Wood: Properties, Production, and Application

These flashcards cover key terms and concepts related to the properties, production, and applications of wood, preparing students for their exam.

Qualities of Wood

Strong, stiff, light, easily worked, fastened quickly and economically, recyclable, biodegradable, and a renewable resource.

Undesirable Characteristics of Wood

Not perfectly straight or precise, size and shape affected by moisture, contains growth defects, can split and warp, burns easily, decays, and is susceptible to insect damage.

Tree Composition

Includes bark, cambium, sapwood, heartwood, and pith.

Tree Cells

Primarily hollow and cylindrical cells with an axis running parallel to the tree (grain direction), tough cellulose bound by lignin.

Springwood

Also known as earlywood; characterized by faster growth with larger and less dense cells.

Summerwood

Also known as latewood; characterized by slower growth with smaller and denser cells.

Plain Sawing

A sawing method used for structural framing that yields a varying grain pattern.

Quarter Sawing

A sawing method perpendicular to annual rings, yielding consistent grain pattern with improved wearing quality.

Lumber Drying Effects

Includes shrinkage, reduced weight, increased strength and stiffness, and enhanced dimensional stability.

Lumber Thickness Definitions - Nominal

< 2 inches - Boards, 2 to 4 inches - Dimension Lumber, >= 5 inches - Timbers.

Lumber Pricing - Board Feet

One board foot = 1 inch x 12 inches x 12 inches; calculated based on nominal dimensions.

Laminated Wood (Glulam)

Created through a lamination process to achieve sizes and shapes not available naturally, while improving quality.

Oriented Strand Board (OSB)

A non-veneered panel made from long strand-like wood particles with an alternate grain orientation, strong and used for sheathing.

Plywood vs. OSB

Plywood production has been declining while OSB production has been increasing.

Wood Fasteners

Includes nails, wood screws, lag screws, bolts, toothed plates, and adhesives.

Growth Defects in Lumber

Includes knots and knot holes, decay, insect damage.

Lumber Grade & Species

Graded by strength and stiffness for structural lumber or appearance for finish lumber; higher grade equals higher price.

Considerations Affecting Strength

Include species, grade, direction of load vs. grain, and environmental conditions such as temperature and moisture.