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What is Wood? – Composition, Types, Uses, More

wood

What is wood?

Wood is one of the raw materials of plant origin most exploited by man. It starts in trees with a woody stem (which has a trunk). Finding its most solid part under the tree’s bark. Whenever, it is a renewable, abundant, organic, economic resource that is very easy to work with. It is use to make beneficial products such as tables, chairs, and beds, furniture in general, and in technology, it is use to carry out many projects.

Wood Composition

Its Composition is made up of cellulose fibers, a substance that makes up the skeleton of plants, and lignin, which gives it rigidity and hardness. However, substances such as water, resins, oils, salts, etc. Circulate and are store in the fibers. Its composition is mostly hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen with smaller amounts of potassium, sodium, calcium, silicon, and other elements. It is decompose by microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi or damaging by insects. For this reason, it is essential to give them a treatment that prevents deterioration.

Types of Wood

Soft Woods

These are fast-growing trees, usually conifers, trees with needle-shape leaves.  they are easy to work with and are generally very light in color. It is the raw material for making Paper.

Example: Poplar, willow, acacia, pine, etc.

Hard Woods

They are those of slow-growing and deciduous trees. They are usually only use in furniture, in resistant constructions, on parquet floors, for some tools, etc. The old boats were made with this type of wood. Example: Oak, Walnut, etc.

Resinous Woods

 

Fine Woods:

They are using  in artistic applications (sculpture and architecture) for furniture, musical instruments, and decorative objects. They are exceptionally resistant to humidity. Whenever, It is use in furniture, in the elaboration of some types of Paper, etc. Examples: Cedar, cypress, etc.

Example: Ebony, spruce, maple, etc.

Pre-fabricated Wood

According to the length of its fibers, woods can be classify into long-fibered woods and short-fibered woods. Most of them are made with leftover wood, such as shavings from the rest of the cut. Of this type are chipboard, plywood, and fiberboard.

Wood – Uses

The wood is uses for many way or Wood is a versatile building material because different types of wood have different colors, properties, and uses. We have put together a brief explanation of the main tree species. At the bottom, you have the photo of the tree, and the wood of each of the types explaining here.

MAPLE

Maple wood varies from nearly white to light brown with a reddish tint (yellowish ). The grain of the European maple is fine and uniform. Maple quickly darkens in the sun. It is often using for floors, furniture, veneers, kitchens, and tables. BIRCH Birchwood is pale and usually has a reddish-yellow note. The wood has a faint grain, Flame, or Ice Birch; however, it forms patterns in the shape of Flame or ice flowers that produce exciting grains. Birch is mainly used for parquet flooring, veneer, or wood for furniture construction.

BEECH

Beechwood is clear, yellowish, or reddish. Older trees often have a reddish-brown core. Beechwood has a soft texture. The common beech is the most common tree in Europe. Beech is hard, elastic, dense, and firm, similar to oak. Consequently, wood is widely use, for example, for flooring, furniture, veneers, and widely uses components.

OAK

Yellowish-brown hardwood is the classic among hardwoods. Oak is synonymous with hardness, weather resistance, and resilience. Also, wood is incredibly elastic. It is beautifully veined, and the annual rings are visible. Wood is using for flooring, paneling, furniture, veneers, and construction, practically everywhere, indoors and outdoors.

WALNUT

Walnut wood impresses with its typical ornate design. It makes noble floors, sophisticate furniture, veneers, panels, and doors. Colors vary from light to dark brown and almost black. As a result, Walnut wood is sometimes referring to as the finest of household woods.

Wood Properties

The wood fiber’s arrangement, size, orientation, moisture content, pore size, etc. Will determine its properties and characteristics. Depending on the assets, they will be better for one use or another. There is a lot of difference between the properties of one and another, so that we will talk about the general ones. If you do not know the properties of materials very well, we recommend that you first see this link: Properties of Materials. Wood is a thermal and electrical insulator. And good conductor of sound (acoustic). this is a renewable, biodegradable, and recyclable material. It is ductile, malleable, and challenging. The color is due to salts, dyes, and resins. The darker ones are more resistant and durable.

Conditions and Treatment

Conditions the treatment that the wood should receive. The texture depends on the size of the pores. The streaks are due to the orientation and color of the fibers. Density depends on weight and strength. Viscosity, the more the wood has, the more resistant it is. Almost all woods have a thickness less than that of water.

Flexibility is the capability to be curve in the sense of its length without breaking or deforming. Especially young and softwoods have it. Whenever, the crack consists of the ease that the wood contains in splitting or cracking in the direction of the grain. The resistance will be lower if it is long fiber and has no knots, as well as if the wood is the green hardness or resistant to cutting. However, which will depend on the better or lesser cohesion between its fibers. For example, an area of knots will have greater cohesion of its fibers than a clean area. Therefore, it will be more complex and more resistant to cutting. It is directly the relationship between the most incredible amount of threads and the little water. Being a porous material absorbs moisture.

How is the Wood Obtained?

The first step is cutting down the trees. Once the trees are felled, they are pruned, cutting their branches. This method is called bucking. Whenever  next to avoid deformations and make it more durable and light, it is dried to reduce the amount of water. Lastly, irregularities are remove by brushing.

Conclusion

The wood is visibly grain, and the knots are also clearly visible. However, pine wood is also not suitable for outdoor use. So, it is uses for furniture, tables, chairs, doors, windows, floors, Paper, cardboard, for other uses toys, works of art Etc.

 

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