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Teacher: Mr. Collins

Industrial Techniques
Grade 8
Topic: Uses of Wood
Uses of Wood
Wood: Wood is a hard fibrous organic material. It is produced from the trunk and
branches of trees.
There are two types of woods: hardwood and softwood. Wood suitable for building or other
engineering purposes is called timber.
When it forms part of a living tree, it is called standing timber. However, when the tree
has been fell, it is called rough timber. Whereas, when it has been sawn to various market
forms such as beams, battens and planks etc., it is called converted timber.
Properties of wood: Wood is a poor conductor of heat and electricity but has good
dimensional stability, tensile strength, low density and resistance to weather conditions.
Wood and Their Specific Uses
Advantages and Disadvantages of Wood
Defects in Timber
Defects in timber are any irregularities in the structure of the timber that might affect its strength, durability,
attractiveness and usefulness. Some common defects are: knots, shakes, bow, cup, spring-bow and twist
Types of Defects
Knots: Knots are visible imperfections in wood grain that are formed when branches die; the living wood
grains grow around this area. Knots are circular and darker than the surrounding area.
There are two types of knots: live knots and dead knots.
Dead- knot is a darken fibrous ring, that is created when a branch has lost its
connection with the trunk.
Live-knot is a type of knot that has inter-grown within the surrounding grains of the wood.
A knot marks the position of growth of a branch on the tree.
Defects in Timber Con’t
Live Knot is a type of knot that inter-grows within the surrounding grains of the wood.
1. Shakes: Shakes are cracks, which separate the wood fibers partly or completely. Different shakes are formed in different conditions as
follows:
2. a. Cup shakes are formed due to the non-uniformed growth of a tree or excessive bending by cyclones or winds. In this case, the
shakes develop between annual rings and separate them partly.
b. Heart shakes, the other type of shakes, develop in maturity approaching trees whose inner part is under shrinkage. The shake spreads
from pith to sapwood following the directions of medullary rays.
c. Ring shakes are similar to cup shakes, but they completely separate the annual rings.
d. Star shakes are formed due to extreme heat or severe frost action. They develop wider cracks on the outside of timber from bark to
the sapwood.
e. Radial shakes are developed radially from pith to the bark.
a. Bow: This is when the converted timber is stored for a long time, without adequate support in the middle, which causes it to bend
along its length, is known as bow or bowing.
b. Cup: This is when the timber or plank curves along its width.
C. Waney Edge: When a part of the bark is left as part of a board, it is called the Waney edge.
d. Twist: This is a spirally distortion along the length of the timber. It looks like a propeller blade after twisting.
e. Warp: Warping is the loss of shape of wood due to stresses developed during drying. Cupping, bowing and twisting of wood come
under warping.
f. Check: This is the formation of a crack in the wood, which separates the wood fibers. They are formed due to over seasoning of
timber.
g. Split: Split forms when a check extends from one end to the other end, which will split the wood into a number of pieces.
h. Wind crack: If the wood is exposed continuously to the high-speed winds, the outer surface will dry faster than the inside, which
causes uneven shrinkage. This results in cracks on the surface of the timber.
Classification of Defects
Defects can be classified into two groups: natural defects and artificial
defects.
• Natural defects in timbers are caused by natural elements such as: hurricane,
forest fire, flooding, knots, wind or insect attack.
• Artificial defects are defects caused by human error or misapplication of
techniques during the drying process.
Classification of Defects Con’t
Natural Defects Artificial Defects
Shakes Bow
Knots Twist
Wind Cracks Waney
Upsets Shakes
Twisted Fibers

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Teacher: Mr. Collins

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