with the conditions of wood itself and others with circumstances
attending to its use. Heartwood is relatively resistant to decay than sapwood. The
distinctive difference in durability between heartwood and sapwood is attributed to the
presence of extractives in heartwood. The amount and toxicity of extractives that occur in
heart wood may account for some variation in durability. The presence of sapwood portion
in a piece wood may also have some bearing on its virtual durability for even if the
heartwood portion remains sound, the decayed sapwood may render the piece to need
replacement. The density of wood has no direct relationship to durability.

WOOD-STAINING FUNGI
Wood-staining fungi cause definite discoloration in wood without noticeably
affecting the continuity and texture of the material. The most economically important is the
so called ‘blue stain’ fungi on sapwood. There is practically no staining in the heartwood.
The strength and usefulness of the infected stock are not destroyed, unless decay has
developed, but the selling price of blue-stained lumber is greatly reduced. The causal fungi
(mostly Ceratostomella spp., Diplodia spp., and Graphium spp.) are distinct from the wood
destroyers in that they obtain their nourishment from the materials stored in the cell cavities
of the sapwood other than from the wood substance. Furthermore, in passing from cell to
cell, their hyphae generally seek the natural openings (pits) instead of passing through the
wall. It is only in the rays, in which the requisite food materials are concentrated, that the
cell walls are apt to the seriously broken down. The objectionable bluish color is produced
by the massing of the relatively dark hyphae within the light-colored wood. The optimum
temperature for the development of blue stain fungi appears to the 75-95oF; growth is
practically stopped at below 45oF and above 100oF, while a temperature of 130oF will kill
the fungus if maintained for a sufficiently long time. A moisture content of at least 20% is
necessary for fungus growth. The infection and spread of stain may be prevented by rapid
surface drying or by keeping the material thoroughly wet.
Chemical Stains
Discoloration of wood may also result from chemical changes in the materials
infiltrated in the wood cells. The precise nature and causes of these changes are not
definitely known, although there is evidence that, in some cases at least, they involve the
oxidation of fermentation of certain organic compounds that are largely confined to the
sapwood. The most important are the so called ‘brown stains’ - which may developed
during air seasoning (yard brown stain) or kiln drying (kiln brown stain). Although they have
no effect on wood other than in appearance, these may cause serious monetary loss.
Discolorations could be mistaken as caused by fungi and responsible for the rejection of
perfectly sound wood.

MOLDS
True molds, similar to those that form on damp bread or cheese, may develop in
wood, producing cottony growths on the surface which range from the color white and light
shades to black. The inception and spread of these fungi are dependent upon favorable
temperatures and the presence of abundant supply of moisture, such as occurs when
unseasoned wood is piled so that little or nod drying can take place. Adequate ventilation of
unseasoned lumber in storage or in transit will prevent the development of these fungi.
Mold is objectionable chiefly because of the appearance that it gives to the infected
material. The superficial growth can be easily brushed or dressed off the wood, and the
causal fungi do not appear to affect the strength and other important properties to any
important degree. Mold, however, may be a serious defect in stock that is to be
manufactured into containers for certain types of foodstuffs that are subject to possible
contamination. More so, there is always the possibility that moldy wood may also contain
decay, since the conditions that promote the growth of the true molds are also conducive to
the development of wood-destroying fungi.

