A simple and accessible tool for understanding the fundamental terms related to wood. From the meaning of sapwood and heartwood to the characteristics of texture, grain, and density. A useful resource for professionals, citizens, and students who want to familiarize themselves with the language of the sector.
See “lower permitted deviation”.
Arithmetic difference between the allowed lower limit of a dimension and the target size.
Empty cell process in which initial pressure is not applied.
Plywood produced with a core composed of wooden strips. The face and back (“uter) are made of veneers.
General term for products obtained by sawing. The English term ‘lumber’, especially used in North America, mostly refers to sawn timber with a cross-section of more than 15 by 15 cm. This term can also have narrower and more specific meanings.
Product obtained from logs or larger pieces of solid wood by sawing or peripheral milling according to the longitudinal direction, followed by eventual transverse sawing and/or further processing, in order to achieve the required level of precision.
Empty space or cavity within plant cells, whose volume and size affect wood density and porosity.
Engineered wood-based product formed from plies, mostly bevel-joined, overlapping with parallel grain and slightly overlapping heads (cross edges). It is a large panel that, after pressing, is generally sectioned into standard-sized elements.
Symmetrical laminated timber for construction with crossband veneers.
Symmetrical laminated timber for construction comprising only veneers with grain running in one direction.
Insects that attack partially seasoned and mature wood of large-pot, rich in starch Hardwoods. The attack is usually limited to sapwood but in undifferentiated heartwood it affects the entire cross-section of the trunk. The frass is powdery. They cause severe damage to the wood, which in strong attacks is reduced to a mass of frass.
Insect of the Lyctidae family. It attacks the sapwood of certain hardwoods with high starch content. It is of considerable importance in Europe for both local and imported hardwoods.
Xylophagous mollusk that attacks wood submerged in the sea.
Formated by disorganization or cell lysis.
Identification on the basis of the detection of wood characters visible to the naked eye, or with a maximum magnification of 10X, such as: colour, grain, texture and possible anatomical characters.
Wood species Scientific name: Ginko biloba L. Origin: Japan and China; cultivated in other countries as an ornamental species.
Steel rope, driven by a winch, that pulls or brakes the carriage. In yarders it may also serve as a hoisting line.
In wood flooring, it is the operation carried out to preserve the appearance and treatment of the face.
The direction in the plane of the table where the bending properties achieve the highest values.
Wood species Scientific name: Tieghemella heckelii (and T. africana) Origin: Western and Middle Africa (from Sierra Leone to Gabon)
Wood species Scientific name: Mansonia altissima Origin: West tropical Africa
Wood species See “betè”.
Mechanical system for tractioning a plant during felling in order to control its direction of fall.
Characteristic properties of strength, stiffness, and density stated by the manufacturer.
The person who is responsible for the production of a good.
Quantity of product in the test sample equivalent to the average load that the manufacturer recommends as being necessary and achievable in practice in the analytical zone(s)
Plywood produced with the same gluing requirements as for outdoor use but with greater restrictions regarding process requirements and the plies used. The latter must be of naturally durable wood species and of a specified quality. The product is particularly suitable for a variety of applications in the marine industry.
Term applied essentially to marine invertebrates such as Limnoria sp.p. and Teredo sp.p.. They require a certain degree of water salinity and dig tunnels and extensive cavities in the wood. These organisms can severely damage both fixed and floating structures.
Wood species Scientific name: Pinus pinaster Ait. (P. maritima Lam.).
Wood species See “maritime pine”.
Registered trademark certifying that a product complies with a specific standard or other normative document. There are voluntary marks and mandatory marks.
Applying a special mark, at the base of the stem and near the stump (sub-stump), with a forestry hammer. This is generally used during a forestry operation to identify plants to be felled.
The act of affixing a distinctive mark.
Measurement of wood based on its mass with successive conversion of mass data into volume data.
Commercial term, not standardized, used in North America to indicate a set of engineered and prefabricated panels for structural applications in the modern wooden construction sector. It includes cross-laminated timber (CLT), glued laminated timber (Glulam), nail or dowel laminated timber (NLT or DLT)), i.e. products laminated, glued or with other connection methods, generally characterized by high thickness and mechanical performances. Generally the elements are not less than 75 mm thick as measured in each direction.
Year during which plant seed production is particularly abundant.
A set of particles made through a controlled forming process, prepared for the subsequent pressing stage that will generate a panel.
Round log used for the production of matches.
See “insect hole”.
Evolutionary stage of the forest in which the trees have almost completed their development in height and are in full seed production.
Evolutionary stage of the forest from the pole stage to maturity.
Maximum quantity (expressed in grams per square metre or kilograms per cubic metre) of the product that is allowed for application to wood samples in a particular biological test
Maximum length of delamination in each individual glue line within the wood sample.
Quantity being measured. Depending on the case, the measurand can be the “measured quantity” or the “quantity to be measured.”
Set of operations whose purpose is to determine the value of a quantity.
