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67-403: The maul is most commonly struck onto a flush-cut section of log, usually standing on end atop a splitting stump or other suitable base. Most cut sections can be split in a single downward chop of the maul, splitting the wood apart along its grain. Mauls regularly become stuck in the log for several reasons, such as the wood not being struck with adequate force, the wood containing hidden knots, or

134-428: A construction material , for making tools and weapons , furniture and paper . More recently it emerged as a feedstock for the production of purified cellulose and its derivatives, such as cellophane and cellulose acetate . As of 2020, the growing stock of forests worldwide was about 557 billion cubic meters. As an abundant, carbon-neutral renewable resource, woody materials have been of intense interest as

201-425: A glancing blow. If the maul lands beyond the log, the maul handle may either bounce or break. If the maul lands in front of the log, it may hit the feet of the splitter if they are in a closed stance. If the maul hits the side of the log without biting in, the maul commonly will bounce to one side and to the ground. In this situation, even a widened stance may still leave the splitter's feet vulnerable. When performing

268-401: A heavy piece of pine is compared with a lightweight piece it will be seen at once that the heavier one contains a larger proportion of latewood than the other, and is therefore showing more clearly demarcated growth rings. In white pines there is not much contrast between the different parts of the ring, and as a result the wood is very uniform in texture and is easy to work. In hard pines , on

335-411: A large diameter. Modern mauls are made of a strong enough steel to withstand the metal-to-metal contact without chipping. However, it is still common for the wedge itself to chip off. This can be dangerous as flying chips of steel could damage the eye. This is also the easiest way to break a maul's handle because the wedge is a very small target as opposed to the whole log, and can be overshot, resulting in

402-405: A large log the sapwood, because of the time in the life of the tree when it was grown, may be inferior in hardness , strength , and toughness to equally sound heartwood from the same log. In a smaller tree, the reverse may be true. In species which show a distinct difference between heartwood and sapwood the natural color of heartwood is usually darker than that of the sapwood, and very frequently

469-415: A living tree, it performs a mechanical-support function, enabling woody plants to grow large or to stand up by themselves. It also conveys water and nutrients among the leaves , other growing tissues, and the roots. Wood may also refer to other plant materials with comparable properties, and to material engineered from wood, woodchips , or fibers . Wood has been used for thousands of years for fuel , as

536-400: A log is on the outside, it is more or less knotty near the middle. Consequently, the sapwood of an old tree, and particularly of a forest-grown tree, will be freer from knots than the inner heartwood. Since in most uses of wood, knots are defects that weaken the timber and interfere with its ease of working and other properties, it follows that a given piece of sapwood, because of its position in

603-481: A pretty definite relation between the rate of growth of timber and its properties. This may be briefly summed up in the general statement that the more rapid the growth or the wider the rings of growth, the heavier, harder, stronger, and stiffer the wood. This, it must be remembered, applies only to ring-porous woods such as oak, ash, hickory, and others of the same group, and is, of course, subject to some exceptions and limitations. In ring-porous woods of good growth, it

670-543: A small diameter hole through the side of the maul, into and through the handle, and usually out the other side. A small, flush, or counter-sunk pin of aluminum or similar material should be placed through the head and secured. It is critical that the pin not protrude from the side of the maul head. Wood grain Wood grain is the longitudinal arrangement of wood fibers or the pattern resulting from such an arrangement. It has various derived terms refer to different aspects of

737-636: A source of renewable energy. In 2008, approximately 3.97 billion cubic meters of wood were harvested. Dominant uses were for furniture and building construction. Wood is scientifically studied and researched through the discipline of wood science , which was initiated since the beginning of the 20th century. A 2011 discovery in the Canadian province of New Brunswick yielded the earliest known plants to have grown wood, approximately 395 to 400 million years ago . Wood can be dated by carbon dating and in some species by dendrochronology to determine when

