Wood properties and processes

Question	Answer
What are the properties of oak?	Oak is a durable hardwood used in furniture and floors. It is water resistant and is visually aesthetic however it is very heavy and does not react well with finishes.
What are the properties of beech?	Beech is a very good value hardwood, however it does warp easily and is heavy. It is strong under compression but not bending.
What are the properties of teak?	Teak is very low maintenance and an aesthetic hardwood, it is also durable to adverse weathers. It is also however quite expensive and not readily available.
What are the properties of mahogany?	Mahogany is a water resistant hardwood known for it's strength and aesthetic appeal. It is however very expensive.
What are the properties of balsa?	Balsa is a very weak hardwood that cannot resist water or high force. It is however very easy to work with and good for modelling.
What are the properties of pine?	Pine is a lightweight softwood that is very easy to paint. It is also easy to work with and does not shrink or swell. It is not water proof and can be scratched easily.
What are the properties of spruce?	Spruce is a lightweight softwood that is good to work with and can resist water. It can however scratch easily.
What are the properties of fir?	Fir is a strong and durable softwood through water and impact, whilst also being relatively lightweight. It is however expensive and can scratch.
What are the properties of redwood?	It does not decay, is very moisture resistant, durable and attractive. The softwood is however expensive and can scratch.
What are the properties of cedar?	Cedar is a very durable but workable softwood, it is lightweight and attractive however can be weak under loads.
What are the properties of Larch?	Larch is a very attractive and tough softwood, known for it's durability in water but also it's workability. It is however toxic and expensive.
How is Plywood made?	Plywood is made from laminated sheets of wood using wood glue to stick them together and create a very tough wood.
What are the properties of plywood?	Plywood is moisture resistant, strong, lightweight and impact resistant.
What is blockboard?	Blockboard consists of blocks of timber glued between two sheets of plywood.
What are the properties of blockboard?	Blockboard is easy to varnish, cheap, lightweight and durable. It is however quite weak.
What is fibre board?	Fibre board is a type of manufactured board made from waste shavings and resin.
What are the properties of fibreboard?	It is easy to paint, cheap, lightweight and impact resistant. It is also an environmentally friendly solution to waste. It's not durable or moisture resistant though.
What is MDF?	Medium Density Fibreboard is a type of fibre board consisting of timber fibres and resin.
What are the properties of MDF?	MDF is cheap, workable and moisture resistant. It is also easy to paint/ laminate over. It used urea formaldehyde as the resin which is carcinogenic and bad for the environment.
Why do we paint wood?	For an aesthetic purpose, acrylic and oil can be used however oil is better quality.
Why do we wax wood?	It protects the wood from outside elements however keeps the woods natural look. Bees wax, olive oil or linseed oil can be used.
What is steam bending?	The steam makes the wood pliable so that you can bend it however you like, when it cools it will hold that shape.
What is bent lamination?	Layers of timber are glued together and tightened in a mould of the shape you want it to take. Plastic is used on the edges to prevent the glue from sticking to the sides.
What is Kerfing?	A series of small indent cuts to allow the wood to bend.
What is Cresote?	It is a type of wood preservative that is painted on to make the wood impermeable.
What is immersive preservatives?	It is where the wood it put into a cold bath of the chemicals in order for it to seep in well.
What is pressure treatment?	It involves putting the wood under high pressures in a chamber before flooding it with chemicals to allow the wood to soak it in better.
What is tanalising?	pressure treating the wood to better absorb the chemicals under vacuum pressure. It is an environmentally friendly process and the chemicals cannot be removed afterwards.
What is a butt joint?	where the two pieces and glued perpendicular. Very easy and simple but not strong.
What are dowel joints?	Using another stick in the holes to join the two pieces of wood. Is strong but can rotate and it quite tricky to line up, used in flatpack furniture.
What are Mitre joints?	Like butt joint however both triangular ends (45 degrees) for decoration. It lacks strength and is difficult to be accurate.
What is a housing joint?	It sits in the grooves of wood (Like a shelf) and is quite strong but hard to do.
What is a lap joint?	A section is taken out of each so they sit on top of each other. It is strong due to the high surface area and easy to do.
What is a bridle joint?	A "male" part fits inside a "female" part (On the surface). It is very strong but needs a lot of accuracy.
What is a mortice and tenor joint?	A "male" part fits inside a "female" part. It is very strong but needs a lot of accuracy.
What is a dovetail joint?	Trapeziums interlock. Hard to do but very decretive and strong.
What is a comb and finger joint?	Interlocking ends which is very aesthetic and strong but hard to make.
What is a halfling joint?	A section it cut out of one for another to sit into. It is not attractive however good for right angles.
What is a biscuit joint?	Material is slotted in the slots of materials to strengthen a butt joint.
What are knock down fittings?	A plastic "Bracket" to strengthen a butt joint using screws. It is simple and can be removed however not attractive.
What are can locks?	Used in flatpack furniture to strengthen joints . It can damage the wood if done incorrectly.

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	Created by Tabitha Payne 4 months ago