Use of wood in construction. Range of wooden building materials

In the modern world, the use of wood has not become less than, for example, in the last century, and if we take into account not the amount of use, but the percentage per capita, then this has been going on for hundreds of years. This is not at all surprising, since trees have always been a very good building material. In addition, the forests covering our planet saturate the atmosphere with oxygen and beauty, and a wooden house is always cozy and beneficial to the health of any person living in it.

Source srbu.ru

In construction, and in everyday life, wood is usually called that part of a trunk or branch that is located under the bark. Sanded trunks of good quality (industrial timber) are considered as blanks for timber, logs, as well as various lumber such as chipboard or OSB, which are made from waste (sawdust).

Use in house construction

So what is made from wood? That's right: first of all, it is used as a material for building houses. This method of housing construction was used in Europe, North America, Canada and the northern regions of Asia. Oddly enough, in some southern countries, for example, in Africa, it was also used, although for most of the aborigines this was incomprehensible - they built huts. The popularity of wood for building houses was explained by various reasons, and one of them was the ease of processing: a log house could be erected by a carpenter using almost one ax.

Source moydomik.net

Our ancestors built huts from logs from which they removed the bark and laid them in the opposite direction to each other, since the butt is always thicker than the top. Today, thanks to powerful machines, it is possible to make rounded logs, which allows you not to worry about the direction of the workpiece, since its diameter is the same along the entire length. Some old joiners and carpenters condemn this method, pointing out that the log loses its strength after turning, since the upper, strongest part is removed from it. I won’t argue with them, but this is not an acquired taste – today such houses are subject to not only technical, but also aesthetic requirements.

Source greenside.ru

In addition to regular or rounded logs, wooden houses are built from solid or laminated timber, which is inherently not inferior to the technical qualities of log buildings. First you need to understand these types of lumber. Conventional solid timber is obtained by quadrangular edging of a tree trunk. Each side must be at least 100 mm - otherwise it will be called a board or block. Glued laminated timber consists of several wooden lamellas glued together, and, as a rule, it has tongues and grooves on both sides for ease of assembly. Of course, the second option is more beautiful and reliable, since it is treated with antiseptics and fire retardants.

The place where wood is used is the construction of frame houses, where the frame itself is assembled from wooden beams, and sometimes from a metal profile. After installing such a structure, it is sheathed inside and outside with any sheet lumber such as plywood, OSB, block house, ordinary lining or panels imitating timber. The advantage of such houses is the possibility of high-quality insulation of the walls with the same mineral wool or polystyrene foam. The fact is that such materials have much lower thermal conductivity than any type of wood.

Source dom-usadba.com.ua

A steam bath can be either wooden or stone, and here it is a matter of personal choice, but the internal lining of the walls of the steam room is in any case made of wooden lining. In this case, the wood performs medicinal functions, although linden is usually used for this purpose, and this is odorless wood. Also, various utility and utility rooms, construction sheds, fences, workbenches for carpentry and plumbing, and so on are built from lumber.

The use of wood in our country is varied and depends, in the overwhelming case, on the type of wood. The rest of the article will discuss the main species and the use of wood from these species in industry and production.

Coniferous species. About 75% of our country's forests consist of coniferous trees. Coniferous wood is most widely used in industry, especially pine and spruce, then, in descending order, larch, fir, and cedar.

• Pine - used in the construction of houses, farms, bridges; for the manufacture of sleepers, poles, masts, mine stands, derricks for the oil industry; in the production of carts, ships, agricultural machinery, wagons, carpentry and furniture, laminated materials, cellulose, paper.
• Spruce, like pine, is used in all of the listed areas of production. In addition, its high resonant properties have led to its use in the music industry. Due to the white color of the wood, it is highly valued as a raw material in the pulp and paper industry. Spruce bark is used to make tannins.
• Larch is a material with increased strength and resistance to decay. It is especially suitable for the manufacture of products operating in conditions of high humidity: hydraulic structures, poles, sleepers, when arranging basements, cellars. Thanks to its beautiful texture, larch is used in the production of furniture, decorative veneer, and parquet. It is suitable for use in the hydrolysis and pulp and paper industries.
• Siberian, Caucasian, Far Eastern fir. Caucasian fir wood is used in the same way as spruce wood, including in the production of musical instruments). The wood of other types of fir has slightly reduced mechanical properties, limiting its use if the products need to withstand significant loads.
• Cedar is used in carpentry and furniture production; it is also suitable for making mine stands, sleepers, and posts. The uniformity of the structure and ease of cutting in various directions determined its primary use in pencil production.