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804-465: A source of weakness. In diffuse-porous woods the pores are evenly sized so that the water conducting capability is scattered throughout the growth ring instead of being collected in a band or row. Examples of this kind of wood are alder , basswood , birch , buckeye, maple, willow , and the Populus species such as aspen, cottonwood and poplar. Some species, such as walnut and cherry , are on

871-564: A tree is first formed as sapwood. The more leaves a tree bears and the more vigorous its growth, the larger the volume of sapwood required. Hence trees making rapid growth in the open have thicker sapwood for their size than trees of the same species growing in dense forests. Sometimes trees (of species that do form heartwood) grown in the open may become of considerable size, 30 cm (12 in) or more in diameter, before any heartwood begins to form, for example, in second growth hickory , or open-grown pines . No definite relation exists between

938-423: A type of imperfection known as a knot. The dead branch may not be attached to the trunk wood except at its base and can drop out after the tree has been sawn into boards. Knots affect the technical properties of the wood, usually reducing tension strength, but may be exploited for visual effect. In a longitudinally sawn plank, a knot will appear as a roughly circular "solid" (usually darker) piece of wood around which

1005-492: A wooden object was created. People have used wood for thousands of years for many purposes, including as a fuel or as a construction material for making houses , tools , weapons , furniture , packaging , artworks , and paper . Known constructions using wood date back ten thousand years. Buildings like the longhouses in Neolithic Europe were made primarily of wood. Recent use of wood has been enhanced by

1072-437: Is a season check in the knot, as is often the case, it will offer little resistance to this tensile stress. Small knots may be located along the neutral plane of a beam and increase the strength by preventing longitudinal shearing . Knots in a board or plank are least injurious when they extend through it at right angles to its broadest surface. Knots which occur near the ends of a beam do not weaken it. Sound knots which occur in

1139-456: Is also greatly increased in strength thereby. Since the latewood of a growth ring is usually darker in color than the earlywood, this fact may be used in visually judging the density, and therefore the hardness and strength of the material. This is particularly the case with coniferous woods. In ring-porous woods the vessels of the early wood often appear on a finished surface as darker than the denser latewood, though on cross sections of heartwood

1206-428: Is an important consideration. The weakening effect is much more serious when timber is subjected to forces perpendicular to the grain and/or tension than when under load along the grain and/or compression . The extent to which knots affect the strength of a beam depends upon their position, size, number, and condition. A knot on the upper side is compressed, while one on the lower side is subjected to tension. If there

1273-422: Is dark colored and firm, and consists mostly of thick-walled fibers which form one-half or more of the wood. In inferior oak, this latewood is much reduced both in quantity and quality. Such variation is very largely the result of rate of growth. Wide-ringed wood is often called "second-growth", because the growth of the young timber in open stands after the old trees have been removed is more rapid than in trees in

1340-560: Is difficult to control completely, especially when using mass-produced kiln-dried timber stocks. Heartwood (or duramen ) is wood that as a result of a naturally occurring chemical transformation has become more resistant to decay. Heartwood formation is a genetically programmed process that occurs spontaneously. Some uncertainty exists as to whether the wood dies during heartwood formation, as it can still chemically react to decay organisms, but only once. The term heartwood derives solely from its position and not from any vital importance to

1407-399: Is in the walls, not the cavities. Hence the greater the proportion of latewood, the greater the density and strength. In choosing a piece of pine where strength or stiffness is the important consideration, the principal thing to observe is the comparative amounts of earlywood and latewood. The width of ring is not nearly so important as the proportion and nature of the latewood in the ring. If

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1474-486: Is known as secondary growth ; it is the result of cell division in the vascular cambium , a lateral meristem, and subsequent expansion of the new cells. These cells then go on to form thickened secondary cell walls, composed mainly of cellulose , hemicellulose and lignin . Where the differences between the seasons are distinct, e.g. New Zealand , growth can occur in a discrete annual or seasonal pattern, leading to growth rings ; these can usually be most clearly seen on

