WOOD DEFECTS

Timber is far from being a stable and consistent material. One of the biggest
challenges of working with timber is learning to work within the constraints of a
timber’s. The following are a list of the most common wood defects.
BOW (BOWING)
The curvature of a piece of sawn timber in the direction of its length, cf. Spring and Curvature.
BOXED HEART
A term used when the heart is enclosed within the four surfaces of a piece of sawn timber. Well
boxed Heart means that the heart is enclosed within the four surfaces of piece of sawn or hewn
timber throughout its entire length, and is reasonably well centered at both ends.
CHECKS
Are small separations of the wood fibers in a longitudinal Wood Defects direction, not
penetrating as far as the opposite or adjoining side of a piece of sawn timber; they usually result
from strains developing during seasoning; Surface (or Seasoning) Checks, and End (or Heart)
Checks are distinguished.
COMPRESSION FANURES
Are fractures across the grain in which the fibers are broken transversely or are crushed by
compression. Various causes are suggested, such as felling across obstructions, and failure
inside the growing tree caused by high winds, growth stresses, etc. ls also known as Felling
Shakes, Thunder, Rupture, Lightning, and Transverse Shakes, Upsets, Cross Breaks, or Cross
Fractures. Very often they are difficult to detect until the timber is dressed.

CUP (CUPPING)
The curvature of a piece of sawn timber across its width.
DIAMOND (DIAMONDING)
A distortion due to differential shrinkage in drying that causes a piece of timber originally square
(or rectangular) in cross section to become diamondshaped. This defect occurs when the rays
pass through diagonal corners of the square (or rectangle) and is caused by the difference
between tangential and radial shrinkage which in many timbers is in the proportion of about 2:1.
HONEYCOMB
(Internal Checks) The development of checks in the interior of a piece of wood due to drying
stresses, usually along the wood rays, often not visible at the surface. This defect occurs when
thick timber is dried too quickly in a seasoning-kiln.
SPLIT (ALSO KNOWN AS A SHAKE)
Is a longitudinal separation of the fibers which extends to the opposite face or adjoining edge of
a piece of sawn timber.
SPRING
Is the curvature of a piece of sawn timber in the plane of its wide face: known as Crook or Free
Side Bend.
TWISTING
Is the spiral distortion of a piece of sawn timber; it may be accompanied by either bowing or
spring, or both.
WANE (WANT)
Is the lack of wood on any face or edge of a piece of sawn timber, usually caused by a portion
of the original rounded surface of a long remaining on the piece; bark may or may not be
present.
Defects that exist in timber make the planer’s job more difficult and create a need for secondary
machinery to produce quality products. It would be nice to be able to feed any piece of rough
timber into a moulder and produce a perfect product, free from defects, but this seldom
happens.
The numerous processes required to work timber free of defects are well known to the furniture,
moulding, flooring and architectural woodwork industries. Most companies split their
manufacturing operations into a rough mill and a finish mill. The job of the rough mill is to break
down the timber to more uniform sizes and pre-work the main defects from the wood. The
following section details the different types of planning processes and discusses the operations
in the rough mill.
SLOPE OF GRAIN
Localised slope of grain can be caused by knots. Slope of grain can also be caused by a slight
bend in the tree, which means that when a straight board is cut out of it, there is a bend in the
grain. This tends to be a longer feature and may go unnoticed in an appearance product.
Some species of Australian hardwoods (such as Jarrah and Blackbutt) can have “wavy grain”.
This gives a very attractive rippled appearance in high surface finish applications.
Where timber is “backsawn”, the slope of grain can give interesting effects in the growth rings
that enhance the appearance of the timber for some applications.

Defects in Timber due to Natural Forces

a. Knots: Knots are the most common defects caused due to natural forces. During the
growth of a tree, branches close to the ground or lower branches die. Bases of those
branches remain in the tree as the trees grow. These bases may create imperfection
known as knots.

Types of Knots: Knots are of two types.

i. Dead knots: The remains of damaged branches after drying out they
become loose and fall out.
ii. Live knots: They are sound and firm. If small, are not great of a defect.

