Timber

Timber: Strong, Reliable, and Environment-Friendly

Timber is a hard, fibrous material used in several structural, design, and functional applications. The term encompasses a wide variety of woods that are available as processed or rough material. Find timber in its various forms and designs on eBay.

Besides poles, deals, scantlings, quartering, and ends, timber are usually bought as:

• Log: A log is basically dead tree trunk that could be converted to any form of timber.
• Baulk: Baulks are square-shaped timber pieces procured by removing the sapwood and bark from a log. A baulk’s cross-sectional dimensions are 50 mm x 50 mm, and the length is more than 200 mm.
• Batten: A batten has a shape similar to baulk, but its thickness and breadth vary.
• Plank: Planks are timber pieces with a thickness below 50 mm and a breadth more than 50mm.
• Board: Timber becomes board when its thickness is below 50 mm and the breadth is more than 150 mm.

Learning timber’s properties or scrutinising its mechanical and physical properties would help determine its overall quality and how to use it.

• Colour: The darker the timber, the stronger it is. Timber colour varies between trees, with freshly cut walnut usually exhibiting the ideal dark brown hue.
• Moisture: Timber is hygroscopic by nature or it can absorb moisture out of thin air. The moister the timber, the more susceptible it is to fungal attacks.
• Grain arrangement: Timber grain arrangement could be straight, interlocked, or coarse. Grain arrangement matters since it determines the wood’s texture and strength.
• Density: High-quality timber usually have a higher density and thicker wall. Moist timber doesn’t score high on the density front.

Timber is known for its applications in the construction and building industry, but the material is versatile enough to be used outside the construction realm. It could be used to make or in making air dispensers, bakers equipment, artificial limbs, ships and boats, beehives, power/fuel generation, musical instruments, pallets, paper products, railway sleepers, etc. This list is not exhaustive by any means.

Timber is usually preferred over other building materials because it’s:

• A natural resource, which makes it readily accessible and feasible economically. No fossil fuels are needed to make wood, unlike brick, plastic, steel, or other commonly used building materials.
• Environmentally sustainable, renewable, and biodegradable; and has the least carbon footprint of pretty much all comparable building materials.
• Remarkably strong for its weight and offers good cold insulation, thanks to its natural cellular formation.
• Highly machinable or could be fabricated into different kinds of sizes and shapes to serve any construction requirement.