3 ms·
>You don't just cut down a tree, rip it into planks, and use them. Their dimensions, and physical properties like hardness and density, change as they dry. Not
by irrational 7y ago
>You don't just cut down a tree, rip it into planks, and use them. Their dimensions, and physical properties like hardness and density, change as they dry.
Not to mention that you get very different results depending on how you saw the tree into planks. Flat, quarter, rift sawn wood have all kinds of pros and cons. You will get more wood from flat sawn, so it will be cheaper, but it will be more likely to warp.
- tomcooks 7y agoNot to mention how the moon influences how long the resulting beams will last
- TheGallopedHigh 7y agoInterested in hearing these details
- tomcooks 7y agoStructural beams, for roofs or boats for example, are cut during certain phases of the moon cycles, to ensure they are as void as possible of sap. This supposedly prevents shrinkage and fracturing.
- jacquesm 7y agoAlmost all wood that is intended for use cases where warp is a problem is engineered wood.
- irrational 7y agoDo you mean as in building homes? I suppose that's true, but I do woodworking - things like custom furniture - where warp matters but we don't use engineered wood.
- jacquesm 7y agoCustom furniture is art, not engineering. As for building homes you will find engineered wood in trusses and almost all sheet. 'Sticks' are used for framing where a little warp will be corrected for by the sheeting on both sides, and might only come out as a few mm of wall thickness variation which nobody will notice unless you look directly along a wall. Use a grazing light to see how bad this can be and then compare to standing around looking at the wall. Works well for ceilings and floor too.
- vageli 7y ago> Custom furniture is art, not engineering. Out of curiosity, could you expand on this? Is it because of the scale or something else?
- jacquesm 7y agoCustom furniture is the work of craftsmen (and women) and something to be treasured the way you would treasure a work of art. Very few wooden structures such as houses or bridges would be made to the same standard. I have the privilege of knowing two especially gifted woodworkers and even though I'm sure that their work will stand the test of time it is not engineered in the same way that a load bearing structure would be. Form is almost if not more important than function whereas in engineered structures function takes priority.