1541-431: Is laid down on the outside of the wood previously formed, it follows that unless a tree materially increases its production of wood from year to year, the rings must necessarily become thinner as the trunk gets wider. As a tree reaches maturity its crown becomes more open and the annual wood production is lessened, thereby reducing still more the width of the growth rings. In the case of forest-grown trees so much depends upon

1608-470: Is more complex. The water conducting capability is mostly taken care of by vessels : in some cases (oak, chestnut, ash) these are quite large and distinct, in others ( buckeye , poplar , willow ) too small to be seen without a hand lens. In discussing such woods it is customary to divide them into two large classes, ring-porous and diffuse-porous . In ring-porous species, such as ash, black locust, catalpa , chestnut, elm , hickory, mulberry , and oak,

1675-447: Is not always the same as the figure of wood. Figure rarity often promotes the value of both the raw material, and the finished work it becomes a part of. These include: The way a given piece of wood has been sawn affects both its appearance and physical properties: There is irregular grain in burr wood or burl wood, but this is result of very many knots. Wood Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in

1742-431: Is the rule. Some others never form heartwood. Heartwood is often visually distinct from the living sapwood and can be distinguished in a cross-section where the boundary will tend to follow the growth rings. For example, it is sometimes much darker. Other processes such as decay or insect invasion can also discolor wood, even in woody plants that do not form heartwood, which may lead to confusion. Sapwood (or alburnum )

1809-413: Is the younger, outermost wood; in the growing tree it is living wood, and its principal functions are to conduct water from the roots to the leaves and to store up and give back according to the season the reserves prepared in the leaves. By the time they become competent to conduct water, all xylem tracheids and vessels have lost their cytoplasm and the cells are therefore functionally dead. All wood in

1876-400: Is then known as the latewood or summerwood. There are major differences, depending on the kind of wood. If a tree grows all its life in the open and the conditions of soil and site remain unchanged, it will make its most rapid growth in youth, and gradually decline. The annual rings of growth are for many years quite wide, but later they become narrower and narrower. Since each succeeding ring

1943-461: Is usually the latewood in which the thick-walled, strength-giving fibers are most abundant. As the breadth of ring diminishes, this latewood is reduced so that very slow growth produces comparatively light, porous wood composed of thin-walled vessels and wood parenchyma. In good oak, these large vessels of the earlywood occupy from six to ten percent of the volume of the log, while in inferior material they may make up 25% or more. The latewood of good oak

2010-401: The grain of the rest of the wood "flows" (parts and rejoins). Within a knot, the direction of the wood (grain direction) is up to 90 degrees different from the grain direction of the regular wood. In the tree a knot is either the base of a side branch or a dormant bud. A knot (when the base of a side branch) is conical in shape (hence the roughly circular cross-section) with the inner tip at

2077-429: The resin which increases the strength when dry. Such resin-saturated heartwood is called "fat lighter". Structures built of fat lighter are almost impervious to rot and termites , and very flammable. Tree stumps of old longleaf pines are often dug, split into small pieces and sold as kindling for fires. Stumps thus dug may actually remain a century or more since being cut. Spruce impregnated with crude resin and dried

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2144-426: The stems and roots of trees and other woody plants . It is an organic material  – a natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin that resists compression. Wood is sometimes defined as only the secondary xylem in the stems of trees, or more broadly to include the same type of tissue elsewhere, such as in the roots of trees or shrubs. In

2211-403: The "full-lift" chop described above, the splitter must never raise the maul and log above head height. Generally speaking, a maul should never swing to the side. Rather it should be powered through the drop, using force to assist the natural weight of the maul. In addition a suitable splitting base is one of the most important components to splitting wood with a maul. Wood can be split directly on

2278-433: The addition of steel and bronze into construction. The year-to-year variation in tree-ring widths and isotopic abundances gives clues to the prevailing climate at the time a tree was cut. Wood, in the strict sense, is yielded by trees , which increase in diameter by the formation, between the existing wood and the inner bark , of new woody layers which envelop the entire stem, living branches, and roots. This process

