Timber has played a major role in construction for many years. Ever wondered how the timber gets from the forest to a builder’s merchant? We will look at the journey that timber takes from the forest to your local builders merchant. For Timber Merchants Portsmouth, go to Timbco, a leading Timber Merchants Portsmouth company.
Felling is a first step in preparing timber for commercial purposes. It is the process of cutting individual trees. These people are known as lumberjacks or ‘fellers.’ The harvesting machine can be called a “feller buncher”.
When the trees reach economic maturation, a forestry worker determines when to cut them down. The age of a tree can vary from 40 to over 150 years before it stops growing and is ready to be felled. Different species of trees can have different ages at which they are cut down. Conifers, for example, grow much faster than broad-leaved trees. Their growth can be affected by soil nutrition and environmental factors.
It is usually easier to fell trees in the winter when they have a lower moisture content. In the summer, trees may contain more than 50% water. Finally, the trees that have been felled should be replaced by saplings to give the forest a chance of growing again and providing a resource for future generations.
Next, the logs are stored until they can be transported to the mill. The moisture trapped in the wood will begin to evaporate, reducing the weight and lowering the costs and effort required for handling and transport. The trees are then cut into shorter lengths and collected by a timber truck. They are then transported to a processing facility such as a fencing, construction, or paper mill.
Circular and bandsaws are used to cut the logs into the desired lengths and boards. The first step in conversion is rough sawing, which involves breaking the wood down. The second step is resawing, which is more precise cutting and final finishing such as further machining and planing. The ends of each log are trimmed so that they are straight, and then the boards are cut.
Next, the wood is refined into a product such as a piece of furniture or a door. The second stage of processing is when the wood is transformed into a product that can be identified with certain dimensions and sizes. Some timber is treated to produce products that are resistant to fires and rots. Timber in sawn form that has been treated is either used directly for construction or as a component in the construction process, like timber frame panels.