WOOD PRESERVATIVES

Wood preservatives are chemical substances that, when suitably applied to wood,
make it resistant to attack by fungi, insects, or marine borers. The protective effect is
achieved by making the wood poisonous or repellent to the organisms that would otherwise
attack it.
Requirement of a Good Wood Preservative
A wood preservative, in order to be suitable for general commercial use, should be
toxic to wood destroyers, permanent, penetrative, safe to handle and use, harmless to
wood and metal, plentiful and economical. For other special purposes, it may also need to
be clean, colorless, odorless, paintable, non-swelling, fire resistant, or moisture repelling, or
have certain combinations of these properties.
The effectiveness of a preservative depends in part upon its toxicity or being
poisonous to organisms that feed upon it or enter to obtain shelter. In order for a
preservative to be toxic to wood destroyers, it must be sufficiently soluble in the body fluids
of the attacking organisms to afford a lethal dose. Since these fluids are chiefly water,
preservative must be at least partially water soluble. Preservative may also be effective
even without buying soluble in the body fluids, by denaturing or making ineffective, the
enzymes secreted by fungi to dissolve wood.
The need for permanence is obvious. Treated wood may be required to serve 50 to
50 years or even longer. No material that evaporates from timber in few years, or the
changes chemically into ineffective compounds is suitable for but the rate of change must
be very slow.
A preservative must be capable of being forced into the wood to an appreciable
depth, if high degree of protection is desired. Surface coatings are not sufficiently effective
because they are easily broken or worn away.
Safety in handling and use is required. Health hazards to workers in producing the
preservative and people that will be in association with treated wood should be at
acceptable level. Preservatives containing highly flammable solvents required special care
in handling and storage to prevent explosions.
Corrosiveness is an under desirable characteristic because it results in damage to
the metal in the treating equipment and to such metal fitting and fastenings as may be
applied to wood in service. Preservatives that damage wood to any distinct degree tend to
defeat the purpose for which they are used.
It is obvious that a preservative must be inexpensive and available in sufficient
quantity in order to meet the needs of the wood preserving industry.
Lacks of color and suitability of treated wood for other finishes are important. Lack
of odor is important when treated wood is to be placed where foods sensitive to odors may
be stored.
 No preservative yet developed is universal in that it meets all the requirements. The
character of wood to be treated and the service to be required of it determine the
preservative properties that are most important in any particular case.