2345-418: The annual rings of growth and the amount of sapwood. Within the same species the cross-sectional area of the sapwood is very roughly proportional to the size of the crown of the tree. If the rings are narrow, more of them are required than where they are wide. As the tree gets larger, the sapwood must necessarily become thinner or increase materially in volume. Sapwood is relatively thicker in the upper portion of

2412-449: The border between the two classes, forming an intermediate group. In temperate softwoods, there often is a marked difference between latewood and earlywood. The latewood will be denser than that formed early in the season. When examined under a microscope, the cells of dense latewood are seen to be very thick-walled and with very small cell cavities, while those formed first in the season have thin walls and large cell cavities. The strength

2479-458: The cell walls are composed of micro-fibrils of cellulose (40–50%) and hemicellulose (15–25%) impregnated with lignin (15–30%). In coniferous or softwood species the wood cells are mostly of one kind, tracheids , and as a result the material is much more uniform in structure than that of most hardwoods . There are no vessels ("pores") in coniferous wood such as one sees so prominently in oak and ash, for example. The structure of hardwoods

2546-435: The central portion one-fourth the height of the beam from either edge are not serious defects. Knots do not necessarily influence the stiffness of structural timber; this will depend on the size and location. Stiffness and elastic strength are more dependent upon the sound wood than upon localized defects. The breaking strength is very susceptible to defects. Sound knots do not weaken wood when subject to compression parallel to

2613-407: The chopper reswinging the maul, but this time lifting the half- split log while still attached to the embedded maul, often requiring one or two additional full-lift chops. Another technique for splitting upright logs of thicker diameter is to land the maul's full force off-center of the log, usually removing 1 ⁄ 4 of the mass of the log. When repeated, large logs that would ordinarily cause

2680-445: The competition of the trees in their struggle for light and nourishment that periods of rapid and slow growth may alternate. Some trees, such as southern oaks , maintain the same width of ring for hundreds of years. On the whole, as a tree gets larger in diameter the width of the growth rings decreases. As a tree grows, lower branches often die, and their bases may become overgrown and enclosed by subsequent layers of trunk wood, forming

2747-433: The contrast is conspicuous (see section of yew log above). This is produced by deposits in the heartwood of chemical substances, so that a dramatic color variation does not imply a significant difference in the mechanical properties of heartwood and sapwood, although there may be a marked biochemical difference between the two. Some experiments on very resinous longleaf pine specimens indicate an increase in strength, due to

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2814-402: The cut (e.g., end grain ), rate of growth (e.g., narrow grain ), and relative cell size (e.g., open grain ). The two basic categories of grain are straight grain and cross grain . Straight grain runs parallel to the longitudinal axis of the piece. Cross grain deviates from the longitudinal axis in two ways: spiral grain or diagonal grain . The amount of deviation is called the slope of

2881-415: The end of a log, but are also visible on the other surfaces. If the distinctiveness between seasons is annual (as is the case in equatorial regions, e.g. Singapore ), these growth rings are referred to as annual rings. Where there is little seasonal difference growth rings are likely to be indistinct or absent. If the bark of the tree has been removed in a particular area, the rings will likely be deformed as

2948-403: The exact mechanisms determining the formation of earlywood and latewood. Several factors may be involved. In conifers, at least, rate of growth alone does not determine the proportion of the two portions of the ring, for in some cases the wood of slow growth is very hard and heavy, while in others the opposite is true. The quality of the site where the tree grows undoubtedly affects the character of

3015-481: The fibers or patterns. Wood grain is important in woodworking and it impacts aesthetics. Wood grain is the longitudinal arrangement of wood fibers or the pattern resulting from such an arrangement. R. Bruce Hoadley wrote that grain is a "confusingly versatile term" with numerous different uses, including the direction of the wood cells (e.g., straight grain , spiral grain ), surface appearance or figure , growth-ring placement (e.g., vertical grain ), plane of

