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.
Wood species Scientific name: Pyrus malus L. Origin: Central and Eastern Europe, Western and Central Asia, Siberia.
Legislation in force in the country of harvest which covers the following: – Timber harvesting rights within legally established boundaries – payments for harvesting rights and timber – timber harvesting, including environmental and forestry legislation forestry, forest management and biodiversity conservation when directly related to timber harvesting – the legal rights of third parties relating to use and ownership that are affected by timber harvesting; and – trade and customs as they relate to the forestry sector.
Set of activities related to the cultivation of trees.
Particular type of chainsaw bar, with which stems up to 20 cm in diameter can be cut pointwise with greater speed and less effort.
Knot visible on the arris of a sawn timber.
Intersection line of two faces or of a face and an edge.
Higher fungi whose spores are produced in the ascus.
Cylindrical or ellipsoidal-shaped cell typical of sexual reproduction in ascomycetes.
Ultimate residue of the combustion process. It consists of the mineral fraction of wood.
Wood species Scientific name: Fraxinus excelsior L. Origin: Europe, West and Central Asia, Noth Africa.
Pair of areolate punctuations in which the torus (pit membrane) is moved laterally in order to clamp one of the orifices.
Non-unified term sometimes used to refer to a set of wood materials meant to be glued together with adhesive already applied to them and thus ready for the pressing operation (e.g., a stack of overlapping veneers, a particle mat, etc.).
A term used to refer to the period of time between the time after the adhesive is applied and the beginning of the pressing phase. This period is further divided into two parts: – open time, during which the parts remain separated and the adhesive is exposed to air; – closed time, during which the adhesive-coated parts are assembled and ready for pressing.
Generic term used to refer to a piece of solid wood (e.g., a log) or a semi-finished product characterized by specific dimensional and quality requirements established in relation to a specific use. In this regard, it is also referred to as “sawlog log,” “veneer log,” etc.
An act by which an independent third party ( laboratory) testifies that a particular sample (type) is in accordance with a specific standard.
See “auger”.
A tool used to open holes in the ground for fencing, forestry plantations, and industrial crops. It can be of moderate size and driven by autonomous motor (portable auger), or carried by tractor and driven by power take-off.
Manufacturing process in which particle mattresses are formed, then moved on moving mats or similar conveyor systems, and finally pressed directly between press plates without the use of plates.
Fungus belonging to the Imperfect fungi. It causes blue staining of wood.
Wood species Scientific name: Pinus nigra Arn.
Wood species See “austrian pine”.
Sealed container into which timber is introduced to be treated by pressure procedures.
Metric cord with a self-retracting spring mechanism. It is used, especially in processing for the measurement of lengths of wooden assortments.
In yarders, it is a steel rope used for line assembly or to operate controls placed on the carriage.
The average is the sum of all observed values (e.g., test results or measurements) divided by the number of observations. It is one of the main quantities for describing a population of data.
A tool similar to the hatchet, but larger and heavier. It is mostly used for working with beams and so-called splitted wood.
See “square-cut timber”.
Conventional term in wood anatomy for all cells except ray cells.
Parenchymal cells derived from fusiform cambial initials.
Wood species Scientific name: Lophira alata Origin: West Africa.
Surface of a panel opposite to its face. It is distinguishable when the face and back are of different quality.
A cut generally made perpendicular to the stem on the side opposite the undercut, or at least of the felling direction. It demarcates the hinge posteriorly when the undercut is made.
The application of veneer on the back of a substrate to equilibrate tensions.
Sheet of lower quality intended to form the back face of a layered panel.
A veneer backed with special paper, fabric or other material.
Degradation that occurs in wood that has been in high humidity conditions such as sea water for a long time. Generally, the surface of the wood turns darker and softer, sometimes greyish, with a texture like butter.
Stationary debarking machine (used mainly in paper mills) consisting of a chamber or drum in which several logs are rotated in parallel and debark either by mutual friction or by friction against the walls.
Manufacturing method of curved or shaped plywood that involves compressing the sheet pack (simultaneously achieving gluing) against a counterframe either by applying vacuum to a rubber mat or by a rubber bag within which a hot fluid (air, water, steam) is introduced.
Juxtaposition of more than two layers of equal size to compose a single exposed face.
Plywood panel whose outer and inner layers are symmetrical with regard to the middle layer in terms of both thickness and wood species.
Sheet of plywood, panel, or plastic sheet applied to the back of a panel in order to balance the opposite better face.
Wood species Scientific name: Ochroma lagopus Sw. Origin: Central America, Antilles. It It is the wood with the highest porosity and lowest density.