THE PRINCIPAL WOOD PRESERVATIVES

Preservatives may be classified in various ways. For the purpose of this discussion,
they will be grouped into two main groups: a) oils and oil-borne preservatives, and b) water-
borne preservatives.
Oil and Oil-borne Preservatives
Most of the wood-preserving oils today fall in this class. They include by-product oils
obtained in coal distillation and coal-tar refining, petroleum refining, wood distillation, the
manufacture of gas for domestic and industrial heating, and possible in other ways. Such
oils contain a great variety of chemical compounds in varying amounts. None of these oils
has been sufficiently explored chemically to catalogue and evaluate all the individual
compounds it contains.
Coal-tar creosote. Coal-tar is a product of the distillation of coal. The coal tar is distilled to
separate the volatile components from the pitch. The creosote was the volatile part (boiling
at 200-400oC). The portion boiling above 355oC is being known as the residue. Thus light
creosote had a low residue and conversely heavy creosote had a high residue. Since John
Bethel patented the use of ‘dead oil of tar’ for wood treatment (July 1838), coal-tar creosote
has been regarded as the standard preservative.
The principal advantages of coal-tar creosote as a wood preservative are a) its
marked toxicity to wood-destroying fungi, marine borers and insects; b) its relative
insolubility is water and low volatility, to which the oil owes its high degree of permanence
under the most varied service conditions, c) its ease of application, the facility with which its
depth of penetration can be determined; and d) its general availability and relatively low
cost.
While it’s the principal preservative for treating structure timbers intended for
general outdoor service, coal-tar creosote has certain properties that are undesirable when
the treated wood is to be used for some special purposes. Freshly creosotes timber can be
ignited easily and will burn readily, producing dense smoke, although after the treated wood
has seasoned for some months, its ease of ignition is lessened. It has objectable odor. It is
relatively dirty and is black in color. It can be readily painted over.
The wood-preserving properties of creosote depend upon many factors. Creosote
contain tar acids, such as phenol, xylol, cresol, together with tar bases such as pyridine,
crinoline and acridine as well as neutral or ‘dead’ oil consisting of naphthalene, fluorine,
anthracene, phenanthrene, etc. An increase in the high boiling tar acid content increases
the viscosity whereas an increase in the naphthalene content reduces the viscosity. At first
creosote, was added to coal tar simply to reduce the tar viscosity, but with the introduction
of impregnation methods it was appreciated that the use of lower viscosity creosote alone
enable improved penetration to be achieved and it was also appreciated that the fungicidal
components in coal tar are almost exclusively associated with the creosote fraction.
The tar acids gave excelled fungicidal activity, and the early specifications therefore
emphasized tar acid content. While tar acids are good fungicides, they are also the
components which are most susceptible to loss from wood by volatilization and leaching. A
high residue probably tends to trap for acids and protect them from loss but it is appreciated
that very high loadings of other less toxic components, such as naphthalene, are also
important, and high naphthalene creosote has been found to perform best in marine
situations. It will be clear that creosote does not perform simply as a toxic preservative, but
that the residue and other heavier components tend to protect lighter, more toxic
components from loss be leaching and volatilization. In addition, impregnation with creosote
provides extra, protection against moisture content changes so that treated wood is stable
and very resistant to splitting.
Straight coal-tar is seldom used alone in the commercial treatment timber, because
it is generally too viscous and contains too much insoluble matter in suspension to
penetrate wood well. On the other hand, if the tar is of suitable quantity, and deep
penetrations are obtained, very good protection should result.
Creosote is also applied superficially by brush, spray or immersion treatment
particularly on wood that is to be used for fences. Only limited penetration can be achieved
and it is therefore essential to use creosote with good resistance to volatilization and
leaching. There are separate specifications for creosote of this type, which contains a
greater proportion of high boiling fractions that the creosote oil used for impregnation. This
creosote is known as carbolineum in Europe or anthrocene oil in British Isles and North
America. Colored pigments are sometimes added; the decorative Solignum products were
original formulations of this type.
Barol. Developed by Nordlinger about 1909, consists of a mixture of copper salts in
carbolineum. Combinations of zinc salts and creosote have also been widely used.
Originally the zinc chloride treatment, the Burnett process, was followed by impregnation
with creosote or, in the U.S., with Bakensfield oil, a petroleum distillate. However, this two-
stage process was superseded by a single, full-cell impregnation process involving a
mixture of zinc chloride solution creosote, using agitation to achieve a uniform suspension.
Petroleum destillates. The preservative properties of petroleum and mineral oils can be
attributed solely to their physical properties as they are virtually non-toxic. In the United
States heavy oils are used as diluents for creosote as a practice based upon the concept
that the loadings of creosote can be substantially reduced, as in empty-cell treatments,
though higher loadings achieve greater resistance to weathering. Thus far, petroleum oil
has been used as carriers for toxic chemicals.
Arsenic creosote. In Australia, 0.4% arsenic trioxide added to creosote was introduced in
1965 and has proved very advantageous whenever insecticidal properties are required and
whenever creosote treatment is used where there is a danger of termite attack. Contact
insecticides, such as Lindane and Dieldrin, have also been used to certify the insecticidal
properties of creosote, but they also give additional protection in marine situations against
gribble, which tends to very resistant to creosote treatment.
Wood and Peat Tar. Peat tar can also be prepared. Peat tar has similar properties to the tar
derived from the destructive distillation of wood. Softwood tar, also known as Stockholm tar,
was at one time widely used as a brush-applied preservative for log houses. Its
preservative activity is lower than coal tar and the treatment was decorative rather than
preservative. Wood tar is still extensively used for the treatment of ship’s cordage.
Penta chlorophenol. This is a crystalline chemical compound (O6Cl5OH), formed by the
reaction of chlorine on phenol. It is sufficiently soluble for wood-preserving purposes in
most high-boiling petroleum oils but is more soluble when kerosene or other volatile
petroleum carriers are used. It has very low solubility in water and low volatility, and is other
wise a stable chemical. It is irritating to the skin and the mucous membrane. The
concentration of pentachlorophenol is petroleum solutions for wood treatment is usually
required to be not less than 5 percent by weight. The solvent used must be capable of
holding the chemical satisfactorily in solution, penetrating the wood adequately and leaving
the wood clean and paintable.
Pentachlorophenol in petroleum has been found ineffective against marine borers
and should never be used for the protection of wood in salt water. Against fungus and
insects, however, it has consistently shown high effectiveness solutions of
pentachlorophenol can be made more effective against fungus and insects by using
creosote as its solvent.
There are other chlorinated phenols which has wood preserving properties although
their usefulness is more limited than pentachlorophenol. These are Tetrachlorophenol,
Trichlorophenol, Chloro-2-phenylphenol, Copper pentachlorophate, copper diammonium
pentachlorophonate, zinc tetrachlorophenate and rozin amine pentachlorophenate.
Copper Naphthanate. The mixtures of naphthenic acids obtained are by-products in
petroleum refining can be combined with salts of certain metals to form naphthenates.
When combined with copper, a dark green mixture of copper naphthenates is produced. Oil
solutions of this chemical have been used as preservative to a limited extent for a great
many years, chiefly for brush, spray, or dip applications to wood, nets and fabrics. Its
solutions impart a pronounced green color to treated wood. Because of its waxy nature,
copper naphthenate is likely to interfere with the satisfactory painting of impregnated wood.
Its high toxicity to fungi has shown up well in laboratory and field heats. Other naphthenates
that shows potential are zinc naphthenates, mercuric naphthenate and iron naphthenate.
Water repellent preservatives. Special group of preservatives combine a degree of
repellency with resistance to decay and insects. Mostly, they consist of solutions of
chlorinated phenols chiefly pentachlorophenol in light petroleum oils, such as solvent
naphtha, kerosene and occasionally diesel oil. To this solution varying amounts of waxes
and other oils are added to provide increased water repellency or to prevent the
crystallization or “blooming” of the pentachlorophenol on the surface of the treated woods
as the solvent evaporates. For treated wood that requires clean, dry and paintable surface,
it necessitates considerable care in the selection of solvent that needs inclusion of only very
small percentage of wax. Such products are sometimes called clean, non-swelling
paintable (NSP) water-repellent preservatives. Pentachlorophenol is the chief and often the
only toxic chemical used in the clean, non-swelling preservatives, whether they contain
water-repellent or not.
Phenol mercury cleate has been used in some clean preservatives either alone or
in addition of pentchlorophenol. It has been promoted chiefly for use in treating wood boat
parts. Copper naphthenate has also been used.
Despite the common belief to the contrary, water-repellent preservatives do not
prevent absorption of water although they retard the fluctuation in moisture content when
subjected to frequent changes in humidity or alternate short duration of wetting and drying.

