TIMBER

wood suitable for use as a structural material, particularly in building & carpentry works.
Round timbers, cut into logs & stripped of their branches & bark, are dried & treated with
chemical preservatives (any of various substances for coating or impregnating wood in order
to protect it against wood-destroying fungi & insects); such as creosote & pentachloropenel.
The chemicals help the wood resist decay for about 40 years.

These round timbers can immediately be used as:

+ Pilings, which are long slender column of wood, driven or hammered vertically into the
ground to form part of a foundation system.
+ Poles, which are long, cylindrical, often slender piece of wood used to support electric
power lines & telephone wires.
+ Posts, which are stiff, vertical support which are used in fences, corrals (pens for horses &
cattles) & in some cases, barns, bunk houses & other similar types of buildings.

LUMBER
-

timber product manufactured by sawing, resawing, passing lengthwise through a planning

machine, cross-cutting to length & grading.
Sawed into or split into various sizes for use as boards.
Measured in board foot, a unit of quantity equal to the volume of a piece whose nominal
dimensions are 12 in. (304.8mm) square & 1 in. (25.4 mm) thick.
Lumber is specified according to its nominal dimensions.
Nominal dimension is the dimension of lumber before drying & surfacing, used for
convenience in defining size & computing quantity. Nominal dimensions are always written
without inch marks. Also called nominal size.
Dressed size is the dimension of lumber after seasoning & surfacing, from 3/8 in. (9.5 to
19.1mm) less than the nominal dimension. A dressed size is always written with inch marks
(). Also called dressed dimension.
Lumber is graded according to size, quality & kind of wood.
a. Hardwood Dimension Parts are based on the proportion of wood that can be used to
manufacture various products. A high-grade piece goes through little or no
manufacturing.
b. Softwood Structural Lumber is graded according to the load it can carry & also for
appearance.

MAIN CLASSES OF LUMBER

a. Softwood Lumber comes from trees that bear seeds in cones (called conifers). Their
leaves are usually small, needle-shaped evergreen & stay in plant for several years.
When the seeds of a conifer are fully formed, they fall from the cones to the ground &
grow into new plants. Some examples of these are lauan, tanguile & agoho (pine tree).

b. Hardwood Lumber comes from broad-leaved trees, they are also evergreen,
particularly those grown in the tropics & colorfully deciduous (shedding leaves annually
or at the end of a growing season, descriptive of most hardwoods & a few softwoods).
They are really hard & strong, structurally. Some examples of these are guijo, yacal,
mahogany (reddish brown) & narra.
CLASSES OF LUMBER ACCORDING TO CONDITION
a. Rough Lumber lumber that is sawed, edged & trimmed, but not surfaced. Has straight
sides & edges but is rough & splintery.
b. Dressed Lumber lumber that is surfaced with planning to attain a smooth surface &
uniform size. They come in smooth, evenly cut boards. Worked lumber is a dressed
lumber that has design cut in it for decoration or to make boards fit together. Examples
of these are T&G boards, door & window jambs, etc.
CATEGORIES OF LUMBER
a. Yard Lumber softwood lumber intended for general building purposes, used for
ordinary light construction & finishing work commonly for flooring, plank siding, trim
& moulding. These includes:
1. Boards yard lumber less than 2in. (51mm) thick & 2in or more wide; graded
for appearance rather then strength; used as siding, subflooring & interior trim.
2. Dimension Lumber yard lumber from 2 to 4 in. (51 to 102mm) thich & 2 in or
more wide; graded for strength (stress-graded) rather than appearance; used for
general construction. It can be:
Joists & planks rectangular cross section, from 2 to 4 in thick &
more than 4 in wide
Light framing 2 to 4 in thick & 2 to 4 in wide, intended for use
where high strength values are not required
Decking 2 to 4 in thick & 4 in or more wide
3. Timber yard lumber 5 in (127mm) or more in the least dimension.
b. Factory & Shop Lumber lumber sawn or selected primarily for further manufacture,
graded according to the amount of usable wood that will produce cuttings of a specified
size & quality. It is intended for use in shops or in mills making sash, doors, windows &
cabinets. These include:
1. Matched Lumber lumber having edges dressed & shaped to form a tongue-&groove joint when laid in edge to edge or end to end.
2. Patterned Lumber lumber dressed & shaped to a pattern or molded form.

c. Structural Lumber dimension lumber & timbers graded either by visual inspection or
mechanically on the basis of strength & intended use. Intended for use in heavy
construction for lead-bearing purposes & is cut into timbers of large size. Also called
framing lumber.
SEASONING OF LUMBER
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Seasoning of lumber means removing drying wood to reduce its moisture content & improve
its serviceability. More than half of the weight of green lumber may come from moisture in
the wood. After seasoning, less than a tenth of the weight may remain.

Two methods of seasoning lumber are:

a. Air-drying (natural sun & wind dry) lumber is strip-piles at a slope on a solid
foundation. This allows air to circulate around every piece while the sloping allows
water to run off quickly.