3082-404: The finished item. In its simplest aesthetic meaning, wood grain is the alternating regions of relatively darker and lighter wood resulting from the differing growth parameters occurring in different seasons (i.e., growth rings ) on a cut or split piece of wood. Figure in wood is produced by causes including fungus, burls , stress, knots, and special grain alignments. Strictly speaking, grain

3149-407: The grain . In describing the alignment of the wood in the tree, a distinction may be made. Different tree species may have one of the following basic grain descriptions and types: An important physical aspect of wood grain in woodworking is the grain direction or slope (e.g., against the grain ). In describing the application of a woodworking technique to a given piece of wood, the direction of

3216-505: The grain. In some decorative applications, wood with knots may be desirable to add visual interest. In applications where wood is painted , such as skirting boards, fascia boards, door frames and furniture, resins present in the timber may continue to 'bleed' through to the surface of a knot for months or even years after manufacture and show as a yellow or brownish stain. A knot primer paint or solution (knotting), correctly applied during preparation, may do much to reduce this problem but it

3283-412: The greater the water content, the greater its softening effect. The moisture in wood can be measured by several different moisture meters . Drying produces a decided increase in the strength of wood, particularly in small specimens. An extreme example is the case of a completely dry spruce block 5 cm in section, which will sustain a permanent load four times as great as a green (undried) block of

3350-461: The ground, although this is a disadvantage for a few reasons. For one the ground, if not frozen, will give on each blow, thereby weakening the overall effect of the blow. The second disadvantage is that it can present the log to be split at a low level, forcing the person splitting the wood to bend over during the swing, which causes back fatigue. The best bases are flush-cut segments of hardwood logs, usually about one foot tall. For repeated seasonal use

3417-411: The handle hitting full-force onto the wedge. This greatly weakens the handle, and can cause it to break after only a few over-shots. Harder seasoned logs which have dried sufficiently often split apart with enough force that each half tumbles away at some speed, which is a hazard for people or objects nearby. A common danger for inexperienced splitters is to miss the upright log entirely or give it only

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3484-407: The larger vessels or pores (as cross sections of vessels are called) are localized in the part of the growth ring formed in spring, thus forming a region of more or less open and porous tissue. The rest of the ring, produced in summer, is made up of smaller vessels and a much greater proportion of wood fibers. These fibers are the elements which give strength and toughness to wood, while the vessels are

3551-412: The length of wood being too long. Unlike an axe, mauls are effective longer after the edge dulls, as the primary mechanism is that of a wedge pushed through along the wood grain , and not a cross-grain chop of an axe. In some cases, longer logs may be split while they rest length-wise on the base or ground. Mauls often become stuck in logs mid-split requiring a "full-lift" chop to be used. This involves

3618-416: The maul to be embedded on a center-strike can be handled easily. Additionally, as the temperature gets colder, the fibers in the log become more brittle making the logs easier to split. The hammer side of the maul is often used in wood splitting when combined with a splitting wedge, driving the wedge into the wood in the same fashion as the maul itself. This is generally used when attempting to split logs with

3685-480: The moisture content of the air) retains 8–16% of the water in the cell walls, and none, or practically none, in the other forms. Even oven-dried wood retains a small percentage of moisture, but for all except chemical purposes, may be considered absolutely dry. The general effect of the water content upon the wood substance is to render it softer and more pliable. A similar effect occurs in the softening action of water on rawhide, paper, or cloth. Within certain limits,

3752-542: The other hand, the latewood is very dense and is deep-colored, presenting a very decided contrast to the soft, straw-colored earlywood. It is not only the proportion of latewood, but also its quality, that counts. In specimens that show a very large proportion of latewood it may be noticeably more porous and weigh considerably less than the latewood in pieces that contain less latewood. One can judge comparative density, and therefore to some extent strength, by visual inspection. No satisfactory explanation can as yet be given for