WATER-BORNE PRESERVATIVES
Water has several advantages as a solvent for wood preservatives like general
availability and cheapness. It penetrates wood well and is free from fire, explosion and
health hazards. Its chief disadvantages are the wood swells upon treatment, needs
redrying for most purpose and shrinks upon drying. Water-borne preservatives afford no
protection against weathering or mechanical wear. Because of their solubility in water, most
preservatives of this kind are subject to leaching from treated wood whenever it is in
contact with wet soil or water. In uses where the treated wood is not exposed to leaching,
however, they should remain in wood and protect it indefinitely. Wood treated with water-
borne preservatives is especially suitable for use in buildings, because of its clearness,
freedom from odor, lack of preservative fire hazard, loss increase in weight after drying and
relatively low cost.
Some of the newer water-borne preservatives are designed to form components of
low solubility as the water evaporates from the treated wood. Generally, preservatives of
this type contain salts of two or more of the following elements: zinc, chromium, copper,
and arsenic, but may contain others. Before or during treatment, the salts may be held in
solution by the presence of ammonia, a volatile acid such as acetic, for an acid such as
chromic, which is unstable in contact with wood. After treatment, as the solubilizing agent
evaporates or is changed chemically, the relatively insoluble compound or mixture of
compound may form. A similar result can be obtained by treating first with one salt and then
with another that reacts with the first to form the desired compound.
Arsenic salts. Large amount of arsenic are produced as a by-product of ore
processing the Anaconda Copper Mining Company, which produces by-product arsenic
trioxide from its copper smelter in Montgonery, began using solutions of sodium arcenite for
pressure treatment of mine timbers as early as 1926. Subsequently, injecting 0.4 to 0.5
pound per cubic feet of wood with arsenic trioxide became their standard treatment of mine
timbers. Arsenic trioxide in paste form found considerable use for the butt treatment of
poles following 1928.
Arsenic salts have high toxicity to many fungi and insects, but a few fungi can
tolerate for arsenic than others. Arsenic salts combine with those of chromium, copper,
magnesium, nickel, zinc, and other elements to form double salts having high toxicity and
low solubility in water. The combined preservatives should be more effective against
arsenic-tolerant fungi then as arsenic salts alone.
Arsenic salts are poisonous to human and animal life, as well as to insects and
fungi, and those who handle and use them must take necessary precautions.
Borax and Boric Acid. These compounds are moderately toxic to wood-destroying
fungi but they do not seem effective against termites. The alkaline character of borax can
damage metal fastenings and other materials.
Boric acid has found use in Australia for the protection of wood against Lectus
(power-post) beetles. Boric acid treatment makes sapwood immune to their attack.
Zinc Chloride. Zinc chloride was recommended by Wade in 1815 and patented in
England in 1838 by William Burnett. Immersion of wood in an open tank of zinc chloride is
referred to as Burnett Treatment or Burnettizing. It is relatively low in cost, leaves that
treated wood clean and paintable, and easy to handle in treating plants. Its chief
disadvantage is its ready solubility in water, which makes it of limited value for outdoor use.
It is a good preservative for building lumber and timber that can stand the swelling and
shrinking which accompany treatment and subsequent drying. It can damage strength
properties of wood and lower concentrations should be used in place where wood will be
exposed to extreme drying or low humidity.
Chromium salts. Salts of chromium, when used along, have not proved successful
as wood preservatives. As an ingredient in mixed formulations, they assist in fixation of -
preservatives in wood, in that they assist in the formation of salts that have high resistance
to leaching and high effectiveness against fungi and insects. For this reason, chromium
salts constitute an important ingredient of many of the leach-resistant preservatives.
Chromated zinc chloride consist about 77.5 percent zinc chloride, the other 22.5%
sodium dichromate. It is claimed to be somewhat more resistant to leaching than straight
ZnCl to give somewhat longer protection under damp conditions.
Copper Sulfate (blue vitrock) which was recommended for preserving wood as early
as 1767 and patented for that purpose by Margary in England in 1837, is more toxic than
zinc chloride to wood destroying fungi. Its major disadvantage is it attacks iron and steel.
This water-soluble salt is well adapted to the Boucheric process because the bluish color
makes it easy to determine when treatment is complete.
Mercuric chloride (corrosive sublime) has been employed for wood preserving as
early as 1785. Its use was first patented in England in 1832 by John Kyan, and the method
of steeping wood in this preservative has consequently been termed Kyanizing, or the Kyan
process. It is highly toxic to wood-destroying fungi but is costly, corrosive to iron and steel
and a deadly poison.
Sodium pentachlorophenate. After this preservative is introduced into the wood, the
pentachlorophenate is changed back to pentachlorophenol by the acidity of the wood and
possible through reaction with carbon dioxide. It was found not to penetrate the wood
deeply. Its chief use is in dipping green lumber to prevent blue staining. There are other
water-borne preservatives are being in use such as nickel salts, sodium chloride, sodium
fluoride, sodium flousilicate, zinc sulfate, etc.

