Sources and origins
If a designer understands where Basic material that goods are made from such as crops, metals, wood and animal products such as wool and leather. come from, they can understand the environmental concerns associated with that material.
In the context of timber and man-made boards, the original source is a tree. Trees are grown all over the world - some are for timber produce, and others could be for paper. They can be categorised as hardwood and softwood.
Hardwood trees take a long time to grow, around 60 years (sometimes up to 100). Hardwoods include ash, balsa, beech, mahogany and oak. Softwood trees take around half the time, 25 to 30 years and include larch, pine and spruce. As trees are To cut down., it is important to plant new ones so that the timber source is A sustainable resource can be replaced once used. As a tree is chopped down, many more can be planted to ensure the use of trees can be sustained. .
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is an international organisation that promotes responsible forest management.
Once a tree has been chopped down, the branches are removed, so only the trunk of the tree remains. The full length of a tree might be too long to transport and work with, so the tree may be cut to a more manageable length. The tree trunks are transported to a sawmill, where the trees are cut to usable A piece of timber that is longer and wider than it is thick.. This process is known as Creating marketable planks of timber from the trunk of a tree..
At this point the timber can be sold. If the timber has been freshly cut, it is sold as Timber that has been freshly cut and has a high moisture content. due to the high water content. If the timber has been dried out before being sold, then it has been ‘seasoned’. Some seasoning can be done by leaving it to ‘air season’, and sometimes the timber is Oven dried to remove moisture..
Manufactured boards such as Thin layers of wood glued at right angles to each other., A type of engineered wood made of compressed wood and fibre particles held together with glue. and Small particles of wood and wood fibre that are glued together to make a dense board. are made by gluing small chips or fibres together using an adhesive.