Hardwood. In our country, deciduous trees occupy about a quarter of all forests. Hardwood is most widely used in furniture production. Based on the hardness of the wood, they are divided into hard (oak, ash, elm, beech, walnut, maple) and soft (birch, aspen, alder, linden, poplar).

• Oak is highly durable, resistant to rotting, bends well, and has a beautiful texture. It is used in carpentry, furniture and parquet production; wagons, wagons, ships, agricultural machinery, for the manufacture of barrels for grape wines. Oak wood and bark are used to produce tannins.
• Ash - used mainly in the same way as oak wood. In addition, it is used for the manufacture of sports equipment (skis, clubs, oars), railings, and handles for tools.
• Elm is the main application in the wagon industry. In addition, it is used in furniture production and mechanical engineering.
• Beech has a beautiful texture, is close in strength to oak, bends easily, but is subject to rot. It is widely used in the manufacture of bent furniture and butter barrels, as well as in furniture, parquet, block production, and in the music industry. Waste and low-grade beech wood serve as raw materials for dry distillation.
• Walnut - has a beautiful texture. The main use is the production of veneer for veneering furniture and panels, turning and carved products, and hunting rifle stocks.
• Maple also has a beautiful texture. It is used for the manufacture of furniture, musical instruments (violins, guitars), as well as baggage products and blocks.
• Birch is the most common deciduous tree and ranks first (among deciduous trees) in use. Birch is widely used for the manufacture of layered materials (plywood, laminated plastics, laminated veneer parts). It is used in the production of particle boards and fiberboards, furniture, cellulose, parquet, and construction parts. It serves as a raw material for chemical processing. Karelian birch, which has a beautiful texture, is used to make veneer and souvenir products.
• Aspen is the main raw material for the match industry. It is also used for the production of cellulose, inexpensive furniture, toys, plywood, and fiberboards.
• Alder - used in plywood, carpentry, furniture, and packaging industries.
• Linden - the wood is light, soft, easy to cut, cracks and warps a little. Linden wood is used to make drawing boards, pencils, carved items, containers (honey tubs), and toys. Basts, mats, coolies, and ropes are made from the bark.
• Poplar - used mainly in pulp and paper production.

Use in shipbuilding

Source nationalclass.ru

Of course, all the shipbuilders of the world in the old days used exclusively wood to build their ships, since they did not know other technologies. Times are changing and now amazing metal giants are being launched from shipyards, which are not only larger, but stronger and faster than their ancestors. Nevertheless, wood is still in demand in shipbuilding to this day, especially among yachtsmen. Also, dinghies, longboats and boats are made from wooden planks - this is cheaper and looks more beautiful.

Note: the expression “mast timber” is still in use among builders, joiners and carpenters.

Furniture making

Furniture made of wood never loses popularity, although in our century plastic and metal began to be used for this. For serial and custom (elite) production, almost all types of wood are used, including soft, hard and very hard, so in this case there is plenty to choose from. You can always find cabinets, chairs, tables, beds, sofas, etc. at home or on sale. and so on. Of course, for the most part, cabinets are made from chipboard and OSB, but in any case this refers to lumber. Elite options are usually made from solid wood - such furniture is very beautiful and high-quality, regardless of the type of wood. Garden furniture is also made from wood, which is sometimes not removed from the street all year round, remaining exposed to rain and snow, but at the same time it lasts for a very long time.

Areas of application of wood.

Construction. Wood is used in construction in forms such as square lumber (timbers, planks), veneer, plywood, railroad ties, posts, piles, posts, shingles, and fiberboard. The most consumed lumber is rectangular. Wooden houses, the main type of house for many centuries of Russian history, are now becoming increasingly popular. Wood is used to make carpentry, flooring, parquet, and wall cladding.