PROPRIETARY PRESERVATIVES
Wolman Salts. Antimony flouride were proposed as additives to reduce the
corrosive properties of dinitrophencanilin and dinitrophenol, and a mixture of sodium
flouride, zinc flouride, and dinitrophenol, was introduced as Malenit in 1921 by Malenkovic.
Wolman salts are generally considered to be formulations containing flouride, chromium,
arsenic and phenol components, known in the United States as FCAP types. The true
Wolman salts developed following a proposal in about 1913 for the addition of chromates,
phosphates or borates to the sodium flouride and dinitrophenol mixtures as corrosion
inhibitors in place of the zinc flouride which was used in Malenit. Dichromates were found to
be most suitable and the resulting product, consisting of 85% sodium flouride, 10%
dinitrophenol and 5% sodium or potassium dichromate was very excessively manufactured
under the name Triolith. This formulation was the starting point for the later improved
formulations, the first being Myolith, which consisted of Triolith with the addition of a large
concentration of rock salt to give fire-retardant properties to timber used in mines. Triolith
was designed principally to control fungal decay but in 1922 it was mixed with an equal
amount of sodium arsenate in order to improve its insecticidal activity, the resulting product
being known as Tanalith. In 1930 the dichromate content in Wolman salts was increased to
further improve fixation and these high dichromate versions of the formulations were
identified with suffix U, as in Tanalith U. There are several other Wolman (FCAP) salts that
appeared in different names such as Bellit, Basilit, Flunaz, Triolith U, Wolmanit V (and VA),
Trioxe U and Wolmanit U (and VA) hochl.
Aczol is an ammoniveal solution of copper and zinc salts with phenol. The loss of
ammonia after treatment results in good fixation. In Chemonite the copper is used without
zinc but arsenic is added to improve the insecticidal properties. The formulation in which
the ratio of copper and arsenic is 49.8% CuO to 50.2% As2O5, is known in America as
ammoniocal copper arsenic (ACA). When ammonia is lost the copper and arsenic are
deposited as oxides.
One of the most important advances was the development of the copper-chromium-
arsenic preservatives, which are known in America as chromated copper arsenate (CCA).
Celcure or Celcure N, known as acid copper chromate (ACC) is originally consisted of a
mixture of copper sulphate, a dichromate and acetic acid, but the latter was replaced with
boric acid and phosphates and zinc chloride was added, giving Celcure F, if fire retardancy
was required. The product was virtually free from corrosinc and rightly fixed, giving
excellent protection against all fungi (except Poria Spp.), but its performance against
insects and marine borers was unreliable. Later arsenic was added to give the CCA
product Celcure A which gives excellent performance in all respects.
Many other preservatives can be found in the market. Although they appear in
different trade names, they usually contain similar active chemical components simply put
different formulations. Examples are Boliden (BIS, S. S25 and K33), Falkamesan, and
ASCU, Erdalith, Celcure (A, AP, AN, M. etc.), Copper and Zinc pentachlorophenate and
several others. Many organic compounds and ordinary insecticides are also used to some
degree.
Paints and stains are used more for decorative purposes and are not to be classed
as wood preservatives. Since the paint merely forms a film over the surface of wood. It can
sufficiently cover the wood to deprive attacking organisms from entering the wood. It
obviously cannot be expected to prevent decay, although paint promoters may claim some
toxic characteristics of some paints.