Live knots are usually not a problem as they remain firmly attached to the timber. But
in dead knots, they are loosely attached and reduce strength. Knots decrease the
strength of the wood and thus lower its value for structural uses. Knots cause serious
defects when the load is perpendicular to the grains.

Dead knot and Live Knot.

Source:woodexportchile.com

b. Twist: Twist in timber rotates the ends of the timber in opposite directions. The main
reason behind this defect is twisting of the trees by the strong wind.
 Twisting of the trees by the strong wind.
Source:commons.wikimedia.org
c. Shakes: Shakes are timber defects that occur around the annual ring or growth ring
of a timber. In other words, cracks or splits in the woods are called shakes.

It may or may not be a structural problem depending upon depth and use. The main
problem is aesthetic. Where the appearance is important, shakes are undesirable.

Types of shakes: Shakes can be classified into three main categories:-

i. Star Shakes: This type of shake starts propagating from the bark towards the
sapwood and sometimes even towards the heartwood along the lines of
medullary rays. Cracks are wider on the outer edge or bark and narrower on
the inside (usually sapwood, sometimes heartwood). The main reasons
behind star shakes are extreme heat or frosting during the growth of the trees
and rapid or uneven seasoning after cutting off the timber. Extreme heat or
frost causes temperature difference, which causes shrinkage leading to the
crack.
ii. Cup and/or Ring Shakes: Cup shakes follow the annual growth ring. It is
capable to separate the growth ring partially or completely. When the crack
separates the annual ring completely, it is called ring shakes. So, all ring
shakes are cup shakes, but all cup shakes are not a ring shape. Excessive
frost action is the main reason for this type of crack.
iii. Heart Shakes: Unlike star shakes, heart shakes starts propagating from the
pith to the sapwood along the lines of medullary rays. Shrinkage of the
interior part of the timber causes this crack.
 d. Rind Galls: THe meaning of rind is bark and gall is abnormal growth. So abnormal
growth of the bark of the trees is called rind galls. Improper cutting of branches
causes this abnormal growth. Wood from this portion of the timber lacks strength and
desirable in structure.
e. Upsets: Upsets in various wood indicate that the tree was subjected to crushing or
compression. Improper felling of trees, heavy wind blowing during the young age of
the tree these are the main reasons behind this type of defect.

Defects of Timber due to Attack by Insects

Insects like beetles, termites or marine boars eat wood, make holes and weaken the
strength of the wood.
Beetles are small insects that make holes in almost all the sapwoods. The larvae make
tunnels through the sapwood in all directions and turn wood into powder.
Termites live in a colony. They are very fast in eating woods and making tunnels through it.
Only a few good kinds of wood can withstand the action of termites.
Marine boars are found in salt water. Usually, they make tunnels in wood to take refuge or
shelter. All kinds of wood or timber are vulnerable to this kind of insect.

Defects in Timber due to Attack by Fungi

a. Stain: When fungi feed only on sapwood, where the food materials are stored, it
causes a stain. Heartwood doesn’t contain these kinds of food materials and is not
affected by it. Stain action causes color but does not affect the strength of the wood.
 b. Decay: wood eating or wood destroying fungus is responsible for this type of defect
in wood. This type of fungi breaks down the cell structure. Both sapwood and
heartwood are affected by them. Considerable strength reduction occurs.

Defect in Timber due to Defective

Seasoning
Faulty method of seasoning causes serious defects in woods. During seasoning of timber,
exterior or surface layer of the timber dries before the interior surface. So, stress is
developed due to the difference in shrinkage. In a perfect seasoning process, stress is kept
minimum by controlling the shrinkage. Some of the defects resulting from defective
seasoning are as follows:-

a. Bow: Curvature formed in direction of the length of the timber is called bow.
b. Cup: Curvature formed in the transverse direction of the timber is called a cup.
c. Check: Check is a kind of crack that separates fibers, but it doesn’t extend from one
end to another.
d. Split: Split is a special type of check that extends from one end to another.
e. Honey Combing: Stress is developed in the heartwood during the drying process or
seasoning. For these stresses, cracks are created in the form of honeycomb texture.

