Tuesday 24 November 2009

Thursday 8 October 2009

Friday 2 October 2009

Notes - Friday 2th of October

WOOD







Wood is an orthotropic material found as the main contents of the trunk of a tree, is a very sturdy material and due to this feature and its natural abundance is widely used by humans.










We can know the age of the tree looking at the number of rings that have (one ring = one year).The wood is fibrous with fibers running along the length of the trunk The tree is 55% cellulose, 28% lignin resin (structure of the tree together). Wood is therefore a natural fiber-reinforced polymer.

Processed wood to make a product called timber.
To process the wood is to follow a few steps, in this case are four.

Harvesting : cutting the tree down in the forest
Conversion: cutting the trunk and large branches into boards. Slab sawn or quarter sawn.
Seasoning: reducing the moisture content of the timber
Board preparation: sawing to size and planing e.g. PAR – Planed all round


Most commonly used for expensive Hardwood timbers




MORE wasteMORE stable LESS liable to warp and twist – often exposes more attractive grain structure


NATURAL TIMBERS

Lumber – When trees are felled (The process of cutting down standing trees)

Timber - When trees are cut down and processed - A natural and sustainable source.Hardwoods

Softwoods

Softwoods come from coniferous trees with needles & cones, (all are evergreen trees.) The needles and cones will also stay on the tree throughout the year.As softwoods are fast growing, they are much cheaper to buy as a finished product (many more can be cut down in the same space of time as hardwoods)

Slab or Plain Sawing

  • Physical Strength
  • Aesthetic properties
  • Moisture content
  • Protection
  • Operating conditions
  • Cost
  • Sustainability/environmenta issues (The FSC are an organization that make sure wood is from a sustainable source. Therefore meaning that more than one tree is planted in the space of an old tree)
  • Size of boards


Wednesday 9 September 2009

The confusing photo-clock

About a year ago I had a time problem, I used to miss my 8:00 bus to school, because I didn’t have a clock or a watch and my mobile phone used to be out of batteries most of the time. So one day I decided to get a clock for my bedroom, placing it on a wall I shouldn’t be late anymore.
When I got to the local shop there was a lot of different types to choose from; the first one that caught my eye was a standard digital clock, the second was analogical, but the third one I saw was rather interesting, it had instead of numbers little frames where you put pictures, as it was the most esthetic it was the priciest as well, but anyways I bought it for my room.
A month went by when I had to go to that same shop again, I was not happy with the photo-clock that I once bought, I mean Is it a clock? Is it a photo-frame? It was just so confusing each time I looked at it, as I was rushing every morning to get to school on time and it just took me too long to see the time that I just couldn’t be bothered any longer, I wished I never had got it and I ended up buying the one that I saw in first place, the practical digital clock with which my problem was finally solved.

Tuesday 8 September 2009