Estimation result that determines the range within which the true value of a measurand must lie, usually with a given probability.
Mechanical forces of various kinds that cause deformations, breakage, or removal of material. Deformations and breakages resulting from mechanical stresses are referred to as “mechanical damage” and are not considered degradation of the wood material.
Degradation of an artefact, structure or parts of it caused by both external and internal mechanical actions.
Removal of bark from round timber (e.g. trunks or logs) by cutting or abrasion using mechanical tools.
Kiln in which the movement of wood stacks is mechanized, e.g., by means of carriages, roller conveyors, etc. Note: A special type is the air-jet kiln used for veneers, where jets of air are directed onto the surfaces of the veneers.
General term indicating techniques for protecting wood, generally in situ, against the attack of animal organisms, using mechanical rather than chemical procedures. In particular, it concerns the protection of submerged poles against teredines.
Medium density fibreboard See “fibreboard”.
Plywood coated with an opaque resin-treated fiber overlay that provides a smooth surface ideal as a base for painting. It is recommended for siding and other outdoor applications, as well as for construction, signs and displays, furniture, etc.
When the wood species is moderately or not durable and the environmental conditions of application are scarcely conducive to biodegradation.
Controlled drying (oven/artificial/technical) with a temperature range from about 45°C to 95°C.
See “ray”.
A highly reactive resin used as a component of some adhesive mixtures in the bonding of wood-based panels. It is also used to impregnate decorative paper surfaces to use as a coating for backing panels.
A synthetic adhesive that is very reactive and used as a component of some adhesive mixtures in the bonding of wood-based panels and to impregnate decorative paper surfaces for use as a coating. Properly performed gluing with melamine resin meets the requirements for use of the panels in a humid or outdoor environment. The glue line generally has a light or transparent coloration.
A system made by the Bison Werke company for the continuous production of thin fiberboard using a press equipped with a rotating cylinder (also called ” calander”)
Wood species The term “meranti” (species belonging to the family Dipterocarpaceae and the genera Shorea, Parashorea, and Pentacme, also known from other provenances by the names Seraya and Lauan) does not refer to a particular wood species, but to a mixed commercial grouping of Southeast Asian (Malaysia and Indonesia) hardwoods. Individual species within the grouping may have different durability and impregnability characteristics. It is therefore difficult to assign a single rating to such a heterogeneous grouping of wood species.
Wood species Scientific name: Intsia sp.p. (I. bijuga) ATIBT nomenclature: Merbau. Origin: Southeast Asia, Papua, New Guinea.
Plant tissue consisting of small cells with a thin cell wall, capable of initiating cell division processes, thus adding new cells to the organism. Meristematic tissue is located in buds, at the apex of roots, and more generally in growth zones, including the cambium.
Late-formed early primary wood with punctuated tracheary elements.
Set of operations required to ensure that a function of a measuring device is in a state of compliance with the requirements for its intended use. Metrological confirmation normally requires calibration, any necessary adjustment or repair and subsequent recalibration, as well as the required sealing or labelling.
Surface check no more than 2 mm long, removable by planing.
Fungus with a reduced fruiting body ( it belongs to Ascomycetes).
Identification on the basis of the examination of characters and/or anatomical structures of the wood that can only be observed with a microscope.
Device used to obtain microsections (intended for microscopic observation).
Drying process using heating of the water contained inside the wood at normal atmospheric pressure by electric irradiation with microwaves (300-3000 Mhz).
Diameter measured at the midpoint of the total height of a standing tree (or the length of a trunk or log).
See “mid diameter”.
The arithmetic mean of the upper and lower toxic values defined in the relative European standard biological test.
See “cell wall”.
A condition in which the wood is dried very cautiously in order to minimise the risk of drying defects.
Any industrial facility (buildings and machines) in which timber is processed mechanically, generally by sawing or slicing, and made into commercial products.
Sawn timber with no commercial value. Note: the term may also indicate timber sold at a lower cost or even a lower quality assortment.
A sawmill platform where logs are placed immediately before sawing.
1) The ratio between the volume of sawn timber obtained and the volume of the original rough (mostly round) timber or the volume of sawn timber obtained expressed as a percentage of the rough volume. 2) All sawn timber produced from a given batch of logs, regardless of the quality of the sawn timber obtained.
In general, any manufacturing, normally with saws and planers. More specifically, also the processing of sawn pieces to the desired size, shape and surface. The processed wood can be shaped, jointed, etc.
Dark olive or black stains in the heartwood of wood (especially maple) due to undetermined causes, but frequently occurring at cuts or wounds.
A woody assortment intended for use as poles in a mining context.
A direction in the plane of the board perpendicular to the major axis.
See “book matching”.
Juxtaposition of decorative sliced veneers that features asymmetry of direction of grain, pattern, color, etc.
Marks left in the wood by the roots (or ‘austers’) of mistletoe.
Forest consisting of two or more tree species.