DT Edexcel GCSE (9-1)- Section 7 Timbers

Jelutong

hardwood-Indonesia-low density, straight grain,fine texture

Birch wood

A wood found almost as commonly as Oak Wood. Regular easy grain and easy to work with.

Ash wood

Strong, tough, flexible and finishes well. Low resistance to rot and insect attack. Handles for tools sports equipments and ladders.

Larch

Tough durable and resistant to water. Can be used outside untreated . Expensive. Us d in boats and yachts and exterior cladding on buildings.

Chipboard

This type of board is cheap but not very strong and is produced by compressing wood particles together with glue. It is usually used with a hardwood or veneer surface and is used in table tops or cheap furniture.

Wood knots

Appears where a branch grew out of the tree. Harder to cut. Visually appealing. Should be treated with knotting.

Colours of wood

Colour can vary from plank to plank.

Elasticity of the wood

The ability of the material to bounce back after being disturbed

Tensile strength of wood

A measure of how much stress from pulling, or tension, a material can withstand before breaking.

Compressive strength

the resistance of a material to breaking under compression. (Crushing force)

Deforestation

The removal of trees faster than forests can replace themselves. Causes global warming.

Form

The overall shape and look of a product. Some are designed purely to be functional whereas others are designed for looks.

Sustainability

If used from a sustainable resource it does less damage to the environment. It is better for long term health of the environment and prevents global warming.

The effects of mass production

cheaper products - greater variety of products - increased world trade- greater automation which means loss of jobs but keeps costs down.

planned obsolescence

the strategy of deliberately designing products to fail in order to shorten the time between purchases

Lamination of wood

Useful to make curved shapes from timbers. Used to increase strength in wooden beams.

Regular sections

Designers can use the standard size when designing products. Commonly available sizes and shapes of timber.

Mouldings

Lengths of timber cut into decorative shapes. Lots of shapes available but can be expensive.

Dowels

wood rods cut into small lengths glued into holes in adjoining wood frames

Sheets

Manufactured boards come in a range of sizes and thicknesses. Available in large sizes but are relatively difficult to cut and may splinter.

Routing

Contains a rotating cutter, can be used to make straight slots in wood but large cuts may cause wood to burn so use with care.

One-off production

An individual (often craft-produced) article or a prototype for larger-scale production.

Batch production

a manufacturing operation that produces goods in large batches in standard lot sizes

mass production

Process of making large quantities of a product quickly and cheaply

continuous production

used for very-high volume commodity products, step up from mass production

Hand saw

Used to cut wood

Tenon saw

Used to cut smaller pieces of wood and accurate detail like joints

Coping saw

Used to cut shapes out of thin wood and manufactured boards.

Scroll saw

A stationary fine-toothed power saw with a narrow blade used for cutting small designs in wood.

Jigsaw

The blade goes up and down

Used to cut large thin pieces of wood clamped to a bench.

Planing

Used to remove wood from the edge of a piece of timber. Good for getting a crooked edge straight.

File

Good for smoothing and shaping edges

Small teeth are quite slow on wood

Rasp

Big teeth cut soft woods quickly. Good for rough shaping.

Big teeth leave marks in the wood.

Surform

Good for rough shaping of lots of materials.

Leaves a rough surface and is hard to use on wood.

Veneering

A thin layer of wood or other material attached to another surface, usually to create a decorative effect

Butt joint

Easy to make, just edges glued together.

No mechanical strength, not aesthetically pleasing.

Dowel joint

Drills can make holes quickly and accurately.

Hard to line up dowels accurately by hand.

Housing joint

Holds a shelf or divider securely in the middle of a frame. (Cut with router).

Can be tricky to cut neatly on a wide board, very accurate marking required.

Dovetail joint

a furniture joinery technique of interlocking "wedge" shaped finger cut-outs. Looks good

Very difficult to cut.