timber

1. Carpentry General
2. Advantages of Timber
3. Use of Timber.
4. Qualities of Good Timber.
5. Defects in Timber.
6. Methods of stacking.
 Carpentry General
 Timber has been in very common use for-
engineering purposes since ancient times.

 Even today there are certain works, where timber

is considered as the most ideal material.

 Today although materials like steel, cement, stone

bricks etc. have occupied lot of field, where timber
was almost used, still timber continues to be an
important structural material.
 Carpentry General

• There is difference between terms timber and wood.

Wood includes all types of wood which may be
burning wood, structural wood, furniture wood etc.
But wood suitable for use as a structural material is
called timber.
• So we can say: Wood is usually used to refer to the
material in its natural state...timber refers to it after it
has been modified by man. So you go to the forest to
collect wood for the fire, and to the DIY store to get
timber for doing up your house
 Carpentry General
Timber is obtained from trees. Timber denotes structural
wood. A standing living tree is known as standing
timber.
Rough timber.
When tree has been cut and its stem and branches
are roughly converted into pieces of suitable lengths.
Converted timber
When roughly converted timber is further sawn
and converted into commercial size the planks, logs,
battens, posts, beams, etc
 Carpentry _Advantages of Timber
• It is easily available every where.
• Its salvage value is high.
• It can be easily transported by converting large
pieces into smaller pieces.
• Working on timber is easy. Timber constructions
can be easily repaired. Additions and alterations to
timber structures can be easily done.
• It can be easily jointed.
• In marine works, timber is considered as an ideal
material as it does not corrode. Cement and iron
structures corrode in sea water, if they are not
protected with special preservative.
 Carpentry _Advantages of Timber
• Being light in weight, it is preferred for building
works in earth quake prone regions.
• It is an excellent material for decorative and general
use furniture. Lot of other internal decorations can
be carried out with it.
• It can with stand, shocks better than iron and
concrete.
• It is good insulator of electricity and heat.
• It is good sound absorbing material.
• Timber can be easily strengthened by attaching steel
or other material with it.
 Carpentry _ Use of Timber
• It can be said that there is no Engineering field,
where timber is not used one way or the other.
• Uses of timber are numerous. Some of its important
uses are given as follows:

It is very much used for railway track sleepers.

It can be used inform of piles, vertical posts,
beams, doors and windows.
It can also be used as members of roofing trusses.
It is an important material for furniture-making
It is used for floors, ceiling, and partition walls.
Carpentry _ Qualities of Good Timber
Following are the qualities of good timber.
• A good timber should be hard and durable.
• It should be capable of resisting the actions of fungi,
chemicals and physical agencies.
• The fibers of the timber should be straight and
compact.
• The timber should be free from knots wists, upsets,
burls shakes, flaws etc.
• Its color should be dark. It should be obtained
preferably from heart wood. Color should be
uniform.
• It should be properly seasoned.
• Its freshly cut surface should smell sweet.
Carpentry _ Qualities of Good Timber
• Its weight should be heavy.
• It should be easily workable. It should not clog the teeth
of saw and should be capable of being easily planned.
• Timber should be tough i.e., it should be capable of
resisting shocks.
• It should be able to withstand the weathering affects.
• It should be strong enough to withstand bending, direct
and shear effects efficiently.
• A clear ringing sound should be emitted by the timber
when struck. Heavy dull sound indicates decayed timber.
• It should offer adequate fire resistance.
• It should be elastic
 Carpentry_ Defects in Timber
The defects that usually occur in the timber may be
classified into two categories as follows:

 Defects that develop  Defects that develop after

during growth of the tree. felling the tree.
 Shakes  Bow
 Twisted timber  Cup
 Upsets or rupture  Twist
 Knots  Radial shakes
 Wind cracks  Wane
 Burls  Diagonal grains
 Carpentry_ Defects in Timber
1.Defects that develop during growth of tree
have been briefly discussed as follows:
1.1 Shakes. This is most serious type of defect in
timber. These are sort of cracks which partly or
completely separate the fibers of wood. A shake is
nothing, but separation of the timber along the
grains. Shakes may be of several types.
 Carpentry_ Defects in Timber
1.1.1 Star shakes
These are radial cracks or
splits that extend from bark
towards the sap wood. They
usually remain confined up to
the plane of sap wood only. The
cracks are widest at the
circumference and go on
narrowing as they proceed
towards the Centre of the tree.
 Carpentry_ Defects in Timber

Star shakes Reasons of star shake

Star shakes usually
develop due to fierce heat
and frost
When logs having this
defect are sawn they
usually separate out into a
number of pieces and
hence become useless.
 Carpentry_ Defects in Timber
1.1.2 Heart shakes.
These splits or cracks occur
in the central part of the
trees. There are widest at the
centre and go on narrowing
as they proceed towards
outside. This defect usually
occurs in over-matured trees.
This defect is usually caused
due to shrinkage of the heart
wood. Heart shakes divide
the tree cross-section into
several parts. Straight
running heart shake is not as
serious as twisted heart
shake.
 Carpentry_ Defects in Timber
1.1.3Cup shakes.
This defect develops curved slit
between successive annual rings.
The split does not run for the full
circumference of the annual rings.
This defect usually develops due to
1. unequal growth.
2. Another possible reason for their
development may be contraction of
timber under atmospheric changes
together with the twisting action of
strong winds.
 Carpentry_ Defects in Timber
1.1.4Ring shakes.
When cup shake defect runs for full
circumference of the annual ring, it is called
ring shake. It is more serious than cup shake.