Wood species Scientific name: Abies balsamea (L.) Mill. Origin: North America
Coating composed of individual bamboo elements or a combination of a top layer of bamboo and additional underlays placed on the subfloor or primary structure.
A machine whose cutting element is a steel blade in the shape of an endless band, toothed on one or both edges, running around two wheels or pulleys. It is used for sawing.
Axial parenchyma arranged, in cross section, in concentric lines or bands. Note: It is referred to as banded apotracheal parenchyma if typically independent of vessels. It is also called “metatracheal parenchyma” or “banded paratracheal parenchyma,” if associated with the vessels.
Xylophagous mollusk that attacks wood submerged in the sea.
Sawn timber that, at the time of inspection, has lower dimensions than specified.
Non-technical term used to refer to all tissues external to the woody core (i.e., more precisely, external to the cambium). Also see “Rhytidome”.
Coefficient for the conversion of a round timber volume calculated from ‘over bark’ measurements to the corresponding ‘under bark’ volume.
Insects that infest unseasoned wood. Some scolytids dig tunnels into the interior of wood and cause damage similar to that caused by platypodids. Others, instead, dig tunnels between bark and wood and are known as “subcortical insects.”
Bark partially or totally included in wood.
Removal of bark from standing trees caused by logging or animals
Debarking caused by animals.
Wood whose bark has been completely removed except for the bark around the knots and the bark pockets between the annual growth rings.
Cross-sectional area of a tree measured close to the ground (usually at breast height). The term also indicates the sum of basal areas of all trees in a stand (in m3/ha).
Ratio of the anhydrous mass to the fresh volume (i.e. having a moisture content above the saturation point) of wood or a semi-finished product.
Dimension, with reference to a given moisture content, by which a sawn timber is defined or specified.
Superior fungi whose spores are produced on a club-shaped cell called a “basidium.”
Clave-shaped cell that produces the spores of basidiomycetes.
Laying of laths, blocks, or strips arranged with edges side by side in order to constitute a square whose side is equal to the length of the lath, block, or strip.
Inner layer of the bark bordering the cambium.
Phloem fiber.
In general, it is a sawn timber characterized by rectangular cross-section, with one side being about twice as long as the other. More precisely, it is a parallel-edged coniferous sawn timber over 4 m long and with cross-sectional dimensions varying from 3 by 6 cm to 6 by 12 cm.
Controlled drying of timber stacks in insulated, vapor-tight cells (kilns), equipped with devices for regulating and creating the required environmental conditions (temperature, relative humidity, air flow and direction).
Thin, narrow strip used to conceal or protect a joint line between adjacent elements of plywood or other semi-finished products.
Square beam with tolerance of wanes of considerable transverse dimensions (in Italy greater than 26 x 26 cm).
Structural element, generally larger than 15 x 15 cm in cross-section, placed horizontally in a structure with a load-bearing function. It can be made of solid wood, an engineered wood product, or other non-wood material.
Supporting structure consisting of several interconnected beams.
Wooden subfloor beam placed on pillars or beams to support floor joists.
Operation performed to harvest fruit such as acorns, olives, etc.. It generally consists of beating or vibrating the crown of the plant.
Wood species Scientific name: Fagus sylvatica L.
Insects that fly and lay their eggs in the pores (vessel elements) or cracks of wood and whose larvae attack the wood itself. They are spread throughout Europe but the risk of attack varies greatly from high to insignificant. The most important are Hylotrupes bajulus, Anobium punctatum and Lyctus brunneus. There are many other wood-destroying insects but of lesser importance; among them for example Hesperophanes cinereus and Xestobium rufovillosum.
Bending process of wooden elements using steam, boiling, a chemical or thermo-mechanical treatment, and high-frequency heating. It involves further cooling of the constrained piece into its desired shape.
Breaking strength value determined following a bending test. This can be obtained by means of a 3-point or 4-point test system.
Plywood panel bent from a flat panel into simple sweep shapes.
Wood, with or without special finishing, subjected to camber. This means that it has been bent after being made plastic by heat and moisture (or other processes) and then cooled and dried.
See “full cell process”.
Face that, when adopting a certain classification, is judged to be better than the other face.
The angle at which the edge of a saw tooth or cutting iron has been filed or shaped at the grinding wheel during sharpening in order to give it a convenient profile.
Point where growth of a stem takes two different directions.
Wood species Scientific name: Nauclea sp.p. (N. diderrichii Merr.) ATIBT nomenclature: Bilinga. Origin: West and East Africa.
Portions of wood resulting from the splitting operation.
Steel box carried frontally by double-drive agricultural tractors and on the rear hydraulic lift. It is suitable for containing fuelwood for performing pack extraction by tractor.
It is a type of setting that is done by alternately diverting one tooth to the right and one tooth to the left.