Furniture manufacture. Wood processing products such as wood fiber and particle boards are used. Solid wood furniture is highly valued.

Fuel and wood pulp. The use of wood as fuel throughout the world is still very important. Wood is an alternative fuel to coal, gas, oil, and electricity. For many small settlements, wood is the most accessible, cheapest type of fuel, requiring minimal transportation. Firewood is also used as a tribute to tradition or for aesthetic purposes, for example for heating fireplaces. The use of wood in the form of wood pulp has been continuously increasing in recent times and is projected to continue to increase for the foreseeable future.

In the pulp and paper industry, wood is a raw material for the production of paper and cordon.

Production of musical instruments. Only wood species are capable of creating the original sound of the vast majority of stringed musical instruments.

Artistic carving. Art and souvenir products.

Writing icons. It is carried out on wooden boards, which are prepared using a special technology.

Kids toys. Wood is an environmentally friendly material, and in all its properties it is suitable for making children's toys.

Sport equipment. Despite the massive use of polymer materials in the manufacture of sports equipment, wall bars, gymnastic sticks, bats, tennis tables, and other equipment continue to be made from wood materials.

Car finishing elements. Decorating the interior of a car with wood elements increases the prestige of the car.

Charcoal is produced by incomplete combustion of wood. It has a high specific surface area and exhibits pronounced absorption properties. For centuries, charcoal has been used in elevated temperature processes as well as in metallurgy. Russian industrialist Smirnov used coal to purify vodka. Currently, coal is a commercial product and is widely used in everyday life.

Chemical industry. As a result of chemical processing of wood, synthetic fiber, cellophane, alcohol, yeast, fiberboard, polymer-impregnated wood, wood laminated plastic and various molded products are obtained. Progress in the processing and use of wood has stimulated further development of forestry

Various folk art products are made from wood materials: children's toys, kitchen cutting boards, carved wall panels, icons of saints, boxes, photo frames, salt and pepper shakers, stands for napkins and business papers, doors and fragments of kitchen furniture and interior, carpentry tools , master models, building structures, engineering parts, furniture, artistic parquet.

Violin.

The violin is an amazing instrument made of wood, which has not changed its shape for several centuries (Fig. 10.13).

A good violin is as rare as a large diamond. Such violins usually have their own names and history. It happened that violin makers produced such a violin by chance once in their entire lives, but there were also masters who mass-produced top-class products—Cremonese craftsmen. The ancestor of these masters was Amati. Amati made violins from pear wood and protected them with his own varnish. A freshly made violin that is not varnished sounds best. The elongated soundboard of the violin along the direction of the grain of the wood from which it is made ensures that the sound wave is simultaneously separated from the entire contour of the soundboard. After all, sound waves travel faster along the fiber than across it. Deviations in the shape of the violin from the oval and the slot in the soundboard distort the sound wave, coloring the sound with overtones. An unvarnished violin sounds great, but it doesn’t last long, since oxygen in the air oxidizes the wood fibers, turning them into dust. In addition, such a violin will pull moisture from the air like a sponge, which will have a detrimental effect on the sound. So whatever one may say, varnish is still needed. If the varnish is soft, it will protect the wood well, but will dampen its vibration, and if the varnish is hard, it will accordingly be more fragile and, through its cracks, the wood will be destroyed by external influences. Amati’s “Know How” was the recipe for his varnish, which was precisely the golden mean. Among Amati's descendants there were no talented people to whom he could pass on his secret. Then Amati passed on his secret to his best student, Stradivarius , and the era of Stradivarius violins began. Stradivari improved the Amati varnish through practical experiments. His violins were more durable and sounded better than Amati's violins. In Stradivari's old age the situation repeated itself. That is, the direct descendants of Stradivari were unable to continue the work of their father, and Stradivari, during his lifetime, passed on his secret to his best student - Guarneri . Over the years, young Guarneri not only learned how to make violins, but also managed to steal a varnish recipe from Stradivarius. When young Guarneri revealed his origins to old Stradivari, he kicked Guarneri out. Without his own working capital and fixed production assets, young Guarneri could not start making violins and was constantly looking for a sponsor. This sponsor was the Order of Jesuit monks. The agreement was extremely simple. The Jesuits provide Guarneri with a workshop, tools and materials, Guarneri makes the violins, which he signs (Guarneri for Jesus), and the Jesuits buy these violins, deducting Guarneri's overhead from their cost. Thus, the Guarneri Violins with the name of God passed through the hands of musicians and became the property of the Jesuit Order. The Jesuits well understood the value of their collection and used it where money was powerless. For example, to solve their problems, the Jesuits made offerings to the French, German and British kings, both in the form of individual violins and in the form of string quartets by the same master, signed with the name of God. They say that one day Guarneri, having deceived the vigilance of the Jesuit guards, gave his violin to a wandering musician. Then the Jesuits found this musician, killed him and returned the violin. Now there are no Amati violins in the world, very few Stradivarius violins, but the violins of the young Guarneri have survived. In many countries, these violins, regardless of the actual owner, are the property of the state and cannot be sold abroad. In the USSR, violin competitions were held and the winners of these competitions were given violins for lifelong use. So such a violin was something like an order for a recognized musician, only for the musician himself such a violin is something more than an order. The opportunity to play such a violin brings the musician closer to the heights of professional skill.