Defects of Timber due to Defective

Conversion
a. Boxed Heart: This term is applied to the timber, which is sawn in a way that the pith
or the center heart falls entirely within the surface throughout its length.
b. Machine Burnt: Overheating is the main reason for this defect.
c. Machine Notches: defective holding and pulling causes this defect.
d. Miscut: erroneous cutting or sawing of wood causes this defect. Lack of experience
in sawing and carelessness is the main reason for erroneous cutting.
e. Imperfect Grain: Mismatch in grain alignment.

Timber conversion is the process of turning a log into a pile of usable

planks or boards. When sewing up the log, several things are
considered, including the size of the tapper because this determines
how the log is cut to get the most out of the resulting timber.
 the process of converting something from one thing to another:

There are three common methods of timber conversion as follows:

 Through & Through Sawing.
 Tangential Sawing.
 Quarter Sawing

What is grain pattern?

Wood grain refers to the arrangement of a wood's fibres resulting from the growth of a
tree. When the tree is cut, these fibres reveal a visual pattern of relatively darker and
lighter wood, commonly known as the grain or — more accurately —

What are the two types of grain patterns?

They classify into two main categories: opened or closed. Open grains create coarse,
deep, and more noticeable patterns. They occur in hardwoods with large pores like oak
and appear in various arrangements, from swirls to large streaks. On the other hand,
closed grains create more subtle and orderly looks

What Are the Most Common Wood Grain Types?

 Open Grain.
 Closed Grain.
 Flat Grain.
 Curly Grain.
 Straight Grain.
 Interlocked Grain.
 Irregular Grain.
 Live Sawn: Vertical Grain.

Seasoning of timber is the process by which moisture content in the

timber is reduced to required level. By reducing moisture content, the
strength, elasticity and durability properties are developed. A well-
seasoned timber has 12- 15% moisture content in it.
 Reasons for Seasoning
Seasoning of timber is done to fulfill some specific requirements. The followings are the
reasons to perform timber seasoning.

1. To change and improve the properties of wood.

2. To make a correct percentage of shrinking of woods.
3. To make confident use of wood.
4. To reduce the adverse behavior of woods.
5. To get the proper working condition of woods.

Methods of Seasoning of Timber

There are mainly two methods of seasoning of timber. These are:

1. Natural Seasoning
2. Artificial Seasoning

b. Air seasoning
Exposing the woods to air for seasoning. At first, a platform is required that is built on the
ground at 300mm height above the ground.
Secondly, the arrangement of wood in layers. Air circulation is maintained between logs
because it helps to reduce moisture which is important for seasoning. The environment for
this need to maintain some conditions. A clean, shady, dry, cool place is preferred.
Sometimes logs are coated by an impermeable substance to reduce extreme moisture. To
improve the quality of oil coating, thick paint coating is maintained. To prevent fungal
infection logs are treated with petrol or gasoline.
Advantage:
Four main Advantages of Natural Seasoning of Wood include:
 Increases Dimensional Stability of Wood. Wood shrinks across the grain (not along it)
when it dries. ...
 Increases Durability of Wood. To reduce or eliminate attack by decay or stain. ...
 Reduces Weight of Wood. ...
 Increases Strength of Wood. ...
 Improves Workability of Wood.

Disadvantage:

 It’s a slow process.

 Kiln seasoning is the most common form of timber seasoning as it's a
quick way of effectively drying wood. The timber is stacked on top of a
trolley, which is then rolled into a kiln filled with steam jets and heating
coils that absorb moisture from the timber.

2. Advantages of Kiln Seasoning of Timber

 The moisture content can be reduced as per requirement.
 The timber can be seasoned thoroughly well and in a short span of time under
controlled conditions.
 The timber seasoned by this method is less liable to shrinkage.
 The wood can be used immediately as and when required.

3. Disadvantages of Kiln Seasoning of Timber

 This method is costly (though the space required is less).
 It requires skilled labor.
 Due to the process of drying being quick; continuous attention needs to be given to
checking seasoning defects such as warping, internal cracks, surface cracks, and end-
splits.