3819-404: The plant overgrows the scar. If there are differences within a growth ring, then the part of a growth ring nearest the center of the tree, and formed early in the growing season when growth is rapid, is usually composed of wider elements. It is usually lighter in color than that near the outer portion of the ring, and is known as earlywood or springwood. The outer portion formed later in the season

3886-605: The point in stem diameter at which the plant's vascular cambium was located when the branch formed as a bud. In grading lumber and structural timber , knots are classified according to their form, size, soundness, and the firmness with which they are held in place. This firmness is affected by, among other factors, the length of time for which the branch was dead while the attaching stem continued to grow. Knots materially affect cracking and warping, ease in working, and cleavability of timber. They are defects which weaken timber and lower its value for structural purposes where strength

3953-411: The properties of the wood. Certain rot-producing fungi impart to wood characteristic colors which thus become symptomatic of weakness. Ordinary sap-staining is due to fungal growth, but does not necessarily produce a weakening effect. Water occurs in living wood in three locations, namely: In heartwood it occurs only in the first and last forms. Wood that is thoroughly air-dried (in equilibrium with

4020-468: The reverse is commonly true. Otherwise the color of wood is no indication of strength. Abnormal discoloration of wood often denotes a diseased condition, indicating unsoundness. The black check in western hemlock is the result of insect attacks. The reddish-brown streaks so common in hickory and certain other woods are mostly the result of injury by birds. The discoloration is merely an indication of an injury, and in all probability does not of itself affect

4087-453: The same size will. The greatest strength increase due to drying is in the ultimate crushing strength, and strength at elastic limit in endwise compression; these are followed by the modulus of rupture, and stress at elastic limit in cross-bending, while the modulus of elasticity is least affected. Wood is a heterogeneous , hygroscopic , cellular and anisotropic (or more specifically, orthotropic ) material. It consists of cells, and

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4154-421: The technique may be: Woods with straight grains are the easiest to work, while woods with interlocked grains are the most difficult. Grain alignment must be considered when joining pieces of wood, or designing wooden structures. For example, a stressed span is less likely to fail if tension is applied along the grain, rather than across the grain. Grain direction will also affect the type of warping seen in

4221-414: The top open grain may be treated slightly. The diameter of the base should be at least twice that of the wood placed atop it for splitting, and the base should be placed on firm ground. Another technique to improve safety involves pinning the head of the maul to the handle. Repeated use can loosen the head, and if the wedge or expander fails, the head will fly from the handle. Placing a pin involves drilling

4288-430: The tree, may well be stronger than a piece of heartwood from the same tree. Different pieces of wood cut from a large tree may differ decidedly, particularly if the tree is big and mature. In some trees, the wood laid on late in the life of a tree is softer, lighter, weaker, and more even textured than that produced earlier, but in other trees, the reverse applies. This may or may not correspond to heartwood and sapwood. In

4355-445: The tree. This is evidenced by the fact that a tree can thrive with its heart completely decayed. Some species begin to form heartwood very early in life, so having only a thin layer of live sapwood, while in others the change comes slowly. Thin sapwood is characteristic of such species as chestnut , black locust , mulberry , osage-orange , and sassafras , while in maple , ash , hickory , hackberry , beech , and pine, thick sapwood

4422-416: The trunk of a tree than near the base, because the age and the diameter of the upper sections are less. When a tree is very young it is covered with limbs almost, if not entirely, to the ground, but as it grows older some or all of them will eventually die and are either broken off or fall off. Subsequent growth of wood may completely conceal the stubs which will remain as knots. No matter how smooth and clear

4489-418: The wood formed, though it is not possible to formulate a rule governing it. In general, where strength or ease of working is essential, woods of moderate to slow growth should be chosen. In ring-porous woods, each season's growth is always well defined, because the large pores formed early in the season abut on the denser tissue of the year before. In the case of the ring-porous hardwoods, there seems to exist

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