The production of high grade softwood timber in Ireland.

  • T. Clear
Keywords: coniferous, quality, fine sawing, raw material.

Abstract

In the production of coniferous timber rate of growth and freedom from knots are considered the most important factors influencing quality. While deals and boards from home-grown spruce, pine and larch have been sawn equal, and very often superior, to the best imported, it must be admitted that the bulk of our softwood timber is abominably knotty. Now apart from rot, knots are the most serious of all wood defects. They render the wood unsuitable for fine sawing and, being so much harder than normal tissue, cause severe wear on saws, cutters and planing machines. The distorted grain around large knots renders hand working difficult and in addition, results in a considerable loss in strength. There is a growing belief that the production of clean timber is no longer of great importance, as the development of pulp, Kraft paper, fibreboard and other like products provide a ready market for lowgrade timber. This is far from being the case. There is greater waste in the "cooking" of knotty timber, greater wear and tear of cutting and grinding machinery and, in many ways, knotty timber is less suitable as a raw material for any of those products. Furthermore the price obtainable for pulpwood is not nearly so attractive as that obtainable for lumber, and other developments in the line of laminated wood seem to indicate that there will be a growing demand for Clean timber of large sizes...
Published
1946-11-01
How to Cite
Clear, T. (1946) “The production of high grade softwood timber in Ireland.”, Irish Forestry. Available at: https://journal.societyofirishforesters.ie/index.php/forestry/article/view/8570 (Accessed: 29March2024).
Section
Articles