PRESSURE METHODS OF TREATMENT

Pressure treatments are usually carried on in closed cylinder or retorts of about 6 to

9 feet in diameter, up to 150 ft. or more in length and built to withstand working pressure up
to 250 psi. Ties, poles structural timbers or other form of timber are loaded on special tram
cars or buggies moving in and out of the cylinder on steel tracks.
Pressure process of treatments has definite advantages over non-pressure
treatment. In most cases, deeper and more uniform penetration and a higher absorption of
preservatives can be secured providing more effective protection. Treating conditions can
be controlled that penetration and retention can be varied to meet the requirements of
service, this, more economical effect. Unseasoned wood can be impregnated due to the
possibility of special manipulations of preliminary treatment inside the same cylinder.
Finally, it is adapted to a large-scale production of treated wood.
Its primary disadvantages compared to non-pressure processes are high amount
and cost of equipment required and it would not permit subsequent transfer of plant site
which, in effective necessities frequent shipping of timber to and from the plant decidedly
increasing the overall cost of treatment. It has also the disadvantages that localized
injections of preservative are not applicable since it entails complete treatment of timber.
Various pressure methods are divided into two main groups: (1) the full-cell and (2)
empty cell process. In the full-cell process the aim is to achieve the complete impregnation
of porous spaces in the hope that a proportion of the preservative will penetrate
surrounding the cell walls or that they will at least protected by the very high loadings of
preservative around them leaving maximum concentration on the treated zone. In the
empty-cell process the initial impregnation treatment is basically similar but this is followed
by recovery process designed to empty the porous spaces while leaving adequate coating
of preservatives on the cell walls.
Full-cell process is especially advantageous when maximum injection of
preservative is desired. It is costumarily used using water-borne preservative and when
treated material is to be used in extremely hazardous situations like of marine pilings.
Empty-cell processes are required when it is desired to secure as deep penetration as
possible with a limited retention. Lower retention is permitted to economize on
preservatives by drawing high final vacuum at the end of the treatment thus giving wood
with almost the same penetration with full-cell process but just coating the cell walls,.
Rather than actually filling them with preservative for protection.

