Most professionals who work with timber have a relationship with the wood that is beyond what any specification sheet for the wood provides. They learn to read the wood to determine the species and grade of the wood, but also its history. Most of those who work with wood do not even consider asking about the position of the wood within the tree from which it was cut.
The reason for these different growth patterns within the trees is related to the different demands that the cells of the tree experience during its growth.
The base of a tree supports the whole weight of the rest of the tree. The wood that develops at the base of the tree is denser and more stable than the rest of the tree. The species that exhibit the greatest development of base wood are the species that exhibit the hardest wood at the base. This wood is more resistant to the movement that happens within the wood due to changes in the moisture content. For Timber Merchants Southampton, contact https://www.timbco.co.uk/
The crown timber, the timber from the upper parts of the tree trunk and branches, is formed under different conditions than the timber from the rest of the tree. The flexibility of the upper part of the tree, as it sways in the wind, is reflected in the timber from these areas. Crown timber is often lighter than the timber from the rest of the tree and has certain grain characteristics that make it useful for applications that require some degree of spring or resilience in the timber. For example, in boatbuilding, curved crown timber was sought for traditional applications.
Some species show these differences more dramatically than others. For example, oak is often split into base timber and crown timber, with the base timber used for structural applications and the crown timber used for decorative applications. Softwood species used in structural applications show less variation in their wood than oak.
The timber merchant who understands where in the tree the piece came from can make recommendations that a price list never could. The buyer who asks questions is one with access to knowledge that many others do not even consider seeking.
The work that is created by matching the right species of tree to the right application is performed differently from the work that is created by simply choosing a species of tree and its grade.