The violin is considered a deified musical instrument. The names of the parts of the violin have been preserved: head, neck, chest, waist, darling. The violin was created as an analogue of the human voice. Until now, even with the most modern technology, it has not been possible to synthesize the timbre of a violin. Over the centuries, the technology, materials and methods of making a violin have been perfected, which have remained virtually unchanged since the mid-18th century. The violin has become one of the most classical instruments.

The structure of a violin is the most complex in terms of physics, acoustics and resistance of materials. Three types of wood are used to make a violin: maple, spruce and ebony (black) wood. Depending on the properties of the wood, various tool parts are made from it. Since the top is almost entirely responsible for the sound of the bass strings, the combination of softness and elasticity of spruce is ideal for it. The back, head and sides are made from maple. The back mainly works for the upper register, and the density of the maple corresponds to these frequencies. The neck is made of ebony. Ebony, due to its high rigidity and strength (by the way, it sinks in water) has maximum resistance to wear from strings. Only ironwood can compete with it, but it is very heavy and has a green color.

The combination of maple, spruce and ebony is used in almost all stringed wooden instruments: bowed instruments, guitar, balalaika, domra, lyre, zither, harp and others.

Many generations of craftsmen have experimented with various materials for making violins (poplar, pear, cherry, acacia, cypress, walnut), but maple and spruce best meet the acoustic requirements. This is confirmed by all modern research.

The best wood for making a violin is considered to be one that grows in the mountains. It's a matter of climate. In the mountains, wood is exposed to sudden temperature changes and is not oversaturated with moisture. Thus, the summer layers become smaller than on the plain and, in general, the relative elasticity increases, i.e. sound conductivity. According to established tradition, to make the back, craftsmen use wavy maple, which is distinguished by a beautiful wavy pattern. There is a known historical fact that wavy maple fell into the hands of Italian craftsmen. In the 18th century, Türkiye supplied Italy with maple for oars on galleys. The oars were straight-grained maple. But since it is difficult to understand its structure without sawing a log, batches of wavy maple often came in, to the delight of violin makers. By the way, working with wavy maple is much more difficult than with regular maple.

Summary.

Wood is a relatively hard and durable fibrous material consisting of cellulose, lignin, ash-forming minerals, organic substances, used as a building material and fuel, and in crushed and chemically treated form as a raw material for the production of paper, fiberboards, artificial fiber and other products . A tree consists of roots, trunk, branches. The cut obtained by sawing a log crosswise is called an end cut. A radial cut is along the fibers, passing strictly through the core of the log. A tangential cut is a cut along the fibers, parallel to the core and at any distance from it. The cross-section shows the main structural elements of wood: core; medullary rays; core; cork layer; bast layer; sapwood; cambium; annual layers.