FULL-CELL PROCESS
Full-cell process is a sequence of preliminary vacuum, pressure and final vacuum to
achieve complete impregnation of all the porous spaces within the wood. The use of this
method is currently known as Bethell process for its adaptation to coal-tar creosote
treatments in first normal commercial scale, although it was first developed by Breant. Full-
cell treatment with zinc chlorine solution was called Burnett process or Burnettizing
because of the preservative used.
With a creosote treatment, net retention may vary from 5-15.6 lb./cu. ft. (80-250
kg/cu. m.) depending upon the species, the cross-section and the proportion of heartwood
sapwood present. For water-borne solution, 0.25-1.75 lb./cu. ft. (4-28 kg./cu. m.) dry salts
depending on the nature of preservative and the purpose which treatment is intended

BETHELL PROCESS
This process was patented by John Bethell (July 11, 1838; Britain patent 7731) with
the injection of tar and ”dead oil of tar” into wood by applying pressure in closed cylinder. It
includes following stages:
1. Seasoned or suitably conditioned wood in the treating cylinder and the cylinder door
sealed.
2. A preliminary vacuum is drawn on the charge usually carried to a maximum of 22 in.
Mercury maintained for 15 minutes to an hour.
3. Without admitting air, cylinder is completely filled with preservative oil.
4. Additional oil is forced into the retort to build-up the required pressure. Pressure
generally reaches a maximum of 125 to 200 psi and is maintained until the desired
absorption is attained or to virtual refusal.
5. When the required amount of preservative has been injected into the wood, pressure is
released and oil drained from the cylinder.
6. A short final vacuum is applied to dry the surface of the timber, although this step is not
provided for in the original Bethell patent.
The distinguishing characteristics of full-cell process is the preliminary vacuum to
exhaust part of the air from the outer layer of the wood. This not only facilitates entrance of
preservative but also eliminates the cushioning effect of the air which would otherwise force
out part of the injected preservative when pressure is released.
Preservative oil is heated at least 180 degree Fahrenheit but not to exceed 210
degree Fahrenheit to reduce its viscosity and improve penetration. Resistance to leaching
can be achieve only with creosote if heating is maintained throughout the treatment
process.
Higher pressures are employed on some timbers that are difficult to treat but not in
some species that it might cause collapse when excessive pressures are applied.
Final vacuum is relatively short and is intended to induce the expansion of trapped
air, forcing excess preservative to surface where it can drip clear which then often leads to
excessive surface deposits of high viscosity preservative. A more important function is
relieving the compressed state of wood allowing any excess preservative properly
absorbed.

FULL-CELL TREATMENT WITH WATER SOLUTIONS

Full-cell process using water-borne preservative may require minor differences in
detail. As practice, it embodies the same general procedure as with oils. Pressure may
reach as much as 200 psi. The solution temperatures may range from atmosphere to 200
degree Fahrenheit depending on the preservative used. It is generally applied warm or at
ambient temperature to prevent freezing crystallization or sludging in cold climate and not
for purpose of deeper penetration and higher retention as in creosote. Instead, salts are
diluted at high concentration when greater retention is desired. Zinc chloride solution may
be used at any practical temperature without harm to the preservative, whereas
preservatives containing chromium salts, such as chromated zinc chloride, Tanalith,
celcure, Greensalt, Erdalith and others will lose their salts from solutions if heated too high.