1.1.5 Radial shakes.

They are similar to star shakes.
They are numerous, fine and irregular.
They usually occur when felled tree is
exposed to sun for seasoning. The
cracks run for a short distance from
bark to-wards the centre and then
follows the course of an annual ring
and ultimately goes towards the pith.
 Carpentry_ Defects in Timber
1.2 Twisted fibers.
They are caused by twisting of young trees
constantly in one direction under the action
of strong prevalent winds. Timber with
twisted fibers is unsuitable for sawing. The
timber having this defect is mostly used for
posts and poles in an unsawn condition
 Carpentry_ Defects in Timber

1.3 Upsets or ruptures.

‫اضطرابات او تمزقات‬
This defect is caused
due to injury suffered by wood
fibers by crushing or
compression. Upsets are
mainly due to improper felling
of tree and exposure of tree in
its young age to fast blowing
wind. This defect indicates
change in direction of wooden
fibers.
 Carpentry_ Defects in Timber
1.4 Knots.
Knots are generally developed at the bases of branches
cut off from the tree. This phenomenon ultimately results
in the formation of dark, hard rings, known as knots. As
knots break the continuity of the wooden fibers, they
form a source of weakness. The amount of weakness
caused by the knot depends upon the position, size, and
degree of grain distortion around it. Knot is the most
commonly encountered defect of wood.
 Carpentry_ Defects in Timber
It is impossible to procure timber free of knots.
Knots may be dead, live loose,
or tight. Tight knots are not
objectionable unless they
are too large. Their presence on
tension members is objectionable
. It is very difficult to plane
the timber at knots.
 Carpentry_ Defects in Timber

1.5 Wind cracks.

The outer layers of a
standing tree suffer
from the effect of
shrinkage due to
atmospheric agencies.
This causes cracks on
the outer surface only.
These cracks are
known as wind cracks.
 Carpentry_ Defects in Timber

2. Defects that develop after felling the tree.

Conversion of timber is done almost immediately after
felling The tree. The defects that may develop after
felling the tree and also during conversion and
seasoning are the following:
2.1 Bow: when planks of converted of timber shrink
and bend in curved form , in the direction of length.
 Carpentry_ Defects in Timber
2.2 Cup:
this defect is indicated when
wooden planks bend in curved
from in transverse direction.

2.3 Twist
A plank which has distorted spirally
along its length
 Carpentry_ Defects in Timber

Methods of stacking.

Before seasoning, the timber should be stacked in yards

so as to protect the timber from direct sun.

Ends of logs should be protected against splitting by

applying anti-Splitting compositions and stacked on
foundations in closed stacks in one or more layers.
 Carpentry_ Defects in Timber
1.One and nine method of
stacking.
This method of stacking
timber is most suitable for
moderately heavy
coniferous sleepers in hot
climates and for heavy
timbers in moist climates.
 Carpentry_ Defects in Timber
2. Close crib method.
This method of stacking timber
allows reduced air circulations
and thus slows down the pace
of seasoning. This method is
recommended for stacking
heavy structural timbers like in
hot and dry localities.
Paneled doors
Flush doors
 WOOD
• Wood is a traditional building material.
The quality of wood varies widely.
• Wood is generally durable, strong,
dependable, workable and possesses
many other characteristics.
• It is, however, highly inflammable and
liable to insect attacks if not properly
protected. Wood is mainly used for roof
skeleton, doors and windows, walls and
partitions in small buildings.
 Properties of Wood Contd.
• Wood may be hard or soft.
• Hard ones include ebony, mahogany,
etc. while soft ones include Douglas fur,
palm tree etc.
• Strength of wood increases with
decreasing moisture content.
• By seasoning (drying), the strength can
be improved. Wood is highly workable.
 Plywood

• Produced by gluing many layers of split

wood together.
• The grains are arranged alternatively to
eliminate distortion.
• The plywood is a very good modern
construction material whose quality
depends on type of wood used, glue
used and pressure of steam used in
gluing.
Wood can be cut into many shapes.
a) Plank: The thickness is small when compared to its width.

t <<B
B
Plank

b) Beams: Width and thickness dimensions are almost same.

Beams
 Shapes of Wood Contd: Block

• c) Blocks: Very thick eg. 25 x 25 mm(width-

depth) or 20 x 25 mm or 30 x 30 mm
• BLOCK

BLOCK

Many grades of wood exist depending on the

strength.
 METALS
• These are man-made materials whose
properties are known. The most widely used
metal is steel.

Steel:
Steel is very strong, highly durable,
resistant against weather, fire and insects and
possesses almost all good characteristics.
• Steel is used in reinforcement in concrete,
gates, windows, roof trusses, steel sheets for
partitions and tanks etc.
 Other Building Materials (Synthetic
Materials)
• a) Asbestos Cement: Used for making roof
sheets, drain pipes and accessories. It is also
used for partitions and ceilings.
• b) Plastics: used in water supply and sanitary
systems. Also electric fittings.
• c) Ceramics, fibre glass etc. are new materials
used in some restricted areas.
 PAINT & VARNISHES
• The paints are coating of fluid materils and they
are applied over the surface of timber and
metal.
• The varnishes are transprent or nearly solution
of resineous materials & they re applies over
the painted surfaces.
 TYPES OF PAINTS
• Aluminium paints
• Cement paint
• Asbestos paint
• Bituminous paint
• Emulsion paint
• Oil paint
• Plastic paint
• Synthetic ruber
 PROPERTIES OF PAINT & VARNISH
• They are available in wide range of variety.
• They are speaded & strached as a layer on base
by brushes.
• They are transparent
• They provide shine on old & new wood work.
 REQUIREMENT OF PAINT &
VARNISHES
• The paints applied on a surface should dry
within 24 hours.
• The paint should neither crack nor shrink after
drying.
• The paint should have an attractive appearance.
• The colour of varnish should not develop cracks
on drying.
• The varnish should adopt or accommodate to
the expansion & contration of wood due to
temperature varations.