Note:

Air Seasoning (Drying) of Wood

James Pastoret
School of Forestry, Fisheries and Wildlife

Drying, (air seasoning) wood can be complex. The purpose of this guide is to outline some of the important points in
drying small quantities of wood. People who buy green lumber from one of the many small sawmills in Missouri are often
interested in drying and possibly surfacing the lumber. Sawmill operators and dealers who wish to approach the subject
on a larger, more professional scale are referred to USDA Agriculture Handbook Number 402. "Air Drying of Lumber."

Reasons for air drying wood

There are many reasons for drying wood. Four main reasons include:

To increase dimensional stability. Wood shrinks across the grain (not along the grain) when it dries. If wood is
cut to size before it is seasoned, it will shrink during drying and thus be undersized in its final form.

To reduce or eliminate attack by decay or stain. Wood that is dried below 20 percent moisture content is not
susceptible to decay or sap staining.

To reduce the weight. The weight of lumber will be reduced by 35 percent or more by removing most of the
water in the wood or, as we say, by "seasoning."

To increase the strength. As wood dries, the stiffness, hardness and strength of the wood increases. Most
species of wood increase their strength characteristics by 50 percent or more during the process of drying to 15
percent moisture content.

Piling lumber for air drying

The objective of air drying wood is to remove the water in wood by exposing all surfaces of each piece of wood to
circulating air. In Missouri, wood can be air dried to a minimum of about 15 percent moisture content, provided the drying
time is sufficiently long. It is also necessary to support the wood during drying to prevent the lumber from warping during
the drying process. Lumber is piled in a special way to maximize the surface exposure of each piece of lumber to the air
and at the same time to support each piece so it will dry straight and without unnecessary warping.
The first consideration is to prepare a strong foundation, 1 to 2 feet above the ground, on which to pile the lumber. The
ground beneath the foundation should be kept free of vegetation or debris that would hinder air circulation under the pile.
Your lumber probably will be cut in random lengths and widths. For best results, pile each course so that each board
within a layer is well supported and does not protrude at either end of the pile (Figure 1).

This system of piling is called "box piling" and has proven to be the best method of piling random length lumber. The
outside boards of each tier are full length. This is important to tie the pile together and make it less subject to tilting or
falling over. Leave spaces between adjacent boards approximately equal to the thickness of the boards.
Figure 1
Plan view of a tier of boards, illustrating the system of alternating short
lengths for box piling. Unsupported ends of boards placed on the inside
of the pile will dry with less defect than if allowed to extend over the
end of the pile.

An adequate supply of wooden sticks (spacers) will be needed to

separate each layer (Figures 1 and 2). It is very important that the
sticks be uniform in thickness. Sticks usually are cut 3/4-inch
thick. Note that the stickers are carefully aligned vertically (Figure
2) so that each layer of lumber will be supported from the base of
the pile. If the stickers are not properly aligned, forces will be
created in the drying lumber that will result in permanent kinking
of the lumber.
Figure 2
Diagram of essential features of good lumber stacking for
proper seasoning.

Finally, cover the pile with old boards, plywood,

corrugated metal or any materials that will protect the
top layers of lumber from sun and rain. It is also a
good idea to weight the top by placing heavy objects
such as concrete blocks or stones on the roof. This
will reduce warping in the top tiers of the pile as well
as secure the roof on the pile.

Drying time
In warm weather (April through October), 1-inch
lumber can be dried to 15 or 20 percent moisture
content in 45 to 60 days (2-inch lumber in 60 to 90
days). In the winter months, lumber will require twice as long to dry. Lumber at 15 percent to 20 percent moisture content
is adequate for building unheated structures such as garages or barns. If the wood is to be used inside a heated
structure, further drying in a commercial kiln is necessary (6 percent to 8 percent moisture content for indoor use in
Missouri.)

b. Kiln-drying in more expensive lumber which is required for more refined uses so as
wood will not move, it must be dried to a moisture content of not more than 5 to 10
percent. This is done in an airtight structure scientifically heated by steam pipes in which
the lumber is artificially dried by an instrument that controls temperature, air circulation
& humidity.
SKILLS
&
CRAFTMANSHIPS
WOOD/LUMBER/TIMBER
1.

THAT

WERE

DEVELOPED

ON

Carpentry - is a type of work that requires the skill to construct a building or

structure, chiefly with wood. Metals & plastics & other similar kinds of materials were also
made part of carpentry work. This includes cabinet & furniture making & similar types of
objects.
-

There are two types of carpentry:

a. Rough Carpentry which is constructing the framework of buildings or structure, then

placing covering called sheathing & sidings.
b. Finish Carpentry which is making cabinets & furniture; millwork that manufactures
doors, windows, jambs & mouldings; specialists called joiners who do precise &
complicated work that cut, fit & join together pieces of wood to make various items.
2.

Woodworking is the forming & shaping of wood to make useful & functional
objects & items. Woodworkers also work as finish carpenters, mill workers & joiners. Mostly,
however, woodworkers are doing the job as a hobby.

3.

Woodcarving is the art of shaping ornaments, figures & other decorative

objects. It is one of the oldest arts, having found woodcarvings in Egypt made about 5000 years
ago. There are historical accounts of woodcarving in Greece from very early times. The Far East
& parts of Africa have long done fine woodcarving.