EMPTY-CELL PROCESSES
In empty-cell process wood is impregnated with preservative under high pressured
on top of air trapped within the wood. This trapped air is later permitted to expand, ejecting
preservative from the porous spores but leaving the cell walls coated or impregnated with
preservative. It is for easier to achieve treatments that are free to bleeding in service due to
low retention. It provides wide application or railway ties, poles, post, lumber, and many
forms of construction timbers in which it is desired to obtain good penetration with limited
absorption of preservative. These processes entail substantial recovery of preservative
after treatment, with the purpose of economizing on cost of preservative.
There are two distinctive empty-cell methods of treatment as follows:
1. Rueping Process
Its chief characteristics is the application of preliminary air pressure to the wood
prior to the injection of preservative. Timber to be treated should be air-dried or conditioned
first. With the timber inside the treating cylinder, the following steps are followed.
1. Air is injected into treating cylinder until a desired pressure is obtained (25-75 psi
maintained for 15 to 30 mins.) with the result that a certain amount is forced into the
wood. There is no preservative yet in the cylinder at this stage.
2. The cylinder is filled with preservative in such a way that the injected air is trapped in
the wood. Filling maybe accomplished by forcing the preservative into the bottom of the
retort and allowing air from the top just rapidly enough to maintain pressure.
3. Higher pressure (150 psi-200 psi as max) is applied until the desired absorption is
obtained thus further compression the trapped air.
4. Pressure is released. At this stage compressed trapped air can then expend and exerts
partial pressure to drive part of the absorbed preservative to the surface of the wood.
5. Preservative drained.
6. High final vacuum for a period of about 30 minutes or more.
The required gross absorption during the pressure stage is generally defined for
individual species of wood taking into account their permeabilities, so that a gross
absorption requirement is really a means to ensure adequate penetration. As soon as the
pressure is released the compressed air in the wood expands and forces out a
considerable amount of preservative that was injected. The final vacuum hastens the
recovery of oil and shortens the period during which the preservative will continue to drip
out from the timber. As a result of this recovery a substantial proportion of preservative will
have been removed from the open, porous spaces within the wood so that the net retention
of preservative may be as low as 40% of the gross absorption, slightly less than than 40%
of the retention from a full-cell process while achieving almost as good penetration or a
substantially less preservative will be required to saturate the wood with oil to the same
depth. The intensity of the preliminary air pressure is governed by the character to the
wood being treated and the net retention of preservative desired. When low retention are
specified in wood that is very receptive to treat, air pressure as high as 100 psi may be
used.
The proportion of the gross absorption of preservative recovered from the wood
upon release of pressure and application of final vacuum is influenced by the character and
condition of wood, the relation between preliminary-air and preservative pressures, the
temperature of preservative, final vacuum and of course other relative factors.
2. Lowry Process
This empty-cell process was patented by C.B. Lowry 1906 (U.S.). It differs from
Rueping process only that is does not involved initial air pressure above atmospheric. The
preservative oil is injected into the wood without preliminary air pressure. The air that is
naturally present in wood is compressed during the preservative pressure period and
serves to expel part of the injected oil when the pressure is released and the final vacuum
is drawn. The preservative temeprature should average not less than 180 degree F and not
to exceed 220 degree F and the maximum pressure is limited to 200 psi while some
species must be exceed 150 psi. A more intense final vacuum is desirable and held not
less than 30 minutes to achieve maximum recovery. It is not as efficient as Rueping
process in terms of preservative recovery; net retention is typically about 60% of the gross
absorption compared with as low as 40% with the Rueping using a low viscosity
preservative. However, Lowry treatment results in less bleeding clearly because any air
trapped at the end of the treatment cycle is at a lower pressure. With a given net retention,
penetration obtained with the Lowry process is better than secured with the full-cell and
substantially the same as that gained in Rueping treatment when very low preliminary air
pressures are used. Lowry treatment plant has an advantage over Rueping plant of being
less elaborate as there is no need for a separate air pressure pump. However, this
advantage is less significant because many air vacuum pumps can also function as
pressure pumps today.
REFERENCES:
Hunt, George M. and Garratt, George A. Wood Preservation. 2nd edition. 1953. McGraw-Hill
Book Co. Inc. New York.
Richardson, Barry A. Wood Preservation. 1st edition 1978. The Construction Press. Great
Bretain.
THE SEASONING OF WOOD
by Doming M. Lantican
I. Definitions:
a. Seasoning of wood -