The physical properties of wood include: appearance, smell, macrostructure indicators, humidity and associated changes (shrinkage, swelling, cracking, warping), density, electrical, sound and thermal conductivity. The mechanical properties of wood include: strength, hardness, rigidity, impact strength and others. All wood defects are divided into nine groups: knots; cracks; trunk shape defects; structural defects of wood.

Tree species include deciduous and coniferous species. The main types of conifers include pine, spruce, larch, cedar, juniper, cypress, and Siberian fir. Deciduous trees are more numerous: oak, ash, beech, common birch, Karelian birch, linden, maple, apple and other types of deciduous trees.

Wood materials come in the form of sawn, crushed and laminated wood, as well as veneer. When sawing a tree trunk, you get: timber, edged board, unedged board, slab. The products of wood processing are wall panels: block house, plank, siding. The molding includes platband, plinth, planed boards, timber, lining. Wood flooring and parquet products include parquet flooring boards, deck boards, and flooring boards. Wood materials and products are used in construction, furniture production and in numerous other industries and crafts.

Questions for self-control.

1. What materials are wood?

2. What are the similarities and differences between coniferous and deciduous species?

3. What are the main parts of a tree, and what practical significance does each of them have?

4. What type of tree is larch?

5. What types of cuts are used when sawing a tree trunk?

6. What is the layer of wood around the core of a tree called?

7. How many layers does the tree bark consist of?

8. Name the representatives of kernel-free tree species?

9. What are the main chemical elements that wood is made from? Why does wood burn in an oxygen-containing atmosphere?

10. What types of cells is wood made of?

11. What characteristics of wood are considered physical properties?

12. What property of wood is characterized by its texture?

13. How is the water absorbed by wood located in the structure of the tree?

14. Why is there the following rule in mines: install wooden support with the butt up?

15. Within what limits does the density of wood vary? How is wood classified based on density values?

16. How is density related to the hardness of wood?

17. Why are wood products used in electrical wiring systems?

18. How are types of wood classified according to hardness values?

19. Why do many properties of wood have different values ​​in the direction perpendicular to the end cut or radial cut?

20. In what directions does wood split and why?

21. What changes are considered defects? How many types of defects are identified?

22. What are the causes of wood cracks? What are the reasons for their appearance?

23. Under what conditions do trees with increased camber grow?

24. How does dryness of wood manifest itself?

25. What types of wood are characterized by such a defect as tarring?

26. What characteristics does pine wood have? What products is pine used for making?

27. What distinctive features are characteristic of larch wood?

28. What kind of wood is used to infuse cognac in barrels?

29. The wood of which hardwood tree has the most expressive texture?

30. What type of deciduous tree wood is classified as a non-core species, is it light, white, and is used in the manufacture of various products?

31. What types of lumber are sawn into a tree trunk?

32. In what areas and for what purposes are planed and peeled veneers used?

33. What types of products are included in wall panels, moldings, flooring and parquet products?

34. Why does thermowood acquire low hygroscopicity?

35. What type of wood is best to make deck boards from and why?

36. What types of trees are used to make violins and why?

37. How does the structure of trees grown in the mountains differ from the structure of trees grown in lowland areas?

Crafts and kitchen utensils

Source stroyres.net

Wood crafts have always been in great demand, and today is no exception. These can be various compositions, as in the top photo, or any individual figures depicting fairy-tale characters, tiny houses, boxes, and so on. It is noteworthy that crafts do not always require the skill of a cabinetmaker with a full set of tools - nature itself sometimes throws up fancy figures from branches and roots - all you need is observation and a flight of imagination.

Source rubankom.com

Today, wooden boards for slicing products are in great demand, especially if they are assembled, that is, glued together from scraps of the board, but the fibers are turned perpendicular to the plane. Kitchen knives practically do not become dull when cutting meat or vegetables, since the blade simply enters the soft structure, which then moves again. A wooden spoon can generally be called an indispensable attribute when cooking jam or jam, but borscht or fish soup from a wooden bowl is simply delicious.